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Iran unveiled a new high-speed vessel on Wednesday, signaling its growing naval ambitions amid rising tensions with the United States and Israel.

The naval commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Rear Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, said the corps built a “missile-launching vessel” called Shahid Soleimani. Tangsiri said the new vessel, which was built in Iran, can travel 5,000 nautical miles (5,754 miles or 9,260 kilometers) without stopping and reach a speed of 116 knots (133 miles or…

Thick plumes of smoke billowed above highways near Jerusalem on Wednesday as firefighters rushed to control wildfires that have injured several people and prompted Defence Minister Israel Katz to declare the situation a “national emergency”.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue agency reported that hundreds of civilians were at risk from the worst brushfires in years, with Katz ordering troops to deploy to support firefighters.

MDA said it had provided treatment to around 23 people, 13 of whom…

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has reached a “critical point”, telling Al Jazeera that it has already depleted its remaining food stocks and is now unable to feed the population, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported.

WFP spokeswoman Abeer Etefa said on Wednesday that around 700,000 people used to receive meals each day from the programme, but Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid…

Dark plumes of smoke billowed above highways near Jerusalem on Wednesday as rapidly spreading wildfires caused several injuries and prompted Defence Minister Israel Katz to declare the situation a “national emergency”.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue agency reported that hundreds of civilians were at risk from the worst brushfires in years, as Katz ordered troops to deploy to support firefighters.

MDA said it had provided treatment to around 22 people, with 12 taken to hospital, the majority…

Syria’s small Druze community largely kept out of the country’s long civil war but since president Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in December it has found itself confronting the new Islamist-led government amid military intervention by Israel.

Here is a profile of the religious minority which has been caught up in deadly clashes with armed groups linked to the government in recent days.

– Secretive minority –

The Druze community accounted for around three percent of Syria’s pre-war population of 23…

A series of deadly Israeli offensives in the northern West Bank has wreaked havoc across Palestinian refugee camps, with the military campaign entering its 100th day on Wednesday, Anadolu has reported.

The military offensives, dubbed ” Operation Iron Wall”, began in Jenin refugee camp on 21 January, before being expanded to the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps, and other areas in the northern West Bank.

According to Palestinian health ministry figures, at least…