Middle East

Syria's new Sunni authorities have been under pressure from the West and Arab countries to form a government that is more inclusive of the country's diverse ethnic and religious communities.

OCHA said the 20-day closure of Gaza crossings to aid deliveries is having a devastating impact on people already facing catastrophic conditions.

Strikes were reported in multiple locations, including northern Gaza, Gaza City and the Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah in central and southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian health ministry officials said many of the dead were children.

Trump also warned Iran that it needed to immediately halt support for the group.

US and Israeli officials, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the issue, confirmed contacts with Sudan, Somalia and Somaliland.

The Council on American Islamic Relations said it recorded the highest number of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab complaints - 8,658 - in 2024 since it began publishing data in 1996.

Karishma Patel criticised the BBC’s handling of crucial stories, particularly its decision to withdraw the documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone and its initial reluctance to report on the death of a Palestinian child, Hind Rajab.

The three European countries called on Israel to allow the delivery of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, and warned against using aid as a political tool.

The reconstruction plan would cost $53 billion and avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave, in contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump's"Middle East Riviera" vision.

Boehler and Hamas officials met in Doha in recent weeks, the sources said. It was not clear who represented Hamas.

If agreed, the truce would halt fighting until the end of the Ramadan fasting period around March 31 and the Jewish Passover holiday around April 20.

Arab states, which were swift to reject Trump's plan for the US to take control of Gaza and resettle Palestinians, are scrambling to agree on a diplomatic offensive to counter the idea.

Trump lifted a block imposed on the export of the munitions by the administration of predecessor Joe Biden.

Many of those killed were unarmed and posed no imminent threat, said the UN rights office, calling the killings “part of an expanding pattern of Israel’s unlawful use of force in the West Bank where there are no active hostilities.”

Many experts say Trump may be using an old bargaining ploy from his diplomatic playbook, setting out an extreme position as an opening gambit for negotiations.

The war in Gaza erupted after a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed at least 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and saw more than 250 taken as hostages.

Sisi has repeatedly said Egypt would never facilitate the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, which Cairo would view as a serious threat to Egypt's own security, including by breeding extremism and providing a pretext for future Israeli attacks, as well as an injustice to the Palestinians.

Hamas negotiators said U.S. guarantees for the ceasefire were no longer in place given a plan by President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

Saudi Arabia condemned these actions and firmly stated that "the Palestinian people have a right to their land."

Discussions centred on the contentious relocation plan as well as Egypt's long-standing dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Katz announced that the military’s plan would provide options for departure by land, air, and sea, allowing Palestinians freedom of movement.

Grandi called the idea "very surprising" and emphasised the need to understand the concrete details before making any further comments.

When questioned by reporters about the legal basis for the US assuming control of Gaza, Trump claimed he had studied the matter closely for months.

Much of the rest of Gaza City also lies in ruins after 15 months of fighting and waves of Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages that left it a shell of the bustling urban centre it was before the war.

The ministers also warned that any attempt to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza would escalate tensions in the region and further undermine efforts to achieve lasting peace.

Families repeatedly displaced after over 15 months of war erupted in cheers at shelters and tent encampments when they heard the crossings would be opened.

The Central Dauphin School District said on Saturday it had learned about the allegations that the teacher made the derogatory comment last week in an after-school programme.

Washington had said last year it opposed the forcible displacement of Palestinians.

Cheering crowds greeted the releases on either side, including Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv and Palestinians assembled in Ramallah.

The truce deal requires at least 600 truckloads of aid to enter Gaza each day of the initial six-week ceasefire, including 50 carrying fuel. Half of those trucks are supposed to go to Gaza's north, where experts have warned famine is imminent.

Daily deliveries have surged tenfold since the Sunday deal, according to U.N. data, surpassing the 600 trucks a day target set out for the first seven weeks of the ceasefire.

The operation was launched within days of the start of a ceasefire in Gaza that saw the first exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails since a brief truce in November 2023.

Hostages were expected to be released within hours of the start of the ceasefire, opening the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, buses awaited the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention. Hamas said the first group to be freed in exchange for the hostages includes 69 women and 21 teenage boys.

Efforts also are underway to strengthen referral processes for critical care within Gaza and facilitate cross-border medical evacuations.

The aid trucks were using the Kerem Shalom entry point pending completion of maintenance at the Rafah border crossing into southern Gaza from Egypt, the sources said.

The ceasefire deal took effect after a nearly three-hour delay, pausing a war that has brought seismic political change to the Middle East and giving hope to Gaza's 2.3 million people, many of whom have been displaced several times.

The three-stage agreement follows months of on-off negotiations brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, and comes just ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Hamas said it was committed to the ceasefire but that it had been unable so far to provide the hostage list for "technical field reasons", without elaborating.

The UN World Food Programme has said it has enough food ready to feed more than a million people for three months.

ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli defence chief Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict.

If successful, the ceasefire would halt fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces that has razed much of heavily urbanised Gaza, killed more than 46,000 people

A group representing families of Israeli hostages in Gaza, 33 of whom are due to be freed in the first six-week phase of the accord, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move forward quickly.

