Category: 2. Middle East

The number of journalists killed by Israel in the Gaza Strip has risen to 223, following the death of Moataz Mohamed Rajab yesterday evening, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.

In a statement, the syndicate condemned the killing of Rajab, who was reporting on the ongoing Israeli attacks on Palestinians when he was targeted. Israeli warplanes struck a civilian vehicle on Al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City, killing him instantly.

Last week, five…

Libya’s eastern-based government said yesterday it may announce a force majeure on oil fields and ports citing “repeated assaults on the National Oil Corporation (NOC),” Reuters reports.

The government in Benghazi is not internationally recognised, but most oil fields in the major oil producing country are under the control of eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar.

The government said it may also temporarily relocate the NOC’s headquarters to…

Chile has withdrawn its two remaining military attachés from its embassy in Israel, marking a new escalation in diplomatic tensions between the two countries amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

The Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, in a statement, the decision was made in protest against the Israeli military operation in Gaza, which it described as “disproportionate and indiscriminate”, while also pointing to the “constant…

Yemen’s Houthi group yesterday reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the Gaza Strip, seemingly undeterred by Israeli air strikes that targeted Sanaa International Airport, Anadolu agency reported

It warned Tel Aviv of a “hot summer” in retaliation for the attack.

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said four Israeli air strikes targeted the airport’s runway and a plane from flag carrier Yemenia Airways.

“This criminal aggression will only push us…

Pop star Dua Lipa joined some 300 UK celebrities in signing an open letter Thursday urging Britain to halt arms sales to Israel, after similar pleas from lawyers and writers.

Actors, musicians, activists and other public figures wrote the letter calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “end the UK’s complicity in the horrors in Gaza”.

British-Albanian pop sensation Dua Lipa has been vocal about the war in Gaza and last year criticised Israel’s offensive as a “genocide”.

Israel has repeatedly…

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned yesterday that more than one million children in Sudan are at risk of cholera as the disease spreads across Khartoum State.

The UN agency said 7,700 cholera cases have been recorded in the Khartoum State since January, including more than 1,000 cases among children under the age of five; in addition to 185 associated deaths.

“The number of daily cases increased from 90 to 815 cases in just ten days, between…

Israeli occupation forces killed ten starving Palestinians and injured 62 more over two days while they gathered in Rafah to receive humanitarian aid, a senior Gaza government official said yesterday according to Anadolu.

Israeli forces invited starving Palestinians to come and receive aid near so-called aid distribution centres in Rafah on Tuesday and Wednesday, only to then open fire on the crowds that had gathered, killing ten and injuring another 62,…

Saudi officials are in “difficult” talks to keep Cristiano Ronaldo in the country, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told AFP on Thursday, after the star footballer suggested he was leaving Al Nassr.

The Portuguese superstar, whose arrival in 2023 heralded a rush of late-career players to the oil-rich country, could transfer to Al Hilal and feature at the upcoming Club World Club, the source said.

“There is an ongoing difficult negotiation to convince Ronaldo to stay and play” in the…

Israel announced on Thursday the creation of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, risking further strain on relations with the international community already taxed by the war in Gaza.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and are seen as one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The decision to establish more, taken by the country’s security cabinet, announced by…