Category: 2. Middle East

After filing out of their buses in the central Iraqi town of Ayn Tamr on Tuesday, Iranian pilgrims anxiously sought out internet connections, desperate for word from their loved ones back home.

The more than 400 Iranians had recently completed their hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and since crossing the border by land into Iraq, they had not received any updates.

One woman dressed in black collapsed in tears after receiving a message informing her that her son was missing after…

Jordan’s King Abdullah II warned in an address to the European Parliament on Tuesday that Israel’s “attacks” on Iran threatened to dangerously escalate tensions in the “region and beyond”.

Speaking as the arch foes traded fire for a fifth day, Abdullah said that “with Israel’s expansion of its offensive to include Iran, there is no telling where the boundaries of this battleground will end”.

“And that, my friends, is a threat to people everywhere,” he told lawmakers in Strasbourg.

Israel says…

Israeli police raided the accommodation of several television crews in the northern city of Haifa on Monday evening, including the team of Turkey’s TRT Arabic channel.

The raid followed orders by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to police and intelligence services to prevent live broadcasts by foreign media outlets.

In a statement, Israeli police said the raid was carried out under Ben-Gvir’s “zero tolerance” directive.

The…

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli forces on Tuesday killed more than 50 aid seekers in the southern city of Khan Yunis, the latest deadly incident near an aid site in the Palestinian territory.

The Gaza Strip has been ravaged by more than 20 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, with the situation continuing to deteriorate on the ground amid shortages of food, fuel and clean water.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at least 53 people were…

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has issued an urgent appeal to governments worldwide, calling for immediate action in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and to end the increasing suffering of civilians.

Speaking at the opening of the United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Turk stated: “Israel’s warfare in Gaza is inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on…