Author: Dogatpasa

French foreign minister Catherine Colonna said on Saturday that a humanitarian corridor is needed to deliver aid to civilians in Gaza and its establishment could lead to a ceasefire. “The distribution of aid to civilian populations, starting with the most vulnerable, assumes a humanitarian corridor, which can lead to a ceasefire,” she said at the Cairo Peace Summit hosted by Egypt on the escalating war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza. She added that French President Emmanuel Macron had just announced 10 million euros ($10.59 million) of humanitarian aid for the Palestinians, in addition to the 10 million euros…

Six workers with the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency were killed in just 24 hours in Gaza, the global body said Tuesday, bringing to 35 the total of its staff killed since October 7. Humanitarian and aid workers have not been spared in more than two weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip after Hamas gunmen carried out the worst attack in Israel’s 75-year history. “Since the start of hostilities, at least 16 health workers have been killed while on duty, along with 35 UNRWA staff,” the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said in an update sent Tuesday on the…

Iran’s supreme leader delivered a clear message to the head of Hamas when they met in Tehran in early November, according to three senior officials: You gave us no warning of your October 7 attack on Israel and we will not enter the war on your behalf. Ali Khamenei told Ismail Haniyeh that Iran – a longtime backer of Hamas – would continue to lend the group its political and moral support, but wouldn’t intervene directly, said the Iranian and Hamas officials with knowledge of the discussions who asked to remain anonymous to speak freely. The supreme leader pressed Haniyeh to silence…

Australia said on Wednesday it had deployed two more military aircraft and a “significant number” of defense personnel to the Middle East to help support its citizens there if the ongoing war between Israel and militant group Hamas escalates. A deadly cross-border attack by Iran-backed Hamas on Oct. 7 stunned Israel, killing more than 1,400 people, while the Palestinian health ministry said at least 5,791 Palestinians had been killed by subsequent Israeli bombardments, including 2,360 children. Australia sent a Boeing C-17 aircraft and an air refueler plane that has the capacity to carry passengers, taking the total to three, Defence…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for labelling Israel a “terror state” and refused to take any “lectures” from Ankara which he said supported the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Netanyahu said: “There are forces that support the terrorists. And one of them is President Erdogan of Turkey who calls Israel a terror state, but actually supports the terror state of Hamas,” according to Israel’s most widely read newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth. Netanyahu added: “[Erdogan] has himself bombed Turkish villages inside Turkey itself, so we’re not going to get any lectures from them,” likely in reference to Turkish military action in…

Israeli fighter jets carried out strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the Israeli military said on Thursday. “The targets included a number of military posts from which Hezbollah terrorists operated. In addition… [Israeli army] soldiers struck a terrorist who was operating in Lebanese territory, adjacent to the area of Shlomi in northern Israel,” the Israeli army said in a statement. Earlier, the Israeli army said: “An anti-tank missile was launched from Lebanon toward the area of Shlomi in northern Israel. In response, the [Israeli army] struck the Hezbollah launch post from which the missile was fired.” It added: “[Israeli soldiers] also struck…

A senior US diplomat on Wednesday returned to the Middle East on the latest bid to stop the spread of the war between Israel and Hamas. Barbara Leaf, the top US envoy for the Middle East, flew back to the region after accompanying Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a crisis tour. She started in the United Arab Emirates and will also visit Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Jordan and Israel, with other stops possible, the State Department said. Leaf will “consult with regional partners and advance efforts to prevent the conflict in the Middle East from spreading,” a State Department statement…

Two men scramble their way down a concrete wall while an Israeli military camera they’ve torn off the top dangles beside them. “Hey lad, where are you?” yells one. “Follow me!” The other – bare-chested – abseils down as video filmed by a third person shows what looks like a freshly raised Hezbollah flag fluttering above. They run for it, away from the Israeli watchtowers and tanks ranged along the other side. This is a life-threatening game of dare at one of the Middle East’s most incendiary boundaries, among several raising fears of violent and bloody escalation. Recent months have…

Move comes after gradual efforts to restore ties, including a visit by the Israeli president to Turkey in March. Turkey and Israel have agreed to restore full diplomatic relations and will return ambassadors to each other’s countries following a gradual improvement in relations. The announcement on Wednesday followed a conversation between Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It comes four years after the two countries expelled ambassadors over the killing of 60 Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests on the Gaza border against the opening of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem. “It was decided to…

Americans view Israel as the country’s top ally outside of the English-speaking world, a survey by Pew Research found. Israel came in third place with 4%, following the UK at 22% and Canada at 6%. These results are consistent with past polling, going back to 2007. Pew asked a sample of American adults who is the top ally of the US, without specific options for answers.Top ArticlesRead More Moscow says it shot down Ukrainian missile over Russian city Nearly half (48%) of respondents declined to answer. Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were more likely to name Israel (8%) than Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents…