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☆ Israel’s Military Campaign Has Left Gaza’s Medical System Near Collapse
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Vivian Nereim | Abu Bakr Bashir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Before Israel’s invasion of Gaza last year, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Reqeb worked in one of the Palestinian territory’s largest hospitals and had a private clinic, caring for women throughout their pregnancies. Israeli restrictions on goods entering Gaza have prevented lifesaving medical supplies from reaching patients, according to aid groups. And shortages of fuel, water and food have made it difficult for medical workers to provide basic services. The result has been the near collapse of a health care system that once served Gaza’s population of more than two million. By late March, of the 36 large-scale hospitals across Gaza, only 10 were “minimally functional,” according to the World Health Organization.

Persons: Mahmoud Al, Reqeb Organizations: Palestinian, World Health Organization Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Palestinian

☆ With Iran’s Strikes, Arab Countries Fear an Expanding Conflict
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Arab countries, from the United Arab Emirates and Oman to Jordan and Egypt, have tried for months to tamp down the conflict between Israel and Hamas, especially after it widened to include armed groups backed by Iran and embedded deep within the Arab world. Some of them, like the Houthis, threaten Arab governments as well. But the Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel over the weekend, which put the entire region on alert, made the new reality unavoidable: Unlike past Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, and even those involving Israel and Lebanon or Syria, this one keeps expanding. “Part of why these wars were contained was that they were not a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran,” said Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute. “But now we are entering this era where a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran — that could drag the region into the conflict and that could drag the U.S. in — now that prospect of a regional war is going to be on the table all the time.”For the moment, the only countervailing force is the desire of both the United States and its longtime foe Iran to avoid a widening of the conflict, said Joost Hiltermann, the International Crisis Group's program director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Persons: ”, Randa Slim, Joost Hiltermann Organizations: United Arab, East Institute Locations: United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Washington, —, United States, East, North Africa

☆ In an Autocratic Region, a Glimmer of Democracy as Kuwaitis Cast Votes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Yasmena Almulla | Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As the clock struck noon on Thursday, the doors to dozens of polling stations across Kuwait opened and voters rushed in to elect one of the Middle East’s most robust parliaments. Candidates set up makeshift headquarters in tents, and coffee shops pledged discounts to voters. Swarms of people waited to cast their ballots — even though it was the fourth time in four years that they had been called upon to choose a new Parliament. “Parliament members convey the voice of the people,” a voter, Asraa Al Ghareb, 31, said, adding that she hoped the new Parliament would bring “actual and radical change for Kuwait.”Kuwait is far from a full democracy: Its ruler is a hereditary monarch, political parties are illegal, and the emir has the power to dissolve Parliament — the cause of Thursday’s snap election. Frequent deadlocks between Parliament and the executive branch have led to political turmoil.

Persons: Asraa Al Ghareb Locations: Kuwait, ” Kuwait

☆ In Yemen, Renewed Conflict and Rising Hunger Stalk a Lean Ramadan
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Saeed Al-Batati | Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the years before war and hunger upended daily life in Yemen, Mohammed Abdullah Yousef used to sit down after a long day of fasting during Ramadan to a rich spread of food. His family would dine on meat, falafel, beans, savory fried pastries and occasionally store-bought crème caramel. This year, the Islamic holy month looks different for Mr. Yousef, 52, a social studies teacher in the coastal city of Al Mukalla. But conflict, poverty and hunger have overtaken much of Yemen. As rapid inflation eats away at their spending power, middle-class Yemenis like Mr. Yousef have found themselves sliding into economic collapse.

