gaza

Israel Cabinet Approves 2025 Wartime Budget

Israel's cabinet on Friday approved a 2025 national budget, a wartime financial package that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said supported the country's ongoing wars and encouraged economic growth. For more than a year, Israel has been locked in a war with Hamas in Gaza, and since September it has been fighting Hezbollah in ...

Gaza Polio Vaccinations to Resume Saturday

The World Health Organization said Friday that the necessary second round of child polio vaccinations in northern Gaza would begin on Saturday, after Israeli bombing had halted the drive. The announcement that the final phase of polio vaccination in the Gaza Strip can go ahead came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urgently called ...

Shipping Giant Maersk Records Sixfold Profit Rise

Danish shipping giant Maersk said Thursday that profits in the third quarter were six times higher than the same period last year as it maintains high prices to get trade through conflict zones. Net profits from trading from July to September rose to $3.049 billion, while turnover rose 30% to $15.76 billion. The world's number two shipping ...

US Officials Heading to Israel to Discuss Lebanon, Gaza Deals

Senior US officials were traveling to Israel on Wednesday to seek progress on deals to end the Gaza and Lebanon wars, the State Department confirmed. Amos Hochstein, the US pointman on Israel-Lebanon tensions, and Brett McGurk, the top White House official on the Middle East, will lead the talks with Israel. The two "are traveling to Israel to ...

UN Security Council Expresses 'Concern' over Israel's UNRWA Ban

The UN Security Council on Wednesday expressed "grave concern" over the Israeli parliament's adoption of a bill banning UNRWA, the main United Nations aid agency working with Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The Council also called on Israel to "abide by its international obligations" and "respect the privileges and immunities" of ...

Middle East at 'Most Dangerous Juncture' in Decades

The UN's special coordinator for Middle East peace, Tor Wennesland; warned Tuesday that the region was at its "most dangerous juncture" in decades, as the war between Israel and Iran-backed groups risked spiraling into a broader conflict. "We have now entered the second year of this horrific conflict, and the region is on the verge of yet ...

Gaza Rescuers Say Almost 100 People Killed in Israel Air Strike in North

Gaza's civil defence agency said Tuesday that an overnight Israeli air strike killed at least 93 people in a residential building in the northern district of Beit Lahia. "More than 55 people have been martyred and dozens more wounded are under the rubble of a five-storey residential building belonging to the Abu Nasr family that was hit ...

Israel army says strike that killed journalists in Lebanon 'under review'

The Israeli army said Friday that a strike that killed three journalists in south Lebanon was "under review", maintaining that it had targeted Hezbollah militants. "Earlier today, following intelligence information, the IDF (army) struck a Hezbollah military structure in Hasbaya in southern Lebanon," the military said in a statement to AFP. "The ...

Gaza's Civil Defense Halts Work in North Due to Israeli Threats

Gaza's civil defense agency said Thursday it can no longer provide first responder services in the north of the territory, accusing Israeli forces of threatening to "bomb and kill" its crews. Since October 6, the Israeli military has mounted a sweeping air and land assault on north Gaza, initially focused on the Jabalia area, describing it as an ...