Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has discussed Ankara's planned military operation in northern Syria and the war in Ukraine with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

In recent days Erdogan has said Turkey will launch a cross-border incursion against Kurdish militants in Syria to create a 30-kilometer (19-mile) deep buffer zone. He told Putin in a phone call that the frontier zone was agreed in 2019 but had not been implemented, the Turkish presidency said on Monday.

Ankara carried out an operation against the People's Protection Units, or YPG, in October 2019. Russia, the Syrian regime and the United States also have troops in the border region.

U.S. President Joe Biden has renewed calls for the safe return of American Journalist Austin Tice who went missing in Syria over a decade ago.

On Wednesday Biden urged leaders in Damascus to help secure the repatriation of Tice as pressure continues to increase on the White House by families of hostages and detainees, Reuters reported.

Biden said that the U.S. government knows now "with certainty" that the U.S. journalist has been held by the Syrian government and called on the Syrian government to release him after 10 years in captivity, CNN reported.

Biden said, "We know with certainty that he has been held by the Syrian regime." The president said, "We have repeatedly asked the government of Syria to work with us so that we can bring Austin home."

Biden urged movement on the case for Tice's family, saying, "On the tenth anniversary of his abduction, I am calling on Syria to end this and help us bring him home." He said, "Tice family deserves answers, and more importantly, they deserve to be swiftly reunited with Austin."
 
According to CNN, the Syrian government and leader Bashar al-Assad, have not publicly acknowledged that Tice is being detained there.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday, "Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens will continue to engage with the Syrian government in close coordination with the White House, Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, and our team here at the State Department."

Carstens secretly traveled to Damascus to meet with government officials there in 2020 while under then president Donald Trump. Then in May, he met with a top Lebanese security official in Washington to "discuss US citizens who are missing or detained in Syria." 

A top priority for the Tice family and U.S. officials is to continue to engage with the Syrian government and keep that engagement sustained.

Today, what was the ancient city of Nineveh is marked by two large mounds, Tell Kuyunjiq and Tell Nabī Yūnus “Prophet Jonah."

That is the area where a team of archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S. have discovered some intricate rock carvings that are 2,700-years-old, Heritage Daily reports.

The area is just outside of the Iraqi city of Mosul.

Fadhil Mohammed, the head of the restoration works, said his team found eight murals that had inscriptions and drawings along with writings.

ISIS carried out a campaign of destruction over a large part of Iraq and Syria in 2014 destroying archaeological sites to erase history. Theses were thankfully saved.

“The writings show that these murals were built or made during the reign of King Sennacherib,” Mohammed said, speaking of the Neo-Assyrian empire king. That king ruled from 705 to 681BC.

Iraqi forces that were supported by a U.S. - international coalition was able to liberate Mosul from ISIS in 2017.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Aside from the competition for the World Cup title, one of the most hotly contested issues in the tournament in Qatar is over rainbow colors.

In the first week of the tournament, seven European teams lost the battle to wear multi-colored "One Love" armbands during World Cup matches and some fans complained they weren't allowed to bring items with rainbow colors, a symbol of LGBTQ rights, into the stadiums of the conservative Islamic emirate.

Qatar, where gay sex is illegal, faced intense international scrutiny and criticism in the run-up to the tournament over rights issues, including questions on whether LGBTQ visitors would feel safe and welcome. The Gulf nation has said all are welcome, including LGBTQ fans, and that it would ensure safety for everyone, regardless of background, but that visitors should respect the nation's culture.

Piara Powar, executive director of Fare, the anti-discrimination group that is reporting incidents in and around stadiums to world soccer body FIFA, said he believes the Qatari hosts felt that the debate about LGBTQ rights has been given too much space and that they need to clamp down internally.

"We have talked to them about rainbow flags and the symbolism that it has across the world, not just in western Europe. There are Latin Americans who recognize that, there are Asians who recognize the Pride flag," Powar said.

Just before the tournament started, FIFA stopped plans by seven European teams including England and Germany to have their captains play with "One Love" anti-discrimination armbands, saying they would receive yellow cards if they did. The decision sparked outrage by some in the countries involved.

One of the teams, Belgium, tweeted a team photo Friday showing captain Eden Hazard wearing the "One Love" armband. The country's foreign minister, Hadja Lahbib, wore it as she watched Belgium's World Cup opener against Canada on Wednesday.

Former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt turned up at Denmark's match against Tunisia wearing an outfit with rainbow-colored sleeves. In an Instagram post a day later, she appeared conflicted about the choice of clothing.

"I've been reflecting on whether showing up in rainbow colors is actually helping gay and queer folks in Qatar," Thorning-Schmidt wrote in the post. She wondered whether it could "make things worse by hardening the Qatar government against them? I don't know the answer but doesn't it show us that nothing is binary, only good or only bad?"

Some fans have said that they were asked to remove and discard their rainbow hats at a World Cup stadium earlier this week despite assurances by FIFA before the tournament that such items would be allowed in stadiums.

Justin Martin, a U.S. citizen living in Qatar, said he was holding a small rainbow flag on the metro on his way to the U.S. opener against Wales when two people wearing shirts that identified them as volunteers asked him to put the flag away. He didn't want to.

"One of them became agitated and ... referred to me as 'disgusting,'" said Martin, an associate professor of journalism at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

At the stadium, however, a woman in Qatari police uniform who was searching his bag found the rainbow flag, looked at it and put it back, he said. "I actually wasn't prohibited from bringing that into the stadium."

Martin said he had previously worn a pride T-shirt in Qatar to the grocery store or to exercise without any issues.

Some Wales fans said they were prevented from taking rainbow bucket hats to the game against the U.S., prompting the Wales soccer federation to raise the issue with FIFA, which assured them that rainbow symbols would be allowed for Friday's game against Iran.