Persons: Mohammed Abdullah Yousef, Yousef, Al Mukalla, “, ” Mr, Ramadan Locations: Yemen, Al

☆ Saudi Arabia, Lagging on Women’s Rights, Is to Lead U.N. Women’s Forum
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Saudi Arabia won an uncontested bid to lead a United Nations body dedicated to women’s rights for the 2025 session, bringing condemnation from human rights groups that argued that the kingdom had an “abysmal” record on women’s empowerment. On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.N., Abdulaziz Alwasil, was elected chairman of the Commission on the Status of Women, a U.N. body whose aim is to protect and promote women’s rights around the world. The Saudi state news agency wrote that the country’s new chairmanship “confirmed its interest in cooperating with the international community to strengthen women’s rights and empowerment” and highlighted strides the country had made toward greater social and economic freedom for women. But the decision drew scathing criticism from human rights groups. Amnesty International’s deputy director for advocacy, Sherine Tadros, said in a statement that Saudi Arabia had an “abysmal record when it comes to protecting and promoting the rights of women.” She argued that there was a “vast gulf” between the U.N. commission’s aspirations and the “lived reality for women and girls in Saudi Arabia.”

Persons: Abdulaziz Alwasil, “, Sherine Tadros, ” Organizations: United, Saudi, Amnesty Locations: Saudi Arabia, United Nations, Saudi

The Yemen-based branch of Al Qaeda said on Sunday that its leader, Khaled Batarfi, had died. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, known as A.Q.A.P., released a video announcing Mr. Batarfi’s death, showing images of him wrapped in a white funeral shroud overlaid with a black Al Qaeda flag. The United States government once considered Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to be one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations. The United States previously offered a $6 million reward for information about Mr. al-Awlaki, and $5 million for tips about Mr. Batarfi. Born in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Batarfi traveled in the 1990s to Afghanistan and fought alongside the Taliban before joining Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, according to a U.S. informational sheet about him.

Persons: Al Qaeda, Khaled Batarfi, Batarfi’s, ”, Gregory D, Johnsen, “, Ibrahim Al, Batarfi, Saad bin Atef, Awlaki Organizations: Al, United, Gulf States Institute Locations: Yemen, Al, Al Qaeda, United States, American, Washington, Sudanese, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda’s

☆ As Israel’s Ties to Arab Countries Fray, a Strained Lifeline Remains
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Only a few years ago, plenty of citizens of the United Arab Emirates were willing to speak warmly about their country’s budding ties with Israel. Two women, Emirati and Israeli, posed for a photograph holding hands atop a skyscraper in Dubai. American, Emirati and Israeli officials predicted that their deal, called the Abraham Accords, would spread peace across the Middle East. But now, as Israel’s monthslong bombardment of Gaza fuels anger around the region, Emirati fans of the deal are increasingly hard to find. Some Emiratis, although frustrated with the accords, said they were afraid to speak publicly, citing their authoritarian government’s history of arresting critics.

Persons: Israel, “, ” Organizations: United Arab, Emirates, Abraham Accords Locations: United Arab Emirates, Israel, U.S, Dubai ., Gaza

☆ Houthi Attacks and U.S.-Led Strikes Dash Hopes for Quick Yemen Peace Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For nine years, Yemen was torn by a war that erupted when the Houthis, a Yemeni militia supported by Iran, ousted the government and took control of the country’s northwest. Alarmed by an Iran-linked group taking control across the border, Saudi Arabia assembled a military coalition and launched a bombing campaign, backed by American weapons and support, in an attempt to reinstate the government. Instead, hundreds of thousands of people died from fighting, starvation and disease, and the coalition pulled back under international pressure, leaving the Houthis in power. When 2023 dawned, it looked as if the Houthis and the Yemeni factions they had been fighting were finally ready to sign a peace deal. But then the war in Gaza began, and now the prospect of peace is unraveling.

Locations: Yemen, Iran, Saudi Arabia, American, Gaza, Red, U.S

☆ Middle East Crisis U.S. Strikes Over 85 Targets at 7 Sites in Iraq and Syria Against Iran’s Forces and Proxies
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Image Pro-government Iranians gathering near a banner that warns Iran’s enemies — in Farsi and in Hebrew — to “Prepare your coffins,” this month in Tehran. Credit... Arash Khamooshi for The New York TimesIran projects its military power through dozens of armed groups across the Middle East, but how much does it control their actions? Iranian rhetoric, echoed by its allied groups, often goes further, calling for the elimination of the Israeli state. A 2020 U.S. Department of State report estimated that Iran’s support for Hezbollah was $700 million annually at that time. They’re not Iran’s stooges.”Much the same could be said of other groups.

