Page 140 - Latest Updates on West Asia Conflict

Israeli military raid in West Bank kills 3 as tensions escalate: Officials

Palestinian officials said Thursday that an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank killed at least three people. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Thursday that two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike and third by Israeli gunfire. The Israeli military said its forces were targeting militants in the area of the Nur Shams refugee camp, which has seen repeated battles in recent months. The military said it eliminated a Hamas militant in the area who was involved in planning attacks on Israelis. Meanwhile, mediators are ramping up efforts to halt the wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, circulating new proposals to wind down the regional conflict. Hezbollah's newly named leader, Naim Kassem, said the militant group will keep fighting in its war with Israel until it is offered cease-fire terms it deems acceptable. Some 1.2 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Lebanon, according to government estimates. Lebanon's Heath Ministry said more than 2,800 .

Locked in Mideast wars, battered by sanctions, Iran wary over US election

America's presidential election next week comes just after Iran marks the 45th anniversary of the 1979 US Embassy hostage crisis and for many, tensions between Tehran and Washington feel just as high as they did then. Iran remains locked in the Mideast wars roiling the region, with its allies militant groups and fighters of its self-described Axis of Resistance battered as Israel presses its war in the Gaza Strip targeting Hamas and its invasion of Lebanon amid devastating attacks against Hezbollah. At the same time, Iran still appears to be assessing damage from Israel's strikes on the Islamic Republic last Saturday in response to two Iranian ballistic missile attacks. Iran's currency, the rial, hovers near record lows against the dollar, battered by international sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme of enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. In public spaces, women still openly defy Iran's mandatory law on the headscarf, or hijab, a result of the mass .

New push to wind down Middle East conflicts faces familiar challenges

The United States and other mediators are ramping up efforts to halt the wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, circulating new proposals to wind down the regional conflict during the Biden administration's final months. Negotiations on both fronts have been stalled for months and none of the warring parties have shown any sign of backing down from their demands. Senior White House officials Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein are scheduled to visit Israel on Thursday for talks on possible cease-fires in both Lebanon and Gaza, and the release of hostages held by Hamas. CIA Director Bill Burns will go to Egypt to discuss those efforts, according to a US official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. A proposal to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah calls for a two-month cease-fire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon, and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the country's southern border, two other officials familiar

Biden, Cyprus president discuss means for ceasefires in Gaza, Lebanon

President Joe Biden and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday discussed a new effort by the US administration and mediators in the Middle East to forge cease-fires to end fighting in Lebanon and Gaza. Christodoulides leads the European Union nation closest to Gaza. The small Mediterranean island nation has played a critical role in efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza since the war between Hamas and Israel began more than a year ago. He said that Biden and White House officials briefed him on the latest stepped-up efforts by the US administration and other mediators but declined to offer further details about the discussion. The most important priority that the international community has now is to have a cease-fire in the region, Christodoulides told reporters after his Oval Office talks with Biden. Senior White House officials Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein will visit Israel on Thursday for talks on possible cease-fires in both Lebanon and Gaza, and on the ..

Top US officials to visit Mideast for talks on Gaza, Lebanon amid tensions

During a press briefing, the Press Secretary said that White House officials Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, along with other top officials, would be travelling to address various matters

War with Israel to continue for proper cease-fire terms: Hezbollah's Kassem

Hezbollah's newly named leader Naim Kassem said in his first public comments aired Wednesday that the militant group will keep fighting in its ongoing war with Israel until it is offered cease-fire terms it deems acceptable. "If the Israelis decide to stop the aggression, we say that we accept, but according to the conditions that we see as suitable," Kassem said, speaking from an undisclosed location in a pre-recorded televised address. "We will not beg for a cease fire as we will continue (fighting)... no matter how long it takes." The speech came as international mediators have launched a new push for negotiated cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza. More than 2,790 people have been killed and 12,700 wounded in Lebanon since Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel, drawing retaliation, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. The conflict escalated sharply last month and Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon at the beginning of October. Some 1.2 million .

Who is Sheikh Naim Qassem - the new face of Hezbollah after Nasrallah?

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant labels Sheikh Naim Qassem's appointment a 'temporary' measure while predicting his term would not last

Israel must step in if it bans the UN agency that is lifeline for Gaza: UN

The United Nations stressed Tuesday that if Israel puts in place new laws cutting ties with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the Israeli government will have to meet their needs under international law. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter obtained by The Associated Press that there is no other alternative to the agency, known as UNRWA. It has been a lifeline during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and the Israeli legislation will have devastating consequences for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, he said. The UN agencies for children, health and migration also stressed that UNRWA is the backbone of the world body's operations in Gaza, where people have relied on its emergency food aid and health centers during the more than yearlong war, which has killed tens of thousands and left much of the enclave in ruins. The United Nations is heartened by statements of support for UNRWA from all quarters and countries, U.N. spokesman Stephane .

