Middle East
Egypt sends delegation to Israel for Gaza talks
An Egyptian delegation met Israeli officials yesterday, looking for a way to restart talks to end the offensive in Gaza and return the remaining Israeli hostages, an official briefed on the meetings said.
‘My son is on the bulldozer’
Palestinian woman Reem Zidan had been searching for her son for months, and finally found his body on Wednesday as a bulldozer unearthed human remains outside a Gaza hospital.
Red Sea Crisis: US downs Houthi anti-ship missile, four drones
US-led coalition forces shot down four drones and an anti-ship missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, American authorities said yesterday, as the Iran-backed group announced strikes against US and Israeli ships.
Israel pounds Rafah before ‘offensive’
Israel stepped up airstrikes on Rafah after saying it would evacuate civilians from the southern Gazan city and launch an all-out assault despite allies’ warnings this could cause mass casualties.
Gaza could surpass famine thresholds in 6 weeks: WFP
The Gaza Strip could surpass famine thresholds of food insecurity, malnutrition and mortality in six weeks, an official from the World Food Programme said yesterday.
Israeli army strikes 40 Hezbollah targets
The Israeli army said yesterday it struck 40 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon as near-daily exchanges of fire rage on the border between the two countries.
Gaza protests grow at US colleges
Protests against Israel filled streets in Brooklyn and escalated at universities across the United States, some of which included Jewish Passover Seders, as demonstrators demanded an end to civilian casualties in Gaza.
Iran cuts Syria presence after strikes blamed on Israel
Iran has reduced its military footprint in Syria after a succession of strikes blamed on Israel, a source close to Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and a war monitor said yesterday.
Israel holds Palestinian economy captive: analysts
The Gaza offensive is speeding up Israel’s “annexation” of the Palestinian economy, say analysts, who argue it has been hobbled for decades by agreements that followed the Oslo peace accords.
Iran, Israel ‘pull back’ from brink of war
Iran has dismissed as akin to child’s play Israel’s reported retaliation for an unprecedented Iranian strike, as both sides yesterday appeared to step back from wider conflict stemming from the war in Gaza.
Blast hits Iraq base housing pro-Iranian armed groups
One person was killed and eight wounded in an overnight explosion at an Iraqi military base housing a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups, officials said Saturday.
Israel kills ‘10 militants’ in West Bank
The Israeli army yesterday said troops had killed 10 militants in an ongoing raid around Nur Shams, a refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank.
Lacking storm drains, Dubai sees persistent flooding
When record downpours sent water flooding into his Dubai home, Riaz Haq expected the levels to drop once it stopped raining. But instead of falling, the water kept rising higher
Calls for calm after reported Israeli strike on Iran
World leaders appealed for calm Friday after reported Israeli retaliation against Iran added to months of tense spillover from the war in Gaza, with Iranian state media reporting explosions in a central province
Israel, Iran ready to de-escalate, for now: analysts
The limited nature of Israel’s reported strike on Iran and the restrained immediate Iranian reaction shows both sides, in particular Tehran, are looking to de-escalate after weeks of tensions but the situation remains dangerously explosive, analysts say.
Iran plays down Israeli attacks
Explosions echoed over an Iranian city yesterday in what sources described as an Israeli attack, but Tehran played down the incident and indicated it had no plans for retaliation - a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war.
US veto sinks Palestine’s UN membership bid
The United States on Thursday effectively stopped the United Nations from recognising a Palestinian state by casting a veto in the Security Council to deny Palestinians full membership of the world body.
Iran vs Israel
Iran’s first direct attack on Israel on April 13 has brought renewed focus on their air-defence capabilities as Israeli leaders decide how best to respond. Below is a look at both countries’ air forces and aerial defence systems:
