Category: 2. Middle East

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The governor of Lebanon’s central bank, Karim Souaid, took office on Friday, pledging to advance key reforms demanded by international creditors to unlock bailout funds as the country reels from a years-long financial crisis.

Souaid, an asset manager who had worked at major banks and was appointed to the top role on March 27, replaced an interim governor who had taken over from embattled three-decade chief Riad Salameh nearly two years ago.

Speaking at a press conference on his first day on…

ANKARA — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday that Turkey does not want a confrontation with Israel over Syria, marking the first attempt to de-escalate tensions between the two regional powers after a recent flare-up.

“We don’t want to see any confrontation with Israel in Syria because Syria belongs to Syrians,” Fidan told Reuters in an exclusive interview. “Syria doesn’t belong to Turkey and Syria doesn’t belong to Israel. We cannot talk on behalf of the Syrians.”

What…

The Israeli military announced the launch of a new ground offensive in Gaza City on Friday to expand the security zone it has established in the Palestinian territory.

Israel has pushed since the collapse of a short-lived truce in the war with Hamas to seize territory in Gaza in what it has called a strategy to force the militants to free hostages still in captivity.

Simultaneously, it has escalated attacks on Lebanon and Syria, with a strike in the south Lebanese city of Sidon killing a Hamas…

Israel announced the launch of a new ground offensive in Gaza City on Friday, with rescuers saying military operations had killed at least 30 people across the Palestinian territory since dawn.

Israel has pushed since the collapse of a short-lived truce in the war with Hamas to seize territory in Gaza in what it has called a strategy to force the militants to free hostages still in captivity.

Simultaneously, Israel has escalated attacks on Lebanon and Syria, with a strike in the south Lebanese…

Israeli forces have launched a ground offensive in Gaza City, the military said Friday, expanding their operations as rescuers reported at least 30 killed across the Palestinian territory since dawn.

Since renewed military operations last month ended a short-lived truce in its war with Hamas, Israel has pushed to seize territory in the Gaza Strip in what it said was a strategy to force militants to free hostages still in captivity.

Israel has also escalated attacks on Syria and Lebanon, where…