Middle East

UN chief demands evacuation of 2,500 Gaza children at ‘imminent risk’ of death

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded that 2,500 children be immediately evacuated from Gaza for medical treatment after meeting with U.S. doctors who said the children were at imminent risk…

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UPDATED: Israel hostages released from Gaza amid chaotic scenes as release of110 Palestinian prisoners delayed

The seven hostages released in Khan Younis, Gaza have arrived in Israel on Thursday, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), meaning all eight hostages released Thursday are now in…

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Reports Syria asked Moscow for Assad to be extradited

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday refused to comment on emerging reports that claim Syria’s new government asked Moscow for Bashar Assad’s extradition in return for Russia keeping its military…

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Israeli drone strike injures 5 people in southern Lebanon, health ministry says

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon wounded 24 people despite a ceasefire in place for over six weeks, Lebanon's health ministry said. A drone strike in Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa injured 20, while…

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Palestinians celebrate their return to northern Gaza after 15 months of war

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians streamed into Gaza’s most heavily destroyed area on Monday after Israel opened the north for the first time since the early weeks of the war…

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Twenty five Israeli hostages in Gaza still alive – report

Twenty five out of 33 hostages on a Hamas list are alive, according to an Israeli government spokesperson. Reuters quoted the spokesperson, who was commenting after Hamas provided more detail…

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Deal reached to release more Israeli hostages, allow Gazans to return home north

Palestinian militant group Hamas will hand over female Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud and two other hostages before Friday, mediator Qatar said on Sunday, and Israel said it would allow residents…

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Israeli army chief to resign over huge security breach in Hamas’ Oct 7 attack

Israel's army chief Herzi Halevi said he would resign on March 6, taking responsibility for the massive security lapse on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas gunmen from Gaza carried…

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Hamas says next hostages will be released on Saturday as scheduled

Hamas said it would next release hostages held in Gaza on Saturday, after an official with the Palestinian militant group had said they would be released a day later than…

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Hamas frees hostages, Israel releases Palestinian prisoners on day one of ceasefire

Hamas released three Israeli hostages and Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the first day of a ceasefire suspending a 15-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip and…

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Israeli PM’s office says first hostages expected to be released on Sunday

The Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal is expected to begin as originally scheduled on Sunday, the Israeli prime minister's office said, after hours of uncertainty over the timing of…

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Netanyahu says deal to release hostages held in Gaza has been reached after last minute snags

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached, after his office said earlier there were last minute snags in…

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Turkish Airlines will resume flights to Damascus

Turkish Airlines will resume its flights to Damascus, Syria, next week after a halt of more than a decade, officials said following a visit by a delegation of Syria’s new,…

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Gaza ceasefire deal reached by Israel and Hamas

Hamas and Israel reached a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that mediators said would take effect on Sunday and include a release of hostages held there during 15 months…

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Hamas ‘very close to an agreement’ with Israel, official says

Hamas is reportedly nearing a ceasefire agreement with Israel involving a hostage exchange for Palestinian prisoners, according to a militant group official. Both Israeli and US officials have also acknowledged…

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Final draft of Gaza truce deal presented after ‘breakthrough’

Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal on Monday to end the war in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after a midnight "breakthrough"…

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Who is Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese army commander elected president?

General Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese army commander who was elected president on Thursday, kept his military on the sidelines of a recent war between Israel and armed group Hezbollah, ordering…

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UPDATED: Lebanon’s army chief elected president

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys U.S. approval and showing the diminished sway of the…

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International flights resume at Damascus airport

International flights resumed at Syria's main airport in Damascus on Tuesday for the first time since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al-Assad last month. Excitement was in the air at…

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UAE in talks with US, Israel about provisional government for post-war Gaza

The United Arab Emirates has discussed with Israel and the United States participating in a provisional administration of post-war Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to take charge,…

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Hamas says it has approved Israeli list of 34 hostages for possible deal

Hamas was said Sunday evening to have agreed with Israel on a list of 34 hostages to be released in the first phase of a potential ceasefire deal, but the…

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New Syrian regime’s school curriculum changes spark backlash

Syria’s new regime has announced sweeping changes to the national school curriculum, triggering concerns about “Islamisation”. Critics fear the changes, including an increased focus on Islam and the removal of…

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Israel reveals commandos had raided missile plant in Syria in September

Israel's military said its special forces had raided an underground missile production site in Syria in September that it said was primed to produce hundreds of precision missiles for use…

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Gaza’s Islamic Jihad says Israeli hostage tried to take own life

An Israeli hostage held by Gaza's Islamic Jihad militant group has tried to take his own life, the spokesperson for the movement's armed wing said in a video posted on…

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Syria’s de facto leader says holding elections could take up to four years

Holding elections in Syria could take up to four years, Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said in remarks broadcast on Sunday, the first time he has commented on a…

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UPDATED: Syria’s new rulers declare crackdown as tensions flare in coastal area

Syria's new authorities on Thursday launched a security crackdown in a coastal region where 14 policemen were killed a day before, vowing to pursue "remnants" of the ousted Bashar al-Assad…

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Lebanon to cooperate with Interpol on arrest of Syrian official accused of war crimes

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Lebanon will cooperate with an Interpol request to arrest former Syrian intelligence officer Jamil Hassan, accused by US authorities of war crimes under…

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Israeli defense minister claims responsibility for first time for Hamas leader Haniyeh’s assassination

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz admitted for the first time publicly to Israel's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran in July, further risking tensions between Tehran and its…

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EU leaders agree key principles on Syria but caution: ‘The jury is still out’

The European Union has signalled openness to easing sanctions on Syria following the fall of Assad’s regime, though no specific timeline has been provided. On Thursday, EU leaders agreed on…

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Syria not a threat to world, rebel leader says

Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s de facto leader, has stated that the war-torn country poses no threat to its neighbours or the West and called for the lifting of sanctions. Speaking to…

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Syria’s HTS leader says rebel groups will be ‘disbanded’ to join one army

Syria's rebel factions will be "disbanded" and integrated into the "ranks of the defence ministry," announced Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which led rebel forces…

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Why does Syria have a ‘new’ flag and what does it mean?

