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Iran vowed to retaliate, raising fears of even deeper regional turmoil rippling out from the war in Gaza. It was the latest of roughly 140 such rocket and missile strikes against U.S. troops based in Iraq and Syria over the past several months. Across the region, a dizzying array of strikes and counterstrikes risk spinning the conflict into a wider war. In the last week alone, the list of attacks and reprisals has been long and daunting: Iran fired missiles toward Iraq, Syria and Pakistan; Pakistan responded by striking Iranian territory. Turkey hit Kurdish targets in northern Iraq and Syria; Hamas fired rockets toward Israel; Israel continued to pound southern Gaza and struck southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah militants have fired rockets toward Israel in recent months.

Persons: Israel Organizations: U.S Locations: Iran, Israel, Damascus, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Yemen, Aden, United

The twin specters of a widening regional war and intensified suffering of civilians loomed over the Middle East on Saturday as the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen threatened to respond to American airstrikes, and a senior U.N. official warned of a “horrific” humanitarian crisis in Gaza that he said was hurtling toward famine. An American missile strike, launched from a warship in the Red Sea, hit a radar station outside the Yemeni capital, Sana, early on Saturday. The solitary strike came about 24 hours after U.S.-led strikes against nearly 30 sites in northern and western Yemen that were intended to deter Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Houthi officials tried to brush off the latest assault, saying it would have little impact on their ability to attack vessels in the Red Sea. The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, say their goal is to punish Israel for blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza — though Yemeni analysts say the crisis also presents the Houthis with a welcome distraction from rising criticism at home.

Persons: Israel Locations: Iran, Yemen, Gaza, American, Red, Sana

The Israeli military would not answer questions about whether its forces shot and killed Palestinians trying to go back to their homes. Ahead of the cease-fire, Israel had warned Gazans that it would prohibit them from trying to move from southern Gaza to the north during the cessation in hostilities. On Friday morning, Kareem al-Nasir, 30, joined thousands of other Palestinians trying to return from central Gaza to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip. But as they tried to make their way along a road on foot, he said, Israeli forces nearby opened fire on them. “No one feels safe,” said Mohammad al-Masri, a local journalist who last week fled his home in northern Gaza to Khan Younis.

Persons: Gazans, Israel, ”, Omar Shakir, Kareem al, Nasir, “, Mr, Khan Younis, Nayrouz, ” Ms, Qarmout, Wael Abu Omar, Mohammad al, Masri, ” Vivian Yee Organizations: Human Rights Watch, “, Hamas Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Gaza City, Deir al, Beit Hanoun, Palestinian, Rafah

☆ ‘You Think of Dying at Any Time’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But those who fled found that the south, too, was perilous as Israel kept up airstrikes on the area. They went to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City where for three days, she stayed with her husband and four children in the hallway. From a window, she said, she watched a constant stream of dead and wounded being rushed into the hospital. A week ago, the family went to Khan Younis, where Israeli airstrikes continued to rain down. “They say: ‘Go to a safe place.’ But then they strike the place they told us to flee to,” Ms. Kurd said.

Persons: ”, Israel, Kurd, Khan Younis, ” Ms, António Guterres Organizations: Al Shifa Locations: Israel, Gaza, Gaza City, Israeli

It was increasingly difficult to reach people in the Gaza Strip or know what was happening in the enclave late Friday, as Israel said it was stepping up its bombardment and staging another incursion. On Friday evening, two major Palestinian mobile networks, Jawwal and Paltel, said that their phone and internet services were down. Some Palestinians who have managed to communicate with the outside world said that fear and panic were spreading. They don’t know what’s happening around them.”Visuals from inside Gaza on social media channels monitored by The New York Times and some wire services were extremely limited on Friday afternoon. Reuters maintained a live camera directed from the Israeli side of the border toward the Gaza skyline that showed darkness with an occasional burst of light.

Persons: Belal Khaled, Khan Younis Organizations: WhatsApp, Nasser Hospital, The New York Times, Reuters Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Khan

Mohammed Aborjela, 27, used to document daily life in the Gaza Strip on his Instagram account before the war, videos about a crab dish prepared along the seaside or pigeon racing in the coastal enclave. Now, he has turned to documenting daily life under Israeli bombardment. On Sunday, he posted a story about the daily struggle to find drinking water. He records snippets as he walks, carrying a bright yellow jug to one of the few water stations still functioning in the southern city of Khan Younis. People are on top of one another and people are getting sick.”

