War in the Middle East

ExplainerFrom Iran’s Nuclear Program to Gaza: The Gulf as the New Hub of Global Diplomacy (1/2)

Malo Pinatel 12/05 21:00 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Gulf United Arab Emirates Bahrain Hamas Qatar Oman

On December 8, 2024, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stated that the member states of the GCC “are committed to strengthening dialogue and diplomacy, ensuring that the Gulf region remains a hub for peace and cooperation amid growing global competition.” This was said during a roundtable on the future of cooperative ...

Hamas Releases US-Israeli Hostage

This is Beirut 12/05 20:46 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Israel Gaza Hamas

The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas handed over a US-Israeli hostage held in Gaza since October 2023 on Monday, ahead of a regional visit by US President Donald Trump. "The (Ezzedine) Al-Qassam Brigades have just released the Zionist soldier and American citizen Edan Alexander, following contacts with the US administration, as ...

Edan Alexander's Release: A Diplomatic Turning Point Between Washington and Hamas

Sana Richa Choucair 12/05 17:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hamas Donald Trump US Gaza Israel Hostages

Edan Alexander, 21, is the only American national still held alive in Gaza. After moving from New Jersey to Israel in 2022, he joined an elite unit of the Israeli army and was taken by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attack. In a statement released on Sunday, the spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said: “The ...

Israel PM Says to Send Gaza Negotiators to Qatar Tuesday

This is Beirut 12/05 17:10 - Reading : less than a minute

Israel Gaza Hamas Benjamin Netanyahu US

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he would send mediators to Qatar on Tuesday to discuss the release of hostages held in Gaza after Hamas announced the release of US-Israeli Edan Alexander. Following a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff and ambassador Mike Huckabee, "the Prime Minister instructed to send a negotiation ...

Hamas Releases Video of Two Israeli Hostages Alive in Gaza

This is Beirut 10/05 23:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Gaza Hostages

Hamas's armed wing released a video on Saturday showing two Israeli hostages alive in the Gaza Strip, with one of the two men calling to end the 19-month-long war. The pair were identified by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group as Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim Ohana, who were kidnapped during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on ...

Israel Intercepts Missile Launched from Yemen

This is Beirut 09/05 18:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Hamas Houthi Palestine United States

Israel's military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on Friday, with AFP journalists reporting explosions heard in the Jerusalem area. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the missile fire, which follows attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels, including a strike on Sunday on Israel's main airport. The Israeli ...

Israel Threatens Iran With the Same Fate as Hamas and Hezbollah

This is Beirut 08/05 09:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Iran Israel Katz Hamas

Israel will do to Iran what it has done to Hamas in Gaza, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Thursday, days after an attack on Ben Gurion Airport by Iran-backed Houthis. "I warn... Iranian leaders who finance, arm, and exploit the Houthi terrorist organization: the proxy system is terminated, and the axis of evil has collapsed," Katz said in a ...

Syria's Sharaa Confirms Indirect Talks with Israel to Ease Tensions

This is Beirut 07/05 22:31 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Ahmed al-Sharaa Syria Israel

President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Wednesday that Syria was holding "indirect talks" with Israel to calm tensions between the two countries, following Israeli strikes and threats against Syria since Bashar al-Assad's ouster. "There are indirect talks (with Israel) taking place through mediators to calm the situation and try to ...

Hamas Insists on 'Comprehensive' Deal to End Gaza War

This is Beirut 07/05 16:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Gaza

Hamas insisted Wednesday on a "comprehensive" agreement to end its war with Israel, as rescuers said Israeli bombardment of Gaza killed at least 26 people amid a growing humanitarian catastrophe. A two-month ceasefire in the war collapsed in March, with Israel resuming intense strikes and imposing a total aid blockade on the Palestinian ...

Hamas Reportedly Pledges to Halt Military Activity from Lebanon

This is Beirut 07/05 15:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Hamas Israel Lebanon

A Lebanese security source revealed on Wednesday that Lebanon has “received assurances from Hamas that no military action will be carried out from Lebanese territory.” The source, quoted by Sky News Arabia, also disclosed that Hamas is expected to “hand over in the coming hours” a fourth suspect wanted by the Lebanese authorities for ...

26 Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza, Including 15 at School Shelter

This is Beirut 07/05 13:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Gaza

Gaza's civil defence agency said Wednesday that Israeli bombardment killed at least 26 people, 15 of them in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City. Israel has drawn international condemnation over its plans to expand its military offensive in the Palestinian territory, ravaged by 19 months of war. Israel's far-right ...

UN: Israel's Gaza Offensive Marks 'Very Dangerous Moment'

This is Beirut 07/05 13:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Palestine United Nations

The UN's human rights chief told AFP Wednesday that Israel's plan for an expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip represented "a very dangerous moment" for civilians there. "What we see is only more destruction, more hatred, more dehumanisation," said Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, during a visit to Copenhagen for ...