Category: 2. Middle East

Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz said on Wednesday that the Israeli army has now occupied more than half of the besieged Gaza Strip and will remain in those areas “indefinitely” as well as areas it has occupied in Lebanon and Syria.

“Unlike in the past, the [Israeli military] is not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized,” said Katz. He added that Israel’s policy in Gaza, led by the military leadership with the support of the political…

The International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday called on Hungary to provide clarification regarding its failure to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by international justice for committing crimes against humanity against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the ICC called on Hungary to submit a clarification memorandum by 23 May regarding its failure to comply with an arrest warrant issued by the ICC for Netanyahu in…

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Thursday that a rash of Israeli air strikes killed at least 40 people, most of them in encampments for displaced civilians, as Israel pressed its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the strikes, which came as Hamas officials reported that internal deliberations on the latest Israeli truce offer were nearly complete.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said two Israeli missiles hit several tents in…

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Thursday that a series of Israeli air strikes killed at least 37 people, most of them in encampments for displaced civilians, as Israel pressed its unrelenting military offensive in the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment, but said it was looking into reports of the strikes, which came as Hamas officials said internal deliberations on the latest Israeli truce offer were nearly complete.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal…

ANKARA — The Central Bank of Turkey on Thursday hiked interest rates to 46% from 42.5%, marking a return to monetary tightening after a year-long pause. The move comes amid economic turmoil triggered by the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Thursday’s meeting was the first since Imamoglu, a presidential contender from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was detained on March 19 and subsequently jailed on March 23 on corruption charges, which he denies. Government…

A Palestinian man has been arrested in Gaza for spying for Israel, a resistance movement security officer revealed on Wednesday. According to Al-Hares website, the officer said that the Israeli army “collaborator” was tasked with searching in piles of rubbish for evidence related to Israeli captives in Gaza.

The 33-year-old identified by his initials “TT” was found several months ago while searching through “garbage containers” in the Gaza Strip,…

US President Donald Trump halted a planned Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in favour of reopening diplomatic talks with Tehran, according to the New York Times. The decision followed months of internal debate within the Trump administration, as Israeli officials pushed for a military campaign to delay Iran’s nuclear ambitions by at least a year.

The report drew on conversations with numerous US and Israeli officials, many speaking on condition of…

Algeria and Mauritania yesterday discussed security developments in Africa and signed a defence cooperation agreement, Anadolu reported.

This came during a visit by Mauritanian Defence Minister Hanena Ould Sidi Ould Hane to Algeria, according to a statement from the Algerian Ministry of Defence.

The statement said Algerian Defence Minister Said Chengriha met with his Mauritanian counterpart to discuss “security developments in North Africa and the African…

At least one civilian was killed as US warplanes carried out more than 20 air strikes on the provinces of Sana’a and Al-Jawf in northern Yemen late yesterday, the Palestinian Information Centre reported Yemeni media saying.

Al-Masirah satellite channel reported on X that a US aerial attack targeting Al-Nahda neighbourhood in Al-Thawra district in the capital Sana’a killed a citizen.

The channel also reported 14 US air strikes on Al-Hafa area in the…