This is Beirut

Edan Alexander's Release: A Diplomatic Turning Point Between Washington and Hamas

Sana Richa Choucair, 12/05 17:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hamas Donald Trump US Gaza Israel Hostages

Edan Alexander, 21, is the only American national still held alive in Gaza. After moving from New Jersey to Israel in 2022, he joined an elite unit of the Israeli army and was taken by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attack. In a statement released on Sunday, the spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said: “The ...

Israel PM Says to Send Gaza Negotiators to Qatar Tuesday

This is Beirut, 12/05 17:10 - Reading : less than a minute

Israel Gaza Hamas Benjamin Netanyahu US

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he would send mediators to Qatar on Tuesday to discuss the release of hostages held in Gaza after Hamas announced the release of US-Israeli Edan Alexander. Following a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff and ambassador Mike Huckabee, "the Prime Minister instructed to send a negotiation ...

Hamas to Release US-Israeli Hostage Edan Alexander

This is Beirut, 11/05 22:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hamas USA Ceasefire Israel Gaza

Hamas said it would release a US-Israeli hostage held in Gaza as the group revealed it was engaged in direct talks with the United States towards a ceasefire in the war-battered territory. "Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, a dual US national, will be released as part of efforts towards a ceasefire" and the reopening of aid crossings, the ...

Pope Leo XIV Calls for Peace in Public Appearance at St. Peter's Basilica

This is Beirut, 11/05 15:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Pope Leo XIV Vatican Gaza Ukraine

Pope Leo XIV called for an end to war in the world as he greeted crowds from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday, in his second official public appearance since becoming the leader of the Catholic Church. "Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!" proclaimed the first pontiff from the United States, addressing tens of ...

Hamas Releases Video of Two Israeli Hostages Alive in Gaza

This is Beirut, 10/05 23:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Gaza Hostages

Hamas's armed wing released a video on Saturday showing two Israeli hostages alive in the Gaza Strip, with one of the two men calling to end the 19-month-long war. The pair were identified by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group as Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim Ohana, who were kidnapped during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on ...

Rescuers Say Death Toll from Israeli Strike on Gaza City Rises to 33

This is Beirut, 07/05 20:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Gaza Israel Hamas

Gaza's civil defense agency said the toll from an Israeli strike on Gaza City on Wednesday had risen to at least 33 killed and more than 80 injured, many of them children. The agency's spokesman, Mahmoud Bassal, told AFP that "civil defense crews, paramedics, and volunteers transported at least 33 martyrs and more than 80 injured, about half of ...

Hamas Insists on 'Comprehensive' Deal to End Gaza War

This is Beirut, 07/05 16:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Gaza

Hamas insisted Wednesday on a "comprehensive" agreement to end its war with Israel, as rescuers said Israeli bombardment of Gaza killed at least 26 people amid a growing humanitarian catastrophe. A two-month ceasefire in the war collapsed in March, with Israel resuming intense strikes and imposing a total aid blockade on the Palestinian ...

26 Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza, Including 15 at School Shelter

This is Beirut, 07/05 13:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Gaza

Gaza's civil defence agency said Wednesday that Israeli bombardment killed at least 26 people, 15 of them in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City. Israel has drawn international condemnation over its plans to expand its military offensive in the Palestinian territory, ravaged by 19 months of war. Israel's far-right ...

Total Offensive in Gaza: Israel Prepares Final Assault, Diplomacy at a Standstill

Soumia Benmerzoug, 06/05 11:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Gaza Iran Hamas Houthis Qatar

As the war in Gaza enters what might be its final and most intense phase, Israel is ramping up its military operations while also confronting a new “aerial” threat from the Houthis in Yemen. Amid this military surge, the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to deepen, as diplomatic efforts stall under the weight ...

Israel Cabinet Approves Plan Including Gaza 'Conquest': Official

This is Beirut, 05/05 11:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

israel palestinians conflict Gaza

Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to expand military operations in Gaza, including the "conquest" of the Palestinian territory and a push for its residents to leave, an official said Monday. The decision, made overnight, came hours after the military announced it was calling up tens of thousands of reservists to expand its offensive ...

Netanyahu: Israel Will Strike Iran in Response to Airport Attack

This is Beirut, 04/05 19:57 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Houthi Israel Palestine Gaza Yemen

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday threatened to respond to the Houthi missile strike from Yemen on Tel Aviv’s airport by retaliating against Iran "in due time," during an emergency meeting of the war cabinet. "The Houthi attacks emanate from Iran. Israel will respond to the Houthi attack on our main airport AND, at a time and ...

Israel Calls up Tens of Thousands of Reservists for Gaza Offensive

This is Beirut, 04/05 04:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Israel Palestine Gaza Conflict

Israel was issuing orders to call up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of an expanded offensive in Gaza, Israeli media reported Saturday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked truce mediator Qatar. Several news outlets reported the military had begun sending the orders for reservists to replace conscripts and active-duty soldiers in ...

Gaza