Laura McAllister, a former Wales captain who acts as ambassador to the World Cup, said she and other fans wore rainbow hats to Friday's game without problems. She said she was among those asked to remove their hats before the earlier game with the U.S.

The Qatari World Cup organizing committee did not provide answers to questions by The Associated Press on the instructions to stadium security and volunteers about rainbow symbols.

In April, a Qatari official suggested that fans carrying rainbow flags could have them removed to protect them from possible attacks.

The issue has been debated frequently in Qatar and the wider Middle East, where many believe it's only fair for visitors to respect the country's laws, customs and religious beliefs, just like people from the region are expected to honor other nations' rules when they travel. Others counter that rights' issues are universal and that sports must be inclusive.

Ahead of the tournament, some LGBTQ rights activists sought to raise concerns about how LGBTQ people in Qatar may be treated after the World Cup ends. Some of them have also argued that international attention was disproportionately focused on the visitors and not enough on LGBTQ people in the country.

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Associated Press writers Karl Ritter and Graham Dunbar contributed.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

As Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to serve as Israel's prime minister again, he is calling a meeting between former U.S. President Donald Trump and rapper "Ye," formerly known as Kanye West, "wrong and misplaced."

"Ye" allegedly brought far-right activist Nick Fuentes along with him on the meeting, with the circumstances around how the three came to meet still unclear.

Netanyahu called the meeting with Kanye a "mistake," and said, "I condemned Kanye West's antisemitic statements. President Trump's decision to dine with this person I think is wrong and misplaced. He shouldn't do that. I think he made a mistake. I hope it's not repeated."

Netanyahu added that Trump "has been a tremendous supporter of Israel … and the Jewish people."

He said he is "unabashedly appreciative" of Trump's policy actions regarding Israel while he was in the White House.

Donald Trump approved a move to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem while he was president.

As Axios reported, Trump also recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, while withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won election in Israel to return as prime minister this year. He was the country's longest serving prime minister since Israel achieved independence.

A Senate committee is scheduled to review legislation aimed at repealing multiple authorizations passed in previous administrations for wars in Iraq.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer confirmed on Wednesday that Congress has intensified its focus on determining the legislative body's place when it comes to decisions on sending U.S. troops to combat zones.

While the Senate Foreign Relations Committee didn't appear to make an official announcement ahead of its planned meeting, Reuters reported that it would focus on the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, according to Sen. Schumer.

A full vote could be expected before lawmakers depart for their April recess.

The Biden Administration is exploring "other options" to ensure Iran never receives a nuclear weapon as a diplomatic solution appears to be off the table. 

White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby told Scripps News that while the president would prefer to use diplomacy in achieving that goal, "diplomacy right now is not possible." 

"Iran was negotiating in good faith, and now, based on everything else they're doing — supporting Russia and Ukraine by sending them drones, killing and brutalizing their own people who are protesting, in addition to all the other destabilizing activities that Iran is doing in the region, it's clear that a return to the Iran deal diplomatically is not on the agenda," he explained. 

The comment comes after reporting from The Times of Israel in which Yaakov Amidror, a former head of Israel's National Security Council (2011-2013) said Israel needs to be ready for war with Iran without the U.S. 

"We need to prepare for war. It's possible that we will reach a point where we have to attack Iran even without American assistance," Amidror, a hawkish former general who served as National Security Council chief under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2011-2013, said in an interview with Radio 103 FM. 

Just weeks ago, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley made waves while testifying before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, saying "Iran will not have a fielded nuclear weapon." 

The term "fielded" caused concern the administration would allow Iran to have one as long as it was not deployed. 

Gen. Milley also told lawmakers "Iran could produce fissile material for a nuclear weapon in less than two weeks and would only take several more months to produce an actual nuclear weapon." 

Kirby emphasized that the president's goal has always been to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. 

"Period. That's his policy. And we're sticking to that," he said.

SEE MORE: Biden aide, Saudi prince see 'progress' toward Yemen war end

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Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com

The U.S. and its allies restart Iran nuclear talks on Monday unsure how Tehran's new government will approach negotiations, not optimistic about the prospects ahead and emphasizing that if diplomacy fails, the U.S. is "prepared to use other options."

The parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action will reconvene in Vienna after almost six months to discuss a mutual return to the deal by both the U.S. and Iran, but the hiatus has given time for new obstacles to take root.

Video above: Trump's Iran deal exit 'very bad judgments,' Biden said earlier this month

On Friday, Iran announced yet more advances in its uranium enrichment, which reduces the amount of time Tehran would need to develop a nuclear weapon, if it chooses to, an announcement clearly meant to give Iran leverage when it arrives in Vienna for talks.

Other parties to the agreement -- including Germany, the UK, Britain, France, China and Russia -- are coming into the talks calling for negotiations to pick up where they left off. European sources tell CNN they expect the Iranians to treat the meeting as "round one." U.S. officials have expressed similar concerns.

The recently elected hardline government in Tehran will send a new set of negotiators to Vienna who have been emphasizing the need for complete U.S. sanctions relief, not compliance with the deal, while U.S. officials have said they have absolutely no plans to offer Iran incentives to talk.

'The time to choose is short'

And senior U.S. officials have repeatedly warned that if advances in Iran's nuclear program and enrichment capability continue unabated, they could render the benefits of the JCPOA moot -- a development that would force the U.S. to pursue other options.

"We are still hopeful that diplomacy can find a way," Brett McGurk, the National Security Council's coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, told the Manama Dialogue organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "But if it cannot find a way, we are prepared to use other options."

"There is no question, we are not going to allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon, period," McGurk said. "And when it came to military force for behavior change, that is a pretty fuzzy objective for a military force. When it comes to military force to prevent a country from obtaining a nuclear weapon, that is a very achievable objective."

