Gaza health officials say 24 killed in Israeli strikes
Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Basal told AFP that at least 20 were killed in a strike on a...Geostrategy
Battles rage in Rafah as Biden blames Hamas for truce delay
On Monday, the UN Security Council adopted a US-drafted resolution supporting the plan, and on Thursday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz...Geostrategy
Qatar calls for international probe into Israeli raids on Gaza hospitals
Israeli forces raided and then combed through Al-Shifa, Gaza's largest hospital, before withdrawing and redeploying around its outskirts, a journalist...Qatari foreign ministry in a statement called for "an urgent international investigation" including by UN to look into "the targeting of hospitals by the Israeli army"
Qatari mediation efforts have so far led to the release of four out of around 240 hostages Israeli officials estimate were seized by Hamas fighters on October 7
Israeli opposition leader calls on Netanyahu to resign ‘immediately’
Four days after Hamas's surprise October 7 attack on Israel, Netanyahu and another opposition leader, Benny Gantz, announced an agreement...Lapid called for a no-confidence vote in parliament that would allow for the formation of a new government led by another member of Likud party
In a statement posted to Telegram, Likud immediately rebuffed the call, saying such a proposal in a "time of war" was "shameful"
Gaza cancer patients fly to Turkey for treatment
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 27 patients had been flown to Turkey from Egypt, along with 13 companions, without specifying...Two planes carrying the patients, many of them children, landed at Ankara airport
Turkey has sent material for field hospitals, ambulances and generators to Egypt to treat civilians
Biden, Xi take steps to reduce tensions at key summit
Central to the discussions was the commitment to restore military-to-military communications, previously severed after a visit by former House Speaker...In opening remarks, Biden said the US and China had to ensure that competition between them "does not veer into conflict" and manage their relationship "responsibly."
Xi called the US-China relationship "the most important bilateral relationship," saying he and Biden "shoulder heavy responsibilities for the two peoples, and for the world."
Israel’s regional ties strained amid Gaza conflict
Escalating Middle East tensions and Netanyahu's policies affect Israel's ties with Egypt and Jordan amid Arab concerns over civilian casualties...Escalating Gaza tensions and Netanyahu's policies strain Israel's ties with Egypt and Jordan amid Arab concerns over civilian casualties and Palestinian displacement.
UAE's stable relations with Israel contrast Saudi Arabia's demand for significant Israeli peace concessions, casting uncertainty on regional resolution prospects.
Iran urges UN to deliver aid quickly in desperate Gaza
"The amount of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza is very small and almost zero, and it is necessary for the...The Iranian foreign minister said the amount of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza is very small and almost zero.
Trucks carrying the first delivery of fuel to Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7 crossed from Egypt Wednesday.
Biden, Xi set for high-stakes summit
San Francisco, US - US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will try to prevent the superpowers' rivalry spilling...With tensions soaring over issues including Taiwan, sanctions and trade, the leaders of the world's largest economies are expected to hold at least three hours
The 80-year-old Biden held out an olive branch to Xi, 70, on the eve of the talks, insisting that the United States was "not trying to decouple from China"
Erdogan calls Israel a ‘terror state’ before his Germany visit
ANKARA, TURKEY - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called Israel a "terror state", stepping up his condemnation of the...The Turkish leader took a more nuanced line immediately after Hamas's October 7 cross-border attacks.
Health officials in the Hamas-run territory say more than 11,300 people, also mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza.
UN appalled by Israeli military raid on Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital
UNICEF's executive director Catherine Russell, on a rare visit to the Palestinian territory by a top UN official, said she...Just hours after receiving its first wartime delivery of fuel from outside Gaza, the UN warned Wednesday its operations in the territory were facing collapse.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the killing "of women, of children, of babies" in the Israel-Hamas war must stop.
US renews waiver allowing Iraq to buy Iranian gas
Due to US sanctions against Iran, Baghdad cannot pay Tehran directly for its gas. Baghdad's unpaid bills to Tehran for...A US official said Iraq can use its own funds to "render payment for Iranian electricity imports into restricted Iranian accounts in Iraq"
In order to force Baghdad to pay its arrears, Tehran regularly suspends its gas supplies, which are essential for Iraq's power stations