Middle East

Israel-Hamas War
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- Israel-Hamas War

Mediators herald Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal. Israel says final details are in flux

Mediators say Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to pause the devastating 15-month war in the Gaza Strip, raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

Middle East latest: Israel’s Netanyahu says Gaza ceasefire deal is not complete

Gaza truce gives Israelis and Palestinians hope but may not end their suffering

Here are the key negotiators who helped get a Gaza ceasefire deal

Turkish Airlines will resume flights to Damascus, officials say after visit by Syria’s new rulers

Hamas OKs draft agreement of a Gaza ceasefire and the release of some hostages, officials say

Officials say Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages.

A look at the terms — and tensions — in the Israel-Hamas draft ceasefire deal

If the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal goes according to the current draft, then fighting will stop in Gaza for 42 days, and dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed.

UN human rights chief calls for lifting Western sanctions on Syria as country rebuilds after Assad

The United Nations human rights chief has called for the lifting of Western sanctions imposed on Syria over its yearslong civil war, now that former leader Bashar Assad has been ousted and sent into exile.

Israel supplied Iran with centrifuge platforms containing explosives, top official acknowledges

Israel supplied Iran with centrifuge platforms containing explosives for its nuclear enrichment program in an act of sabotage.

After economic meltdown and war with Israel, Lebanon’s new prime minister vows to rebuild

Lebanon’s prime minister-designate has vowed to rebuild the country following years of economic meltdown and a 14-month war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.

Biden issues directive allowing Cyprus to buy American arms from the US government

President Joe Biden has issued a directive that for the first time allows Cyprusto buy arms from the U.S. government and get surplus American military equipment in a move welcomed as promoting stability in the eastern Mediterranean.

What does the ceasefire agreement mean for Israel, Hamas and the wider Middle East?

Mediators say Israel and Hamas have agreed to a pause in fighting in Gaza and to begin releasing the hostages held there.

The Israel-Hamas war’s devastating toll, by the numbers

Officials announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal to pause more than 15 months of war and release hostages held in Gaza.

Trump and Biden both claim credit for Gaza ceasefire deal

President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump are both claiming credit for Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire deal in Gaza after the White House brought Trump’s Middle East envoy into negotiations that have dragged on for months.

UN food agency says some donors are hesitant to fund urgent Syrian aid under the new authorities

The director of the U.N. World Food Program says that some governments are hesitant to boost funding for urgent humanitarian needs in Syria under the country’s new interim rulers after the fall of former President Bashar Assad.

Blinken makes the case for post-war reconstruction, security and governance of Gaza

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made a last-minute case for a plan for the post-war reconstruction and governance of Gaza as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears tantalizingly close to completion.

Middle East latest: Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 17, medics say, as Hamas accepts a ceasefire draft

Palestinian health officials say Israeli strikes on homes in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 17 people.

What to watch as Pete Hegseth faces questions about his experience and personal past

Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth will publicly face senators on Tuesday for the first time after weeks of privately pushing back on criticism over his qualifications and personal past.

Palestinians dedicate a new West Bank olive grove to Jimmy Carter

Palestinian activists in the northern West Bank have planted an olive grove in memory of the late U.S.

Russia says Iran’s president will visit this week and sign a partnership pact with Putin

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin will host his Iranian counterpart President Masoud Pezeshkian this week for the signing of a broad partnership pact between Moscow and Tehran.

Trump team is questioning civil servants at National Security Council about commitment to his agenda

At least some of these nonpolitical employees have begun packing up their belongings since being asked about their loyalty to President-elect Trump, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

Middle East latest: Gaza ceasefire talks press on in Qatar

Officials say Israel and Hamas appear to be inching closer to a phased ceasefire agreement. But a deal hasn’t been reached yet.

Germany welcomes release of German-Iranian rights activist from prison in Iran and her return home

Germany has welcomed the release of a German-Iranian rights activist from prison in Iran and her return to Germany.

What are the main obstacles to a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages?

Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect talks for more than a year aimed at ending the war in Gaza and returning scores of militant-held hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Significant progress made in talks over Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release, officials say

Officials say U.S. and Arab mediators made significant progress overnight toward brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of scores of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but a deal has not been reached yet.

Biden says he’s leaving Trump with a ‘strong hand to play’ in world conflicts

As President Joe Biden prepares to leave office next week, he’s insistent that his one-term presidency has made strides in restoring American credibility on the world stage and has proved that the U.S. remains an indispensable partner around the globe.

Biden speaks with relatives of Americans held by Taliban, but deal to bring them home still elusive

President Joe Biden has spoken with relatives of three Americans the U.S. government is looking to bring home from Afghanistan, but no agreement has been reached on a deal to get them back.

Biden and Netanyahu discuss the latest in the effort to reach an Israel-Hamas war ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden have spoken in a phone call on the latest efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release in the Israel-Hamas war.

Italy releases Iranian citizen held on a US warrant over drone attack in Jordan

Italy has released an Iranian citizen wanted by the U.S. over a drone attack in Jordan that killed three Americans a year ago, after the Italian justice minister asked a court to revoke his arrest.

Lebanese whose homes were destroyed in the war want to rebuild. Many face a long wait

It’s been six weeks since a ceasefire halted the war between Israel and Hezbollah and many displaced Lebanese whose homes were destroyed in the fighting want to rebuild.

Israel’s Netanyahu sends Mossad director to Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar in sign of progress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza.

Turkey’s Kurdish leaders meet jailed politician as the two sides inch toward peace

A delegation from one of Turkey’s biggest pro-Kurdish political parties has met a leading figure of the Kurdish movement in prison, the latest step in a tentative process to end the country’s 40-year conflict.

Syrian intelligence agency says it thwarted a planned Islamic State attack on a Shiite shrine

Intelligence officials in Syria’s new de facto government say they have thwarted a plan by the Islamic State group to set off a bomb at a Shiite shrine in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab.

Syrians celebrate a month since Assad’s overthrow with revolutionary songs in Damascus

A packed concert hall in Damascus came alive this week with cheers as Wasfi Maasarani, a renowned singer and symbol of the Syrian uprising, performed in celebration of “Syria’s victory.”

Who is Joseph Aoun, a low-profile army chief who is now Lebanon’s president?

Lebanon’s new president and former army commander Joseph Aoun has maintained a low profile. Those who know him say he is no-nonsense and averse to affiliating himself with any party or even expressing a political opinion.

Israel rallies global support to win release of a woman believed kidnapped in Iraq

A senior Israeli official says the government is working with allies in a renewed push to win the freedom of an Israeli-Russian researcher who is believed to have been kidnapped in Iraq nearly two years ago.

Conflict between Turkey and Kurdish groups rises around key dam in northern Syria

A key dam in northern Syria has become a flash point in the conflict between Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed armed groups.

Iran says Swiss national held on espionage charges kills himself in prison

A Swiss national detained in Iran on espionage charges has killed himself at a prison in rural Semnan province. That’s according to a state media report Thursday.

Iran holds military drills as it faces rising economic pressures and Trump’s return

Iran is reeling from a cratering economy and stinging military setbacks across its sphere of influence in the Middle East.

Middle East latest: Gaza war deaths pass 46,000 and Lebanon ends presidential deadlock

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, with no end in sight to the 15-month conflict.