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☆ Iran’s attack seemed planned to minimize casualties while maximizing spectacle
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Tehran’s operation was highly choreographed, apparently designed to minimize casualties while maximizing spectacle. Over 300 drones and missiles navigated above Iran’s neighbors, including Jordan and Iraq — both with US military bases — before penetrating the airspace of Iran’s mortal enemy, Israel. Rather than fire from one of the neighboring countries where Iran and its non-state allies are present, this was a direct attack from Iranian territory on Israeli territory. This compromised Iran’s ability to damage Israel because it robbed the operation of the element of surprise. Demonstrators wave Iran's flag as they gather at Palestine Square in Tehran on April 14, 2024, after Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel.

Persons: Lebanon CNN —, Israel’s, Amir Cohen, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Donald Trump’s, Qassem Soleimani, Asad, Iran’s, Netanyahu’s, Atta Kenare, “, ”, Parsi Organizations: Lebanon CNN, West Bank, United Nations, Trump, Iranian, US, Getty, Quincy Institute Locations: Beirut, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, —, Iran, Ashkelon, Republic, Damascus, Syria, Yemen, Tehran, Netanyahu’s Israel, Palestine, AFP, DC

☆ Opinion: What does Iran really want?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“A modern, strong, peaceful Iran could become a pillar of stability and progress in the region,” former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote in 2006. Iran introduced into the Iraqi war zone highly effective roadside bombs known as EFPs – Explosively Formed Penetrators – that wounded and killed hundreds of American soldiers. The official US Army history of the Iraq War concluded that Iran was the only winner of that war. Iran’s ‘cookie-cutter approach’Norman Roule was the top US intelligence official on Iran from 2008 to 2017. The withdrawal of the US troops from neighboring Iraq is a key goal of Iran, which exerts considerable influence over some Iraqi politicians.

Persons: Peter Bergen, Osama bin Laden, Shah, Henry Kissinger, Iran’s ayatollahs, Karim Sadjadpour, Sadjadpour, Reagan, bin Laden, bin, al, Saddam Hussein, –, Noam Chomsky, Iran’s, Norman Roule, Roule, propping, Bashar al, Assad, Christine Abizaid, ”, Trump, Obama, Donald Trump, ‘, Benjamin Netanyahu, hasn’t, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, hadn’t, Biden, Abizaid, Mohammed Shia Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, Saturday, East, CIA, US Army, Israel, US National Counterterrorism Center, US Treasury Department, ‘ Deemed, United Nations, Israel’s, Hamas, Iran, White, ISIS Locations: New America, Israel, Iranian, Damascus, Iran, United States, Palestine, ”, Lebanon, Beirut, Saudi, al Qaeda, Iraqi, Saddam, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Red, Suez, Gaza, New York, Damascus ”, Jordan

☆ Israel is struggling to find and kill the top Hamas commanders it wants most
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The IDF has managed to kill some of Hamas' top commanders, but it continues to hunt down others. AdvertisementMore than six months into its war in Gaza, Israel has little to show for its efforts. Israel has claimed that it has eliminated a significant number of mid- to senior-level commanders of Hamas' military wing, known as the al-Qassam Brigades. Related storiesAll three men were known to be Hamas military operatives, Israel said. AP Photo/Leo CorreaBut several top Hamas military leaders, including those most wanted by Israel, remain at-large.

Persons: —, Marwan Issa, Jake Sullivan, Issa, Israel, Gaza's, Khan Younis, Fatima Shbair Israel, Saleh, Israel's Shin, Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Leo Correa, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed, Mohammed Deif, Sullivan, Charlie Herbert, Herbert, Herbert said, Yoav Gallant, Biden Organizations: IDF, White, Service, Israel Defense Forces, AP, White House, Gaza's Hamas, United Nations, Hezbollah, Brigades, Hamas, 162nd Division, Israeli Locations: Israel, Gaza, Qatar, Beirut, Lebanon, Iran, Hamas, Jerusalem, Yemen, NATO, Khan, Rafah, Western

☆ 'Uncommitted' Democrats may dump Biden over the war in Gaza. They say it's not their fault if Trump wins.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