Persons: —, Arash Khamooshi, Israel, Michael Knights, Hisham al, “, Mohammed al, Sulami, ”, Vivian Nereim Organizations: Pro, The New York Times, United States, Sunday, U.S, Pentagon, Iranian Revolutionary Guards, . Department of State, Washington Institute, AK, United Nations Locations: Tehran . Credit, The New York Times Iran, United, Iranian, Jordan, Tehran, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, U.S, Eastern, Suez, United States, Israel, Yemeni, Saudi Arabia, Islamic Republic

☆ Honed at Home in Yemen, Houthi Propaganda Is Going Global
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Soon after Yemen’s Houthi militia hijacked a commercial ship in the Red Sea, taking it and its 25-member crew hostage, the armed group used the vessel to record a music video. In the slick production, called “Axis of Jihad,” a drone camera pans over the hulking ship. Then a famous Houthi poet appears on the deck — accompanied by what appears to be a cardboard cutout of Qassim Suleimani, the Iranian commander assassinated in 2020 — and begins to sing. “Death to America and hostile Zion,” the poet, Issa al-Laith, calls out, backed by a relentless beat. “By God, we shall not be defeated!”The Houthis — an Iran-backed militia that controls northwestern Yemen — have long been skilled producers of propaganda, crafting poetry, television shows and catchy music videos to spread their messages.

Persons: Yemen’s, of, Qassim Suleimani, —, Issa al Locations: Red, America, Zion, Iran, Yemen, Gaza

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis Israel Says 2 Dozen Soldiers Killed as Pressure Grows on Netanyahu
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Adam Rasgon | Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Those missiles were hit before they could be fired at ships in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden. That changed quickly after the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, and the Houthi attacks on commercial ships a month later. U.S. analysts have been rushing to catalog more potential Houthi targets every day, the officials said. That effort yielded many of the targets hit on Jan. 11 and on Monday, officials said. Many Republicans in Congress and some former senior U.S. military officials say the approach is not working.

Persons: Biden, Poseidon Archer, Yahya Sarea, Mr, “, ”, Jon, ” Gen, Kenneth F, McKenzie Jr, ” Vivian Nereim Organizations: Houthi, British, American, Ocean Jazz, White House, Pentagon, U.S, ABC, Republicans, ”, military’s, Command Locations: United States, Britain, Yemen, Iran, Aden, East, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Bahrain, U.S, Suez, Gaza, American, Gulf, Red, Israel, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

☆ Israel-Hamas War Fighting Eases in Northern Gaza, Giving Residents Some Relief
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Adam Rasgon | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

The Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry said that the country’s forces had conducted “precision military strikes” against what it called terrorist hide-outs in southeastern Iran. Iranian officials said that nine people had been killed, including four children, and Pakistani officials said the death toll of the Iranian strikes included at least two children. The official said that air force fighter jets and drones had been used in the Pakistani retaliatory strikes. In a statement, the Pakistani military called the two neighbors “brotherly countries” and said that “dialogue and cooperation is deemed prudent in resolving bilateral issues” between them. Pakistani military analysts were hopeful that this could pave the way for diplomatic dialogue between the two nations.

