Middle East
Carnage in Gaza / Mothers struggle to care for newborns
Gazan mother Rana Salah cradles her one-month-old daughter Milana in her arms in a sweltering tent for the displaced, and speaks of the guilt she feels for bringing her child into a world of war and suffering.
Israel readying response to Iran’s attack
Israel was preparing a military response to Iran’s missile attack this week that heightened fears of a wider regional war, an Israeli official said yesterday, as fighting raged in Lebanon and Gaza.
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.
Crowds 'stone the devil' in final hajj ritual
Massive crowds of robed Muslim pilgrims gathered for the "stoning of the devil" ritual in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as the biggest hajj pilgrimage since the pandemic draws to a close
Pilgrims ascend Mt Arafat in hajj climax
Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims prayed at Mount Arafat in searing heat yesterday at the height of an annual hajj pilgrimage held in the Saudi Arabian summer.
Huge crowds swarm from Makkah for hajj climax
Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims yesterday walked or rode buses to a giant tented city near Makkah for the climax of the annual hajj that Saudi officials say could break attendance records.
Occupied West Bank: Israel approves thousands of building permits
Israel’s nationalist-religious government yesterday approved the construction of 5,700 additional housing units for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, despite US pressure to halt settlement expansion that Washington sees as an obstacle to peace with Palestinians.
Willing to swap prisoners with US: Iran
Iran said yesterday it was hoping indirect talks with the United States could lead to a “positive” outcome for a prisoner swap.
Hajj begins
Vast crowds of robed Muslim faithful walked solemn circles around the Kaaba, the black cube at Makkah’s Grand Mosque yesterday to begin the biggest hajj pilgrimage in several years.
Jerusalem: Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces
Israeli forces yesterday killed a Palestinian who opened fire on a checkpoint north of Jerusalem, lightly wounding a guard, police said while a Palestinian militant group claimed the attack.
Israel forces kill gunman who fired at West Bank checkpoint
Israeli forces on Saturday killed a gunman who opened fire on a checkpoint north of Jerusalem, lightly wounding a guard, police said while a Palestinian militant group claimed the attack
New front in Sudan war develops
Residents of the city of Kadugli in southwest Sudan began fleeing the city on Thursday as tensions escalated between the army and a powerful rebel group, threatening to open another area of conflict in the country’s ongoing war, witnesses said.
Millions head to Mecca for huge hajj in Saudi heat
Enormous crowds of worshippers thronged Mecca, Islam's holiest city, today for the biggest hajj pilgrimage in years, with more than two million expected to brave the scorching Saudi Arabian heat