Israel strikes 200 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon; Gaza raids continue

Among the terrorists killed in south Lebanon was Abbas Adnan Moslem, the commander of the Aitaroun area in Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit

Israel's strikes into Lebanon heighten fear in communities with refugees

Dany Alwan stood shaking as rescue workers pulled remains from piles of rubble where his brother's building once stood. An Israeli airstrike destroyed the three-story residential building in the quiet Christian village of Aito a day before. His brother, Elie, had rented out its apartments to a friend who'd fled here with relatives from their hometown in southern Lebanon under Israeli bombardment. Things were fine for a few weeks. But that day, minutes after visitors arrived and entered the building, it was struck. Almost two dozen people were killed, half of them women and children. Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah official, as it has insisted in other strikes with high civilian death tolls. This strike in northern Lebanon, deep in Christian heartland was particularly unusual. Israel has concentrated its bombardment mostly in the country's south and east and in Beirut's southern suburbs Shiite-majority areas where the Hezbollah militant group has a strong presence. Strikes in

Crude oil strategy today, Oct 29: Short the rally; WTI resistance at $70

Oil price today: Crude oil prices tumbled 6 per cent on Monday, with Brent settling under $72 and WTI at $67.38

Oil prices slide 5% after limited Israeli retaliatory attack on Iran

Brent futures were down $4.13, or 5.43 per cent, at $71.92 a barrel at 1445 GMT, while WTI US crude futures lost $4.04, or 5.63 per cent, to $67.74

Israeli Cabinet meets in secret location after Iran vows to retaliate

Israeli officials said that, for security reasons, the cabinet wouldn't meet at its usual place in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem

Detained 100 suspected militants in raid on Gaza hospital, says Israel

Israel's military said it detained 100 suspected Hamas militants in a raid on a hospital in northern Gaza over the weekend. Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya on Friday, detaining 44 male staff, according to the World Health Organisation. Palestinian medical officials said the hospital, which was treating some 200 patients, was heavily damaged in the raid. Israel has raided several hospitals in Gaza over the course of the yearlong war, saying Hamas and other militants use them for military purposes. Palestinian medical officials deny those allegations and accuse the military of recklessly endangering civilians. The Israeli military has called on Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, where it has been waging a large offensive for more than three weeks. The UN said earlier this month at least 400,000 people are still in northern Gaza and hunger is rampant as the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the north has plummeted over the past month. Israel's offensiv

Iran calls for UNSC meeting amid Israel airstrikes, backed by China, Russia

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that Tehran was not looking for war with Israel but will respond "appropriately" to Israel's strikes on Saturday on Iranian military sites

Israel, Iran playing dangerous game that will be impossible to contain

Though Tehran has played down the extent of the damage, the Iranian regime has not ruled out a response

X suspends account on behalf of Iran's supreme leader for violating rules

The social platform X has suspended a new account on behalf of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that posted messages in Hebrew. The account was suspended early Monday with a brief note appended to it saying: X suspends accounts which violate the X Rules. It wasn't immediately clear what the violation was. The Elon Musk-owned social media company did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The move came after Israel openly attacked Iran for the first time this weekend. Khamenei said in a speech on Sunday that Israel's strikes in response to Iran's ballistic missile attack this month should not be exaggerated nor downplayed, while stopping short of calling for retaliation. The X account opened Sunday with a message in Hebrew reading: In the name of God, the most merciful, a standard Islamic greeting. Khamenei's office has maintained multiple accounts for the 85-year-old supreme leader on X for years and has sent messages in a variety of language

Israel strike on Iran may add to market woes; oil prices remain key

Experts said positive thing from the markets was Iran downplaying the attack by Israel, which was limited to missile and air defence sites and avoided nuclear, oil, and civilian infrastructure sites

Israel's latest strike on Iran may de-escalate regional tensions for now

Israel's latest strike against Iran may actually de-escalate regional tensions - for now, at least

Israeli leaders debate attack on Iran: 'grave mistake' or 'good start'?

However, the strike was criticized for not inflicting serious damage to either Iranian economics by striking oil reserves or to Iran's nuclear program