Page 14 - Middle East

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 .

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 ..

Lufthansa reports 9% decline in Q3 profit as core brand struggles

The third quarter, which includes the busy summer months for travellers, is usually the strongest for European airlines. But rising costs, unpredictability tied to the crisis in the Middle East

US pursues modest Mideast plans amid uncertainty over upcoming elections

With the U.S. presidential election just a week away, the Biden administration is not giving up hope for short-term deals for cease-fires between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. But U.S. officials are mindful that political uncertainty in the United States has made the sides reluctant to commit to any significant agreements before it is clear who has won the White House. In the meantime, the Middle East is uneasy about what happens next after Israel struck Iranian military targets over the weekend in retaliation for Iran's barrage of ballistic missile attacks on Oct. 1. U.S. officials said they believe Israel's attack whose targets were coordinated with Washington will not draw an escalatory reaction from Iran. But the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share sensitive diplomatic discussions, caution that nothing is certain. The Biden administration was able to persuade Israel to keep its response limited gaining assurances it wouldn'

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

Saudi, UAE, and other Middle East nations condemn Israel's strikes on Iran

This comes after Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Saturday announced that its military had conducted precise strikes on Iranian military targets

At least three 'journalists killed' in Israeli strike in Lebanon's Hasbaya

Those killed included cameraman Ghassan Najjar and engineer Mohamed Reda who worked for pro-Iranian news outlet Al-Mayadeen and one cameraman who worked for Hezbollah's Al-Manar

Turkey strikes Kurdish militants in Iraq after attack on TUSAS kills 5

Turkey's defense ministry says Turkish jets have struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria following an attack on a key defense company. More than 30 targets were destroyed in the aerial offensive, the defense ministry said in a brief statement carried by the state-run Anadolu Agency. The strike comes after suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire Wednesday at Turkey's state-run aerospace and defense company TUSAS, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen, the interior minister said. Suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire Wednesday at Turkey's state-run aerospace and defense company TUSAS, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen, the interior minister said. The two attackers a man and a woman also were killed, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. Yerlikaya said the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, is suspected of being behind the attack but cautioned that the process of identifying the assailan

Israel strikes capital Damascus, military site near Homs: Syrian defence

Israeli strikes targeted the central Damascus neighbourhood of Kafr Sousa and a military site in the Homs countryside, killing one soldier and injuring 7 other people, the ministry said in a statement

India sends aid to Palestine; consignment comprises 30 tonnes of item

Few days ago, the World Food Programme issued a warning for northern Gaza, saying that WFP's supplies are depleting

US election, UK budget, global tensions lower global vacancies: Survey

Companies in Singapore, the United States, Britain, Australia, and Germany reported the biggest falls in vacancies, with firms citing low business confidence as a key factor

US Secy Blinken takes off in 11th attempt to reach Middle East ceasefire

President Joe Biden's decision to send Hochstein this week is signaling the urgency of a lasting cease-fire in Lebanon

Freedom of expression threatened most in Gaza as media targeted: UN expert

Freedom of expression has been threatened more seriously in Gaza than in any recent conflict, with journalists targeted in the war-torn territory and Palestinian supporters targeted in many countries, a United Nations expert said Friday. Irene Khan, the U.N. independent investigator on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, pointed to attacks on the media and the targeted killings and arbitrary detention of dozens of journalists in Gaza. The banning of Al Jazeera, the tightening of censorship within Israel and in the occupied territories, seem to indicate a strategy of the Israeli authorities to silence critical journalism and obstruct the documentation of possible international crimes, she said. Khan also sharply criticized the discrimination and double standards that have seen restrictions and suppression of pro-Palestinian protests and speech. She cited bans in Germany and other European countries, protests that were crushed harshly on U.S. college campuses, and ...

Geopolitical situation unlikely to impact Indian carpet fair: CEPC chairman

The current geopolitical situation in the Middle East is not likely to have an impact on the Indian carpet fair and may offer an advantage to Indian exporters, Carpet Export Promotion Council Chairman Kuldeep Raj Wattal has said. The Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC), which plays a crucial role in promoting the carpet industry, has been organising biannual fairs that attract domestic as well as international buyers. "The current geopolitical situation in the Middle East will not affect the Indian carpet fairs. Instead, it may offer an advantage to Indian exporters, especially if Iranian production is impacted," CEPC Chairman Kuldeep Raj Wattal told PTI. On the cancellation of the 'Domotex fair' in Germany, a major event for global carpet trading, Wattal said "this presents an opportunity for increased orders at the ongoing 'India Carpet Expo 2024'." The CEPC is targeting an export trade goal of Rs 500 crore to Rs 700 crore during this expo. The 'India Carpet Expo 2024' in Bha

Israeli jets strike southern Beirut for first time in nearly a week

Israeli jets struck the southern suburbs of Beirut early Wednesday for the first time in six days, Lebanese state media reported. The casualty count was not yet clear. The attack comes just one day after caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the United States government gave him some assurances of Israel easing its strikes in the Lebanese capital. Israel says it is striking Hezbollah assets in the suburbs, where the militant group has a strong presence, but it is also a busy residential and commercial area. The Israeli military said the Wednesday strike hit a weapons warehouse under a residential building. The Israeli military posted an evacuation warning on the X platform saying it is targeting a building in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood. An Associated Press photographer who witnessed the strikes said there were three in the area. The first strike was documented less than an hour after the notice. Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8 in solidarity with the ...

Yemen risks being dragged into Mideast conflict that could spiral, says UN

Yemen risks being dragged further into the military escalation in the Middle East that keeps intensifying and could spiral out of control, the U.N. special envoy for the Arab world's poorest nation said Tuesday. Hans Grundberg told the U.N. Security Council that regrettably Yemen is part of the escalation and he warned that repeated attacks on international shipping by its Houthi rebels have significantly increased the risk of an environment disaster in the Red Sea. Both Grundberg and the U.N.'s acting humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya urged the Iranian-backed Houthis to halt their attacks on international shipping, which the rebel group began to support fellow Iranian-backed militant group Hamas after its Oct. 7 attack in Israel that sparked Israel's ongoing war in Gaza. The U.N. officials also demanded the release of dozens of U.N. personnel, staff of non-governmental organizations and diplomatic missions, and members of civil society, most detained since June. Msuya called the ...

UAE stands with Lebanon campaign launched, 200 tonnes of packages prepared

These initiatives affirm the UAE's leading global position to provide relief and stand in solidarity with Lebanon

Israel under lens for 'extermination' in destruction of Gaza health system

UN inquiry's statement also accused Israeli forces of deliberately killing and torturing medical personnel, targeting medical vehicles and restricting permits for patients to leave besieged Gaza Strip

Adani group seeks $1 bn funding from sovereign fund for airport expansion

Adani Enterprises launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) aiming to raise up to Rs 4,200 crore ($500 million), lower than planned due to market fluctuations