An Israeli strike hit the home where a displaced Palestinian family was sheltering in the southern city of Rafah, relatives and neighbors told AFP as they scraped at the soil with their hands. Al-Arja said the blast killed at least 10 people. “We retrieved the remains of children and women, finding arms and feet. They … Read more
LONDON: In July 2018, a senior Iranian official made an announcement that raised eyebrows around the Middle East. The Islamic Republic, said Manouchehr Manteqi, head of the Headquarters for Development of Knowledge-Based Aviation and Aeronautics Technology and Industry, was now capable of producing drones self-sufficiently, without reliance on foreign suppliers or outside technical know-how. International … Read more
BEIRUT: UN officials said on Monday that six months of conflict between the Israeli military and Hezbollah along the border between Israel and Lebanon must end, as they called for deescalation of the violence “while there is still space for diplomacy.” The appeal on Monday by the UN’s special coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, and … Read more
JEDDAH: Israeli troops pulled out of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Sunday after months of fierce fighting half a year into the war sparked by the attack against Israel by Hamas militants on October 7. Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the withdrawal was because “Hamas ceased to exist as a military framework” in … Read more
How a ceasefire and unrestricted aid access could yet prevent a famine in north Gaza LONDON: Desperate appeals from UN agencies urging Israel to allow aid into Gaza to alleviate hunger and avert an imminent famine in the north of the embattled Palestinian enclave appear to have fallen on deaf ears. Despite a UN Security … Read more
BEIRUT: Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to fully implementing all international resolutions, especially UN Resolution 1701, approved in 2006 to resolve the war between Israel and Hezbollah that same year. He also emphasized the need for Israel to implement these resolutions fully and to cease its attacks on Lebanon’s sovereignty. Mikati … Read more
WASHINGTON: The United States has taken a public distance from Israel as never before over the Gaza war but the decisive test will be Rafah and whether Israel heeds US warnings against an offensive in the packed city.
RAFAH: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Egypt’s border with the Gazan city of Rafah on Saturday to reiterate pleas for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. His visit comes after the UN Security Council’s failure to pass a resolution to halt the Israeli offensive on Gaza, which is now entering its sixth month with … Read more
TEL AVIV: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday that Israel risked further global isolation if it attacks the Palestinian city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Blinken met one-on-one with Netanyahu during a peace mission to the Middle East at a time of strain in relations over … Read more
Who are the real ‘Order of Assassins’ depicted in the new must-watch TV series ‘Al-Hashasheen’? LONDON: The sweeping period drama “Al-Hashasheen” — or “The Assassins” — is certain to be one of the big hits of the Ramadan TV season. For many younger viewers, the story of the martial order founded by an enigmatic religious … Read more