Persons: Mohammed Aborjela, Khan Younis, ” Mr, Aborjela, ” Organizations: New York Times Locations: Gaza, Khan

☆ In Northern Gaza, the Price of a Ride South Is Out of Reach for Many
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The Israeli military said Saturday night that it would intensify its already punishing bombardment of the besieged enclave ahead of an expected ground invasion. Drivers were now charging between $200 and $300 to take a family south, she said. Even as Israel has told Gazans to head south, airstrikes have continued to hit that part of the enclave. “I did not go to the south mainly because I know no one there; where am I to go?” said Yasser Shaban, 57, a civil servant in Gaza City. The cousin returned to Gaza City with his surviving family members — a wounded son and his sister — to be treated at Al Shifa Hospital.

Persons: Abu Odeh, Ms, Francesca Albanese, ”, Gazans, Daniel Hagari, “, Yasser Shaban, Mr, Shaban, Khan Younis, —, ” Abu Bakr Bashir, Ameera Harouda Organizations: Drivers, Israel, Gaza, United Nations, The New York Times, Al Shifa Locations: Gaza, Jabalia, Gaza’s, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza City, Khan, ”

The devastating impact of an explosion at the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday became clearer on Wednesday through videos that witnesses posted to social media. Emergency workers were collecting bodies and remains in an effort to identify the dead. “There are still lots of bodies they haven’t yet collected,” said Amir Ahmed, a paramedic with the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza City. “There are too many bodies.” He said all the victims would be buried in a mass grave at a funeral later on Wednesday. Neither side’s account could be independently verified immediately, and the cause of the blast and the precise death toll remained unclear.

Persons: ”, Amir Ahmed, Ahmed Organizations: Ahli Arab Hospital, Health Ministry, Palestinian, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Ahli, Gaza City, Gaza

☆ Libya’s ‘City of Poets’ Pays a Heavy Price in Floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In the days after much of the coastal city of Derna, Libya, was washed away by devastating floods, Mahbuba Khalifa wrote a poem to honor her hometown, known by Libyans as the “city of poets.”I used to carry your great legacy in my conscience and on my shoulders, and I walked with arrogant pride and I had a certain pride that I did not deny. Whoever sees me and sees the radiance of light that I bear as a mark on my features must know — without asking me where I am from — that I am your daughter. For Ms. Khalifa, a Libyan writer and poet, it was the most poignant way to mourn a city with a history as an intellectual and cultural hub — and a long tradition of rebellion against occupation and authoritarian powers.

Persons: Mahbuba Khalifa, ”, Khalifa Locations: Derna, Libya, Libyan

Hundreds of Libyans protested on Monday from the devastated eastern city of Derna, demanding the removal of those responsible a week after torrential rains burst two dams and unleashed a catastrophe that killed thousands. Some protesters stood on the muddy, rocky earth that the floods carried through the city center on Sept. 11, washing entire neighborhoods and their inhabitants into the Mediterranean Sea. Others perched on the roof of a mosque that still stood, and a number appeared to be part of relief and rescue efforts, dressed in white biohazard suits and reflective vests. The cries of the protesters were part of a rising chorus of calls to hold leaders across the divided North African country accountable. Specifically, they want an international investigation into the circumstances that led to the bursting of the two dams on the edge of Derna.

Persons: “ Aguila, ”, Aguila Saleh Locations: Derna

☆ After Libya Floods, a Chaotic Scramble for Rescuers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Ali Elshanti arrived in the flood-stricken city of Derna on Wednesday afternoon, part of an aid convoy he and his friends organized that left the city of Misrata in the west of Libya 15 hours earlier. What he saw when he arrived looked like something out of a Hollywood disaster film, he said on Thursday. Efforts to respond to the devastation resulting from the collapse of two dams in eastern Libya and the floods that followed, killing thousands, were unorganized and uncoordinated, said Mr. Elshanti, a 29-year-old sports broadcaster. “Unfortunately in Libya we suffer from a lack of crisis management. The operation on the ground is not organized.”

