Israel

Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strike Kills Three Journalists

Gaza's civil defense agency said an Israeli strike in the center of the territory on Wednesday killed three journalists, including a freelancer who regularly contributed for AFP, despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored truce in Gaza has largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, ...

As Border Threats Evolve, Israel Turns to New Technologies

Even though Israel may have militarily weakened Hamas and Hezbollah, it must still contend with increasingly complex and non-traditional security threats along every front, underscoring that today’s borders and battlefields are interconnected in ways that were once unimaginable. On January 7, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced that it ...

Two dead in Israeli strikes on Lebanon

Israeli strikes in south Lebanon killed two people on Wednesday, authorities said, as Israel said it targeted operatives from militant group Hezbollah. Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon despite the November 2024 truce that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, usually saying it is targeting members of the ...

Iran FM Says Davos Appearance Cancellation Based On 'Lies'

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi hit out at the World Economic Forum in Davos for cancelling his appearance over a crackdown on recent protests, saying the decision was based on "lies and political pressure". Protests in Iran sparked by economic strain in late December exploded into the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years, ...

Israel Won the War, So Why Is the Muslim Brotherhood Winning the Peace?

The new regional order taking shape appears to be a haunting inversion of the post-9/11 era. At the time, the U.S. smashed Sunni powers, the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, incidentally empowering Iran and its sprawling proxy network. Washington even called Shia Islamism the more “reasonable” alternative and partnered with Tehran against ...

Israel Begins Demolitions at UNRWA Headquarters

Israeli bulldozers began demolitions at the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in East Jerusalem on Tuesday, in what the organization called an "unprecedented attack". UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler said in a statement to AFP that Israeli forces "stormed into" the compound shortly after 7am (0500 GMT) and ousted security ...

The Middle East Will Not Heal Until Iran Is Free

As Iranians flood the streets in mass demonstrations, demanding freedom at extraordinary personal risk, a fundamental truth has become impossible to ignore. The Middle East cannot heal until Iran is free from the Islamist regime that has poisoned the region for nearly half a century. I came to this conclusion from lived experience, not ideology ...

Israel Strikes Southern Lebanon

Israel struck southern Lebanon on Monday, shortly after the Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, announced that Israeli forces were striking Hezbollah targets in the area. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday that one was wounded in the airstrike in the town of Zabqin in the Tyre district.  According ...

Israel Pushes Back as Trump Unveils ‘Board of Peace’

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s proposed plan for Gaza on Monday, calling it “bad for Israel” and urging a full reoccupation of the enclave. Reportedly, as Washington promotes a post-war governance plan for Gaza, Israel has been signaling resistance not only diplomatically ...

Naim Kassem Slams Lebanon’s Foreign Minister

Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Kassem on Saturday sharply criticized Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, accusing him of “acting against the presidency, the government, the Lebanese people, and the resistance.” In a speech during a religious ceremony, Kassem said the absence of an effective foreign minister had ...

Gaza Governance Committee Begins Work

The Palestinian committee set to govern post-war Gaza has begun its work in Cairo, a member told AFP on Friday. Formed on Wednesday as the second phase of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal came into effect, the committee is made up of 15 technocrats charged with administering the Palestinian territory after the Hamas-Israel war. The ...