U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley said in a tweet after a Nov. 18 meeting with Middle Eastern allies and European parties to the deal that Iran could choose one of two paths: "continued nuclear escalation & crisis, or mutual return to the JCPOA, creating opportunities for regional economic & diplomatic ties."

"Time to choose is short," Malley wrote.

Sources familiar with preparations for the talks say that the parties were closely watching International Atomic Energy Agency director Rafael Grossi's visit to Tehran last week, seeing it as an indication of Iran's approach to the talks in Vienna, those sources said. Grossi told the IAEA board afterward that the talks were "inconclusive."

One of the contentious issues remaining is that Iran is refusing inspectors from the IAEA monitoring access to the Karaj centrifuge production facility, which reports suggest has resumed operations.

"This is seriously affecting the [IAEA's] ability to restore continuity of knowledge at the [Karaj] workshop, which has been widely recognized as essential in relation to a return to the JCPOA," Grossi told a Board of Governors meeting on Wednesday.

The Arms Control Association noted that Iran's refusal to allow the IAEA to install new cameras or confirm that production hasn't restarted could undermine attempts to revitalize the JCPOA and its strict verification regime if it isn't possible to fully complete records of Iran's nuclear program. Tehran's refusal to grant access to Karaj also drives speculation and concern about what, exactly, Iran is doing, the ACA said.

'No choice'

On Thursday, the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna told the IAEA meeting that "if Iran's non-cooperation is not immediately remedied ... especially the restoration of continuity of knowledge at Karaj, the Board will have no choice but to reconvene in extraordinary session before the end of this year in order to address the crisis."

Meanwhile, on Friday, Iran announced its stock of 60% enriched uranium has grown to 66 pounds and its amount of 20% enriched uranium had also increased. Both levels are much closer to weapons-grade uranium which is enriched above 90%.

According to the Arms Control Association, enriching uranium to 20% "constitutes about 90 percent of the necessary work to enrich to weapons-grade."

As Iran's stockpiles grow, the ACA says, its breakout time, or the time it would take to produce enough uranium enriched to weapons-grade for one bomb, decreases. The ACA estimates that Iran's current breakout time is likely about one month, down from 12 months when the JCPOA was fully implemented.

Enrichment was limited under the JCPOA, which the U.S. left unilaterally in May 2018 under former President Donald Trump. Iran restarted enrichment last year to pressure the U.S. to ease sanctions.

'A very uncertain proposition'

State Department spokesman Ned Price reflected the ambiguity surrounding the resumed talks on Nov. 22, calling the mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA "a very uncertain proposition."

The next day, Price told reporters in Washington that, "it is our hope that the new government in Iran shows up in Vienna and shows up in Vienna ready to negotiate in good faith to build on the progress that had been achieved in the previous six rounds of negotiations."

But he added that the U.S. has "been very clear that we are not prepared to take unilateral steps solely for the benefit of greasing the wheel" to get the talks going again. Former President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. from the deal in 2018.

Sources familiar with the preparations for the talks have told CNN that the U.S. and its allies are not at a point where they would begin offering Iran confidence-building measures, but one official said there is a possibility the U.S. and its allies could employ them down the road. As a result, incentives for Iran won't be discussed at this week's meetings in Vienna, where the U.S. and allies will be focused on simply taking the temperature and seeking to advance from where they left off months ago, U.S. and European sources explained.

'Plan B'

Everyone involved in the talks is mindful of the ticking clock. The sources told CNN that there's still time to reach a deal, but it would likely run out by the end of next year. For now, they said there is no hard and fast "Plan B" yet.

Critics of the deal say that the Biden administration has sacrificed leverage by easing pressure on Iran while it builds up its nuclear program.

"The Biden administration's Iran policy is failing, and without a significant course correction that policy will either result in Iranian nuclear weapons or in a war to stop that development," said Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Dubowitz argued that the administration's approach will allow Iran to rebuild toward a "lethal end state" of with pathways to nuclear weapons and a robust nuclear infrastructure.

"Israel is going to have no choice but to use military force to stop Iran's nuclear weapons before Tehran reaches this lethal end state," Dubowitz said.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has been making clear that Israel will be prepared to act if necessary. Addressing delegates at a security conference near Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Bennett said that "if there is a return to the JCPOA, Israel obviously is not a party to the agreement and is not obligated by it."

Bennett complained that after the nuclear deal was signed in 2015, the "State of Israel simply went to sleep. We were occupied with other things. We will learn from this mistake. We will maintain our freedom of action," he said.

Western officials have tried to argue to the Israelis that attacks on Israel's nuclear program are not very useful when the overall goal is to come up with a comprehensive solution, and especially when the Iranians have sped up their capability to rebuild after attacks, sources familiar with the Iran talks have told CNN.

Western officials have also raised the danger of Iran responding with kinetic action, but sources familiar with the talks say Israeli officials still seem to think that it is still an effective tool to show their capabilities.

Asked about those warnings, Price said that, "at the end of the day, the United States and Israel, we share a common objective here, and that is to see to it that Iran is verifiably and permanently prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon. And we continue to believe that diplomacy in coordination with our allies and partners -- and that, of course, includes Israel -- is the best path to achieve that goal."

"We've also been very clear that this is not a process that can go on indefinitely and if the Iranians through their actions or through their inactions demonstrate or suggest that they lack that good faith, that they lack that clarity of purpose, we'll have to turn to other means," Price said Tuesday. "We have a variety of other means we're discussing those with our allies and partners."

Diplomatic flurry

In recent weeks, U.S. officials have conducted a flurry of diplomacy with regional powers and other parties to the deal, working to forge a united front.

President Joe Biden met with European partners to discuss Iran during the June G7 meetings in the UK. In recent weeks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also conferred with European allies, as well as China and Russia, on Iran. And Malley recently met with Gulf countries, Israeli officials and European partners in the JCPOA.