AdvertisementFor the leading voices in the uncommitted movement, that's missing the point — and it's insulting. The "Listen to Michigan" campaign was originally conceived in a memo drafted by Waleed Shahid, a progressive strategist and former spokesman for the left-wing group Justice Democrats. "There is an entire menu of things that President Biden could do to move in the direction of discontinuing the funding of the killing," he said. What uncommitted voters are ultimately looking for is a sense of seriousness and clarity that they feel has been lacking from Biden. Uncommitted movement organizers do not seem to be taking glee in embarrassing Biden.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Layla Elabed, Abbas Alawieh, Donald Trump, Mitch Landrieu, uncommitted, Trump, Abdullah Hammoud, Waleed Shahid, Jeff Kowalsky, Rashida Tlaib, —, Cori Bush, Missouri —, Elabed, Mayor Hammoud, that's, Hammoud, haven't, I've, James Zogby, We're, Alawieh, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Andy Levin, Zogby, Ronald Reagan, Menachem Begin, Seth Meyers, he's, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Service, Democratic, Democratic National Convention, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Dearborn, Biden, Movement, Michigan, Democrats, Getty, Democratic Party, Trump, Arab American Institute and, Union, UN, Democrat, Israel Locations: Gaza, Detroit, Michigan, Israel, American, United States, Dearborn, AFP, Missouri, Dearborn Heights, Hamtramck, —, Biden's, Arab, Chicago, Paterson, Rafah, Beirut, New York

BEIRUT (AP) — Four United Nations military observers were wounded Saturday while patrolling the southern Lebanese border after a shell exploded near them, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said. The military observers are part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, which supports the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL. Local Lebanese media, citing security officials, said an Israeli drone strike targeted the observers in the southern village of Wadi Katmoun near the border town of Rmeich. Hezbollah-run television station Al-Manar said the drone strike wounded three officers from Australia, Chile, and Norway, as well as a Lebanese interpreter. UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion.

Persons: Manar, Andrea Tenenti, ” Tenenti Organizations: United Nations, United Nations Truce, Organization, Local, IDF, Associated Press Locations: BEIRUT, Lebanese, Lebanon, UNIFIL, Local Lebanese, Israeli, Wadi Katmoun, Rmeich, Australia, Chile, Norway, Israel, Gaza

☆ Syria Blames Israel for Deadly Attack in Aleppo
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Gaya Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the strikes, but it has previously acknowledged carrying out hundreds of assaults on Iran-linked targets in Syria. Friday’s attack was at least the second deadly attack in Syria in less than a week. On Tuesday, airstrikes in eastern Syria killed several people. The Iranian state news media said that Israel was responsible, while the Syrian state news agency attributed it to American forces. The Tuesday strikes killed a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, according to Iranian state news media reports.

Persons: —, SANA, Ali Abdulhassan Naim, Yoav Gallant, “, ”, Firas Makdesi, Saleh al, Bashar al, Assad, al, Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir V, Putin, Israel, Johnatan Reiss Organizations: Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, —, Lebanese, Hezbollah, Reuters, United Nations, Pentagon, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, World Health Organization Locations: Syrian, Aleppo, Britain, Syria, Lebanese, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria’s, Israeli, Damascus, Beirut, United States, Russia

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned. These gut-wrenching casualties were described to The Associated Press by Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive-care doctor from Jordan, following a 10-hour overnight shift at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah. After nearly six months of war, Gaza’s health sector has been decimated. In the early stages of the war, Israel severely limited the entry of food, fuel and medical supplies into Gaza.

Persons: Tanya Haj, Hassan, “, ” Haj, Arvind Das, Mustafa Abu Qassim, ”, Abu Qassim, “ It’s, ___ Chehayeb Organizations: Hamas, Associated, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, International Rescue Committee, Medical Aid, World Health Organization, Health Ministry, Israel Locations: DEIR, Gaza, Jordan, Al, Aqsa, Deir, Haj, Israeli Israel, Israel, Gaza's, Beirut, ___, israel

☆ Wall Street Journal staffers staged a work stoppage as tensions mount over disciplinary meetings: 'It feels like a big game of gaslighting'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The effort came at a nervous time for the Journal newsroom. It's still reeling from February, when the paper sharply cut its DC newsroom, its second-biggest bureau after New York. Tucker wrote at the time that the DC bureau changes were enacted to put the company in the position to serve readers better and stand out from the competition. The union has filed grievances over the DC bureau layoffs and is considering filing grievances over the meetings, Martell said. But the mood among some has turned as Tucker has enacted layoffs in a newsroom that's largely been spared staff cuts.

