This is Beirut

From Iran’s Nuclear Program to Gaza: The Gulf as the New Hub of Global Diplomacy (1/2)

Malo Pinatel, 12/05 21:00 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Gulf United Arab Emirates Bahrain Hamas Qatar Oman

On December 8, 2024, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stated that the member states of the GCC “are committed to strengthening dialogue and diplomacy, ensuring that the Gulf region remains a hub for peace and cooperation amid growing global competition.” This was said during a roundtable on the future of cooperative ...

Hamas Releases US-Israeli Hostage

This is Beirut, 12/05 20:46 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Israel Gaza Hamas

The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas handed over a US-Israeli hostage held in Gaza since October 2023 on Monday, ahead of a regional visit by US President Donald Trump. "The (Ezzedine) Al-Qassam Brigades have just released the Zionist soldier and American citizen Edan Alexander, following contacts with the US administration, as ...

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 Says will Release US-Israeli Hostage Monday

This is Beirut, 12/05 12:09 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Benjamin Netanyahu Ceasefire Hamas Israel

Hamas's armed wing said it would release on Monday a US-Israeli hostage held in Gaza since October 2023, even as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of an "intensification" of fighting in the war-ravaged territory. The Palestinian militant group on Sunday said it would release US-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, ahead of a visit by ...

Stabilization in the Middle East: Necessary, but Not Sufficient

Michel Touma, 12/05 12:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Middle East Donald Trump Hamas Hezbollah Houthi

The Lebanese are understandably focused on the upcoming municipal elections, but they remain deeply unsettled by regional developments. As the situation evolves, it often feels as though little changes. Today, the primary concern is the ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran, and, more critically, the fate of various Iranian proxies ...

Leo XIV Gets Down to Business on First Full week as Pope

This is Beirut, 12/05 09:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Pope Francis Hamas Israel Ukraine

Pope Leo XIV launches his first full week as leader of the world's Catholics on Monday, with journalists, diplomats and top Vatican officials all set to meet the newly elected pontiff. Pomp and prayer marked the initial days of the pontificate of the former Robert Francis Prevost, the US pope first introduced to the world from the balcony of St ...

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 ...

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 ...

Without Hariri, Who Can Win Over the Sunni Electorate?

Tilda Abou Rizk, 10/05 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hamas Hezbollah South Lebanon

Announced less than twenty days before the start of the municipal elections, the electoral withdrawal of Sunni leader and head of the Future Movement, Saad Hariri, sent shockwaves through the Sunni community. For the second time in three years, it finds itself without a political compass ahead of a major vote. On January 24, 2022, Saad Hariri ...

Israel Intercepts Missile Launched from Yemen

This is Beirut, 09/05 18:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Hamas Houthi Palestine United States

Israel's military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on Friday, with AFP journalists reporting explosions heard in the Jerusalem area. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the missile fire, which follows attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels, including a strike on Sunday on Israel's main airport. The Israeli ...

Israel's aid Blockade to Gaza 'Unacceptable': Red Cross

This is Beirut, 08/05 16:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Palestine

The Red Cross on Thursday denounced the human cost of the war raging in Gaza, slamming Israel's "unacceptable" full blockade on aid into the besieged and conflict-ravaged Palestinian territory. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of a growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which they say has been exacerbated by an Israeli ...

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