War in the Middle East

Iran Affirms Support for Syria's Sovereignty
Iran Affirms Support for Syria's Sovereignty

Iran affirmed its support for Syria's sovereignty on Monday, and said the country should not become "a haven for terrorism" after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, a longtime Tehran ally. "Our principled position on Syria is very clear: preserving the sovereignty and integrity of Syria and for the people of Syria to decide on its future ...

Mossad Agents Reveal Details of Pager Operation to CBS
Mossad Agents Reveal Details of Pager Operation to CBS

Two Mossad agents who planned the pager attack in Beirut gave an interview on Monday to the American network CBS. According to the agents, the bombs were made in Israel by the Mossad, and the pagers were directly sold by Israel to Hezbollah through front companies. Hezbollah reportedly purchased over 16,000 pagers at “a good price,” according ...

Israeli Women Mobilise Against Ultra-Orthodox Military Exemptions
WindowIsraeli Women Mobilise Against Ultra-Orthodox Military Exemptions

Exhausted by more than 14 months of war, the wives and mothers of Israeli soldiers are uniting in protest against exemptions from conscription for ultra-Orthodox men. For several Saturday evenings, the bridge over a key highway that runs between Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox suburb of Tel Aviv, and Givat Shmuel, a bastion of religious Zionists ...

Despite Hopes Of a Ceasefire, Violence Continues In Gaza
Despite Hopes Of a Ceasefire, Violence Continues In Gaza

Despite growing hopes of a ceasefire, the violence continues in the Gaza Strip, where 35 people have been killed in the last 24 hours according to the Civil Defence of the Palestinian territory, ravaged by more than a year of war between Hamas and Israel. The Islamist movement Hamas and two other Palestinian groups had suggested on Saturday that ...

Netanyahu Vows to Act With 'Force, Determination' Against Yemen's Houthis
Netanyahu Vows to Act With 'Force, Determination' Against Yemen's Houthis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed to retaliate against Yemen's Houthi rebels after they fired a missile at Tel Aviv, warning that Israel would target what he described as the last remaining arm of "Iran's axis of evil". The Houthis struck Israel's commercial hub on Saturday with what they claimed was ...

Israel Hands Over Seven Lebanese to Red Cross via UNIFIL
Israel Hands Over Seven Lebanese to Red Cross via UNIFIL

The Israeli army transferred on Sunday seven Lebanese detainees to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at the Ras al-Naqoura crossing point. These individuals were arrested in the southern villages of Wazzani and Tayr Harfa following the ceasefire implementation on November 27. The detainees – Ahmed Haidar, Jaafar Haidar, ...

Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strikes Kill 28
Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strikes Kill 28

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes overnight and early Sunday killed at least 28 Palestinians, including at one family's home and at a school building the Israeli military said was used by Hamas. On the ground in Gaza, civil agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that at least 13 people were killed in an air strike on a house in ...

Pope Again Condemns 'Cruelty' of Israeli Strikes on Gaza
Pope Again Condemns 'Cruelty' of Israeli Strikes on Gaza

Pope Francis doubled down Sunday on his condemnation of Israel's strikes on the Gaza Strip, denouncing their "cruelty" for the second time in as many days. "And with pain I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty, of the children being machine-gunned, of the bombings of schools and hospitals. What cruelty," the pope said after his weekly Angelus ...

Khamenei Says Iran Does not Have or Need Regional Proxy Forces
Khamenei Says Iran Does not Have or Need Regional Proxy Forces

Iran's supreme leader denied Sunday that militant groups around the region functioned as Tehran's proxies, warning that if his country chose to "take action", it would not need them anyway. The remarks came after a year in which Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza suffered heavy losses in wars with Israel, and two weeks after the ...

Mikati Discusses Humanitarian Aid and Southern Tensions with UN Delegates
Mikati Discusses Humanitarian Aid and Southern Tensions with UN Delegates

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati received the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Janine Hennis-Plasschaert, at his residence. The discussions focused on current developments, particularly the situation in southern Lebanon and the ongoing Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement. The Prime Minister also met with ...

Israeli Bulldozers Block Deir Mimas' Entrance
Israeli Bulldozers Block Deir Mimas' Entrance

Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers on Saturday blocked the road leading to the entrance of Deir Mimas in southern Lebanon, where nearly 20 Israeli soldiers are stationed. An Israeli bulldozer also rammed three cars in the town. Israeli forces have conducted further demolition activities in Naqoura, replacing a checkpoint set up by the ...

Addressing Ceasefire Violations and Israeli Withdrawals: Efforts Underway in the Coming Days
Behind the ScenesAddressing Ceasefire Violations and Israeli Withdrawals: Efforts Underway in the Coming Days

According to sources close to Speaker Berri, Hochstein is expected to chair the next meeting of the monitoring committee after the Christmas and New Year holidays, as he promised to Berri. A Western diplomatic source following the committee's work noted that an assessment of the situation in the south after the November 27 ceasefire reveals ...