"I think the Iranians believe they have some eastward option with Russia and China in which they can circumvent the pressure of sanctions," McGurk said on Sunday. "And that is just wrong. And so I think we are approaching the talks at the end of November as a pretty united front with the P5+1."

Evacuation flights from Kabul are back on — just a day after a suicide bombing killed 13 American service members and dozens of Afghans. 

But for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Afghans, the window for getting airlifted to safety is quickly closing. 

"It is not possible for our family to make it to the airport, and now the situation is really scary," said former interpreter Hadi Zalmay.

As days are becoming just hours away from the deadline for the United States withdrawal, Afghan interpreters told Newsy they are feeling increasingly hopeless.  

Another former interpreter, Abdul, said, "Today I tried all of the airport gates and all of the gates were closed and the main road was blocked."

Even those brave enough to try another trip to the airport face a grim reality. 

"The Taliban are beating us," Abdul said. "They are not letting us inside the airport."

The threat level remains high. President Biden's national security team warned him on Friday that another terror attack in Kabul is likely. 

"The threat is ongoing and it is active," said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. "Our troops are in danger and that continues to be the case every day that they are there."

The White House said Friday that over 12,000 people had been airlifted over the previous 24 hours — despite the attacks.  

Sources confirmed to Newsy that some evacuees are now being escorted in by bus or helicopter because of continued terrorism threats.    

But for Afghan allies left behind, it all feels unfair. 

"Who are these people in the buses? Who are they, where are they going? We don't have any information," Abdul said. "Please. Help us, please."

The U.S. says coalition forces have evacuated more than 100,000 people since Aug. 14 in one of the largest airlift operations ever.   

But rights groups estimate that twice as many Afghans who may be eligible for expedited American visas remain in Afghanistan.   

"I don't know what happens to our case or what will happen to us, to our future, our life, to our kids," Zalmay said. 

Outside of Kabul, thousands of Afghans have been fleeing by land to Pakistan and Iran these past couple of weeks. 

The United Nations says up to half a million people could flee in a "worst-case scenario" in the coming months. 

This story was originally reported by Ben Schamisso on Newsy.com.

"The situation right now is very dire," Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director for the Human Rights Watch, said.

As the Taliban take control of Afghanistan, women and girls are beginning to live under the return of a very dark reality. 

"The Taliban ruled over Afghanistan for five years until 2001, and they harbored al-Qaeda. Their rule was ghastly, and it was harsh, and there are many concerns that the rights of women over the past 20 years could be rolled back in an instant," Aya Batrawy, Gulf correspondent for the Associated Press, said.

Across the country, observers report the Taliban has already become violent against women and girls for not obeying Islamic extremism rules that reject western influence.  

Nilofar is a displaced teacher from the Takhar province. She says the Taliban recently lashed girls from her school for their choice of footwear, sandals, that were too revealing. 

"They are already also seeking out people that were associated with the current government. We are aware of a number of executions of people have been taken into Taliban custody," Gossman said.

As reports surface of girls being told not to attend school, the Taliban says education will be allowed, so long as "Islamic Sharia laws are not neglected."

"When we consider women and girls, all those who've had their lives advanced, this is searing. It is hard stuff," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC News.

Some women are even being told to stay home and give their jobs to male relatives. 

"I am worried about the women who are vocal, but more importantly, I’m more worried about the girls who cannot talk, who don't have a platform, who cannot represent themselves," Pashtana Dorani, executive director of LEARN, said.

And this may be the beginning.

Meg Hilling at Newsy first reported this story.

WASHINGTON —

Without coming right out and saying it, President Joe Biden seems ready to let lapse a May 1 deadline for completing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Orderly withdrawals take time, and Biden is running out of it.

Biden has inched so close to the deadline that his indecision amounts almost to a decision to put off, at least for a number of months, a pullout of the remaining 2,500 troops and continue supporting the Afghan military at the risk of a Taliban backlash. Removing all of the troops and their equipment in the next three weeks — along with coalition partners who can't get out on their own — would be difficult logistically, as Biden himself suggested in late March.

"It's going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline," he said. "Just in terms of tactical reasons, it's hard to get those troops out." Tellingly, he added, "And if we leave, we're going to do so in a safe and orderly way."

James Stavidis, a retired Navy admiral who served as NATO's top commander from 2009 to 2013, says it would be unwise at this point to get out quickly.

"Sometimes not making a decision becomes a decision, which seems the case with the May 1 deadline," Stavidis said in an email exchange Wednesday. "The most prudent course of action feels like a six-month extension and an attempt to get the Taliban truly meeting their promises — essentially permitting a legitimate 'conditions based' withdrawal in the fall."

There are crosscurrents of pressure on Biden. On the one hand, he has argued for years, including during his time as vice president, when President Barack Obama ordered a huge buildup of U.S. forces, that Afghanistan is better handled as a smaller-scale counterterrorism mission. Countering Russia and China has since emerged as a higher priority.

On the other hand, current and former military officers have argued that leaving now, with the Taliban in a position of relative strength and the Afghan government in a fragile state, would risk losing what has been gained in 20 years of fighting.

"A withdrawal would not only leave America more vulnerable to terrorist threats; it would also have catastrophic effects in Afghanistan and the region that would not be in the interest of any of the key actors, including the Taliban," a bipartisan experts group known as the Afghan Study Group concluded in a February report. The group, whose co-chair, retired Gen. Joseph Dunford, is a former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, recommended Biden extend the deadline beyond May, preferably with some sort of agreement by the Taliban.

If the troops stay, Afghanistan will become Biden's war. His decisions, now and in coming months, could determine the legacy of a 2001 U.S. invasion that was designed as a response to al-Qaida's Sept. 11 attacks, for which the extremist group led by Osama bin Laden used Afghanistan as a haven.