Persons: Islamic Republic “, ”, Ahmad Vahidi, Sohail Shahzad, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Syed Muhammad Ali, Waqar Hasan, Arash Khamooshi, Baluch, al, Vivian Nereim Organizations: Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry, Iran Exchange, Foreign Ministry, Islamic, Islamabad ”, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian, Credit, Pakistan, The New York Times Pakistan, Guards Locations: Pakistan, Iran, Baluch, Iraq, Islamic Republic, Saravan, Tehran, Islamabad, Rask, Israel, Gaza, Balochistan Province, Yemen, Suez, United States, Pakistani, “ Pakistan, Baluchistan Province, Sistan, Persian, Oman, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The explosions woke Ali Al-Sunaidar and his children in the middle of the night — a familiar feeling after years of war. He knew that the ancient mud-brick buildings in Yemen’s capital, Sana, could collapse under the pressure released by bombings, so he opened the windows in his home, letting in the winter air. “We were terrified and anxious,” said Mr. Al-Sunaidar, a photojournalist in Sana, after dozens of American-led airstrikes hit Yemen on Friday local time, targeting the Houthi militia that controls much of the country’s north. “We’ve been living in tension, dread and horror for the last nine years.”A day later, the United States struck again, bombing a radar facility in Yemen, U.S. officials said. For nearly a decade, Yemen has been at war, pummeled by a Saudi-led military coalition supplied with American bombs in an effort to defeat the Houthis — a once-scrappy tribal militia backed by Iran that has evolved into a de facto government in northern Yemen.

Persons: Ali Al, Sunaidar, ”, Sana, “ We’ve Locations: Yemen’s, Sana, Yemen, United States, U.S, Saudi, Iran

It was the second straight day that the U.S. military fired on a Houthi target, after an American-led barrage of military strikes early Friday local time that was aimed at securing critical shipping routes between Europe and Asia. The strikes come amid fears of a wider escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. The strike, carried out at 3:45 a.m. Saturday local time by the U.S.S. Carney using Tomahawk missiles, was “a follow-on action on a specific military target,” the Central Command said in a statement posted on social media. A Pentagon official said on Friday night that the strike was meant to further the job begun by the widespread coordinated air and naval assault on a number of Houthi targets in Yemen the night before.

Persons: Carney Organizations: U.S . Central Command, ., Tomahawk, Central Command, Pentagon Locations: States, Yemen, Iran, American, Europe, Asia, United States, Britain, Red, Israel

☆ The Dilemmas of a Petrostate Preparing to Host a Climate Summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The choice of a leading oil producer, the United Arab Emirates, to host this year’s U.N. climate talks has angered environmental activists. But for the Emirates and other countries both highly dependent on oil and deeply vulnerable to rising temperatures, grappling with climate change is an urgent dilemma for them, too. If the world abandons oil too quickly, the powerful authoritarian state that the Emirati rulers have built in 50 years could crumble as the revenue that finances much of their budget dwindles. It is an extreme example of the choices faced by many other countries as well in a world addicted to fossil fuels. “Our leadership are very future-oriented and already many years ago understood how important it is for us to diversify,” Mariam Almheiri, the Emirati minister of climate change and environment, said in an interview last week.

Persons: ” Mariam Almheiri Organizations: United Arab, Emirates Locations: United Arab Emirates, Emirates

Saudi Arabia won the bid to host the World Expo 2030 in a landslide on Tuesday, delivering a triumph to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, as he seeks to reshape the authoritarian country’s international image — and his own. Saudi Arabia won 119 of the 165 votes, easily defeating South Korea and Italy. The win gives Saudi Arabia the chance to bask in the global spotlight in the year that the crown prince’s plan to diversify the kingdom’s oil-dependent economy, “Vision 2030,” is meant to conclude. The victory also demonstrates how, once again, he has been able to wield the kingdom’s power, money and influence to overcome attempts to isolate Saudi Arabia over human rights concerns and efforts to stereotype it as a desert backwater with little to offer the world. He has sought to position himself as an indispensable global leader and the kingdom as a major destination for business and tourism.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman, ” Organizations: South, Saudi Locations: Saudi Arabia, Paris, South Korea, Italy

☆ Arab States Intensify Pleas for Gaza Cease-fire as Public Anger Mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

That concept has fallen flat in Arab nations, where many view it as a weak proposal that shows the U.S. is either unwilling or unable to hold Israel back. Jordan and Turkey have recalled their ambassadors to Israel in protest over the war, while United Nations officials have implored Israel not to impose “collective punishment” on Gazans for atrocities committed by Hamas. That ambiguous message reflects the challenges Bahrain’s American-allied royal family faces as they balance protecting their ties with the U.S. and Israel with insulating themselves from popular anger. “I have not seen such a large number in a spontaneous demonstration in Bahrain for a long time,” said Ibtisam al-Sayegh, a human-rights activist who attended a protest last month. Some Bahrainis carried signs depicting their king holding hands with Mr. Netanyahu — accusing the monarch of complicity in the murder of Palestinians as long as Bahraini relations with Israel continue, she said.