Persons: —, Emma Tucker's, It's, IAPE, Tucker, Dion Nissenbaum, Nissenbaum, Evan Gershkovich, who's, There's, Tim Martell, they've, they're, Martell, They're, Rupert Murdoch, We've Organizations: Service, Wall Street, News Corp, New, Business, Journal, DC, Street Journal, The Sunday Times, — News Corp Locations: New York, Beirut, London, Washington

☆ Dating apps confused by military GPS jamming could explain why Lebanon's citizens are suddenly being matched with Israelis
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dating apps matching Israeli citizens with people in Lebanon are likely due to GPS signal jamming. Lebanese citizens are barred from having any type of contact with Israelis. Tensions were high between the countries even before the latest conflict, and Lebanese citizens have been barred from having any contact with Israelis for years. AdvertisementA Lebanese dating app user said the Israeli profiles were 'gorgeous'A match is not always what it seems. AdvertisementAnother Lebanese dating app user, Omar, said that while he has previously seen the occasional Israeli profile, the volume has recently increased.

Persons: —, ., Abed Al Kataya, Maher, Israel, Hassan Nasrallah, I've, Omar Organizations: Service, Hezbollah, GPS, Lebanese, . People, Facebook Locations: Lebanon, Israel, UAE, Lebanese, Beirut, Tinder

☆ Israel Rejects Far-Right Plan for New Limits on Access to Important Mosque
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Adam Sella | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Israel has long restricted access to the compound, which is sacred to Muslims and Jews alike, during Ramadan for Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank. This year, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, called on the government to impose limits on Arab citizens of Israel as well. The decision on Tuesday put an end to the plan promoted by Mr. Ben-Gvir, but it allowed some wiggle room. “I congratulate the Prime Minister for the responsible decision to allow Muslim worshipers at Al Aqsa Mosque freedom of worship,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Hamas celebrations on the Temple Mount ≠ complete victory,” he wrote on X, using the name used by Jews to refer to Al Aqsa.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Ramadan, Itamar Ben, Gvir, Ben, Joe Biden, “ it’s, ” Mansour Abbas, “, ”, ≠, ” Osama Hamdan, Prophet Muhammad, Matthew Mpoke Bigg Organizations: West Bank, Hamas Locations: Jerusalem, Israel, Al Aqsa, Beirut

☆ Dubai’s bar scene is being redefined by artisanal champagnes
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

While the city has over 13,000 restaurants, its bar scene has largely been confined to Michelin fine dining, nightclubs, and boozy brunches. Look through the gallery and see the region's other top restaurants, as selected by 50 Best list group. The 50 Best has unveiled its 2024 list of the best restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Al Muntaha, which was recognized by Star Wine List as having the best sparkling wine list in the UAE earlier this year, has 166 labels on its champagne list, including around 60 recently added grower champagnes, says Lacroix. Tina HillierAnd the culture around drinking is largely focused on dining or special occasions, with little in between, says Krister Bengtsson, founder of Star Wine List.

Persons: Lana —, Nicolas Caupain, ”, boozy, Caupain, Raz Rahav, Tala Bashmi, Em Sherif, Yasmina Hayek, Fawzi Al Mulki, 3Fils, Khufu's, Solemann Haddad, Moonrise, Gregoire Berger, Berger, Himanshu Saini, Pol Roger, Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, champagnes, Larmandier Bernier, Ulysse Collin, Samuel Lacroix, Al Muntaha, Lacroix, “, Josette, Veuve Clicquot, Dom Pérignon, Millau, Lana, Tina Hillier, Krister Bengtsson, it’s, Bengtsson, ” Bengtsson, Jean Imbert, — Organizations: CNN, High Society, United Arab, Michelin, Middle, Gulf, Jordanian, Trèsind, Burj, Star Wine, Arabian, BOCA, Michelin Star, Wine, UAE Locations: Dorchester, Dubai, Emirate, Islam, United Arab Emirates, UAE, East, North Africa, Tel Aviv, Tala, Manama's, Bahrain, Beirut, Giza, Cairo, Ossiano, Atlantis, BOBY, Africa, Emirates, Swedish, Dubai’s, Paris, London , New York, French

