Category: 2. Middle East

Iran unveiled a new high-speed vessel on Wednesday, signaling its growing naval ambitions amid rising tensions with the United States and Israel.

The naval commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Rear Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, said the corps built a “missile-launching vessel” called Shahid Soleimani. Tangsiri said the new vessel, which was built in Iran, can travel 5,000 nautical miles (5,754 miles or 9,260 kilometers) without stopping and reach a speed of 116 knots (133 miles or…

Syria’s small Druze community largely kept out of the country’s long civil war but since president Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in December it has found itself confronting the new Islamist-led government amid military intervention by Israel.

Here is a profile of the religious minority which has been caught up in deadly clashes with armed groups linked to the government in recent days.

– Secretive minority –

The Druze community accounted for around three percent of Syria’s pre-war population of 23…

Dark plumes of smoke billowed above highways near Jerusalem on Wednesday as rapidly spreading wildfires caused several injuries and prompted Defence Minister Israel Katz to declare the situation a “national emergency”.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue agency reported that hundreds of civilians were at risk from the worst brushfires in years, as Katz ordered troops to deploy to support firefighters.

MDA said it had provided treatment to around 22 people, with 12 taken to hospital, the majority…

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has reached a “critical point”, telling Al Jazeera that it has already depleted its remaining food stocks and is now unable to feed the population, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported.

WFP spokeswoman Abeer Etefa said on Wednesday that around 700,000 people used to receive meals each day from the programme, but Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid…

Thick plumes of smoke billowed above highways near Jerusalem on Wednesday as firefighters rushed to control wildfires that have injured several people and prompted Defence Minister Israel Katz to declare the situation a “national emergency”.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue agency reported that hundreds of civilians were at risk from the worst brushfires in years, with Katz ordering troops to deploy to support firefighters.

MDA said it had provided treatment to around 23 people, 13 of whom…

A series of deadly Israeli offensives in the northern West Bank has wreaked havoc across Palestinian refugee camps, with the military campaign entering its 100th day on Wednesday, Anadolu has reported.

The military offensives, dubbed ” Operation Iron Wall”, began in Jenin refugee camp on 21 January, before being expanded to the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps, and other areas in the northern West Bank.

According to Palestinian health ministry figures, at least…

Two Palestinians were injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, a medical source has confirmed. Witnesses said that Israeli soldiers raided Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, and interrogated several residents.

According to Anadolu, fighting broke out between angry residents and the soldiers, who used live fire and rubber-coated bullets during the violence. Two Palestinians were injured in the clashes, including one seriously, said the…

The Israeli occupation court in Beersheba has approved an autopsy of Mosab Audaily, a 20-year-old Palestinian detainee from Nablus who died in Israeli custody, reported Wafa news agency.

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society announced that the decision follows a formal request to investigate the circumstances surrounding Audaily’s death.

He was serving a 13-month sentence in Israeli jails when he was…

US Senator Marco Rubio is reportedly considering eliminating the position of US security coordinator for the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of a broader restructuring effort, Axios reported yesterday, citing five US, Palestinian, Arab and Israeli sources.

The American news outlet highlighted the rising significance of the role, currently held by a three-star general, which focuses on coordinating with Israeli and Palestinian political and security…

The UK government is under fire following revelations that the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) directly facilitated Israeli interference in ongoing legal proceedings against British Palestine solidarity activists. The controversy centres on the prosecution of the so-called “Filton 18” activists accused of dismantling parts of an Israeli weapons factory in Bristol operated by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer.

Documents obtained via a…