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.
12 killed, 40 missing in Afghanistan flash flood
At least 12 people were killed and up to 40 more are missing following a flash flood caused by torrential rain in central Afghanistan, a government spokesman said Sunday
Palestinian teenager killed by Israel forces
Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said yesterday, in what the army described as a “car ramming attempt” near Nablus.
Iran shutters education centre over ‘inciting riots’
Iranian authorities have shuttered an educational centre accused of “inciting riots” during last year’s mass demonstrations triggered by the death in custody of a young woman, state media reported yesterday.
Iranian police relaunch patrols
Iranian police yesterday relaunched patrols to catch the increasing number of women leaving their hair uncovered in public in defiance of a strict dress code, state media reported.
Erdogan links Sweden’s Nato bid with Turkey’s EU accession
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in an unexpected move, said yesterday the European Union should open the way for Ankara’s accession to the bloc before Turkey’s parliament approves Sweden’s bid to join the Nato military alliance.
Sudan refuses to attend peace talks
Sudan’s government yesterday refused to participate in a regional meeting to resolve the crisis in the conflict-wracked nation, accusing Kenya, which chaired the talks, of favouring rival forces.
Israeli forces kill Palestinian man
Israeli forces yesterday shot a gunman who the army said fired on soldiers in the occupied West Bank, with the Palestinian health ministry reporting the alleged assailant was killed.
Syria revokes BBC’s media accreditation
Syria on Saturday announced it was cancelling the BBC’s accreditation over what it called “misleading reports”, a rare move against an international media outlet in the war-torn country.
6 killed in Iran police station attack
Two police officers and four attackers were killed yesterday when gunmen and suicide bombers stormed a police station in the mostly Sunni city of Zahedan in Iran’s restive southeast, state television reported.
West Bank Raid: Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians
Israeli security forces yesterday killed two Palestinians suspected of carrying out a shooting attack against police this week, Israel’s military said.