CNN —Hamas said Tuesday there could be no “exchange of prisoners” before a ceasefire in Gaza, as it responded to proposals from Egyptian and Qatari mediators. “Any prisoner exchange will not be completed except after the completion of all this.”Hamdan also accused Israel of stalling on reaching an agreement and warned that the negotiations would not be “open-ended” as Israel continues its offensive in Gaza. The response came just hours after US President Joe Biden said a potential ceasefire was “in the hands of Hamas” as he boarded Air Force One at Hagerstown airport. Biden said the “Israelis have been cooperating” and that a ceasefire is necessary. “We need a ceasefire,” he said, calling the deal on the table a “rational offer” and saying the Israelis had agreed to it.

Persons: ”, Osama Hamdan, ” Hamdan, Hamdan’s, Joe Biden, Biden, Mandel Ngan, Ramadan, Benjamin Netanyahu, it’s, Israel, Kamala Harris Organizations: CNN, Air Force, Hagerstown Regional Airport, Getty, Israel, Hamas, Israeli, Nations, Crisis Locations: Gaza, Beirut, “, Israel, Egypt, Qatar, Hagerstown, Hagerstown , Maryland, AFP, Jerusalem, Cairo

☆ Kamala Harris urges Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire, pushes Israel on aid to Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza in her remarks on March 3, 2024, but reiterated that Israel has "a right to defend itself." "Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire," Harris said at an event in Selma, Alabama. Washington has insisted the ceasefire deal is close and has been pushing to put in place a truce by the start of Ramadan, a week away. A view of new humanitarian aid after arriving to the northern Gaza Strip from sky with parachutes in Northern Gaza, Gaza on March 02, 2024. The Egyptian army had announced Saturday airdropping a new aid batch to areas in the northern Gaza Strip.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Israel, Elijah Nouvelage, Harris, Let's, Abed Zagout, Benny Gantz, Antony Blinken, Amos Hochstein, Daniel Hagari, Muatasem Salah, Biden, Omar Qattaa Organizations: Getty, Palestinian, Anadolu, U.S, Hamas, Reuters, White, . U.S, Ministry of Health Locations: Gaza, Israel, Selma , Alabama, Rafah, Cairo, Washington, ., Beirut, Lebanese, Northern Gaza

☆ Concern rising among Biden officials that Israel is planning incursion into Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Alex Marquardt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“We are operating in the assumption that an Israeli military operation is in the coming months,” one senior Biden administration official said. That deal would likely postpone an Israeli incursion, US officials believe. “Some Israeli officials suggest that it is more of an effort at creating a threat that they can utilize. A second senior Biden administration official said there are elements inside the Israeli government and military in favor of an incursion. Benjamin Netanyahu Ariel Tagar/USA Today“Once the war is over, his expiration date arrives,” the first senior administration official said.

Persons: Biden, ”, “, let’s, Let’s, ’, Israel, Herzi, Amos Hochstein, Amos Hochstein Michael Brochstein, Amos, Hochstein, Yoav Gallant, It’s, ” Gallant, Ziv, Jalaa Marey, Benjamin Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu Ariel Tagar Organizations: CNN, Biden, “, Israel, US, Getty, Lebanese Armed Forces, United Nations, UNIFIL, Bibi Locations: Israel, Lebanon, Israeli, Gaza, “, Washington, The State, Beirut, Baalbek, Israel's, Safed, AFP, ” Israel, Golan

