Palestinian women giving birth in rubble on roads, says senior UN official, as he compares Gaza to dystopian film – as it happened

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Turkish peacekeeping forces will continue to help boost the Lebanese army's capability under a renewed deployment mandate in Lebanon, Turkey's defence ministry said on Thursday, reports Reuters.

Turkey's parliament passed a bill on Tuesday to renew the military's deployment mandates in Syria and Iraq by three more years, and its deployment mandate under the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) by two years. The ministry said in a statement:

Efforts will continue to improve security conditions in the region, ensure stability and assist in the capacity building of the Lebanese armed forces, with the aim of establishing and maintaining peace in Lebanon.