The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said that it is preparing for a major offensive in the Rafah region of southern Gaza. The Israel Defense Ministry sources told that the IDF has prepared a road map for the evacuation of Palestinian civilians in the Rafah region of Gaza before a military offensive commences. As per sources, during the first two to three weeks, the IDF would evacuate the civilian population. There are around 1.3 million Palestinians in Rafah region with a large number of women and children.

An Israeli drone was shot down over Lebanon overnight on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said early on Monday. A surface-to-air missile was launched at the drone that was operating in Lebanese airspace, the IDF wrote on Telegram. The drone was hit and had landed in Lebanon, the IDF said. Fighter jets struck the missile launch site, it added.

South Korea will join hands with the US in optimising nuclear proliferation resistance in its research reactors for export, Seoul's science ministry said on Monday. A joint statement issued by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said the two countries plan to collaborate on designing research reactors and associated facilities developed by South Korea under the NNSA's Proliferation Resistance Optimisation-X (PRO-X) programme, according to the ministry.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to meet militant organisation Hamas' political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday in Istanbul, to discuss the ongoing Gaza war. Further details about the nature of discussions between the two were immediately unclear. Haniyeh on Wednesday met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Qatar for talks on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.

An explosion at a military base of a powerful Iran-allied militia in Iraq left one militiaman dead and eight others injured, the Iraqi army reported on Saturday amid reports that the facility came under airstrikes. The casualties resulted from a blast and a fire early Saturday at Camp Kalsu in the province of Babil in Iraq, housing premises of the Iraqi security forces and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), the Security Media Cell added. A committee has been formed to investigate the cause of the blast and fire, it said, citing initial findings ruling out that military action was behind the incident.

North Korea said on Saturday it had tested a "super-large" cruise missile warhead and a new anti-aircraft missile. A power test of a super-large warhead designed for the Hwasal-1 Ra-3 strategic cruise missile and a test launch of the Pyoljji-1-2 anti-aircraft missile took place on Friday, Agency reported.

One person was killed and several others injured after unknown drones bombed a base housing headquarters of Hashd Shaabi Forces in Iraq's central province of Babil early Saturday. The drones targeted the vast military site, known as Camp Kalsu, which houses bases of the Iraqi army, federal police, and Hashd Shaabi forces in the Mahawil area, in the northern part of Babil province, an Interior Ministry source told.

The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) has expressed its concerns and worries about World Athletics' decision to award prize money to Olympic gold medalists at the Olympic Games. "ASOIF fully agrees that athletes are at the centre of the Olympic Movement, and play a critical role in the success of any Olympic Games. However, it appears that World Athletics' latest initiative opens rather than solves a number of complex issues," it said in a statement released on Friday.