12 h. ago Israel says airstrikes in Syria are ‘message’ to protect Druze minority

Syria says at least one civilian killed in latest strikes, while most Druze leaders rebuff Israeli protectionIsraeli warplanes have carried out a series of airstrikes outside Damascus and across Syria, after warnings from Israeli officials that the country would intervene to protect the Syria’s minority Druze sect.The airstrikes targeted a Syrian military site in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, as well as hitting unknown targets in Deraa province in south Syria and Hama province in north-west Syria. At least one civilian was killed and four people were injured as a result of the Israeli bombings late Friday night, according to Syrian state media. Continue reading...

Politics

27 h. ago Israel launches airstrikes near Syrian presidential palace in Damascus

Benjamin Netanyahu says strike intended to deter Syria’s new leadership from any hostile move against the DruzeIsrael’s air force launched airstrikes against unidentified targets near Syria’s presidential palace, in what Israeli officials said was a warning to the Syrian government after days of bloody clashes near Damascus between pro-government militia and fighters from the Druze minority sectBenjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and the defence minister, Israel Katz, said in a joint statement that the strike early on Friday, the second this week in Syria, was intended to deter the country’s new leadership from any hostile move against the Druze. Continue reading...

Politics

30 h. ago Israel launches airstrikes near Syria presidential palace in Damascus

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not allow Syrian forces to deploy south of Damascus or threaten Druze communityIsrael attacked a target near the presidential palace in the Syrian capital, Damascus, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early on Friday, reiterating his vow to protect members of the Druze community.It marks the second time Israel has struck Syria in as many days, following through on a promise to defend the minority group, which was involved in sectarian violence against Sunni gunmen earlier this week. Continue reading...

Politics

32 h. ago Israeli military strikes near Syria's presidential palace after warning over sectarian attacks

Israel’s air force struck near Syria’s presidential palace early Friday hours after warning Syrian authorities not to march toward villages inhabited by members of a minority sect in southern Syria

Events

3 d. ago ‘Bombs and bullets were like rain’: 50 years on from the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam war

Xuan Phuong, a war correspondent who is now 96, recalls the day she entered the city after South Vietnam’s surrenderThe day that Saigon fell, Xuan Phuong, a war correspondent, could only hear shouting and commotion. It was 30 April 1975, and helicopters were frantically lifting personnel and civilians from the US embassy. Phuong, who had travelled down from the north, was initially held back by troops who said fighting was still continuing. When she was finally able to reach the centre of the city the following day, 1 May, she found chaos. Clothes and luggage were scattered and discarded along the streets. Buildings were being looted.It felt like a dream, Phuong, now 96, said. She stood inside the Presidential Palace on 2 May, watching as the president of South Vietnam, Duong Van Minh, surrendered. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Israel breaks ceasefire for third time after launching more airstrikes on Beirut suburbs

A huge plume of smoke billowed over the area after Israel launched fresh airstrikes on Beirut, which hit what looked like a metal tent situated between two buildings with three bombs

Events

9 d. ago Children in school shelter among 25 killed in wave of Israeli strikes on Gaza

Israel launches wave of airstrikes as Arab negotiators make new ceasefire proposalAt least 25 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, including 11 in the bombing of a school turned shelter, the strip’s civil defence agency said, as Israel’s war against Hamas in the besieged Palestinian territory grinds on despite a new ceasefire proposal from Arab mediators.Intense Israeli bombings hit several areas of Gaza on Wednesday, killing 11 in a school sheltering displaced people in al-Tuffah, a neighbourhood of Gaza City. The strike ignited a huge fire that claimed most of the casualties, said a civil defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Bassal. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Israel shark attack: Human remains found in hunt for missing swimmer

A search operation had been launched after the shark attack in Israel with police confirming that remains have been found after a swimmer disappeared at Olga Beach in Hadera

Events

3 w. ago Hamas calls on the UK government to remove it from list of banned terrorist groups

The Palestinian Islamist organisation, which launched deadly 7 October attacks on Israel, says it is a ‘resistance movement’ and no threat to BritainThe Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has submitted a legal filing saying that it should be removed from the UK government’s list of proscribed terrorist groups.Hamas, which carried out the 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel, in which more than 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed and a further 250 taken hostage, is arguing that it is not a terrorist group but “a Palestinian Islamic liberation and resistance movement whose goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project”. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Hamas calls on UK government to remove it from list of banned terrorist groups

The Palestinian Islamist organisation, which launched deadly 7 October attacks on Israel, says it is a ‘resistance movement’ and no threat to BritainThe Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has submitted a legal filing saying it should be removed from the UK government’s list of proscribed terrorist groups.Hamas, which carried out the 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel, in which more than 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed and a further 250 taken hostage, is arguing that it is not a terrorist group but “a Palestinian Islamic liberation and resistance movement whose goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project”. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago American billionaire is accused of facilitating Hamas' October 7 terror attack on Israel in bombshell lawsuit

The lawsuit accuses the developer of knowing that Hamas militants were constructing elaborate tunnels underneath his properties in Gaza to 'store and launch its rockets at Israel.'

Events

4 w. ago Israel restarts ground operations in northern Gaza Strip in renewed campaign

At least 25 killed in attack on Khan Younis in south as Israel says it is aiming to pressure Hamas into releasing hostagesIsrael has restarted ground operations in the northern Gaza Strip and killed at least 25 people in airstrikes on the southern city of Khan Younis in what it says is a renewed military campaign aimed at pressuring Hamas into releasing Israeli hostages.At least 25 people were killed in the attack on Khan Younis early on Friday, the local Nasser hospital told AFP, as the search for survivors continued. Continue reading...

Politics