Category: 2. Middle East

PARIS -Arab countries will for the first time condemn Hamas and call for its disarmament early next week at aUnited Nations ministerial event in New York, a move meant to lure more European countries to recognize Palestinian statehood, France’s foreign minister said on Saturday.

In an exclusive interview with French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot said the move was part of a long-planned initiative between France and Saudi Arabia.

“For…

(Reuters) -Israel will resume airdrop aid to Gaza on Saturday night, the Israeli military said, a few days after more than 100 aid agencies warned that mass starvation was spreading across the enclave.

“The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food to be provided by international organizations,” the military added in a statement.

(Reporting by Hatem Maher and Enas Alashray; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

International pressure was mounting on Saturday for alternative ways to be found to deliver food to hungry Palestinian civilians in Gaza, with Britain vowing to back airdrops.

The UK decision to support the plans of regional partners Jordan and the United Arab Emirates came as pro-Palestinian activists piloted a symbolic aid vessel towards the shores of Gaza in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade.

On the ground, the territory’s civil defence agency said at least 40 more Palestinians had been…

Jordanian and Emirati planes dropped food into Gaza on Sunday, as Israel began a limited “tactical pause” in military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis.

The Israeli military said it had also begun airdropping food into the Palestinian territory — making one drop of seven palettes — while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he characterised as UN “lies” that his government was to blame for the dire humanitarian situation.

The army also…

Israel said Saturday it would allow food to be airdropped to Gaza and designate humanitarian corridors for UN aid convoys, as thousands of Palestinians face the threat of widespread famine.

Before Israel announced that the flights would resume, the United Arab Emirates had said it would restart aid drops and Britain said it would work with partners including Jordan to assist them.

The decision to apparently free up the flow of aid came as the Palestinian civil defence agency said over 50 more…

Israel said Saturday that it air dropped aid into the Gaza Strip and would open humanitarian corridors, as it faced growing international condemnation over the deepening hunger crisis in the Palestinian territory.

Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume.

Before Israel announced the delivery of seven aid packages, the United Arab Emirates had said it would restart aid drops and Britain…

Israel declared a “tactical pause” in fighting in parts of Gaza on Sunday and said it would allow the UN and aid agencies to open secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis.

The military also said it had begun air-dropping food into the territory and angrily rejected allegations it was using starvation as a weapon against Palestinian civilians.

In a statement, the army said it had coordinated with the UN and international agencies to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering…

(Reuters) -A Sudanese coalition led by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Saturday a parallel government, a move fiercely opposed by the army that could drive the country further towards partition as a two-year-old civil war rages.

The government led by RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, was announced west of the country.

The RSF and its allies signed in March a transitional constitution outlining a federal, secular state divided into eight regions.

The…

By Timour Azhari and Laila Bassam

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Ziad Rahbani, the Lebanese composer and musician who built a distinct Lebanese sound from Western and Arabic musical roots, and whose sardonic critique of the country’s sectarian politics rang true to Lebanese across the divides, has died.

He was 69.

Rahbani was much-loved across Lebanon and his words remained relevant across generations, from those who grew up with him during the 1975-90 Civil War, to the post-war generation who have…

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Saturday that “now is not the right time” to recognize a Palestinian state, warning that premature recognition could be counterproductive and risk masking unresolved issues.

In an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica, Meloni criticized France’s recent recognition of the State of Palestine, calling it “rushed.”

“I believe that recognizing the State of Palestine, without there being a State of Palestine,…