Middle Eastern Headlines at 8:06 p.m. GMT
Israel moves deeper into Rafah and fights Hamas militants regrouping in northern Gaza
Israel moves deeper into Rafah and fights Hamas militants regrouping in northern Gaza
Officers will try and keep opposing groups apart.
French intelligence sources hinted that the massive sabotage attack on rail lines leading to Paris on Friday may have been the work of Left-wing radicals.
Former President Trump on Friday claimed there will be a major war in the Middle East and potentially a “third world war” if he does not win November’s election. Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, one day after Netanyahu met at the White House with President Biden…
Kamala Harris signaled a major shift on US Gaza policy Thursday, with the presidential hopeful telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seal a peace deal and insisting she would not be "silent" on the suffering in the Palestinian enclave."As I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done," she said.
An Israeli commanding officer said that troops in the north of Israel were preparing for an offensive against Lebanon's Hezbollah after months of escalating violence which killed at least 523 people in Lebanon. An Israeli military commander said Friday that troops in the country's north were preparing for "a decisive offensive" against Lebanon's Hezbollah after months of deadly cross-border exchanges.Israeli forces have traded near-daily fire with Hamas ally Hezbollah since the Palestinian milit
Indian soldiers and top brass gathered Friday in the remote Himalayan foothills to commemorate a battle fondly remembered among compatriots for imposing a humiliating military defeat on arch-rival Pakistan.The high-altitude confrontation began when Pakistan-backed militants crossed into Indian territory at Kargil, a remote and high-altitude outpost on the countries' shared frontier.
Ukrainian forces said they destroyed 25 Russian attack drones out of 38 launched overnight
“I served in many countries in the world, many friendly countries,” said Naor Gilon, Israel’s ambassador to India, in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7 terror attacks on his home country. “This wide support, strong support is unprecedented. I am really moved and touched.”
Labor is ‘carefully considering’ the ICJ findings on the occupied Palestinian territories – and soon it will have to give its view
A group of 45 American doctors and nurses describe bloodshed in Gaza in an open letter to the White House, and demand immediate ceasefire.
STORY: The meeting will be closely watched for signs of how Harris, who was the first top U.S. official to call for a ceasefire, could shift U.S. policy towards Israel if she becomes President.Harris was expected to closely track the administration line in the meeting, a U.S. official said, focusing on the plight of Palestinians while also supporting Israel's right to self-defense.Harris joined Democratic and Republican leaders in condemning protesters who burned American flags and sprayed pro-Hamas graffiti outside Washington's Union Station on Wednesday, describing the acts as unpatriotic and abhorrent.The protests coincided with a speech to Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Before he spoke, protesters marched near the U.S. Capitol building, condemning U.S. military aid to Israel during its war with Hamas militants in Gaza.Earlier on Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden held a separate meeting with Netanyahu.
Unidentified saboteurs struck France's train network in a series of pre-dawn attacks across the country on Friday, causing travel chaos and exposing security gaps just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Explosive devices set off fires on signalling infrastructure on three railway lines going into Paris, rail operator SNCF said. Pictures released by SNCF showed engineers repairing charred cables in signal substations.
Israeli strikes hit Gaza on Thursday as the military said it had recovered the bodies of five Israelis taken to Gaza by Hamas militants after they were killed on October 7.Both the military and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said militants had taken their bodies to Gaza after killing them in the October 7 attack.
Amid anger at US vice-president’s call to end Gaza war, many families of hostages held by Hamas agree with her
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fiery speech to Congress may have been delivered in Washington, but his words appeared aimed at an audience back home. Israelis heard their leader, a gifted orator with flawless English, deliver a forceful case for Israel’s actions in the war in Gaza on a global stage. The speech could help boost his political fortunes, but it left many Israelis disappointed.
When a grenade shredded his leg during a hostage rescue mission in Gaza, Israeli soldier Barak wanted to shoot himself to avoid being taken captive by Palestinian militants.He too threw a grenade at the Palestinian fighters who were shooting at him.
Israel’s foreign minister has reportedly warned French authorities of a possible Iran-backed plot to attack the country’s athletes at the Olympics.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the United States comes as negotiations to end the Israel-Hamas war and recover hostages held in Gaza inch forward — with no immediate deal in sight. Egypt, Qatar and the United States continue to push Israel and Hamas toward a phased cease-fire agreement that would stop the fighting and free the hostages. The negotiations have repeatedly hit obstacles over disputes about the governance of post-war Gaza and how enduring the cease-fire will be.
Myanmar's junta and an ethnic minority armed group both claimed on Thursday they were in control of a town and regional military command in northern Shan state following days of clashes. Northern Shan state has been rocked by fighting since late last month when an alliance of ethnic armed groups renewed an offensive against the military along the highway to China's Yunnan province.
STORY: Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza has killed more than 39,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health authorities.:: October 7, 2023:: Ashkelon, IsraelThe war began on October 7 when Hamas militants stormed across the border into Israeli communities. :: October 31, 2023:: Beit Guvrin, IsraelThey killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 253 hostages into Gaza, Israel says. :: How credible is the official toll?So how do Gaza health authorities count the Palestinian dead, and is that toll reliable? :: October 25, 2023U.S. President Joe Biden cast doubt on Gaza's casualty figures in the first weeks of the war.BIDEN: "I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using.":: WHOBut the United Nations regularly cites them and the World Health Organization has voiced its full confidence.:: FilePre-war Gaza had robust population statistics and health information systems, public health experts say. :: October 9, 2023London-based non-profit Airwars compiled a list of Gaza deaths in the first weeks of the war using open-source monitoring and cross-checked it with the Health Ministry toll.In a July study, it found a correlation of at least 75%.Airwars head of investigations, Joe Dyke:"That tells you that it's, at least at the beginning of the war, that the Ministry of Health process was rigorous and reliable.":: How do they count the dead?At first, Gaza health authorities calculated death tolls by counting bodies that arrived in hospitals and recorded names and identity numbers for most of them.But fewer hospitals and morgues now operate.From early May, unidentified Gazans were included, and they now account for nearly a third of the toll.Deaths reported online by family members - who have to input data such as identity numbers - are also now added.JOE DYKE: "We would say that beyond that initial period, definitely the information quality coming out of Gaza has declined, partly because there's been a number of Internet blackouts, partly because a large number of people who were reporting or working at the beginning of the war have either left or been killed or injured.":: Are all the dead counted? As many as 10,000 people were missing under the rubble as of May, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.If indirect deaths, caused by factors like disease were included, the death toll could be more than 186,000, according to a letter from three academics in The Lancet medical journal in early July.The U.N. also believes the true death toll to be higher than the official one. :: Does Hamas control the figures? Hamas has run Gaza since 2007.But the enclave's Health Ministry also answers to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.:: June 25, 2024:: Gaza City, GazaAnd the extent of Hamas control in Gaza now is difficult to assess because Israeli forces occupy most of the Gaza Strip and fighting continues.Israeli officials have cast doubt on the figures because of Hamas' control over government. But at other times, Israel's military has credited the toll with being broadly reliable. Gaza Health Ministry figures do not differentiate between civilians and Hamas combatants, who do not wear uniform or carry special ID.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in May the Gazan official toll included 14,000 Hamas fighters.Hamas says Israel exaggerates its losses but has not said how many of its fighters have been killed. Airwars found at least "some militants" were included in the Health Ministry's list.