☆ Israeli officials to meet on proposed pause in Gaza while Cabinet is set to approve plan for Rafah
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a Cabinet meeting at the Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defence, in Tel Aviv, Israel on December 17, 2023. Israeli officials will meet Saturday night on the next steps after the latest talks with the United States, Egypt and Qatar in search of a deal on pausing the fighting in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. But Netanyahu announced that he'll convene the Cabinet early next week to "to approve the operational plans for action in Rafah," including the evacuation of civilians. He said that both sides agreed to continue negotiations during the pause for further releases and a permanent cease-fire. Negotiators face an unofficial deadline of the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan around March 10.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, he'll, Osama Hamdan, Israel Organizations: Ministry of Defence Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, United States, Egypt, Qatar, Gaza, Israeli, Rafah, Beirut

☆ Want to Play in Asia’s Champions League? It Will Cost You.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At least nobody can accuse Asia’s soccer authorities of failing to sweat the small stuff. can still find the time to dictate precisely which water bottles, with which labels, fans should be allowed to carry into stadiums. That kind of attention to detail should reassure you that soccer’s future — from Beirut to Beijing, and Ulaanbaatar to Hobart — is in safe hands. Unfortunately, that is not quite the picture that emerges from a report, commissioned by soccer’s global players’ union, FIFPro, assessing the benefits and shortcomings of Asia’s most prestigious club competition, the Asian Champions League. Instead, the report documents a tournament that acts as an almost perfect microcosm of soccer’s general direction across the globe.

Persons: Hobart — Organizations: Asian Football Confederation, ’, Asian Champions League Locations: —, Beirut, Beijing, Ulaanbaatar, Hobart

☆ Middle East escalation fears spike as Houthis launch most damaging attack yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group's responsibility for the attack, calling it their most severe yet. The group claim to support Palestinian civilians amid Israel's retaliatory military campaign in the Gaza Strip. Simultaneously, fighting is raging between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip with no sign of abating despite diplomatic efforts by a number of countries. INTERNATIONAL WATERS RED SEA, YEMEN - NOVEMBER 20: This handout screen grab captured from a video shows Yemen's Houthi fighters' takeover of the Galaxy Leader Cargo in the Red Sea coast off Hudaydah, on November 20, 2023 in the Red Sea, Yemen. EU foreign ministers called in a joint statement for an immediate humanitarian pause that would lead to a lasting cease-fire.

Persons: Mohammed Huwais, Yemen's, Yahya Saree, Saree, Charles Myers, CNBC's, Myers, Hungary —, Israel's, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, hasn't, Mohammed Abed Organizations: Hamas, Afp, Getty, U.S . Central Command, Global Advisors, SEA, Galaxy Leader Cargo, Handout, Security, Palestinian Locations: Israel, Sanaa, Gaza, Red, Belize, Gulf, Aden, Iranian, Yemen, U.S, Gulf Aden, Rafah, Gaza's, YEMEN, Red Sea, Lebanon, Iran, Beirut, Hungary

☆ Are these the most beautiful coffee shops in the world?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( David Tran | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The Budapest Café is one of many eye-catching businesses featured in “Designing Coffee: New Coffee Places and Branding,” a coffee table book — no pun intended — that puts the world’s most photogenic, eccentric cafés and roasters on display. Its "bright, playful design and color palette transform a former dental office into a bustling and vibrant bakery café," Kingston writes in "Designing Coffee." In an increasingly competitive coffee industry, coffee shop owners are putting thoughts into how their spaces are designed. Across its ambience and menu, the Genovese Coffee House in Sydney offers Australian consumers an "espresso" ticket to Mediterranean café culture. Anson Smart/Genovese Coffee House/Courtesy gestaltenElsewhere, Genovese Coffee House (pictured above) in Sydney, Australia drew inspiration from Italian coffee culture.