Persons: Blinken, Israel —, ” Khalid al, Suleiman, —, “, Bahrainis, Biden, ”, Ibtisam, Netanyahu — Organizations: Israel, Saudi, Okaz, United Nations, Bahrain’s, U.S, ” Riot Locations: U.S, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Gazans, Bahrain, American

Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed an attempted attack on southern Israel on Tuesday, saying it had launched a “large batch” of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones toward Israeli targets. The Israeli military did not say who was behind the attacks. Last week, Abdulaziz bin Habtour, prime minister of the Houthi government, said the Houthis might attack Israeli ships in the Red Sea. Even the potential of Houthi attacks on southern Israel means that “Israel must now allocate capabilities that otherwise would have been used elsewhere,” Mr. Sobelman said. The Israeli military, in contrast, maintains high-tech air defense systems and is backed by staunch U.S. government support.

Persons: Yemen’s, Yahya Sarea, Sarea, Israel “, Israel —, ”, Ahmed Nagi, Abdulaziz bin Habtour, Farea, Yemen —, Daniel Sobelman, ” Mr, Sobelman, Nagi Organizations: U.S . Department of Defense, Lebanese, Hezbollah, Crisis, of, Chatham House’s, United Arab, Harvard Kennedy School’s, East Initiative, Iron, U.S Locations: Israel, Iran, Gaza, Palestine, Yemen, Sana, Saudi, Iraq, Red, East, North Africa, United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Eilat, Iranian, Saudi Arabia

The Al Shifa hospital was lit up in Gaza City on Tuesday. But to the Israeli military, it is a threat, and, perhaps, a target. Among Al Shifa’s current patients are about 130 newborns who were orphaned just as they were born, according to doctors at Al Shifa. Born premature, they were placed in incubators in Al Shifa’s neonatal intensive care unit. Video A doctor treating premature babies at Al Shifa Hospital said that many of the newborns were now orphaned.

Persons: Al Shifa, Al, ”, Daniel Hagari, Salama Marouf, Israel, Hagari, Dawood Nemer, “, I’ve, Tamir Kalifa, The New York Times Al Shifa’s, Al Shifa’s, obstetricians, Bisan, Mohammed Al, Masri, Ghassan Abu Sittah, —, ” Iyad Abuheweila, Isabel Kershner Organizations: Agence France, Shifa, The New York Times, Population, Al Shifa Hospital, Reuters, Al, CNN Locations: Gaza City, Gaza, Al, —, Tel Aviv, Israel, Hamas’s, British, Palestinian, Lebanese

For 34 hours, the vast majority of the more than two million Palestinians who live in Gaza had no way to reach the outside world, or one another. They had no way to know whether their loved ones were alive or dead. Desperate paramedics tried to save people by driving toward the sound of explosions. In response to the attacks, the Israeli military declared a siege of the densely populated territory, cutting off electricity, water and medical supplies as it rained down a relentless barrage of aerial and artillery bombardments. The Israeli military also said that it was conducting airstrikes in Lebanon after at least 16 rockets were launched from there into Israeli territory.

Persons: Fathi Locations: Gaza, United States, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt

A Palestinian fighter of the Al-Quds brigade in a military tunnel in the northern Gaza Strip last year. Overnight on Saturday, Israeli fighter planes struck 150 underground targets in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. The group’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, said in 2021 that there were 310 miles of tunnels in Gaza. Ben Milch, an Israeli American who cleared tunnels with the Israeli military during the 2014 Gaza War, said his unit came under fire repeatedly while working to destroy some 13 tunnels. After the Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it had destroyed the tunnel to the sea, it released a video of another incident.

