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© (Photo by Israeli Army / AFP)
The war between Israel and Hamas, now in its 89th day, was triggered by a bloody and unprecedented attack carried out by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7 on Israeli soil from the Gaza Strip.
Approximately 1,140 people, mostly civilians, were killed in this attack, according to an AFP count based on the latest Israeli toll, with around 250 taken hostage and transported to Gaza. Among these hostages, 129 are still present in the enclave, according to the military.
The Health Ministry in Gaza reported a total of 22,313 killed since the beginning of Israeli airstrikes, mostly civilians.
Twin bomb blasts killed at least 103 people in Iran on Wednesday, ripping through a crowd commemorating Revolutionary Guard General Qasem Soleimani four years after his death in a US strike, state media reported.
The two explosions—unclaimed but labelled a “terrorist attack” by state media and regional authorities—came amid high Middle East tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the killing of a Hamas senior leader in Lebanon on Tuesday.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/213081"]
Amos Hochstein, President Joe Biden's Chief Advisor responsible for diplomatic efforts to prevent escalation between Israel and Lebanon, is set to visit Israel later this week, according to informed sources.
Hochstein is to arrive in Israel a few days after Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas official, was killed in an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut. However, his visit was planned before the attack.
[readmore="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/lebanon/213293"]
The Israeli army confirmed that a hostage abducted during the October 7 Hamas attack was killed in a failed rescue operation by the army in December in the Gaza Strip.
Sahar Baruch, who was among the 250 hostages captured by Palestinian militants and taken to Gaza after the shocking attack on southern Israel, was confirmed dead last month by his kibbutz community.
The army stated that it had informed Baruch's family that he was killed during a "rescue attempt on December 8."
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/213248"]
The United States and 11 allied countries are urging the Houthi rebels in Yemen to immediately cease their "illegal attacks" on ships in the Red Sea, warning that they would "bear the consequences" if they persist.
"The Houthis will have to bear the responsibility for the consequences if they continue to threaten lives, the global economy and the free flow of commerce in the vital waterways of the region," asserted the coalition of nations in a statement.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/213173"]
Israel’s Intelligence Chief vowed on Wednesday to make Hamas pay for its attacks on Israel, after a drone strike attributed to Israel killed the group’s Deputy Chief Saleh Arouri in Lebanon.
The Mossad agency “is committed to settling the score with the murderers who descended upon the Gaza envelope on October 7” and with Hamas’s leadership, said David Barnea.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/213207"]
Approximately 1,140 people, mostly civilians, were killed in this attack, according to an AFP count based on the latest Israeli toll, with around 250 taken hostage and transported to Gaza. Among these hostages, 129 are still present in the enclave, according to the military.
The Health Ministry in Gaza reported a total of 22,313 killed since the beginning of Israeli airstrikes, mostly civilians.
Iran's Twin Bombings
Twin bomb blasts killed at least 103 people in Iran on Wednesday, ripping through a crowd commemorating Revolutionary Guard General Qasem Soleimani four years after his death in a US strike, state media reported.
The two explosions—unclaimed but labelled a “terrorist attack” by state media and regional authorities—came amid high Middle East tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the killing of a Hamas senior leader in Lebanon on Tuesday.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/213081"]
Hochstein in Israel
Amos Hochstein, President Joe Biden's Chief Advisor responsible for diplomatic efforts to prevent escalation between Israel and Lebanon, is set to visit Israel later this week, according to informed sources.
Hochstein is to arrive in Israel a few days after Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas official, was killed in an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut. However, his visit was planned before the attack.
[readmore="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/lebanon/213293"]
New Hostage Death
The Israeli army confirmed that a hostage abducted during the October 7 Hamas attack was killed in a failed rescue operation by the army in December in the Gaza Strip.
Sahar Baruch, who was among the 250 hostages captured by Palestinian militants and taken to Gaza after the shocking attack on southern Israel, was confirmed dead last month by his kibbutz community.
The army stated that it had informed Baruch's family that he was killed during a "rescue attempt on December 8."
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/213248"]
US Warning to Houthis
The United States and 11 allied countries are urging the Houthi rebels in Yemen to immediately cease their "illegal attacks" on ships in the Red Sea, warning that they would "bear the consequences" if they persist.
"The Houthis will have to bear the responsibility for the consequences if they continue to threaten lives, the global economy and the free flow of commerce in the vital waterways of the region," asserted the coalition of nations in a statement.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/213173"]
Mossad Threats
Israel’s Intelligence Chief vowed on Wednesday to make Hamas pay for its attacks on Israel, after a drone strike attributed to Israel killed the group’s Deputy Chief Saleh Arouri in Lebanon.
The Mossad agency “is committed to settling the score with the murderers who descended upon the Gaza envelope on October 7” and with Hamas’s leadership, said David Barnea.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/213207"]
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