People in Syria and those across the world have taken to the streets to celebrate the end of dictator Bashar Al Assad's brutal regime, raising an alternative version of the…

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Russia pulling back but not out of Syria, sources say

Russia is pulling back its military from the front lines in northern Syria and from posts in the Alawite Mountains but is not leaving its two main bases in the…

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How the loss of its Mediterranean naval base in Syria would weaken Russia as a global power

By Basil Germond, Professor of International Security, Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University The fall of the Assad regime constitutes a major blow to Russia’s foreign policy and…

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Syria’s Population Crisis: Millions Displaced Since 2011

On Sunday morning, millions of Syrians, both within the country and abroad, woke up to a changed nation after opposition forces swept into Damascus, bringing an end to President Bashar…

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Syria’s new transitional PM calls for stability and calm

The prime minister of Syria's new transitional government has said it is time for people to "enjoy stability and calm" after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Mohammed al-Bashir, the…

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Israel pounds Syrian army bases, denies deeper incursion

Israel pounded Syrian army bases on Tuesday in strikes it says aim to keep weapons from falling into hostile hands, but denied its forces had advanced into Syria beyond a…

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Netanyahu takes the stand in his corruption trial for the first time

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the witness stand for the first time on Tuesday in his long-running corruption trial to give testimony that will likely force him to juggle…

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European countries put Syrian asylum bids on hold after Assad’s fall

European countries put asylum applications from Syrians on hold until further notice on Monday after rebels seized the Syrian capital and President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia following 13 years…

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Work begins on new Syrian government and order after Assad ouster

The lightning overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad left Syrians, countries in the region and world powers nervous on Tuesday about what comes next as the rebel alliance took its first…

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Assad’s downfall — the winners and losers

After a lightning rebel advance overran Damascus and forced Syrian strongman Bashar Assad to flee, the world is trying to understand the latest dramatic rupture in the Middle East and…

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Syria’s Assad is in Moscow after deal on military bases

Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow with his family after Russia granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds, a Kremlin source told Russian news agencies, and a deal has…

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Israeli military enters Golan Heights, Airstrikes hit chemical weapons depot in Damascus

Israel’s military entered a demilitarized buffer zone in the Syrian-controlled Golan Heights on Sunday aiming to head off any threat from the insurgency that has toppled Syrian dictator Bashar Assad,…

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Syrian insurgents capture central city of Hama

Syrian insurgents swept into the central city of Hama on Thursday and government forces withdrew, dealing another major blow to Syrian President Bashar Assad days after insurgents captured much of…

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Israeli forces advance in Khan Younis area of south Gaza, 47 killed across enclave

Israeli tanks pushed into northern parts of the Khan Younis area in the south of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and Palestinian medics said further Israeli airstrikes had killed at…

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Donald Trump Warns Hamas Says, ‘Release Hostages Or There Will Be Hell To Pay’

US President-elect Donald Trump threatened those holding hostages in the Middle East with unprecedented American firepower if they are not released by the time he enters office on January 20.…

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Iraqi fighters head to Syria to battle rebels but Lebanon’s Hezbollah stays out

Hundreds of Iran-backed Iraqi fighters crossed into Syria to help the government fight rebels who seized Aleppo last week, but Lebanon's Hezbollah has no plans for now to join them,…

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Russian, Syrian jets intensify bombing of Syria’s rebel-held northwest

Russian and Syrian jets bombed the rebel-held city of Idlib on Sunday, marking a second day of heavy strikes in northern Syria as government forces pushed back against insurgents who…

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Kremlin says it wants Syria to swiftly restore order after rebel attack

The Kremlin said on Friday it wanted the Syrian government to restore constitutional order in the Aleppo region as soon as possible after an insurgent offensive there that captured territory…

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Israel says ceasefire with Hezbollah violated, fires on south Lebanon

Israel said on Thursday that its ceasefire with Hezbollah was breached hours after Lebanese security sources said Israeli tanks attacked six areas of southern Lebanon, calling into question a truce…

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Syrian and Russian jets bomb rebel-held northwest Syria

The Russian and Syrian air forces bombed rebel-held northwest Syria near the border with Turkey on Thursday to push back a rebel offensive that captured territory for the first time…

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Gunfire heard across Beirut as Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire takes effect

A ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah came into effect at 0200 GMT on Wednesday after U.S. President Joe Biden said both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the…

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Lebanese sources: Biden, Macron set to announce Israel-Hezbollah truce

U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to announce a ceasefire in Lebanon between armed group Hezbollah and Israel imminently, four senior Lebanese sources said. In…

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Little hope in Gaza that arrest warrants will cool Israeli onslaught

Gazans saw little hope on Friday that International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli leaders would slow down the onslaught on the Palestinian territory, where medics said at least 21…

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UPDATED: Biden says ICC war crimes arrest warrant ‘outrageous’

US President Joe Biden has called an International Criminal Court war crimes arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister “outrageous”. The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu's…

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ICC issues arrest warrants for Israel’s Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas leader

Judges at the International Criminal Court have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for…

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Hamas: No hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless Gaza war ends

Hamas' acting Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday that there would be no hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless the war in the Palestinian enclave ended.…

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