Middle East

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

This is Beirut 19/10 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 18/10 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 ...

$Syrian FM Says Damascus Seeks to \$

Syrian FM Says Damascus Seeks to "Correct" Ties with Lebanon, Ensure Dignified Refugee Return

This is Beirut 18/10 20:15 - Reading : less than a minute

Lebanon Damascus Russia Refugees

Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shaibani said Saturday that Damascus aims to “correct” its relationship with Lebanon and guarantee a “dignified return” for Syrian refugees, in comments broadcast on Syrian state television. Al-Shaibani, appointed earlier this year, said his government is “working to address the effects of the previous ...

Israel Says Rafah Crossing Reopening Depends on Return of Hostage Bodies

This is Beirut 18/10 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 18/10 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 18/10 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 ...

ExplainerJames Bond 2.0: Can Artificial Intelligence Upstage 007?

Bélinda Ibrahim 18/10 19:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Artificial Intelligence AI James Bond Movie Culture

The announcement of the next James Bond, now in the hands of Denis Villeneuve and screenwriter Steven Knight, reignites a familiar question: What role will technology play in 007’s world? After the Daniel Craig era, defined by gritty realism, should we expect a flood of AI-powered gadgets or a return to high-tech restraint? Official statements ...

Explosion on Board LNG Carrier Off Yemen, Fire Ongoing

This is Beirut 18/10 18:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Yemen Houthi Movement

A Cameroon-flagged LNG carrier issued a distress signal after an explosion on board off the coast of Yemen, British maritime security firm Ambrey and the EU naval mission Aspides said on Saturday. The incident occurred in the Gulf of Aden, about 60 nautical miles south of Ahwar on Yemen’s southern coast, according to Ambrey. The UK Maritime ...

Israel Returns 15 Palestinian Bodies to Gaza

This is Beirut 18/10 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 ...

Iran Says No Longer Bound by 'Restrictions' on Its Nuclear Program

This is Beirut 18/10 13:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Iran IAEA Iran Nuclear Program

Iran said on Saturday that it was no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear program as a landmark 10-year deal between it and world powers expired, though Tehran reiterated its "commitment to diplomacy." The 2015 deal, signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States, saw the lifting of international ...

China and US Agree to Fresh Trade Talks

This is Beirut 18/10 12:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

China United States Trade Tariffs

China and the United States agreed Saturday to conduct another round of trade negotiations in the coming week, as the world's two biggest economies seek to avoid another damaging tit-for-tat tariff battle. Beijing last week announced sweeping controls on the critical rare earths industry, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten 100 ...

Israel Identifies Dead Hostage Returned on Friday

This is Beirut 18/10 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 ...