Senior officials from Turkey's pro-Kurdish political party were set to meet with Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, on Thursday, as part of renewed peace efforts between Ankara and the banned Kurdish group.

The officials from the Equality and Democracy Party, DEM, are expected to convey a message from Ocalan, which is widely anticipated to be a call for the PKK to disarm. The call could potentially bring an end to a conflict that has spanned over four decades and claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium as tensions between Tehran and Washington rise after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, a report by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog seen by The Associated Press on Wednesday showed.

The report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said that as of Feb. 8, Iran has 274.8 kilograms (605.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%. That's an increase of 92.5 kilograms (203.9 pounds) since the IAEA's last report in November.

Palestinian medics say an infant has died from hypothermia in the Gaza Strip, the seventh such death in the last two weeks.

Dr. Munir al-Boursh, director general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, said that Seela Abdel Qader, who was less than 2 months old, died Wednesday due to the latest “severe cold wave” that has hit the Palestinian enclave.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel of “regional aggression” and “expansionism” following recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his country would not allow Syria’s new army to enter areas south of Damascus.

Fidan on Wednesday also welcomed a national dialogue conference held by Syria’s new rulers who have promised an inclusive political transition.

An Israeli human rights group says Palestinian doctors from Gaza have faced systematic abuse in Israeli military detention, including starvation and medical neglect “amounting to torture.”

The report by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, released Wednesday, is based on interviews with 24 doctors who spent time in Israel’s network of military detention facilities.

Egypt on Wednesday rejected a proposal floated by Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid suggesting the Gaza Strip could be ruled and rebuilt by Egypt in exchange for debt relief.

In response to an Associated Press inquiry, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tamim Khalaf said any proposals that didn’t call for Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state “are rejected and unaccepted.”

Israel's prime minister's office said authorities have received the bodies of four hostages early Thursday, days before the first phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will end.

An Israeli security official confirmed that Hamas handed the bodies to the Red Cross. Israel said the caskets were delivered with the help of Egyptian mediators through an Israeli crossing and an identification process has begun.

Lebanon's new government on Wednesday won a confidence vote in Parliament, with the support of Hezbollah's bloc, even though the government statement adopted took a swipe at the group's weapons.

Ninety-five out of 128 lawmakers supported the government of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, a prominent jurist who previously headed the International Court of Justice. He was appointed last month to form a new government after a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah, which killed over 4,000 people and caused widespread destruction.

Observant Muslims the world over will soon be united in a ritual of daily fasting from dawn to sunset as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starts. For Muslims, it's a time of increased worship, religious reflection, charity and good deeds. Socially, it often brings families and friends together in festive gatherings around meals to break their fast.

Ramadan is followed by the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

The European Union executive on Wednesday announced plans for a major revamp of its economic strategy to meet demands of the bloc's captains of industry who have long complained about excessive taxation, sky high energy prices and an overbearing bureaucracy that makes the bloc unattractive.

At the same time, environmental groups say that far-reaching deregulation and the boosting of conditions for energy-intensive companies will come at the cost to the EU's ambitious climate targets.