War in the Middle East

Rubio Says Israel Annexation Moves in West Bank ‘Threatening’ Peace Deal

This is Beirut 23/10 05:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday warned Israel against annexing the West Bank, saying steps taken by parliament and settler violence threatened a Gaza peace deal. Israeli lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, barely a week after President Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending ...

Hamas: A Beheaded Organization Still Standing

Paul Guillot 22/10 18:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Palestine UN Security Council USA

Is the terrorist group Hamas still capable of inflicting damage on the state of Israel? An investigation by American outlet NBC suggests that it is. Despite being severely weakened after two years of open war, the Islamist movement is believed to still have around 20,000 fighters, hundreds of rockets – including some with long-range ...

Israeli Military Says Remains of Two More Hostages Returned from Gaza Identified

This is Beirut 22/10 09:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Palestine Hostages

Israel's army said Wednesday that the remains of two more hostages returned the day before from Gaza have been identified as those of Aryeh Zalmanovich and Master Sergeant Tamir Adar. Zalmanovich, 85 at the time of his death, was abducted from his home in kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity on November 17, 2023, the Israeli military said in a ...

JD Vance Voices ‘Great Optimism' for Gaza Truce on Israel Visit

This is Beirut 22/10 08:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United States JD Vance Israel Gaza Hamas

US Vice President JD Vance expressed "great optimism" that the Gaza truce would hold, ahead of a meeting Wednesday in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Vance is in Israel to shore up support for the US-brokered ceasefire and post-war reconstruction plans. Despite concerns in Israel that Hamas has seized on the pause to ...

Israel Says Received Two Gaza Hostage Bodies from Red Cross

This is Beirut 21/10 22:37 - Reading : less than a minute

Hamas Gaza Israel Israeli Hostages

Israel said its security forces in the Gaza Strip received the remains of two hostages from the Red Cross on Tuesday, returned as part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal. "Israel has received, through the Red Cross, the coffins of two hostages who were killed, which were handed over to an [Israeli military] and Shin Bet force inside the Gaza ...

JD Vance in Israel: Washington Reasserts Control over the Ceasefire

This is Beirut 21/10 18:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel Washington Ceasefire Benjamin Netanyahu Donald Trump

Vance’s trip is part of a broader American diplomatic push. Since Monday, special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have been holding a series of meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Together, they are working to secure an agreement designed not only to end hostilities, but also to lay the groundwork for a new regional security ...

Trump Says Middle East Allies Ready to 'Straighten out Hamas' If Asked

This is Beirut 21/10 17:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Donald Trump United States Hamas Gaza

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that allied nations in the Middle East were prepared to send troops into Gaza, at his request, to confront Hamas if the group did not cease its alleged violations of his peace plan. The threat comes a day after Trump warned Hamas would be "eradicated" if the group did not meet expectations of the agreement, ...

Trump Warns Hamas not to Breach Gaza Deal as Vance Heads to Israel

This is Beirut 21/10 09:02 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Gaza Hamas Palestine Israel Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump threatened to "eradicate" Hamas if it breached its ceasefire deal with Israel, as Vice President JD Vance travelled to the region Tuesday to bolster the fragile Gaza truce. The Trump administration has redoubled its efforts to cement the fragile Gaza peace agreement it helped to broker, after Israel accused ...

Israel Says Forces Received Hostage Body from Red Cross in Gaza

This is Beirut 20/10 21:42 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Hamas Gaza Israeli Hostages

Israel said it had received on Monday the remains of another Gaza hostage handed over as part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal. "Israel has received, through the Red Cross, the coffin of a missing hostage who was handed over to the [Israeli military] and Shin Bet forces inside the Gaza Strip," a statement from the prime minister's ...

Trump says Gaza Ceasefire Still in Force after Israeli Strikes

This is Beirut 20/10 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Gaza Palestine Hamas Israel Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that a ceasefire in Gaza was still holding after Israel carried out deadly strikes on the territory over alleged truce violations by Hamas. The dozens of strikes Israel carried out on Hamas positions in southern Gaza Sunday came after it accused the militant group of targeting its troops in "a blatant ...

UN Says Yemen's Houthis Detaining 20 Staff, Including 15 Foreigners

This is Beirut 19/10 18:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Houthi Movement Yemen United Nations

The UN's office in Yemen said Sunday that 20 of its staff were still being detained by Houthis following a raid on their building in Sanaa the day before. On Saturday, the UN office had said Houthi security forces had made an "unauthorized entry" into their compound, adding the staff there were "safe and accounted for." "Five national staff and ...

Israel and Hamas Accuse Each Other of Breaching Gaza Truce amid Strikes and Clashes

This is Beirut 19/10 15:57 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Israel Gaza Hamas Rafah

Gaza's nine-day-old ceasefire came under strain Sunday after the Israeli army said it launched air strikes in the territory's south in response to attacks it claimed were carried out by Hamas militants against its forces. Hamas, however, maintained it was adhering to the truce, with one official accusing Israel of devising ...