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Syrian Christians attend services, schools reopen a week after Assad’s overthrow

Reuters — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 22:05:00 +0000

DAMASCUS/LATAKIA, Syria >> Syrian Christians attended regular Sunday services for the first time since the dramatic overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad a week ago, in an early test of assurances by the new Islamist rulers that the rights of minorities will be protected.

Trump and Netanyahu discuss Gaza hostages and Syria

Reuters — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 21:46:00 +0000

JERUSALEM/WEST PALM BEACH, Florida >> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump about developments in Syria and a recent push to secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, he said on Sunday.

Israel to close Dublin embassy, citing ‘extreme anti-Israel policies’

Reuters — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 21:04:00 +0000

Israel will close its Dublin embassy due to the “extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday, citing its recognition of a Palestinian state and support for legal action against Israel.

Israeli forces carry out air, ground attacks in Gaza; dozens dead

Reuters — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 20:48:00 +0000

CAIRO >> Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 48 Palestinians, including a journalist and rescue workers, medics said, and the Israeli military said its air and ground forces in the north of the enclave killed dozens of militants and captured others.

At site of mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers

Reuters — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 10:25:00 +0000

DAMASCUS, Syria >> A hip bone in a blown-out building, part of a spine amid some debris, a few foot bones in a worn-out sock. The Tadamon district of Damascus is littered with bones, after what residents and rights groups described as years of killings there under the rule of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.

Top Biden aides head to Mideast in diplomatic push on Syria, Gaza

Reuters — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 19:57:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> President Joe Biden’s top aides were heading to the Middle East on Wednesday seeking to advance efforts to reach an elusive Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal and help ensure a smooth transition in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.

Israel, seeing opportunity, demolishes Syria’s military assets

New York Times — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 22:00:00 +0000

JERUSALEM >> As soon as it became clear Sunday that there would be regime change in neighboring Syria, Israel began a sweeping aerial campaign.

Rebel-backed figure takes charge as Syria’s interim prime minister

Reuters — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0000

DAMASCUS >> Syria’s new interim leader announced today he was taking charge of the country as caretaker prime minister with the backing of the former rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad three days ago.

Syria’s rebels work to form government after Assad ouster

Reuters — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 03:41:00 +0000

DAMASCUS >> The lightning overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad left Syrians, countries in the region and world powers nervous on Tuesday about what comes next as the rebel alliance took its first steps in a government transition.

Syrian rebels topple President Bashar al-Assad

Reuters — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 20:00:00 +0000

Syrian rebels seized the capital Damascus unopposed on Sunday after a lightning advance that sent President Bashar al-Assad fleeing to Russia after a 13-year civil war and six decades of his family’s autocratic rule.

Syrian rebels take fourth city, Assad’s rule faces growing threat

Reuters — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

AMMAN/BEIRUT >> Syrian rebels said they seized control of the southern city of Daraa today, the birthplace of a 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and the fourth city his forces have lost in a week.

Ceasefire violations rise as Israel, Hezbollah trade strikes

Reuters — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 22:00:00 +0000

At least nine people were killed and three injured today from Israeli strikes on two southern Lebanese towns, Talousa and Haris, as the Israeli military said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon.

Egypt hosts Hamas in new Gaza ceasefire push, looting halts aid

Reuters — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 22:12:00 +0000

CAIRO >> Hamas leaders held talks with Egyptian security officials on Sunday in a fresh push for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, two Hamas sources said, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to hold security talks on the matter, two Israeli officials said.

Israel says it killed Oct. 7 attack suspect who worked food aid charity

Reuters — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 21:52:00 +0000

CAIRO >> The Israeli military said today it had killed a militant who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel and who it said was employed by a U.S.-based charity, World Central Kitchen, in Gaza.

Syrian rebels control Aleppo; Russia strikes in support of Assad

Reuters — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 21:37:00 +0000

AMMAN, Jordan >> The Syrian army said today that dozens of its soldiers had been killed in a major attack led by Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels who swept into the city of Aleppo, forcing the army to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years.

Syrian rebels breach Aleppo, in biggest advance in years

New York Times — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 02:30:00 +0000

Syrian rebels breached the major city of Aleppo today, according to the fighters and a war monitor, raising fears that the nation’s long-running civil war is reigniting with an intensity not seen in years.

Dozens dead in Gaza airstrikes as ceasefire efforts escalate

Reuters — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 20:45:00 +0000

CAIRO >> Israeli military strikes killed at least 40 Palestinians overnight and today in the Gaza Strip, medics said, as efforts to revive Gaza ceasefire talks received a boost with officials from the Palestinian group Hamas headed to Cairo for a new round of talks.

Israel steps up bombing of central Gaza, strikes kill 26 people

Reuters — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 20:00:00 +0000

CAIRO >> Israeli military strikes killed at least 26 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics said, as forces stepped up their bombardment of central areas and tanks pushed deeper into the north and south of the enclave.

Biden: Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire will take effect Wednesday

Reuters — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 19:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/BEIRUT >> A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah will take effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France, President Joe Biden said today.

Biden, Macron set to announce Israel-Hezbollah truce

Reuters — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 23:40:00 +0000

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT >> President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to announce a ceasefire in Lebanon between the armed group Hezbollah and Israel imminently, four senior Lebanese sources said today.

