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JERUSALEM, Nov 4, 2023 (AFP) – The Israeli military and powerful Lebanese movement Hezbollah engaged in cross-border clashes on Saturday, with each claiming to have hit the other’s positions along the frontier. The latest skirmishes came a day after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned that the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could turn into a regional conflict if Israel pushed on with its offensive in the Palestinian territory. On Saturday, the […]
WASHINGTON, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – Talks are being held on a “very significant” pause in the Middle East conflict to win the release of dozens of hostages taken by Palestinian militant group Hamas, a senior US official said Friday. “It is something that is under a very serious and active discussion. But there is no agreement as of yet to actually get this done,” the official said, as fighting between US ally Israel and […]
TEL AVIV, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself as it pummels the Gaza Strip with an air and ground assault. “Israel has not only the right but the obligation to defend itself… to make sure that this October 7 never happens again,” Blinken told journalists as he met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv. Israel launched a […]
WASHINGTON, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – The United States called on Friday for Hezbollah not to “take advantage” of the Israel-Hamas war after the Lebanese militants’ leader said “all options” were open. “We and our partners have been clear: Hezbollah and other actors — state or non-state — should not try to take advantage of the ongoing conflict,” a spokesperson from the National Security Council said. In his first speech since war broke out last […]
BEIRUT, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that his Iran-backed group was not afraid of US warships and “all options” were open for an expansion of the Israel-Hamas conflict into Lebanon. In his first speech since war broke out last month between Hamas militants and Israel, the head of the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement said the United States was responsible for the Gaza war and that Washington could prevent a […]
BANGKOK, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – Thailand’s foreign minister said Friday he had pressed his Iranian counterpart over the fate of 23 Thais taken hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas in its attack on Israel. Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara travelled to Qatar and Egypt this week for talks on the hostages, and met his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Doha, urging him to use Tehran’s links with Hamas to help secure the release of Thai nationals. Israeli […]
By Adel Zaanoun with Daphne Rousseau in Jerusalem RAFAH, Palestinian Territories, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli ground troops encircled Hamas stronghold Gaza City on Friday, after close ally the United States urged “concrete steps” to minimise civilian casualties. Ahead of top US diplomat Antony Blinken’s scheduled visit to Israel Friday, the country’s military said it had “completed the encirclement” of Gaza’s largest city — signalling a new phase in the month-long war against Hamas. […]
WASHINGTON, Nov 1, 2023 (AFP) – Top US diplomat Antony Blinken will begin a new Middle East trip this week, a spokesperson announced Tuesday, as President Joe Biden seeks “urgent mechanisms” to reduce regional tensions over the Israel-Hamas war. “Secretary Blinken will travel to Israel on Friday for meetings with members of the Israeli government, and then will make other stops in the region,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, without further details. The White […]
By Mai YAGHI with Rosie Scammell in Jerusalem RAFAH, Palestinian Territories, Nov 2, 2023 (AFP) – Israel hit Gaza’s largest refugee camp with renewed air strikes Wednesday, prompting UN rights officials to warn that targeting densely populated residential areas “could amount to war crimes.” Bombs struck the Jabalia camp for a second time in two days, pulverising buildings and, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, killing dozens of people. AFP witnessed extensive damage at the […]
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Oct 30, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas released Monday a video showing three of the more than 230 people Israel says were seized by Palestinian militants in massive October 7 raids which triggered all-out war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the anguished images of the three women as “cruel psychological propaganda” and vowed to “do everything to bring home all the kidnapped and missing people”. In a statement, Netanyahu […]
BANGKOK, Oct 31, 2023 (AFP) – Thailand’s foreign minister begins an urgent visit to Qatar and Egypt on Tuesday for talks on the fate of 22 Thais taken hostage by Hamas in its attack on Israel. Israeli authorities say more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in an attack launched by the Palestinian militant group on October 7 from the Gaza Strip. In response, the Israeli military has pounded Gaza, where the Hamas-controlled health […]