Persons: James Morgan, they’re, Wes Anderson, Lani Kingston, Kingston, Mikhail Loskutov, Yuh Nguyen, Luca Rinaldi, Jamie Yelo, Urbain, Jin Weiqi, Marco Pinarelli, Julius, Damir Otegen, Karin Pasterer, Hernan Taboada, Carlos Artalejo, Xavier Alexander, Alexander, ”, “, ” Alexander, ” Kingston, David Dworkind, ” “, ’ ”, Fritz, K Kim, Angela Wijaya, Fritz Coffee, Ben Hamilton, Anson Smart, “ It’s Organizations: Budapest Cafe, CNN, Portland State University, Melrose, Rupertinum, Salzburg's Museum of Modern Art, Kingston, Fritz Coffee Company, Coffee House, Genovese Coffee, Coffee Locations: Budapest, Chengdu, China, Odessa, Ukraine, Hanoi, Vietnam, Milan, Italy, Taipei, Taiwan, Montréal, Canada, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Central Highlands, Kyiv, Ukraine's, Hong Kong, Forme, Beirut, Lebanon, Almaty, Kazakhstan, Salzburg, Austria, 220GRAD, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Caffettiera, Montreal, Asia, Seoul, South Korea, Belfast, Los Angeles, California, Sydney, Australia

☆ Dubai has more ‘best’ restaurants than any other in the Middle East, according to the 50 Best list group
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The 50 Best Restaurants power list has unveiled its 2024 list for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) — and one city is dominating the rankings. The Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants list was launched in 2022, reflecting the rapid growth of the region’s restaurant scene. With a booming culinary landscape of more than 13,000 eateries, Dubai has dominated the list since its inception, with 15 out of 50 restaurants on the list located in the city for the past two editions. The 50 Best awards has helped “put a spotlight” on the evolving food scene, and by platforming more casual restaurants, they’ve created healthy competition among the city’s many eateries. With ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the organizers decided to forgo a live awards event in the region this year.

Persons: — Mohammad, Wassim, Omar —, we’re, ” Mohammad Orfali, William Drew, Grégoire Berger, Berger, “, they’ve, ’ ”, Maryam, Chef Salam Dakkak, Grams, Jason Atherton Organizations: CNN, Dubai, East Locations: East, North Africa, Amman, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Marrakech, Beirut, Dubai, Ossiano, “

BEIRUT (AP) — The civilian death toll from two Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon has risen to 10, Lebanese media reported Thursday, making the previous day the deadliest one in more than four months of cross-border exchanges. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for the strikes, which hit in the city of Nabatiyeh and a village in southern Lebanon, just hours after projectiles from Lebanon killed an Israeli soldier. The fire from Lebanon earlier Wednesday struck the northern Israeli town of Safed, killing a female Israeli soldier and wounding eight people. The war began with the surprise attack in southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah. Government institutions, schools and the Lebanese University were to close on Thursday in protest of the airstrikes.

Organizations: National News Agency, Hezbollah, Hamas, Government, Lebanese University Locations: BEIRUT, Lebanon, Lebanese, Nabatiyeh, Souaneh, Safed, Israeli, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian

SCENES OF PANIC IN HOSPITAL WARDNasser Hospital, in the southern city of Khan Younis, has been the latest focus of operations that have gutted Gaza’s health sector as it struggles to treat scores of patients wounded in daily bombardments. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian structures to shield its fighters. On Wednesday, a doctor was lightly wounded when a drone opened fire on the upper stories of the hospital, he said. The Gaza Health Ministry said last week that Israeli snipers on surrounding buildings were preventing people from entering or leaving the hospital. Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which supports Hamas, have traded fire along the border nearly every day since the start of the war in Gaza.

Persons: —, Benjamin Netanyahu, Khan Younis, Khaled Alserr, ”, Netanyahu, Israel, ___ Mroue Organizations: Hezbollah, WARD Nasser Hospital, Associated Press, Nasser Hospital, AP, Gaza Health Ministry, Hamas, Health Ministry Locations: RAFAH, Gaza, Lebanon, Lebanese, WARD, Khan, Israel, Rafah, Safed, Wednesday, Beirut, ___, israel

☆ What Is Hezbollah, the Group Backing Hamas Against Israel?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +7 min

Lebanon's Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israeli forces across the frontier since its Palestinian ally Hamas in Gaza and Israel went to war on Oct. 7. The exchanges are the deadliest since a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Both Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have said they do not seek all-out war, and the conflict has largely been contained to areas near the border. Hezbollah demonstrated its military advances in 2006 during a five-week war with Israel, which erupted after it crossed into Israel, kidnapping two soldiers and killing others. The Gaza conflict has rippled across the Middle East, where Hezbollah has inspired and supported other Iranian-backed groups.