Biden said during the 2020 campaign that if elected he might keep a counterterrorism force in Afghanistan but also would "end the war responsibly" to ensure U.S. forces never have to return. The peace talks that began last fall between the Taliban and the Afghan government are seen as the best hope, but they have produced little so far.

Postponing the U.S. withdrawal carries the risk of the Taliban resuming attacks on U.S. and coalition forces, possibly escalating the war. In a February 2020 agreement with the administration of President Donald Trump, the Taliban agreed to halt such attacks and hold peace talks with the Afghan government, in exchange for a U.S. commitment to a complete withdrawal by May 2021.

Related file video: Taliban violence casts shadow over US withdrawal

When he entered the White House in January, Biden knew of the looming deadline and had time to meet it if he had chosen to do so. It became a steep logistical hurdle only because he put off a decision in favor of consulting at length inside his administration and with allies. Flying thousands of troops and their equipment out of Afghanistan in the next three weeks under the potential threat of Taliban resistance is not technically impossible, although it would appear to violate Biden's promise not to rush.

Biden undertook a review of the February 2020 agreement shortly after taking office, and as recently as Tuesday aides said he was still contemplating a way ahead in Afghanistan. White House press secretary Jen Psaki stressed that May 1 was a deadline set by the prior administration and that a decision was complicated.

"But it's also an important decision — one he needs to make in close consultation with our allies and also with our national security team here in this administration," Psaki said. "And we want to give him the time to do that."

In briefings on Afghanistan, Biden would have heard from military commanders such as Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, who have said publicly and repeatedly that the Taliban have not fully lived up to the commitments they made in the February 2020 agreement. McKenzie and others have said violence levels are too high for a durable political settlement to be made.

Congress has been cautious about reducing the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. Last year it expressly forbade the Pentagon from using funds to reduce below 4,000 troops, but the Pentagon went ahead anyway after Trump ordered a reduction to 2,500 after he lost the election. Trump got around the legal prohibition by signing a waiver.

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip —

Related video above: Hamas militants celebrate ceasefire in Gaza

It took Ramez al-Masri three years to rebuild his home after it was destroyed in a 2014 Israeli offensive. When war returned to the area last week, it took just a few seconds for the house to be flattened again in an Israeli airstrike.

The despondent al-Masri once again finds himself among the thousands of Gazans left homeless by another war between Israel and the territory's Islamic militant Hamas rulers. He and the 16 others who lived in the two-story structure are scattered at relatives' homes, uncertain how long they will remain displaced as they wait with hope for international aid to help them rebuild the home.

"My children are scattered — two there, three here, one there. Things are really very difficult," he said. "We live in death every day as long as there is an occupation," he said, referring to Israel's rule over Palestinians, including its blockade of Gaza.

The United Nations estimates that about 1,000 homes were destroyed in the 11-day war that ended last Friday. Lynn Hastings, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the region, said hundreds of additional housing units were damaged so badly they are likely uninhabitable.

The destruction is less extensive than in the 50-day war of 2014, in which entire neighborhoods were reduced to rubble and 141,000 homes were either wiped out or damaged.

But following that war, international donors quickly pledged $2.7 billion in reconstruction assistance for the battered enclave. It remains unclear this time around whether the international community, fatigued from the global COVID-19 crisis and years of unsuccessful Mideast diplomacy, will be ready to open its wallet again.

Related video: Biden: 'no shift' in commitment to Israel's security

It was 3 a.m. on Wednesday when the phone call from Israel came to a neighbor ordering everyone in the area to evacuate. "Leave your homes, we are going to bomb," al-Masri says they were told.

The neighborhood is home to members of al-Masri's extended family. At the time of the warning, he said no one knew which house might be targeted. But he could not believe that the airstrike hit the two-floor home where he lived with his eight children, his brother's family and their mother.

"If we knew someone was wanted, we would not have stayed here from the outset," he said. Al-Masri, who owns a small grocery store, said neither he nor his brother have anything to do with militant groups.

The airstrike turned his home into a crater. On Sunday, the massive hole was filled with murky water spewing from broken water and sewage lines.

Seven adjacent homes belonging to relatives were badly damaged. Their walls were blown up, exposing the colorful interior decorations of the living and bedrooms. The blast was so powerful that concrete support beams were weakened and the houses are likely beyond repair.

On Sunday, a mobile pump was deployed to suck the stinky water out as bulldozers worked to reopen streets. City workers were removing damaged power lines. But much of the rubble remained uncleared.

After the 2014 war, al-Masri bounced around between rental homes and "caravans" — small metal huts that dotted hard-hit areas of Gaza like shantytowns. He dreads the thought of returning to the temporary shelters.

"Life was disastrous in the caravans. We were living between two sheets of tin," he said.

He said he hopes the international community "will stand by us, try to help us so we can rebuild quickly."

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment on why the home had been targeted.

Throughout the fighting, it accused Hamas of using residential areas as cover for rocket launches and other militant activity. The army says its system of warnings and evacuation orders is meant to prevent civilians from being harmed.

During the recent fighting, Israel unleashed hundreds of airstrikes across Gaza at what it said were militant targets. Hamas and other armed groups fired more than 4,000 rockets toward Israeli cities, most of which were intercepted or landed in open areas.

The fighting began May 10, when Hamas militants in Gaza fired long-range rockets toward Jerusalem. The barrage came after days of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police at Al-Aqsa. Heavy-handed police tactics at the compound and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers had inflamed tensions.

The true costs of the war will not be known for some time. Palestinian health officials said 248 Palestinians, including 66 children and 39 women, were killed in the fighting.

Twelve people in Israel, including two children, also died in the fighting.

On Sunday morning, hundreds of municipal workers and volunteers started a one-week campaign to clear rubble from Gaza City's streets.