Persons: Ali Elshanti, Elshanti, ” Locations: Derna, Misrata, Libya, Libyan

☆ What We Know About the Deadly Floods in Libya
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Thousands more were missing in Derna and other flooded areas, and the death toll is likely to rise, local officials said. The devastating floods have blocked roads and effectively cut off access to Derna, city officials said. Complicating the rescue effort in Libya is its division between an internationally recognized government based in Tripoli and a separately administered region in the east. Here’s what we know about the flooding in Libya. A powerful storm moved through the Mediterranean Sea last week, swamping Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria before making its way to Libya, where it battered the coast over the weekend.

Persons: dousing Shahhat, Bayda, Marj Organizations: Facebook Locations: Libya, Derna, Tripoli, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Al, Benghazi

☆ Aid Trickles Into Libya, but Flood Damage Hampers Relief Efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Aid was trickling into eastern Libya on Wednesday, where more than 5,000 people have died in recent days from catastrophic flooding. But with roads and bridges damaged and cut off, access to the hardest-hit city of Derna on the Mediterranean coast remained a major hurdle to bringing in help, according to international aid groups. Thousands of people are believed to still be missing, meaning the death toll was likely to rise further in the hours and days ahead. The flooding hit after heavy rains burst through two dams near Derna, a city of nearly 100,000 people. The Derna City Council has called for the opening of a maritime passageway to the city and for urgent international intervention.

Locations: Libya, Derna, Libyan

☆ With Straws, Gourds and Tea in Tow, Syrians Spread Their Love of Mate
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since Walaa Ali first fled her home in central Syria nearly 10 years ago, she has moved around the country four times, seeking safety for her family. Each time she settled in a new place, she spread the word about mate. Every morning, Ms. Ali, 27, carefully sets out a gold-mirrored tray with a matching teakettle, a sugar bowl that she fills with ground ginger, her tea glass and a metal straw for her morning mate (pronounced MAH-teh) — the strong, bitter tea native to South America. “I’ve been displaced from one place to another, and in every place, I got to know neighbors and I would introduce them to mate,” she said recently as she sipped from her cup, filled with hot water and a generous helping of mate leaves, which floated on top. Syrians have increasingly taken to the social and communal ritual surrounding its consumption, not unlike a hookah shared among friends or family.

Persons: Walaa Ali, Ali, “ I’ve, ” Locations: Syria, South America, Argentina, Brazil

☆ The Threads of Identity in a Palestinian Craft
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 2021, UNESCO added Palestinian embroidery to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognizing it as “a widespread social and intergenerational practice in Palestine,” a symbol of national pride and a way in which women supplement family income. But like other Indigenous handicrafts across the world, it faces threats, including mechanization and abandonment of old styles of dress. Now there is a push to revive the handicraft in younger generations and to preserve old thobes that tell Palestinian history. In July, the museum inaugurated a Textile Conservation Studio to preserve Palestinian thobes and other heritage fabrics and to provide training for conservation and restoration. “We need to practice our heritage so we don’t lose it,” said Maha Saca, the founder and director of the Palestinian Heritage Center in Bethlehem, who helped submit the UNESCO application and is now working on opening the academy.

Persons: ”, Maha Saca Organizations: UNESCO, Heritage, Humanity, West Bank, Conservation, Palestinian Heritage Center Locations: Palestine, Palestinian, Bethlehem

☆ Rare Protests in Syria Summon Echoes of Arab Spring
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Rare protests in Syria calling for the ouster of the authoritarian government have gathered momentum over the past two weeks, in scenes reminiscent of the Arab Spring uprising that began more than 12 years ago and morphed into a multisided war. The protests grew out of anger over increasing economic hardships that boiled over into demands for a political settlement to the war, which is largely at a stalemate. The demonstrations began in the south and spread, even briefly touching the capital, Damascus, and another major city, Aleppo. The trigger was a government decision this month to slash fuel subsidies, which more than doubled the cost of gasoline. But Syrians are also venting more than a decade of accumulated grievances over government violence and worsening living standards, according to videos from the protests and interviews with people who are following the movement.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad Locations: Syria, Damascus, Aleppo

The situation has worsened recently. Last month, a U.N. resolution to allow cross-border aid from Turkey expired, putting much of the humanitarian support for the area in limbo. On Sunday, three U.S. Congress members, including Representative French Hill, a Republican from Arkansas, briefly visited the Syrian side of one of the border crossings. “A stable environment allows people to move back to their country and allows people to rebuild their lives and the economy here.”The recovery from the quake so far has been piecemeal and ad hoc — some restoration of schools, sidewalks and marketplaces and some light home repairs. For the most part, Syrians have been left to pick up the pieces alone.

