Storm Byron is threatening to heap new miseries on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with families making distress calls from flooded tents and hundreds of others fleeing their shelters in search of dry ground as the fierce winter storm lashes the besieged territory with heavy rains.
Hamas has told mediators that it is prepared to freeze all operations against Israel from the Gaza Strip for up to a decade, and that it is prepared to bury its weapons, if Israeli soldiers fully withdraw from the besieged enclave, a senior Palestinian official familiar with the discussions told Middle East Eye.
Reporters Without Borders reported on Tuesday that Israel was responsible for nearly half of all journalists killed this year worldwide, with 29 Palestinian reporters slain by its forces in Gaza. In its annual report, the Paris-based media freedom group added the total number of journalists killed reached 67 globally this year, slightly up from the 66 killed in 2024.
More than one-quarter of households in Israel are now experiencing food insecurity, driven by the economic and social fallout of the two-year war in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli organization has found.
A "record high" number of 110 Palestinians have died under prison policies implemented by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in the past two and a half years, according to Walla.
The European Union is studying options for strengthening Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces to help free up the Lebanese army to focus on disarming the armed group Hezbollah, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The number of Israeli soldiers receiving treatment for psychological disorders has risen sharply since the war in the Gaza Strip began two years ago, an Israeli Defense Ministry official has confirmed.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, marking the first anniversary of the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, said the organization remains “fully committed to working with Syrians to ensure the transition is successful.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that he would not retire from politics if he receives a pardon from the president in his years-long corruption trial.
Tel Aviv will not allow the creation of a Palestinian state, since its true purpose is the destruction of “the one and only Jewish state”, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated.
Hamas has announced that it is ready to hand over its weapons in the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian authority governing the territory on the condition that the Israeli army's occupation ends.
Israel's president has pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s call for a pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his corruption trial.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has accused Israel of "exporting crises" to other countries as a way to divert attention from the "horrifying massacres" it is committing in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Canada has removed Syria from its list of states that support “terrorism”, citing a similar move by the United States as well as bids by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government to “advance” the country’s stability.
Gaza mediators Egypt and Qatar, and six other Muslim-majority countries have raised the alarm over Israel’s stated plan for a one-way opening of the Rafah border crossing, which would allow Palestinians to leave their territory, but not to return, and block the entry of humanitarian aid.
The United Nations has warned Israel again over the latest airstrikes against southern Lebanon, calling the repeated raids "clear violations" of Security Council Resolution 1701.
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun met with a visiting delegation of UN Security Council ambassadors on Friday, urging them to press Israel to enforce the ceasefire and comply with international resolutions, the presidency has announced.
Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands have announced that they will withdraw from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in protest over Israel’s inclusion in the event.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has sharply criticized Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war, calling it “fundamentally wrong” and saying there are “strong reasons” to believe Israeli forces have committed war crimes in the Palestinian territory.
Iraq has retracted a decision to classify Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis as “terrorist organizations”, announcing the listing was “mistakenly” issued.
A delegation representing all members of the UN Security Council arrived in Damascus on Thursday, for the first visit to the Middle Eastern country in 14 years.
Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first direct talks Wednesday in decades, part of a year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism in the war, a source close to the negotiations told AFP.
