Middle East
Lebanon conflict pushes Gaza truce out of focus
Palestinians fear the crisis in Lebanon is diverting the world’s attention from Gaza, where Israeli strikes killed dozens more people this week, and diminishing already dim prospects for a ceasefire a year into an offensive that has shattered the enclave.
Lebanon invasion / How might Israel strike back against Iran?
Israel has sworn it will retaliate for Iran’s missile barrage on Tuesday, which involved more than 180 ballistic missiles and was largely thwarted by Israel’s air defense systems. Below are some ways Israel, backed by the United States, could strike back.
Iran’s allies will keep fighting Israel
Iran’s supreme leader yesterday vowed in a rare address that his allies around the region would keep fighting Israel, as he defended his country’s missile strike on its arch-foe.
US President Biden does not believe there will be 'all-out-war' in Middle East
U.S. President Joe Biden said he did not believe there is going to be an "all-out war" in the Middle East, as Israel weighs options for retaliation after Tehran's largest ever assault on its arch-enemy.
Israel strikes Beirut, south Lebanon
Israel’s military urged residents of more than 20 towns in south Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately yesterday as it pressed on with incursions after suffering its worst losses in a year of fighting the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.
Food aid to Gaza falls as Israel sets new rule
Food supplies to Gaza have fallen sharply in recent weeks because Israeli authorities have introduced a new customs rule on some humanitarian aid and are separately scaling down deliveries organized by businesses, people involved in getting goods to the territory told Reuters.
Iran warned Nasrallah of Israeli plot to kill him
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Hezbollah leader Syyed Hassan Nasrallah to flee Lebanon days before he was killed in an Israeli strike and is now deeply worried about Israeli infiltration of senior government ranks in Tehran, three Iranian sources said.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT / Hezbollah losses strengthen Turkey against Iran: analysts
Israel’s onslaught against Hezbollah in Lebanon is reassuring for Turkey, which could seize the opportunity to strengthen its regional influence in the face of its rival Iran, analysts told AFP.
West Bank Raid: Israeli forces kill two Palestinians
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including a fighter of the Islamist Hamas group, during a raid on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank yesterday, emergency workers and Hamas said.
Iran defuses 30 bombs in Tehran
Authorities in Iran have neutralised 30 bombs meant to go off simultaneously in Tehran and detained 28 terrorists linked to Islamic State, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported yesterday, citing the intelligence ministry.
No ME peace without Palestinians’ rights
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas has said there could be no peace in the Middle East without a two-state solution, sending a warning as Saudi Arabia considers recognizing Israel.
Israel, Saudi Arabia see progress on ties
Saudi Arabia and Israel voiced optimism Wednesday that they were moving closer to a historic normalization of ties as Iran -- their common foe -- accused the kingdom of betraying the Palestinians through the US-led effort.
Dress Code Breach: Iran MPs pass bill to penalise women
Iranian women who flout the strict Islamic dress code mandating head coverings and modest clothing would face up to 10 years’ prison under a bill passed yesterday.
Libya orders journos out of flood-hit city after protests
Officials in eastern Libya ordered journalists out of Derna yesterday, the morning after demonstrators staged a rally and torched the home of the ousted mayor in fury over the authorities’ failure to protect the city from floods.
Iran guard fatally shot dead
A member of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was shot dead during events falling on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, state media reported yesterday.
Iran warns EU sanctions are ‘illegal’
Iran has warned the European Union that its decision to maintain sanctions on the Islamic republic beyond a deadline set in a landmark nuclear deal was “illegal”.
Thousands rally in Syria despite violence
Thousands of Syrians protested yesterday in the southern city of Sweida, the largest in nearly a month of anti-government demonstrations that have intensified despite one incidence of violence, activists said.
Flood disaster: Fears mount of surging death toll in Libya
Bodies were washing ashore in eastern Libya yesterday, swelling the death toll from a storm that swept whole neighbourhoods out to sea, with thousands already confirmed dead and many thousands more still missing.