A long-time advocate for the Palestinian cause, the AU hosts the Palestinian president annually during its leaders' summit, scheduled for February, where he is also expected to attend this year.

Israel's acceptance of the deal will not be official until it is approved by the country's security cabinet and government, with votes slated for Thursday, an Israeli official said.

The accord outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of an agreement on Monday, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after a midnight "breakthrough".

UNRWA, established by the U.N. General Assembly, provides aid, health and education services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and neighboring Arab countries - Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

Somalia said Palestinians lack basic necessities like food, water, shelter and medicines due to an Israeli aid blockade on Gaza.

Tedros called for Abu Safiya's immediate release and said the Al-Ahli hospital had also faced attacks.

Many aid workers and doctors say famine has taken hold in Gaza. But amid Israel’s military assault and curbs on movement, the world’s hunger monitor has struggled to access key data to determine whether conditions constitute a famine. Some experts now wonder: Is it time to rethink how a famine is defined?

The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement that during a trial run two ships passed through a new stretch of the canal's two-way section without incident.

On December 26, five journalists from Al-Quds Today TV were killed when an Israeli airstrike struck their broadcasting van while they were covering events in Gaza.

Almost all of the many human rights advocates in those countries, and the West more generally, have stayed silent while Israel executed its genocide.

Hamas said that Israel had laid down further conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of going back on understandings already reached.

The head of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, Husam Abu Safiya, told Reuters via text message that obeying the order to shut down was "next to impossible" because there were not enough ambulances to get patients out.

Meanwhile, Gaza's health ministry said there was ongoing intense and heavy bombing of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, which it said was occurring in an "unprecedented manner" and without prior warning.

Palestinian medics said eight people, including children, were killed in the Musa Bin Nusayr School that sheltered displaced families in Gaza City.

The pope is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts, but he has recently been more outspoken about Israel's military campaign against Hamas.

The Syrian army’s own central command and control centre no longer functioned well after the Iranian and Hezbollah officers left.

The 193-member Assembly adopted a resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution passed with overwhelming support, receiving 158 votes in favor, nine votes against, and 13 abstentions.

The rebel coalition said it was working to complete the transfer of power to a transitional governing body with executive powers.

The conflict's sectarian edge was hardened by the arrival of Iranian-backed Shi'ite fighters from across the Middle East to support Assad.

The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability.

Russia’s distraction and weakening support for the Assad government partly explains the opportunity seized by the HTS and SNA coalitions.

UN deputy chief Amina Mohammed emphasised the urgent need for lifesaving assistance and a plan for the enclave’s long-term recovery.

The meeting emphasised the growing consensus among Gulf states on the importance of a balanced approach to resolving the conflict.

Longstanding enemies, Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting for 14 months since the Lebanese group began firing rockets at Israeli military targets.

Opposition sources in touch with Turkish intelligence said Turkey, which supports the rebels, had given a green light to the offensive.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of "using the weapon of starvation against the people (in northern Gaza) to displace them from their land and homes."

About 1.8 million people in Gaza are facing unprecedented levels of food insecurity.

Announcing the ceasefire, Biden spoke at the White House on Tuesday shortly after Israel's security cabinet approved the agreement in a 10-1 vote.

Many tents used early in the war have now worn out and no longer offer protection, but the price of new tents and plastic sheeting has shot up beyond the means of displaced families.

The Lebanon ceasefire agreement requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon's army to deploy in the region, officials say.

Netanyahu has denounced the court's decision as antisemitic and denied charges that he and Gallant targeted Gazan civilians and deliberately starved them.

Wateridge said that, for almost 50 days, UN humanitarian missions have attempted to deliver supplies to northern Gaza, including besieged areas such as Jabalia, but access to those in desperate need has been extremely limited.

The arrest warrants, classified as ‘secret’ to protect witnesses and safeguard ongoing investigations, were issued based on the pair’s alleged role in actions that reportedly led to the suffering and deaths of civilians in Gaza between October 2023 and May 2024.

Widespread shortages and months of grinding war have generated a trade in old clothing, much of it salvaged from the homes of people who have died in the conflict.

Video footage of the strike site obtained by Reuters showed locals pulling bodies from a huge pile of rubble, with surrounding houses also damaged, some heavily.

More than 100,000 Palestinians have fled to Egypt to escape the war in Gaza. Mona and her children are among them, but without a secure residence status they are constantly worried about their home and the future.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog condemned the incident in a post on X and said an investigation was underway.

Francis has not previously described the situation in Gaza as a genocide in public. But last year he was at the centre of a messy dispute after a meeting with a group of Palestinians at the Vatican, who insisted he had used the word with them in private.

Israel launched its ground and air offensive against Hezbollah in late September after almost a year of cross-border hostilities in parallel with the Gaza war.

Laerke voiced concern about north Gaza where residents have been ordered to head south as Israeli forces' incursion continues.

Earlier this year, Italy launched a flagship initiative dubbed Food for Gaza to help civilians there, and it has sent several consignments of aid to those hit by the war ravaging the Palestinian enclave.

The statement said not enough aid is reaching those who rely on it for survival and humanitarian agencies and humanitarian workers continue to face preventable impediments.