Rabia Ali
27 August 2025•Update: 27 August 2025
ISTANBUL
Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Wednesday with, including Israeli strikes killing dozens of Palestinians including in Gaza, Syrian soldiers being killed in Israeli drone strikes near Damascus, and US President Donald Trump dismissing Russian doubts over Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as "posturing."
TOP STORIES
- Children among 57 killed in fresh Israeli strikes in Gaza Strip
At least 57 Palestinians were killed and dozens others injured in Israeli strikes on homes and tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to medics.
A medical source told Anadolu that seven Palestinians were killed and others injured when Israeli fighter jets struck a family home in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City.
Other incidents included the Israeli army killing three Palestinians and wounded others in a drone strike targeting a gathering of civilians in same neighborhood.
Seven more people were killed and several others injured in strikes targeting the Al-Saftawi neighborhood of northern Gaza City. Another Palestinian lost his life in an Israeli attack in the city center, while a child was killed in a helicopter strike on a residential apartment in the same area. Several people were also injured in a drone strike west of the city.
- 6 Syrian soldiers killed in Israeli drone strikes near Damascus
Six Syrian army personnel were killed Tuesday in Israeli drone strikes near the city of al-Kiswah south of Damascus, Syria’s state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV reported.
The broadcaster said Israeli drones targeted Syrian army positions in the Damascus countryside.
Following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime last December, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes that targeted military sites and assets across Syria, including fighter jets, missile systems and air defense installations, according to reports.
Israel also expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized buffer zone, a move that violated a 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria.
- Trump dismisses Russian doubts over Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as 'posturing'
Recent statements from Russian officials questioning the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amount to "posturing," US President Donald Trump said Tuesday.
“It doesn’t matter what they say. Everybody’s posturing. It’s all bulls‑‑-,” Trump told reporters following an over three-hour-long Cabinet meeting at the White House.
He was responding to a question on remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who on Sunday questioned Zelenskyy’s legitimacy.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit," Lavrov told broadcaster NBC News. "Legitimacy is another matter."
NEWS IN BRIEF
- Türkiye strongly condemned Israel’s expanding military attacks in Syria, saying they violate the country’s territorial integrity, unity and sovereignty.
- Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has ruled out joining the Abraham Accords, insisting that his country’s conflict with Israel is fundamentally different from that of other Arab states.
- UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang "strongly" condemned the latest Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip.
- The EU called on Israel to respect international humanitarian law, and described the recent Israeli strikes on Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza "completely unacceptable."
- Qatar said Israel has yet to respond to a recent Gaza ceasefire proposal.
- A World Health Organization official said the evacuation of the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza, which was attacked on Monday by Israel, would be "beyond disastrous."
- US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said Israel has agreed to withdraw from southern Lebanon if Hezbollah gives up its weapons.
- Germany will not support the recognition of the Palestinian statehood, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, despite growing calls for Berlin to change its position amid Israel's brutal war and ethnic cleansing policies in Gaza.
- North Korea denounced South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, accusing him of exposing his “true identity as a hypocrite” by calling for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during a recent visit to the US.
- Venezuela has requested support from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres amid escalating tensions with the US following its deployment of military assets in the Caribbean Sea, which it regards as "an attack on peace."
- US President Donald Trump said federal prosecutors will seek death penalty for individuals convicted of committing murder in the nation's capital.
- The UN called for patience and restraint regarding ongoing investigations into the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, warning against speculation in the absence of verified finding.
- Hundreds of thousands demonstrated in several cities across Israel to demand a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement with Palestinians.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
- Lebanon signs $250 million loan agreement with World Bank for postwar reconstruction
Lebanon said Tuesday it signed a $250 million loan agreement with the World Bank to rebuild infrastructure in areas damaged by Israeli attacks.
Finance Minister Yassine Jaber signed the agreement with Jean-Christophe Carret, the World Bank’s regional director, the Lebanese Finance Ministry said in a statement.
Jaber said the loan serves as “seed funding for a reconstruction fund” and expressed hope it could grow to $1 billion.
- Fed governor to file lawsuit against Trump's attempt to remove her
US President Donald Trump's attempt to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook is baseless, her attorney told Anadolu on Tuesday, adding that they will file a lawsuit against his decision.
“We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action," said Abbe David Lowell, from Lowell & Associates.
Trump announced he removed Cook from her position in an unprecedented move, citing allegations of mortgage fraud.
