War in the Middle East

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

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

Nawaf Salam Hamas Donald Trump Gaza 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

Nawaf Salam Gaza Hamas Benjamin Netanyahu

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 Releases Video of Two Israeli Hostages Alive in Gaza

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

Nawaf Salam Hamas 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 ...

Israel Intercepts Missile Launched from Yemen

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

Nawaf Salam 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 Threatens Iran With the Same Fate as Hamas and Hezbollah

This is Beirut 08/05 09:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Iran Israel Katz Hamas

Israel will do to Iran what it has done to Hamas in Gaza, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Thursday, days after an attack on Ben Gurion Airport by Iran-backed Houthis. "I warn... Iranian leaders who finance, arm, and exploit the Houthi terrorist organization: the proxy system is terminated, and the axis of evil has collapsed," Katz said in a ...

Syria's Sharaa Confirms Indirect Talks with Israel to Ease Tensions

This is Beirut 07/05 22:31 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Ahmed al-Sharaa Syria

President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Wednesday that Syria was holding "indirect talks" with Israel to calm tensions between the two countries, following Israeli strikes and threats against Syria since Bashar al-Assad's ouster. "There are indirect talks (with Israel) taking place through mediators to calm the situation and try to ...

Hamas Insists on 'Comprehensive' Deal to End Gaza War

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

Nawaf Salam Hamas 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 ...

Hamas Reportedly Pledges to Halt Military Activity from Lebanon

This is Beirut 07/05 15:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Hamas

A Lebanese security source revealed on Wednesday that Lebanon has “received assurances from Hamas that no military action will be carried out from Lebanese territory.” The source, quoted by Sky News Arabia, also disclosed that Hamas is expected to “hand over in the coming hours” a fourth suspect wanted by the Lebanese authorities for ...

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

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

Nawaf Salam 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 ...

UN: Israel's Gaza Offensive Marks 'Very Dangerous Moment'

This is Beirut 07/05 13:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Palestine United Nations

The UN's human rights chief told AFP Wednesday that Israel's plan for an expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip represented "a very dangerous moment" for civilians there. "What we see is only more destruction, more hatred, more dehumanisation," said Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, during a visit to Copenhagen for ...

As Israel Plans Gaza 'Conquest', How Strong Is its Army?

This is Beirut 07/05 09:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam army Hamas Palestine

Israel's military has called up tens of thousands of reservists for its planned expanded offensive in Gaza, which an official said entails the "conquest" of the Palestinian territory. With one of the best equipped armies in the world, what forces are available to Israel? A large part of the adult population has completed military service and ...

US and Yemen's Houthis Agree on Ceasefire, Israel Still a Target

This is Beirut 06/05 22:35 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Yemen Houthi Movement United States

The United States and Yemen's Houthis have reached a ceasefire agreement, mediator Oman announced Tuesday, saying the deal would ensure "freedom of navigation" in the Red Sea, where the Iran-backed group has attacked shipping, although the Houthis added that the ceasefire would not exclude future attacks on Israel. It comes after ...