Region in focus: August 31, 2016

A man floats in the Urmia Lake near Urmia, northwestern Iran. Hopes for survival of Urmia salt lake have been revived after more rains boosted a government program aimed at preserving the almost dried up water body. Ebrahim Noroozi / AP Photo

An Iraqi man walks near smoke billowing from oil wells, set ablaze by Islamic State group militants before fleeing the oil-producing region of Qayyarah. Safin Hamed / AFP

A Palestinian man rides a bike with his children at the Al-Shatee refugee camp in Gaza City. Mohammed Abed / AFP

A man carries a girl that survived double airstrikes on the rebel held Bab al-Nairab neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. Abdalrhman Ismail / Reuters

A boy takes a photograph of a statue of late Coptic Pope Shenouda III, top, at the Cave Cathedral or St. Sama'ans Church on the Mokattam hills overlooking Cairo, Egypt. Nariman El-Mofty / AP Photo

Palestinian schoolgirls sit in front of a mural that reads, "Freedom of movement is my right" on the first day of a new school year in the southern Gaza Strip. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters

A Saudi female journalist films damage at a market for vehicles in the Saudi border city of Najran, a week after it was struck by a rocket fired from Yemen. Fayez Nureldine / AFP

An Afghan health worker administers polio drops to a child during a polio vaccination campaign in the Surkh Rod district of Nangarhar province. Noorullah Shirzada / AFP

An internally-displaced Afghan boy holds a child as he walks outside his temporary house on the outskirts of Herat. Aref Karimi / AFP

A Syrian girl walks near a Syrian Arab Red Crescent truck delivering aid in the rebel-held area of Harasta on the northeastern outskirts of Damascus. Amer Almohibany / AFP

Egyptian singer Shirin Abed al-Wahab aka Sherine performs on the main stage during the annual Baalbeck International Festival in Baalbeck, Beqaa Valley, Lebanon. Wael Hamzeh / EPA

The best images from the last seven days from around the Gulf and across the Middle East.