Persons: “, Israel, ”, Joseph L, Sergey Ponomarev, Yocheved, Daniel Hagari, Votel, Joel Roskin, Roskin, Ali Ali, Daphne Richemond, Barak, Yahya Sinwar, Yousef Masoud, ” Ms, Richemond, Ms, Amir Olo, Olo, Ben Milch, Milch, Uriel Sinai, Jeffrey Gettleman, Gal Koplewitz Organizations: Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, U.S, United States Central Command, The New York Times, Islamic, Iraqi, ISIS, Bar, Ilan University, European Pressphoto Agency, Reichman University, telltale, RAND Corporation, West Bank, Officials Locations: Al, Quds, Gaza, Israel, Israeli, Iraqi, Mosul, Al Shifa, Israel’s, Egypt, Northern Sinai, Khan Younis, Col, Israeli American, Kissufim, The, Zikim Beach, Jerusalem

Since the war began, Saudi officials have returned to specific calls for a substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace process and for the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Despite the escalating violence, it appears that American and Saudi officials are holding on to hopes of a normalization deal with Israel. Senators said they left Riyadh with the impression that Saudi leaders would still like to recognize Israel when the right moment arrives. Prince Mohammed launched a disastrous Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen in 2015 aiming to oust the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who nonetheless remain firmly in power there. It merely said that, although tensions persisted between Israel and the Palestinians, the Biden administration had “de-escalated crises in Gaza.”

Persons: Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Jordan —, Prince Mohammed, Houthi, Blumenthal, Israel “, Mr, Biden “, Jake Sullivan, “, Sullivan, Biden, ” Organizations: Saudi, Israel, Senators, State Department, U.S ., U.S, Foreign Affairs Locations: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Palestinian, Jerusalem, Saudi, Riyadh, Yemen, East, Washington, U.S, United States, Gaza

For the international bankers, executives and officials who had gathered in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to make deals, the war raging in Gaza and Israel felt like a distant backdrop. Instead, when speakers took the stage, they praised Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to remake Saudi Arabia and focused on the future: artificial intelligence, longevity science, renewable energy. Israel has laid siege to the Gaza Strip and unleashed a fierce bombardment. That has prompted protests across the region, reinvigorating vocal Arab support for the Palestinian cause — including among many Saudi citizens. Yet Saudi officials have made it clear that they are determined to prevent all of that from casting a pall over Prince Mohammed’s plans for the kingdom, which include reshaping the economy to reduce dependence on oil and turning the country into a global hub for business and tourism.

Persons: —, Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s, ”, Yasir al, Prince Mohammed’s Organizations: Future Investment, Hamas, Gaza, Saudi Locations: Saudi, Riyadh, Gaza, Israel, Saudi Arabia, East

President Biden’s trip to Israel on Wednesday will put him in a region where grief and fury are mounting, not only toward Israel, but also toward the United States, the world power that has declared unyielding support for its chief Middle East ally. On Tuesday, widespread condemnation of Israel rippled across the region after a huge explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip killed hundreds of Palestinians who had been seeking treatment and refuge. Israel has denied being behind the blast, blaming a Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad, for a failed rocket launch. But even before that, many people across the region had come to view Israel’s war with Hamas — the Palestinian armed group that carried out a shocking attack on southern Israel more than a week ago, slaughtering 1,400 people — as an American-backed massacre of Palestinian civilians in the blockaded territory of Gaza. Israel has cut off water, medicine and electricity in the enclave and continued to target Gaza with deadly airstrikes, bringing the death toll to at least 2,800 before the hospital explosion.

Persons: Biden’s, Israel rippled Organizations: Gaza, Islamic Locations: Israel, United States, American, Gaza

☆ What’s in Our Queue? Cairokee and More
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

What’s in Our Queue? Cairokee and MoreI’m the Gulf bureau chief for The Times, covering the Arabian Peninsula from my home base in Riyadh. I’m usually seeking to consume culture that is a little bit soft and squishy. Here are five things I’ve been watching, listening to and more →

Persons: I’ve Organizations: The Times Locations: Riyadh, I’m

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