Outside a flattened high-rise building, workers loaded rubble into donkey carts and small pickup trucks. Next to a destroyed government building, children collected cables and whatever recyclable leftovers they could sell for a few shekels.

In Beit Hanoun, one of the homes that was struck last week belonged to Nader al-Masri, Ramez's cousin and a long-distance runner who participated in dozens of international competitions. Since he lost his house in the 2014 war, Nader, 41, has lived in the second of floor of a three-floor home belonging to relatives.

The third and the first floors sustained heavy hits. A room filled with medals and trophies that Nader collected through his 20-year career was damaged. Fortunately, he said, many of his mementos survived.

Nader al-Masri is familiar with loss. Beit Hanoun, situated just along the frontier with Israel, has frequently been the scene of heavy fighting, and his home has been damaged two previous times.

"I had over 150 trophies. In each of the previous wars, I lost one or two or three," he said. Some 20 glass awards have been shattered over the years. "Each war the number drops," he said, showing a medal from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

As a world-class runner from 1998 to 2018, Nader was one of Gaza's most famous residents, especially after Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza following Hamas' takeover of the territory in 2007.

The blockade often prevented him from traveling abroad to compete. In many cases, he arrived just in time for his races.

On Sunday, debris filled his apartment. The ceiling of his daughters' bedroom was cracked. The bright layers of paint had fallen off, exposing gloomy, dark plaster. School backpacks lay on the ground among shards and debris.

Nader, now a coach with the Palestinian Athletics Federation, moved his five children to their uncle's house.

"I'm an athlete and have nothing to do with politics," he said. "Things are difficult because we cannot build a home every day."

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel has approved a cease-fire plan to halt an 11-day military operation in the Gaza Strip, according to multiple reports. President Joe Biden is expected to make remarks about the agreement at 5:45 p.m. ET.

The Associated Press reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayaho’s office announced the cease-fire Thursday, saying his security cabinet unilaterally approved a proposal mediated by Egypt.

A Hamas official told Reuters that the ceasefire would be “mutual and simultaneous,” though the organization has not yet publicly commented on the reported cease-fire.

A statement from Netnayaho’s office said the sides are still determining when the truce will take effect. But local outlets have reported it would go into effect at 2 a.m. local time.

The cease-fire decision came amid global pressure on both Israel and Hamas to quell the violence that has erupted in Gaza in the past week.

Reports indicated earlier on Thursday that the two sides could agree to a ceasefire soon. According to reports from CNN and the Wall Street Journal, a cease-fire in Gaza was "imminent" and could occur as soon as this week.

At a press briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the reports "encouraging" and added that the administration is continuing to implement its policy in the region "quietly and through diplomatic channels."

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Egyptian officials have made headway in negotiations with Hamas leadership. That report came hours after President Joe Biden, in a call Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called for "significant de-escalation" in the region and urged him to find a "path to a cease-fire."

Following that call, Netanyahu released a statement saying that he remains committed to the military operation. However, Biden administration officials told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that they believe "a cease-fire could come this week, barring any unforeseen clashes that might topple the fragile discussions."

During Thursday's briefing, Psaki declined to disclose if Israel had met Biden's calls for "significant de-escalation."

"We're not going to give a day-by-day grade here," she said adding that Hamas and Israel are "to a point where they should be in a position to end this conflict."

Prior to Wednesday's call, the Biden White House had primarily avoided directly appealing to Israel to reduce violence. Earlier this week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki maintained that while the U.S. is committed to de-escalating violence in the region, she added that the Biden administration believed that Israel had a right to defend itself.

According to CNN, more than 220 Palestinians, including more than 60 children, had been killed in the 10 days of violence. CNN added that during that time span, 12 Israelis had been killed, including two children.

While Hamas, a Palestinian fundamentalist military operation, has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, Israeli defense systems have shot down the majority of those missiles.

There appears to be progress between the U.S. and Iran to get both nations back in line with the 2015 nuclear deal. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with international leaders Tuesday for the G7 summit in London, but he's downplayed any reports of an imminent deal with Iran. 

Despite that, two of the nuclear deal's biggest supporters in Congress, Democratic Senators Chris Coons and Chris Murphy, are currently touring the Middle East. 

Secretary Blinken joined his counterpart for a news conference in London yesterday and he also addressed reports coming out of Iran in regards to American prisoners being held in the country.

Iran says a deal has been struck to get hostages back to the U.S. In exchange for billions of dollars, but Blinken says that's not true. 

"I have no higher priority than bringing arbitrarily detained Americans, American hostages home to the United States. And that's across the board," he said. "And as Dominic said, the reports coming out of Tehran are not accurate. We are very closely engaged, ourselves, on this issue and will remain so." 

While these types of prisoner swaps are common, they hold more weight between the two countries now as talks over the nuclear deal continue. 

This story originally reported by Eliana Moreno on Newsy.com.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip —

Turmoil from the battle between Israel and Hamas spilled over into the West Bank on Friday, sparking the most widespread Palestinian protests in years as hundreds of young demonstrators in multiple towns clashed with Israeli troops, who shot and killed at least 11 people.

Video above: Palestinians in Gaza seek shelter in UN schools

Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip continued into early Saturday, when an airstrike on a house in Gaza City killed at least seven Palestinians — the highest number of fatalities in a single hit. That strike came a day after a furious overnight barrage of tank fire and airstrikes that wreaked destruction in some towns, killed a family of six in their house and sent thousands fleeing their homes.

The Israeli military said the operation involved 160 warplanes dropping some 80 tons of explosives over the course of 40 minutes and succeeded in destroying a network of tunnels used by Hamas to elude airstrikes and surveillance.

