MILITARY CONFLICTS

Gaza aid sites shut, as Israel issues ‘combat zones’ warning

Gaza aid sites shut, as Israel issues ‘combat zones’ warning

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of the facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were “considered combat zones.” The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) follows a string of deadly incidents near […]

Iran slams Israeli strikes on Yemen port

Iran slams Israeli strikes on Yemen port

Iran on Tuesday strongly condemned Israeli air strikes on the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, following missile attacks by Tehran-backed Houthi militants on Israel’s main airport. The Israeli military said it hit Houthi positions along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and inland on Monday, alleging they were used to transfer “Iranian weapons” and other military equipment. […]

Putin gears up for ‘grandest’ victory day amid war with Ukraine

Putin gears up for ‘grandest’ victory day amid war with Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the “grandest” ever annual Victory Day parade in Moscow on Friday, evoking the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II to rally support for his troops fighting in Ukraine. Russia marks the event more than three years into its offensive, and after pummeled Ukraine with a string of […]

Israeli security official says military readying to withdraw from Lebanon

Israeli security official says military readying to withdraw from Lebanon

Jerusalem: The Israeli military is prepared to withdraw from Lebanese territory and hand over areas to the Lebanese army “within the timeline” set by a US-French-mediated ceasefire agreement, a senior Israeli security official said. Under the ceasefire that took effect November 27, Lebanon’s military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as […]

Syria Kurds say aim to empty northeast camps of Syrians, Iraqis this year

Syria Kurds say aim to empty northeast camps of Syrians, Iraqis this year

QAMISHLI, Syria: Syria’s semi-autonomous Kurdish administration aims to empty camps in the country’s northeast of thousands of displaced Syrians and Iraqis, including suspected relatives of Daesh group fighters, by the end of the year, an official said. “The autonomous administration is working to empty the camps” of Syrians and Iraqis “in 2025… in coordination with […]

Rubio to visit Middle East after Trump proposal for US to take over Gaza

Rubio to visit Middle East after Trump proposal for US to take over Gaza

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel and Arab states in mid-February, a State Department official said, making his first to the Middle East after a widely condemned proposal by President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians in Gaza. Rubio will travel to the Munich Security Conference and to Israel, the United Arab […]

Trump says ‘no guarantees’ Gaza truce will hold ahead of Netanyahu visit

Trump says ‘no guarantees’ Gaza truce will hold ahead of Netanyahu visit

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Monday there were “no guarantees” that a fragile ceasefire in Gaza will hold, as he prepares to discuss its future with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu was in Washington for talks with the new Trump administration on a second phase of the truce with Hamas, which has […]

Saudi aid provides relief to thousands in Syria, Gaza

Saudi aid provides relief to thousands in Syria, Gaza

RIYADH: Saudi aid agency KSrelief has continued to provide aid to the people of Syria as part of various humanitarian missions. On Monday, a relief plane — the 14th so far — arrived in Damascus from Riyadh, carrying food, shelter and medical supplies for those facing challenging conditions, reported the Saudi Press Agency. In Harasta town, […]

Iraq ministry says two border guards killed by PKK fire

Iraq ministry says two border guards killed by PKK fire

IRBIL, Iraq: A shooting which officials blamed on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed two Iraqi border guards on Friday near the Turkish boundary in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, Iraq’s interior ministry said. The PKK, which has fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, has several positions in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, which also […]

Yemen’s Houthis say to limit attacks in the Red Sea corridor

Yemen’s Houthis say to limit attacks in the Red Sea corridor

DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi militia have signaled they will limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships as a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took hold. The Houthis made the announcement in an email sent to shippers and others on Sunday. The Houthis separately planned a military statement on Monday, likely about […]