Middle East

UK deploys military to eastern Mediterranean to support Israel: PM office

LONDON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – The British government will send two Royal Navy ships and surveillance aircraft to the eastern Mediterranean to support Israel, the prime minister’s office said Thursday. “Alongside our allies, the deployment of our world class military will support efforts to ensure regional stability and prevent further escalation,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement. “Our military and diplomatic teams across the region will also support international partners to re-establish […]

Continue Reading →

Israel ’emergency government’ sworn in

JERUSALEM, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli lawmakers on Thursday endorsed an expanded “emergency government”, parliament said, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a war-time partnership with a rival. Benny Gantz and four members of his party were sworn in as ministers without portfolio, in parliament shortly after the 66-4 vote. Netanyahu, dressed in black, told parliament ahead of the vote that “the unity we are establishing sends a message of great force”, […]

Continue Reading →

ALERT: US to arrange flights to help citizens leave Israel: W. House

WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – The White House said Thursday it was working to organize charter flights to help US citizens leave Israel as the number of confirmed American dead in the war with Hamas rose to 27. “Beginning tomorrow, (the) United States government will arrange charter flights to provide transportation from Israel to sites in Europe,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby, adding that officials were “still working through some of […]

Continue Reading →

US, Qatar to halt Iran access to $6bn fund after Hamas attack: report

WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) -WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – The United States and Qatar officials have agreed to prevent Iran from using a $6 billion humanitarian assistance fund, following militant group Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, a news report said Thursday. The money had been transferred to Iranian accounts in Qatar, in a US-Iran prisoner swap deal announced in recent weeks where five US detainees were also released by Iran. But The Washington […]

Continue Reading →

US ‘always by your side’, Blinken tells Israel in war with Hamas

By Shaun Tandon with Adel Zaannoun in Gaza City TEL AVIV, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed unwavering US support for Israel in its war on Hamas during a visit Thursday but said the Palestinians also have “legitimate aspirations” not represented by the Islamists. Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people in Israel and took about 150 hostages in their surprise onslaught from Gaza on Saturday. Israel has retaliated by raining air […]

Continue Reading →

Israeli artillery fires on Gaza every 30 seconds

By Patrick Anidjar NETIVOT, Israel, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Like clockwork, every 30 seconds Israeli artillery goes into action against a barely visible target somewhere in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Israel has vowed to “crush” Hamas after gunmen from the Palestinian Islamist group stormed across the border and killed 1,200 people — the deadliest attack on the country since it was founded 75 years ago. Six days since the offensive took Israel by surprise, […]

Continue Reading →

Netanyahu shows Blinken horrific pictures of babies killed by Hamas: PM office

JERUSALEM, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday showed visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken horrific pictures of babies he said were killed by Hamas militants in Israel over the weekend. The pictures were posted by the prime minister’s office on X, formerly Twitter. One picture showed a dead baby in a body bag while the other showed the charred remains of another infant. Israel is reeling under a deadly […]

Continue Reading →

Countries evacuate citizens as Israel-Hamas war rages

PARIS, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Thousands of foreigners are stuck in Israel and across the Palestinian territories, where a full-blown war has erupted since Hamas militants launched their attack. With the violence having already claimed thousands of lives on both sides, several countries have launched operations to repatriate their citizens, while others plan to do so in the coming days. Here is an overview of ongoing and planned evacuations, according to official sources. – […]

Continue Reading →

Saudi prince, Iran president hold call on Israel-Hamas war

RIYADH, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler and Iran’s president spoke by phone about the war between Israel and Hamas, Saudi state media said early Thursday, their first call since a surprise rapprochement in March. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a call on Wednesday from the Iranian leader, Ebrahim Raisi, during which they discussed “the current military situation in Gaza and its environs”, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) […]

Continue Reading →

Hamas waging propaganda war on Israel with shocking videos: experts

By Célia LEBUR PARIS, Oct 10, 2023 (AFP) – A grandmother’s death live streamed, fighters announcing to Israelis their relatives have been killed or humiliating hostage videos show Hamas’s determination to use social media propaganda alongside violence, experts say. Mor Bayder’s phone didn’t buzz on Saturday morning — her grandmother’s routine call to ask if she was awake. Instead, she discovered her grandmother’s “brutal murder” during the Hamas attack on a village bordering the Gaza […]

Continue Reading →

Israel retakes Gaza border zones from Hamas as war toll mounts

By Adel Zaanoun, with Rosie Scammell in Jerusalem GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, Oct 11, 2023 (AFP) – Israel said it recaptured Gaza border areas from Hamas on Tuesday, the fourth day of fierce fighting that has left thousands dead on both sides since the militants launched a surprise attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Israel’s military campaign following Saturday’s onslaught is only the start of a sustained war to destroy Hamas and “change the […]

Continue Reading →

President Biden: 11 Americans dead, others likely held hostage

By Danny KEMP WASHINGTON, Oct 9, 2023 (AFP) – President Joe Biden said Monday that Americans are likely being held hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas after its surprise attack on Israel, and that at least 11 US citizens were killed in the assault. Hamas dragged off about 150 hostages in its weekend onslaught on southern Israel from Gaza, an attack that a senior US defense official said involved “ISIS-level savagery”. Hamas threatened on Monday […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 32 33 34 35 36 … 101