War in the Middle East

US Says ‘Credible Reports’ Hamas Planning Attack Against Gaza Civilians

This is Beirut 2025-10-19 02:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam United States Gaza Hamas Israël

The US State Department on Saturday said it had "credible reports" that Palestinian armed group Hamas was planning an imminent attack against civilians in Gaza, a move Washington said would be a "ceasefire violation." "This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and ...

US Vice President JD Vance to Visit Israel as Trump Administration Pushes Gaza Ceasefire Implementation

This is Beirut 2025-10-18 20:25 - Reading : less than a minute

Nawaf Salam Donald Trump Palestine Ceasefire White House

US Vice President JD Vance is expected to visit Israel on Monday as part of efforts by the Trump administration to accelerate the implementation of the agreement ending the recent Gaza war, Axios reported Friday, citing US and Israeli sources. While US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was initially expected to lead the delegation, the White House ...

Israel Says Rafah Crossing Reopening Depends on Return of Hostage Bodies

This is Beirut 2025-10-18 19:31 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Gaza Rafah Rafah Crossing

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the Rafah crossing would reopen only after Hamas hands over the bodies of all deceased hostages still held in Gaza. "Prime Minister Netanyahu has directed that the Rafah crossing remain closed until further notice," the statement read. "Its reopening ...

US Envoy Witkoff Felt 'Betrayed' by Israeli Attack on Hamas in Qatar

This is Beirut 2025-10-18 19:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam United States Qatar Steve Witkoff

US envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's chief negotiator on the Middle East, has said that he felt "betrayed" when Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas negotiators in Qatar last month. In a CBS interview alongside Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law who worked with Witkoff on the brokering of a Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and ...

Pakistan to Hold Talks with Afghanistan in Qatar after Latest Strikes

This is Beirut 2025-10-18 19:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Pakistan Afghanistan Qatar

Pakistani and Afghan officials were due to meet in Qatar on Saturday, a day after Islamabad launched air strikes that killed at least 10 people in Afghanistan and broke a ceasefire that had brought two days of calm to the border. The strikes targeted what Pakistani security sources said was a militant group linked to the Pakistani Taliban in the ...

Israel Returns 15 Palestinian Bodies to Gaza

This is Beirut 2025-10-18 14:28 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Gaza Hamas Palestinian Prisoners

Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Saturday, bringing the total number handed over to 135, the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave said. Under a ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned. Late on Friday, Hamas handed ...

Israel Identifies Dead Hostage Returned on Friday

This is Beirut 2025-10-18 12:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Gaza Hamas Israeli Hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Saturday that the body of a deceased hostage Hamas returned overnight has been identified as 75-year-old Eliyahu Margalit. The Israeli military "informed the family of the abductee Eliyahu Margalit... that (the body of) their loved one has been returned to Israel and his identification ...

Israeli Drone Raid Kills One in Kherbet Selm

This is Beirut 2025-10-17 17:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Baalbeck Lebanese Army

An Israeli drone strike on a car in the town of Kherbet Selm, located in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon, resulted in the death of one person on Friday. In parallel, the National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli soldiers opened fire toward a group of residents harvesting olives in the al-Anq area of the nearby town of Aitaroun, ...

Israel's Netanyahu says Determined to Secure Return of all Hostages

This is Beirut 2025-10-16 14:40 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Benjamin Netanyahu Donald Trump USA Hamas

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he was determined to ensure that Hamas hands back the remains of hostages still in Gaza, adding that the fight "is not over yet". Under a ceasefire agreement spearheaded by US President Donald Trump, Hamas returned the last 20 surviving hostages to Israel, and said it ...

New UK-Supported Border Checkpoint Opens in Eastern Lebanon

This is Beirut 2025-10-16 13:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Border Control Edward Ahlgren United Kingdom UNIFIL

A new border checkpoint has been inaugurated along Lebanon’s eastern frontier, as part of a project funded by the UK’s Integrated Security Fund. This facility is part of a broader program aimed at strengthening the operational capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to combat smuggling and cross-border illegal activities. The site visit ...

Op-edThe Sharm al-Sheikh Peace Summit: How Trump Became the ‘King of Presidents’

Salam El Zaatari 2025-10-16 11:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Donald Trump United States Egypt Hamas Gaza

When Air Force One touched down in Sharm al-Sheikh on October 13, 2025, the Red Sea resort known for coral reefs and diplomacy turned into the epicenter of world politics. Cameras caught an image that would dominate headlines: Donald Trump standing between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, ...

Israel Threatens To Resume Fighting if Hamas Does Not Respect Gaza Truce Deal

This is Beirut 2025-10-16 05:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Gaza Hamas Palestine

Israel's defence minister threatened Wednesday to resume fighting if Hamas does not honour the terms of a US-backed ceasefire that halted the war in Gaza. The statement from Defence Minister Israel Katz's office came after Hamas handed over the remains of two more deceased hostages, and said it would be unable to retrieve any more bodies ...