Hezbollah rockets land near Tel Aviv after big Israeli strike on Beirut

Reuters — Sun, 24 Nov 2024 19:58:00 +0000

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT >> Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement fired heavy rocket barrages at Israel on Sunday, and the Israeli military said houses had been destroyed or set alight near Tel Aviv, after a powerful Israeli airstrike killed at least 29 people in Beirut the day before.

Powerful Israeli airstrike in Beirut kills 15, Lebanese officials say

Reuters — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 20:06:00 +0000

BEIRUT >> A powerful airstrike killed 15 people in central Beirut today and 13 others were killed in attacks northeast of the Lebanese capital, the health ministry said, as Israel pressed its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

Israel pounds southern Lebanon, Beirut outskirts; 5 medics killed

Reuters — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 22:45:00 +0000

BEIRUT >> Israeli forces pounded southern Lebanon and the outskirts of the capital Beirut today, killing at least five medics, and ground troops clashed with Hezbollah fighters in the south.

ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, Hamas leader

Reuters — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 20:00:00 +0000

THE HAGUE >> The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants today for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.

Adm. Paparo: Ukraine, Middle East wars ‘eating into’ U.S. air defense stocks

Reuters — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 02:54:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are eating into U.S. stockpiles of air defenses, the top U.S. admiral overseeing American forces in the Asia-Pacific region said today.

Pope Francis suggests international study into possible genocide in Gaza

Reuters — Sun, 17 Nov 2024 20:28:00 +0000

ROME >> Pope Francis has suggested the global community should study whether Israel’s military campaign in Gaza constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people, in some of his most explicit criticism yet of Israel’s conduct in its year-long war.

2 flash bombs fired into garden of Netanyahu’s home in Israel

Reuters — Sun, 17 Nov 2024 06:09:00 +0000

CAIRO, Eqypt >> Two flash bombs were fired towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in the northern Israeli town of Caesarea on Saturday and fell into the garden, police said.

Trump selects Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel

Reuters — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 23:05:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> President-elect Donald Trump said today he was nominating former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel, tapping a staunchly pro-Israel conservative whose choice could signal future U.S. policy toward conflicts in the Middle East.

At least 40 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza

Reuters — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 01:30:00 +0000

CAIRO >> At least 40 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes across Gaza on Sunday, including two dozen when a residential building in the northern town of Jabalia was hit, Palestinian health officials and a human rights group said.

Gaza mourns children killed in Israeli strike as death toll rises

Reuters — Sat, 09 Nov 2024 16:15:00 +0000

GAZA >> A Gaza family sat weeping today over children killed by an Israeli strike as they were getting ready to play soccer, amid an intensified bombardment that Palestinian health authorities said has killed 44 people over the past 24 hours.

Israel evacuates soccer fans from Amsterdam after attack by ‘antisemitic squads’

Reuters — Sat, 09 Nov 2024 01:38:00 +0000

AMSTERDAM >> Amsterdam banned demonstrations for three days from Friday after overnight attacks on Israeli soccer supporters by what the mayor called “antisemitic hit-and-run squads,” and Israel said it would fly many fans home.

Netanyahu fires defense minister over ‘crisis of trust’

Reuters — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 19:30:00 +0000

JERUSALEM/CAIRO >> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defence Minister Yoav Gallant today citing a “crisis of trust” and replaced him with Israel Katz, previously the foreign minister.

Israeli airstrikes kill at least 31 people in Gaza, medics say

Reuters — Sun, 03 Nov 2024 20:40:00 +0000

CAIRO >> Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 people in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian medics said, with nearly half of the deaths in northern areas where the army has waged a month-long campaign it says aims to prevent Hamas regrouping.

Amid war and deep hunger, Gaza fisherman struggle to feed families

Reuters — Sun, 03 Nov 2024 13:56:00 +0000

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip >>After over a year of war in Gaza, Palestinian fishermen gather along the coastline, desperately casting their nets in hopes of catching enough for their families amid widespread hunger.

Iran’s leader threatens Israel with ‘crushing response’ to strikes

New York Times — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 20:33:00 +0000

TEL AVIV, Israel >> Iran’s supreme leader today threatened “a crushing response” to Israeli strikes on his country, as the Pentagon said it would deploy additional resources to the region in the coming months.

U.S. deploys B-52s, warships to Middle East amid tensions

Reuters — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 23:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> The United States said today it will deploy B-52 bombers, fighter jets, refueling aircraft and Navy destroyers to the Middle East, in a readjustment of military assets as the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group prepares to leave the region.

At least 30 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, hospital hit

Reuters — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 18:00:00 +0000

CAIRO >> At least 30 Palestinians were killed in Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip today, mostly in the north where one attack hit a hospital, torching medical supplies and disrupting operations, the enclave’s health officials said.

Israel strikes Iran military targets amid fears of a wider war

Reuters — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 02:30:00 +0000

DUBAI/JERUSALEM/CAIRO >> Israel struck military sites in Iran early on Saturday, but its retaliation for an Iranian attack this month did not appear aimed at the country’s most sensitive oil and nuclear targets after urgent calls from allies and neighbours for restraint.

Israel confirms death of heir apparent to slain Hezbollah leader

Reuters — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 22:00:00 +0000

TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM/CAIRO >> Israel today confirmed it had killed Hashem Safieddine, the heir apparent to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who was previously killed in an Israeli attack targeting the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group.

Blinken to make another push for Middle East ceasefires

Reuters — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 20:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON/BEIRUT >> U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make another push for a ceasefire when he heads to the Middle East on Monday, the State Department said, seeking to kick-start negotiations to end the Gaza war and also defuse the spillover conflict in Lebanon.