Israel appeared determined to inflict as much damage as possible on Gaza's Hamas rulers before international efforts for a cease-fire accelerated. Since Monday night, Hamas has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, which has pounded the Gaza Strip with strikes. In Gaza, at least 126 people have been killed, including 31 children and 20 women; in Israel, seven people have been killed, including a 6-year-old boy and a soldier.

Houda Ouda said she and her extended family ran frantically into their home in the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, seeking safety as the earth shook in the darkness.

"We even did not dare to look from the window to know what is being hit," she said. When daylight came, she saw the destruction: streets cratered, buildings crushed or with facades blown off, an olive tree burned bare, dust covering everything.

The latest airstrike targeted a three-story house on the edge of a refugee camp. Said Alghoul, who lives nearby, said Israeli warplanes dropped at least three bombs on the home without warning residents in advance.

"I could not endure and ran back to my home," he said. Rescuers called a bulldozer to dig through the rubble for survivors or bodies.

Shortly afterward, Hamas said it fired a salvo of rockets at southern Israel in response to the airstrike.

The conflict, which was sparked by tensions in Jerusalem during the past month, has reverberated widely. Israeli cities with mixed Arab and Jewish populations have seen daily violence, with mobs from each community clashing and trashing each other's property. New clashes broke out Friday in the coastal city of Acre.

In the occupied West Bank, on the outskirts of Ramallah, Nablus and other towns and cities, hundreds of Palestinians protested against the Gaza campaign and Israeli actions in Jerusalem. Waving Palestinian flags, they trucked in tires that they set up in burning barricades and hurled stones at Israeli soldiers. At least 10 protesters were shot and killed by soldiers. An 11th Palestinian was killed when he tried to stab a soldier at a military position.

In east Jerusalem, online video showed young Jewish nationalists firing pistols as they traded volleys of stone with Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah, which became a flashpoint for tensions over attempts by settlers to forcibly evict a number of Palestinian families from their homes.

On Israel's northern border, troops opened fire when a group of Lebanese and Palestinian protesters on the other side cut through the border fence and briefly crossed. One Lebanese was killed. Three rockets were fired toward Israel from neighboring Syria, but they either landed in Syrian territory or in empty areas, Israeli media said. It was not immediately known who fired them.

The spiraling violence has raised fears of a new Palestinian "intifada," or uprising, at a time when the peace process has been virtually nonexistent for years. The tensions began in east Jerusalem earlier this month, with Palestinian protests against the Sheikh Jarrah evictions and Israeli police measures at Al-Aqsa Mosque, a frequent flashpoint located on a mount in the Old City revered by Muslims and Jews.

Hamas fired rockets toward Jerusalem late Monday, in an apparent attempt to present itself as the champion of the protesters. In the conflict that spiraled from there, Israel says it wants to inflict as much damage as it can on Hamas' military infrastructure in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Hamas would "pay a very heavy price" for its rocket attacks. Israel called up 9,000 reservists Thursday to join its troops massed at the Gaza border.

An Egyptian intelligence official said Israel had turned down an Egyptian proposal for a one-year cease-fire that Hamas had accepted. The official, who was close to Egypt's talks with both sides, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal negotiations.

On Friday, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Israel-Palestinian affairs, Hady Amr, arrived in Israel as part of an attempt by Washington to de-escalate the conflict.

U.S. President Joe Biden gave a show of support to Netanyahu in a call a day earlier, saying "there has not been a significant overreaction" in Israel's response to Hamas rockets. He said the aim is to get a "significant reduction in attacks, particularly rocket attacks."

Hamas has fired some 2,000 rockets toward Israel since Monday, according to the Israeli military. Most have been intercepted by anti-missile defenses, but they have brought life to a standstill in southern Israeli cities, caused disruptions at airports and have set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Rafat Tanani, his pregnant wife and four children, ages 7 and under, were killed after an Israeli warplane reduced their four-story apartment building to rubble in the neighboring town of Beit Lahia, residents said. Four strikes hit the building, Rafat's brother Fadi said. The building's owner and his wife also were killed.

"It was a massacre," said Sadallah Tanani, another relative. "My feelings are indescribable."

When the sun rose Friday, residents streamed out of the area in pickup trucks, on donkeys and on foot, taking pillows, blankets, pots and pans and bread. Thousands took shelter inside 16 schools run by the United Nations relief agency UNWRA, agency spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna said.

Mohammed Ghabayen, who took refuge in a school with his family, said his children had eaten nothing since the day before, and they had no mattresses to sleep on. "And this is in the shadow of the coronavirus crisis," he said. "We don't know whether to take precautions for the coronavirus or the rockets or what to do exactly."

Israeli military officials cheered the operation as a successful blow against the tunnel network. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said 160 warplanes operated in a "synchronized manner" for about 40 minutes as part of the operation.

He said the military aims to minimize collateral damage in striking military targets. But measures the military takes in other strikes, such as warning shots to get civilians to leave, were not "feasible this time."

Military correspondents in Israeli media said the military believed dozens of militants were killed inside the tunnels. The Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups have confirmed 20 deaths in their ranks, but the Israeli military said the real number is far higher.

"We turned the tunnels which they thought were death traps for our soldiers into traps for them." Reserve Air Force Col. Koby Regev said on Israeli television.

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Keath reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Samy Magdy in Cairo also contributed to this report.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip —

Israel on Wednesday pressed ahead with a fierce military offensive in the Gaza Strip, killing as many as 10 senior Hamas military figures and toppling a pair of high-rise towers housing Hamas facilities in airstrikes. The Islamic militant group showed no signs of backing down and fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli cities.

In just three days, this latest round of fighting between the bitter enemies has already begun to resemble — and even exceed — a devastating 50-day war in 2014. Like in that previous war, neither side appears to have an exit strategy.

But there are key differences. The fighting has triggered the worst Jewish-Arab violence inside Israel in decades. And looming in the background is an international war crimes investigation.