Persons: French Hill, Hill Organizations: Congress, Republican Locations: Turkey, Arkansas, Syria, United States

☆ Palestinian Man’s Lawyers Say Israeli Police Marked Him With Star of David
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Lawyers for a Palestinian man who was arrested by the Israeli police said officers beat him and imprinted his face with a Star of David, and they have demanded an investigation. The police denied the accusation, saying it was misleading. The man, Arwa Sheikh Ali, 22, was arrested on Wednesday as part of an investigation into drug dealing in the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, where Mr. Sheikh Ali lives. Rights advocates said Mr. Sheikh Ali’s injuries were indicative of a broader problem of brutality by Israeli forces, especially against Palestinians. Vadim Shub, head of the Jerusalem public defender’s office, which is representing Mr. Sheikh Ali, said in an interview on Sunday, “The mark on his face is the tip of the iceberg,” adding, “We want to raise the issue of police violence.”

Persons: David, Arwa Sheikh Ali, Sheikh Ali, Sheikh Ali’s, Vadim Shub, ” Locations: East Jerusalem, Jerusalem

The two sisters were walking home when they spotted a metal orb about the size of a softball. It was this big,” one of the sisters, Duaa, 10, said recently, stretching the fingers on her left hand as wide as she could. She recalled how her sister Rawa’a, 11, then handed her the bomb while she was holding their seven-month-old brother, Mitib, on her hip. Rawa’a lost her left eye, and Mitib’s cheeks still bear scars from the explosion. Syria’s 12-year conflict — now largely at a stalemate — has wrought widespread destruction and killed more than 500,000 people while forcing millions more to flee their homes.

Persons: Rawa’a, Mitib, — Locations: Syria

For years, the European Union has funded the Libyan Coast Guard in an effort to stop migrants and refugees arriving on its shores. But those returned to Libya can face abuse and torture in detention camps run by the militias. The fighting began when members of the Special Deterrence Force, which oversees some prisons in Tripoli, arrested Col. Mahmoud Hamza , leader of the 444 Brigade. The deterrence force said that Colonel Hamza was wanted but did not publicly say why. The tensions in Tripoli could be seen by other militias as an opportunity to try to establish a foothold in the capital.

Persons: Col, Mahmoud Hamza, Hamza, ”, Emadeddin Badi, Abdul Hamid Dbeiba, ” — Mary Fitzgerald, Mohammed Abdusamee Organizations: European Union, Libyan Coast Guard, Brigade, Force, Atlantic Council, Mercy, Middle East Institute Locations: Libya, Tripoli, “ Tripoli, Washington

☆ He Held Up a Bank to Get His Own Money
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

By the time Walid al-Hajjar stormed his bank armed with a jug of gasoline, four lighters and a willingness to set himself on fire, his wife’s bone cancer was too far gone for him to save her. But he wanted to make her more comfortable in the time remaining — treated with painkillers in a hospital rather than writhing in agony at home, he recalled. And the family had already accumulated tens of thousands of dollars of debt from friends and relatives that needed to be repaid. Mr. al-Hajjar, 48, had the money to pay for his wife’s treatment. But like so many other Lebanese, his life savings was being held hostage in his bank account: The central bank has not allowed depositors to withdraw more than a few hundred dollars a month since a financial collapse in 2019.

Persons: Walid, Hajjar, Mr

Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday and set fire to parts of it ahead of a demonstration outside the Iraqi Embassy in Sweden, where recent Quran burnings have inflamed anger in the Muslim world. At the latest demonstration in Sweden on Thursday, Mr. Momika and another protester kicked around copies of the Quran and stomped on a replica of the Iraqi flag. In response, Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, expelled the Swedish ambassador and directed Iraq’s chargé d’affairs to withdraw from the Iraqi embassy in Sweden, a government spokesman said. The severing of diplomatic relations came “in response to the repeated permission of the Swedish government to burn the Noble Qur’an, insult Islamic sanctities and burn the Iraqi flag,” Mr. al-Sudani said in a tweet. The Iraqi government also suspended the operating license in the country of the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson.

Persons: Salwan, Eid, Momika, Mohammed Shia, Iraq’s, d’affairs, Mr, Sudani Organizations: Iraqi Embassy, Ericsson Locations: Swedish, Baghdad, Iraqi, Sweden, Stockholm

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