War in the Middle East

Israel to Release 602 Prisoners in Exchange for 6 Israeli Hostages Under Gaza Truce Deal
Israel to Release 602 Prisoners in Exchange for 6 Israeli Hostages Under Gaza Truce Deal

Israel will free 602 inmates from jails on Saturday as part of a hostage-prisoner swap with Hamas under an ongoing Gaza ceasefire deal, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group. Among those released, 445 are people from Gaza who were arrested after Hamas' October 7 attack that sparked the war, 60 are serving long ...

Israel: Explosions Hit Several Buses in Tel Aviv, Police Suspect Terrorist Attack
Israel: Explosions Hit Several Buses in Tel Aviv, Police Suspect Terrorist Attack

Israeli police said that explosions rocked several buses in the central Israeli city of Bat Yam on Thursday evening in what they described as a “suspected terror attack,” without giving any immediate reports of injuries. “Preliminary reports suspected a terror attack. Multiple reports have been received of explosions involving ...

Hamas Accuses Netanyahu of Delaying the Second Phase of the Truce
Hamas Accuses Netanyahu of Delaying the Second Phase of the Truce

Hamas on Thursday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "procrastinating" on negotiations for the second phase of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, after Palestinian militants returned the bodies of four deceased hostages to Israel. "The second phase negotiations have not practically begun, and we are ready to engage in them as ...

February 18, 2025: Military Deployment Areas in Southern Lebanon
SpotlightFebruary 18, 2025: Military Deployment Areas in Southern Lebanon

With the expiration of the deadline for the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon under the ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces withdrew on Monday from a large number of villages, where the Lebanese Army began to deploy. However, the Israeli Army maintains a presence at five strategic points in southern Lebanon, namely Labbouneh, Jabal Blat, ...

Arab Summit in Riyadh on February 20 to Discuss Trump’s Plan for Gaza
Arab Summit in Riyadh on February 20 to Discuss Trump’s Plan for Gaza

Riyadh is set to host a summit on February 20, bringing together five Arab countries to develop a common response to Donald Trump’s plan, which envisions emptying Gaza of its inhabitants and rebuilding the territory under U.S. control, a Saudi source told AFP on Friday. This summit, which will gather the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the ...

The War Ended Today
Op-edThe War Ended Today

Lebanon is preparing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the civil war, which started on April 13, 1975, and lasted for more than 15 years. The actual date of the war’s end, October 13, 1990, was not the end of the crisis. The end of the war means three parallel things. The first is the withdrawal of weapons from all ...

Israel Threatens to Resume War If Three Hostages Are Not Released by Saturday
Israel Threatens to Resume War If Three Hostages Are Not Released by Saturday

Hamas must release three living hostages on Saturday under the terms of the ongoing Gaza truce deal or Israel will return to war in the Palestinian territory, an Israeli government spokesman said Thursday. The ceasefire "framework makes clear that three live hostages must be released by Hamas terrorists on Saturday", spokesman David Mencer told ...

LAF Completes Deployment in Three Southern Lebanese Towns
LAF Completes Deployment in Three Southern Lebanese Towns

On Monday morning, the Lebanese Army completed its deployment in the southern Lebanese towns of Rab al-Thalathine, Tallouseh and Bani Hayan, following the withdrawal of the Israeli Army from the area. The redeployment took place in coordination with the five-member committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement. The troops began patrolling the ...

The End of Iranian Hegemony and the Chances of Normalization
AnalysisThe End of Iranian Hegemony and the Chances of Normalization

Undoubtedly, the progressive dismantling of Iran‘s proxies raises the issue of normalization in the Near East at a time when the questions of civil concord, democratic political culture, and reformist elites are still controversial and have failed to inspire massive commitments within the respective civil societies, however elaborate and ...

Egypt Calls for Urgent Arab Summit on Trump's Plan for Gaza
Egypt Calls for Urgent Arab Summit on Trump's Plan for Gaza

The head of Egyptian diplomacy, Badr Abdelatty, left for Washington on Sunday, where he is set to meet with senior officials from the Trump administration and members of Congress, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cairo. The visit aims to "strengthen bilateral relations and the strategic partnership between Egypt and the United ...

Netanyahu Defends Trump's Plan for Gaza and Says Israel Will \
Netanyahu Defends Trump's Plan for Gaza and Says Israel Will "Do the Job"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed US President Donald Trump's widely criticized plan to move Palestinians out of the war-battered Gaza Strip, saying Israel is willing to "do the job". In a Fox News interview aired late Saturday as the premier was wrapping up a visit to Washington, Netanyahu defended Trump's proposal, which has ...