Category: 2. Middle East

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday called for an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza, stressing that they can “no longer wait”, Anadolu reports.

“I believe we can no longer wait, and it seems to me that the conditions are now in place to finally achieve an immediate ceasefire,” Barrot said during a brief press interaction.

He called for the “unhindered” release of all hostages and the “large-scale” access to humanitarian aid in Gaza,…

UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) chief Catherine Russell on Monday warned of a deepening nutrition crisis among infants in the Gaza Strip as humanitarian access remains severely restricted, Anadolu reports.

“Thousands of babies in Gaza lack proper nutrition as aid access remains severely hampered,” Russell wrote on X.

Highlighting the impact of Israel’s ongoing attacks on women and children, she said: “Many mothers have been killed or are too malnourished to…

The US State Department revoked the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation of the al-Nusrah Front group, also known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), according to an unpublished Federal Register notice on Monday, Anadolu reports.

“In consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, I hereby revoke the designation of al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (and other aliases) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,”…

Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility on Monday for an attack on the bulk carrier Magic Seas in the Red Sea, which has left the vessel taking on water and is expected to sink, Anadolu reports.

In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the vessel was hit by “two unmanned boats, five ballistic and cruise missiles, and three drones” on Sunday.

“The operation directly hit the ship, leading to water ingress. It is now exposed…

The United States on Monday announced it was revoking its designation as a “foreign terrorist organization” of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group once linked to Al-Qaeda that toppled Syria’s government in December.

“In consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, I hereby revoke the designation of al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (and other aliases) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a memo.

An…

The Israeli military has established six new bases in Syria’s southern provinces of Quneitra and Daraa over the past three months, further expanding its presence in violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement after the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime, Anadolu reports.

Soon after the regime’s fall, Israel intensified airstrikes across Syria and extended its military operations beyond the occupied Golan Heights into the demilitarized buffer zone—an…

AL-Monitor is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the highest levels, as well as by media, thought and business leaders and academia.

Germany on Monday called for the United Nations to take the lead in coordinating aid distribution in Gaza, as concerns mount over civilian deaths at food distribution points, Anadolu reports.

“There is an established and functioning humanitarian aid system, supported by major aid organizations, NGOs and the United Nations. It works. In our view, it must be able to deliver the necessary aid to the people,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kathrin Deschauer…

Iran still possesses sufficient military capability to strike Israel daily for two years, an adviser to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday, Anadolu reports.

“Our armed forces are at the height of their readiness,” Major General Ebrahim Jabbari told the semi-official Mehr news agency.

“Currently, the warehouses, underground missile bases, and facilities we have are so enormous that we have yet to demonstrate the majority of our…