Latest news updates: Catch all the news updates from around the world here
The 18 countries all have citizens held by Hamas six months after the Palestinian militant group launched its Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel and killed 1,200 people
An Israeli government source said Netanyahu's war cabinet planned to meet in the coming two weeks to authorise civilian evacuations, expected to take around a month
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said Israel must be brought to justice for "usurpation and oppression" of the Palestinian territories, if not there will not be a guarantee that others would not do the same in other lands. Raisi was delivering a statement during his one-day visit to Sri Lanka on Wednesday. "When it comes to the oppressor, when it comes to the usurper, the Zionist Israeli regime has been committing oppression against the people of Palestine for 75 years, they have been usurping their territory," Raisi said. "First of all, we have to expel the usurpers. Secondly, we should make them pay the cost for all the damage they have created and thirdly, we have to bring to justice the oppressor and usurper," he said. Earlier on Wednesday, Raisi inaugurated a hydropower and irrigation project in Sri Lanka and said his country has proven that the West does not have a monopoly on technology. Raisi is the first Iranian leader to visit Sri Lanka since former President Mahmoud
Latest news updates: Catch all the news updates from around the world here
President Joe Biden signed into law on Wednesday a USD 95 billion war aid measure that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that also includes a provision that would force social media site TikTok to be sold or be banned in US. The announcement marks an end to long, painful battle with Republicans in Congress over urgently needed assistance for Ukraine. We rose to the moment. we came together. and we got it done," Biden said at White House event to announce the signing. "Now we need to move fast, and we are. But significant damage has been done to the Biden administration's effort to help Ukraine repel Russia's brutal invasion during the funding impasse that dates back to August, when the Democratic president made his first emergency spending request for Ukraine aid. Even with a burst of new weapons and ammunition, it is unlikely Ukraine will immediately recover after months of setbacks. Biden said the transfer of an initial aid package of military assistance will begin in a
Students at a growing number of US colleges are gathering in protest encampments with a unified demand of their schools: Stop doing business with Israel or any companies that empower its ongoing war in Gaza. The demand has its roots in a decades-old campaign against Israel's policies toward the Palestinians. The movement has taken on new strength as the Israel-Hamas war surpasses the six-month mark and stories of suffering in Gaza have sparked international calls for a cease-fire. Inspired by ongoing protests and the arrests last week of more than 100 students at Columbia University, students from Massachusetts to California are now gathering by the hundreds on campuses, setting up tent camps and pledging to stay put until their demands are met. We want to be visible, said Columbia protest leader Mahmoud Khalil, who noted that students at the university have been pushing for divestment from Israel since 2002. The university should do something about what we're asking for, about the
The four bills were combined into one package in the Senate, which President Joe Biden said he would sign into law on Wednesday
Latest news updates: Catch all the news updates from around the world here
Pro-Israel groups allege Jewish students faced anti-Semitism, prompting Palestine supporters to deny claim
Given the magnitude of these intersecting crises and the fact they are happening during a fraught election campaign, it's not surprising Biden's foreign policy is subject to intense scrutiny
The resulting conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has had a significant negative impact on the human rights status in Israel, the report said
Latest news updates: Catch all the news updates from around the world here
For weeks, international mediators have facilitated talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal. However, the talks have yielded no apparent breakthroughs
Israeli leaders on Sunday harshly criticized an expected decision by the US to impose sanctions on a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israeli military. The decision, expected as soon as Monday, would mark the first time the US has ever imposed sanctions on a unit inside the Israeli military and further strains relations between the two allies, which have grown increasingly tense during Israel's war in Gaza. While US officials declined to identify the sanctioned unit, Israeli leaders and local media identified it as Netzah Yehuda - an infantry battalion founded roughly a quarter of a century ago to incorporate ultra-Orthodox men into the military. Many religious men receive exemptions from what is supposed to be compulsory service. Israeli leaders condemned the decision as unfair, especially at a time when Israel is at war, and vowed to oppose it. If anyone thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit in the IDF, I will fight it with all my might, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya
Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight killed 13 people, including nine children, health officials said on Sunday, as the United States was on track to approve billions of dollars of additional military aid to its close ally. Israel has carried out near-daily air raids on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million has sought refuge from fighting elsewhere. It has also vowed to expand its ground offensive to the city on the border with Egypt despite international calls for restraint, including from the US. The House of Representatives approved a USD 26 billion aid package on Saturday that includes around USD 9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza. The first strike killed a man, his wife and their 3-year-old child, according to the nearby Kuwaiti Hospital, which received the bodies. The woman was pregnant, and the doctors managed to save the baby, the hospital said. The second strike killed eight children and two women, all from the s
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri discusses India's oil economy management amid escalating West Asia tensions and affirms BJP's strategic electoral stance in Punjab
According to residents, Israeli forces have left the immediate area. However, they continue to remain present in the nearby city of Tulkarm
President Joe Biden can breathe a bit easier, at least for the moment, now that Israel and Iran appear to have stepped back from the brink of tipping the Middle East into all-out war. Israel's retaliatory strikes on Iran and Syria caused limited damage. The restrained action came after Biden urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to temper its response to Iran's unprecedented direct attack on Israel last week and avoid an escalation of violence in the region. Iran's barrage of drones and missiles inflicted little damage and followed a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus this month that killed two generals. Iran's public response to the Israeli strikes Friday also was muted, raising hopes that Israel-Iran tensions long carried out in the shadows with cyberattacks, assassinations and sabotage will stay at a simmer. The situation remains a delicate one for Biden as he gears up his reelection effort i n the face of headwinds in the Middle East,
leaders from Democratic President Joe Biden to top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell have been urging embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it up for a vote