Persons: Hossein Amirabdollahian, Bashar al, Assad, WHAT'S, Benjamin Netanyahu, Washington, Lebanese Shi'ites, Rafik al, Hariri, spiralled, Hassan Nasrallah, Tom Perry, Edmund Blair, William Maclean Organizations: Israel, Iran's, Guards, Islamic, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, United, . Marine, U.S . Locations: BEIRUT, Lebanon, Lebanese, Hamas, Gaza, Israel, Israeli, Nabatieh, al, Iran, Tehran, The U.S, Syria, ISRAEL, Irag, Yemen, U.S, Jordan . Saudi Arabia, LEBANON, Saudi, Beirut, United States

☆ Hezbollah Chief Says Shelling on Israel Will Stop Only When 'Aggression' on Gaza Ends
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The head of Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Tuesday that his armed group's cross-border shelling into Israel would only end when Israel's "aggression" on the Gaza Strip stops, saying diplomatic efforts so far to bring a halt to hostilities along Lebanon's border seemed to only benefit Israel. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his group would only stop its exchanges of fire if a full ceasefire was reached for Gaza. War in Israel and Gaza View All 206 Images"On that day, when the shooting stops in Gaza, we will stop the shooting in the south," he said in a televised address. The cross-border shelling has already killed around 200 people in Lebanon, including more than 170 Hezbollah fighters, as well as 10 Israeli troops and five Israeli civilians. Nasrallah said residents of northern Israel "will not return" to their homes, and threatened that even more would be displaced.

Persons: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah, Laila Bassam, Gebeily, Alex Richardson, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Gaza, Hamas, Reuters Locations: BEIRUT, Israel, Iran, Gaza, Beirut, Lebanon, France, Britain

☆ Opinion: What Iran wants — and fears
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Opinion Hussein Ibish | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Iran has backed Hezbollah’s efforts to avoid an all-out war with Israel despite consistent Israeli escalation and threats. Hezbollah doesn’t want a war with Israel and Iran agrees. The potential for such US or Israeli airstrikes is among the most significant reasons Iran wants to avoid a broader conflict. Tehran has already restrained its Iraqi proxies, is working to help Hezbollah climb down and avoid a devastating Israeli attack. And Iran is probably urging the Houthis to take great care not to kill Americans or otherwise go too far.

Persons: Hussein Ibish, Read, Hussein Ibish It’s, Biden, Israel, Kataib, Saleh Al, Wissam, Amos Hochstein, Ebrahim Raisi, Shannon Stapleton, It’s Organizations: Gulf States Institute, Israel, CNN, Washington, Radwan Force, Iranian Locations: Washington, Iranian, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Saudi, That’s, Israel, Jordan, Hezbollah’s, Beirut, Tehran, Yemeni, Suez, Strait, Hormuz, Bab, Mandab

☆ Iran Foreign Minister Says Iran, U.S. Have Exchanged Messages in Recent Weeks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran and the United States have exchanged messages throughout Israel's four-month-old war on Hamas in Gaza, including about Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, the Iranian foreign minister said on Saturday. "During this war and in the recent weeks, there was an exchange of messages between Iran and America," Hossein Amirabdollahian said through a translator at a press conference capping a day-long visit to Beirut. He said the United States had asked Tehran to request Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, "not to get widely, fully involved in this war against" Israel. Amirabdollahian on Saturday warned Israel against taking any steps towards a broader war against Lebanon, saying that would be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "last day." He also said Iran saw a political solution as the only way to end the Gaza war.

Persons: Hossein Amirabdollahian, Hamas, Amirabdollahian, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Abdallah Bou Habib, Netanyahu, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Hezbollah's Al, Nasrallah, Bashar al, Assad, Maya Gebeily, Andrew Cawthorne, Frances Kerry Organizations: Hezbollah, Israel, Saturday, Hamas, Revolutionary Guards Corps, Guards Locations: BEIRUT, Iran, United States, Gaza, America, Beirut, United, Tehran, Israel, Lebanese, Lebanon, Washington, Irag, Syria, Yemen, U.S, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Hamas

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