War in the Middle East

Israel Frees Hundreds of Palestinian Prisoners after Body Handover
Israel Frees Hundreds of Palestinian Prisoners after Body Handover

Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on Thursday, shortly after saying Palestinian militant group Hamas handed over coffins believed to contain the bodies of four hostages. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel had received the coffins of "four fallen hostages", and a process to formally identify them had ...

Israel's Strategic Push to Redefine the Balance of Power in Southern Syria
Israel's Strategic Push to Redefine the Balance of Power in Southern Syria

Israel has taken a firm stance on its plan for the “total demilitarization” of southern Damascus. “We will not allow forces from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (the group behind the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024) or the new Syrian army to enter the area south of Damascus,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ...

Israeli Strike Kills One in Hermel, More Bodies Recovered in South
Israeli Strike Kills One in Hermel, More Bodies Recovered in South

An Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle on the Hermel-Al-Qusayr road on the border with Syria on Wednesday afternoon, killing one person and injuring another. The Israeli army’s spokesperson, Avichai Adraee, confirmed the strike in a statement posted on his official account. “An Air Force aircraft, guided by precise intelligence, targeted ...

Witkoff: Lebanon and Syria Could Potentially Join Abraham Accords
Witkoff: Lebanon and Syria Could Potentially Join Abraham Accords

Steve Witkoff, appointed by President Donald Trump as the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, has been playing a pivotal role in advancing peace initiatives in the region. His strategic insights and diplomatic skills have solidified his reputation as a key figure in advancing U.S. foreign policy objectives. After voicing optimism at efforts to ...

Hashem Safieddine Laid to Rest in South Lebanon
Hashem Safieddine Laid to Rest in South Lebanon

Hezbollah held a funeral procession for Hashem Safieddine, former head of the party’s Executive Council, in his hometown of Deir Qanoun al-Naher in southern Lebanon on Monday. Mourners gathered to pay their final respects to the senior Hezbollah figure, killed in an Israeli strike on October 3, 2024. The funeral followed a mass ceremony held ...

Palestinians Have Some Soul-Searching To Do
Op-edPalestinians Have Some Soul-Searching To Do

United States President Donald Trump’s proposal to depopulate the Gaza Strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East” has sparked widespread debate. Whether his plan is feasible remains to be seen. Regardless, Palestinians need a new modus operandi if they are to survive. They must recognize that leaders in the Middle East now ...

Senator Ronny Jackson Calls for a Security Monopoly by the Lebanese Army
Senator Ronny Jackson Calls for a Security Monopoly by the Lebanese Army

A delegation from the US Congress, led by Senator Ronny Jackson, met on Saturday with the President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, in the presence of the US Ambassador to Lebanon, Lisa Johnson. At the end of the meeting, Jackson expressed the United States’ desire to see a new phase of peace and stability in ...

Hamas Frees 6 Israeli Hostages in Latest Transfer Under Truce
Hamas Frees 6 Israeli Hostages in Latest Transfer Under Truce

Palestinian militants on Saturday freed six Israeli hostages, the last living captives to be released under the first phase of a fragile truce that is also expected to see Palestinian prisoners released. Freedom for the captives caps an emotional two days in Israel, where the family of another hostage, Shiri Bibas, earlier on Saturday confirmed ...

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 ...