Israel carried out an intense barrage of airstrikes just after sunrise, striking dozens of targets in several minutes that set off bone-rattling explosions across Gaza. Airstrikes continued throughout the day, filling the sky with pillars of smoke.

At nightfall, the streets of Gaza City resembled a ghost town as people huddled indoors on the final night of Islam's holiest month of Ramadan. The evening, followed by the Eid al-Fitr holiday, is usually a time of vibrant night life, shopping and crowded restaurants.

"There is nowhere to run. There is nowhere to hide," said Zeyad Khattab, a 44-year-old pharmacist who fled with a dozen other relatives to a family home in central Gaza after bombs pounded his apartment building in Gaza City. "That terror is impossible to describe."

Gaza militants continued to bombard Israel with nonstop rocket fire throughout the day and into early Thursday. The attacks brought life to a standstill in southern communities near Gaza, but also reached as far north as the Tel Aviv area, about 45 miles to the north, for a second straight day.

The military said sirens also wailed in northern Israel's Emek area, or Jezreel Valley, the farthest the effects of Gaza rockets have reached since 2014.

"We're coping, sitting at home, hoping it will be OK," said Motti Haim, a resident of the central town of Beer Yaakov and father of two children. "It's not simple running to the shelter. It's not easy with the kids."

Gaza's Health Ministry said the death toll rose to 69 Palestinians, including 16 children and six women. Islamic Jihad confirmed the deaths of seven militants, while Hamas acknowledged that a top commander and several other members were killed.

Rescuers pulled the bodies of a man and his wife from the debris of their home that was hit by rockets in the latest Israeli airstrikes early Thursday, relatives said.

A total of seven people have been killed in Israel, including four people who died on Wednesday. Among them were a soldier killed by an anti-tank missile and a 6-year-old child hit in a rocket attack.

The Israeli military claims the number of militants killed so far is much higher than Hamas has acknowledged.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said at least 14 militants were killed Wednesday — including 10 members of the "top management of Hamas" and four weapons experts. Altogether, he claimed some 30 militants have been killed since the fighting began.

More raids conducted early Thursday were aimed at several "strategically significant" facilities for Hamas, including a bank and a compound for a naval squad, the military said.

Video: Escalating violence engulfs Israel and Gaza

While United Nations and Egyptian officials have said that cease-fire efforts are underway, there were no signs of progress. Israeli television's Channel 12 reported late Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet authorized a widening of the offensive.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the "indiscriminate launching of rockets" from civilian areas in Gaza toward Israeli population centers, but he also urged Israel to show "maximum restraint." U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken called Netanyahu to support Israel's right to defend itself and said he was sending a senior diplomat to the region to try to calm tensions.

The current eruption of violence began a month ago in Jerusalem, where heavy-handed Israeli police tactics during Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers ignited protests and clashes with police. A focal point was the Al-Aqsa Mosque, built on a hilltop compound that is revered by Jews and Muslims, where police fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters who threw chairs and stones at them.

Hamas, claiming to be defending Jerusalem, launched a barrage of rockets at the city late Monday, setting off days of fighting.

The Israeli military says militants have fired about 1,500 rockets in just three days. That is roughly one-third the number fired during the entire 2014 war.

Israel, meanwhile, has struck over 350 targets in Gaza, a tiny territory where 2 million Palestinians have lived under a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade since Hamas took power in 2007. Two infantry brigades were sent to the area, indicating preparations for a possible ground invasion.

In tactics echoing past wars, Israel has begun to target senior members of Hamas' military wing. It also has flattened three high-rise buildings in a tactic that has drawn international scrutiny in the past.

Israel says the buildings all housed Hamas operations centers, but they also included residential apartments and businesses. In all cases, Israel fired warning shots, allowing people to flee, and there were no reports of casualties.

The fighting has set off violent clashes between Arabs and Jews in Israel, in scenes unseen since 2000. Netanyahu warned that he was prepared to use an "iron fist if necessary" to calm the violence.

But ugly clashes erupted across the country late Wednesday. Jewish and Arab mobs battled in the central city of Lod, the epicenter of the troubles, despite a state of emergency and nighttime curfew. In nearby Bat Yam, a mob of Jewish nationalists attacked an Arab motorist, dragged him from his car and beat him until he was motionless.

In the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military said it thwarted a Palestinian shooting attack that wounded two people. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the suspected gunman was killed. No details were immediately available.

Still unclear is how the fighting in Gaza will affect Netanyahu's political future. He failed to form a government coalition after inconclusive parliamentary elections in March, and now his political rivals have three weeks to try to form one.

His rivals have courted a small Islamist Arab party. But the longer the fighting lasts, the more it could hamper their attempts at forming a coalition. It could also boost Netanyahu if another election is held, since security is his strong suit with the public.

Video: Biden says Israel has right to defend itself

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamic militant group seized power in Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.

The International Criminal Court has launched an investigation into possible war crimes by Israel and Hamas. In a brief statement, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she had noted "with great concern" the escalation of violence and "the possible commission of crimes."

The ICC is looking into Israeli actions in past wars in Gaza. Israel is not a member of the court, does not recognize the ICC's jurisdiction and rejects the accusations. But in theory, the ICC could issue warrants and try to arrest Israeli suspects while they are traveling overseas.

Conricus, the military spokesman, said Israeli forces respect international laws on armed conflict and do their utmost to minimize civilian casualties. Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the group fires rockets from residential areas.

Emanuel Gross, a professor emeritus the University of Haifa law school, said Israel should "take into consideration the concerns of the ICC." But he said he believes the military is on solid legal ground while rockets are striking Israeli cities.

"That's the real meaning of self defense," he said. "If you are attacked by a terrorist group, you defend yourself."

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Federman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed to this report.