Category: 2. Middle East

The Greek coastguard agency said that it had found the bodies of two women and 39 other migrants on the tiny island of Farmakonisi in the Aegean Sea on Monday, and that an investigation was underway to determine what had occurred, Reuters has reported. The circumstances of the deaths were unclear.

The Greek authorities were informed that the migrants had earlier in the day reached the island, just six miles (9.7 km) off the Turkish coast, said coastguard…

Israeli occupation forces pushed deep into southern Lebanon to the banks of the Wazzani River today, in the latest violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The Lebanese state news agency NNA said occupation soldiers in military and civilian vehicles moved in the area in the Marjayoun district, without providing any further details.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the report.

NNA said Israeli forces also opened fire and staged a search operation on the…

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron called for an “urgent” ceasefire in Gaza Monday, as Hamas said it is prepared to free all hostages provided it receives guarantees Israel will end the war.

Since the collapse of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in mid-March, Israel has launched an intense military offensive in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people have since been displaced and Israel has blocked the entry of humanitarian aid.

In a phone…

The United Nations warned Monday that Gaza was facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began, with no aid entering the territory for weeks and conditions rapidly deteriorating following a ceasefire’s collapse.

The UN’s alarm came as Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron called for an “urgent” ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel resumed an intense military offensive on Gaza after a ceasefire that came into effect on January 19 collapsed two months later…

Hamas said Monday that Israel has offered a 45-day ceasefire if it releases half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, that the United Nations said is now in the grip of its worst humanitarian crisis since the start of the war.

A Hamas official told AFP that Israel had also demanded that the Palestinian militants disarm to secure an end to the Gaza war but that this crossed a “red line”.

Egyptian mediators passed on an Israeli proposal that “includes the release of half the hostages in the…

Hamas said Monday that Israel has offered a 45-day ceasefire if it releases half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, which the United Nations said is now in the grip of its worst humanitarian crisis since the start of the war.

A Hamas official told AFP that Israel had also demanded that the Palestinian militants disarm to secure an end to the Gaza war but that this crossed a “red line”.

Egyptian mediators passed on an Israeli proposal that “includes the release of half the hostages in the…

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