GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Oct 23, 2023 (AFP) – Gaza’s Hamas rulers said Monday that they had freed two more women abducted from Israel during the October 7 attacks. The Palestinian Islamist group’s military wing said the two elderly women, identified as Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper, had been freed for “compelling humanitarian” reasons following mediation by Qatar and Egypt. Their husbands were still in captivity, among more than 200 hostages still held by Hamas, […]
Tag: conflict
Russia resumes assault on Avdiivka: Ukrainian military
KYIV, Ukraine, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – Russia has stepped up its military assault on Avdiivka in its ongoing bid to encircle and capture the eastern Ukrainian city, Ukraine’s general staff said Friday. The frontline city in the eastern Donetsk region has been the centre of intense fighting in recent weeks, as both sides have struggled to advance along the frontlines. “The enemy has resumed offensive actions and does not stop trying to surround Avdiivka,” […]
Israel army orders evacuation of northern city after Lebanon clashes
JERUSALEM, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – The Israeli army announced plans to evacuate the northern city of Kiryat Shmona on Friday, after days of clashes with Hezbollah fighters along the border with Lebanon. “A short while ago, the Northern Command informed the mayor of the city of the decision. The plan will be managed by the local authority, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Defence,” the military said in a statement. Lebanon’s Iran-backed […]
President Vladimir Putin visits military HQ for Ukraine offensive: Kremlin
MOSCOW, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don that is overseeing the Ukraine offensive, the Kremlin said on Friday. Putin “has visited the Russian armed forces headquarters in Rostov-on-Don on his way back from Perm,” a city in the Urals where he spent Thursday, the Kremlin said in a statement. Army chief of staff Valery Gerasimov met with Putin to update him on the state of […]
State Dept issues global ‘caution’ alert for US travelers
Worldwide Caution: Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State @StateDept advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased… pic.twitter.com/waIpqmWu2m — Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) October 19, 2023 WASHINGTON, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – The State Department on Thursday issued a rare “worldwide caution” advisory for US citizens everywhere, citing terrorism and potential for anti-American […]
US Navy ship in Red Sea intercepts missiles and drones from Yemen, possibly aimed at Israel
WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – A US Navy ship in the Red Sea on Thursday shot down missiles and drones that had been fired by Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen, possibly at Israel, the Pentagon said. Three “land-attack cruise missiles and several drones” were intercepted by a destroyer, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters. The attack was “launched by Huthi forces in Yemen” potentially toward targets in Israel, he added. The ship, […]
Hamas masterminds top Israel’s ‘dead man walking’ hit list
JERUSALEM, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – Israel has threatened that every Hamas member faces death when it invades Gaza but two accused masterminds of the October 7 attacks are at the top of its hit list. Military strategist Mohammed Deif and political leader Yahya Sinwar have already spent time in Israeli or Palestinian jails and been the targets of multiple attempts to kill them. The hunt for the two most senior Hamas leaders in the […]
US says China building up nuclear capacity faster than expected
WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – China is developing its nuclear arsenal faster than US projections had previously anticipated, according to a Pentagon report released Thursday. China possessed “more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 — on track to exceed previous expectations” the Department of Defense said in its annual China Military Power Report, issued annually and mandated by Congress. “We’re not trying to suggest a very large departure from where they […]
EU opens disinformation probes into Meta, TikTok
By Raziye AKKOC BRUSSELS, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – The EU announced probes Thursday into Facebook owner Meta and TikTok, seeking more details on the measures they have taken to stop the spread of “illegal content and disinformation” after the Hamas attack on Israel. The European Commission said it had sent formal requests for information to Meta and TikTok respectively in what is a first procedure launched under the EU’s new law on digital content. […]
‘They came to murder’: kibbutz shattered by Hamas attack
By David STOUT NIR OZ, Israel, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – The sound of distant air strikes, mortar fire and shelling echoed through kibbutz Nir Oz as Ron Bahat surveyed the damage at his devastated community near the border with Gaza. An estimated 25 percent of the kibbutz’s 400 residents were either killed, kidnapped or went missing in the dawn attack by Hamas militants on October 7, which targeted Israeli communities and military posts. Bahat, […]
Germany’s Scholz vows action after Molotovs thrown at synagogue
By Deborah COLE BERLIN, Oct 18, 2023 (AFP) – Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed to fight anti-Semitism on German soil, after attackers hurled two Molotov cocktails at a Jewish synagogue in Berlin early Wednesday. Police in the German capital said they were probing the attack in the Mitte district of the city. There were no reports of injuries or damage. The attack, at around 3:45am (0145 GMT), comes amid a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents in […]
President Biden backs Israel in blaming Islamists for Gaza hospital strike
By Tim Witcher and Adel Zaanoun in Gaza Strip TEL AVIV, Oct 18, 2023 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden on a visit to Israel Wednesday backed his ally’s stance blaming Islamist Palestinian militants for a rocket strike on a hospital that killed hundreds in war-torn Gaza and has inflamed anger across the Middle East. Arab countries have blamed Israel, which has rained bombs on Gaza since the bloody October 7 attack by Hamas — […]





