DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The conflict is also testing the limits of the regional coalition whose members - which include the Syrian government, Hezbollah, Hamas and other militant groups from Iraq to Yemen - have differing priorities and domestic challenges. On Oct. 7, Hamas' military commander Mohammed Deif called on its axis allies to join the struggle. Yet, like its backer Iran, Hezbollah has avoided an all-out confrontation. Iran does not recognise Israel's existence, while Israel has long threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to curb its disputed nuclear activity. "Iran has shown a four-decade commitment to fighting America and Israel without entering into direct conflict.

Persons: Ali Khamenei, Ismail Haniyeh, wouldn't, Yemen's Houthis, Mohanad Hage Ali, Israel, Mohammed Deif, Khaled Meshaal, Dennis Ross, Hamas didn't, didn't, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Joe Biden, Lloyd Austin, Yoav Gallant, Israel didn't, Karim Sadjadpour, Parisa Hafezi, Laila Bassam, Arshad Mohammed, Tom Perry, Jonathan Saul, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Pravin Organizations: Israel, Reuters, Hezbollah, Carnegie Middle East Center, Hamas, Washington Institute for Near, Iran, AMERICA, United, U.S, Pentagon ., . Defense, NORTH Austin, Carnegie Endowment, International, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Tehran, Israel, Iran, Palestinian, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Beirut, Gaza, Lebanon, Palestine, United States, U.S, East, Iranian, Afghanistan, Seoul, ISRAEL, America, Dubai, Saint Paul, Jerusalem, Washington

Hamas has agreed to the general outlines of this deal, but Israel has not and it is still negotiating the details, the official said. The wealthy Gulf state of Qatar, which has ambitious foreign policy goals, has a direct line of communication with Hamas and Israel. Such a deal would require Hamas handing over a complete list of remaining living civilian hostages held in Gaza. The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hamas political office in Doha declined comment. There was no immediate comment from Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hamas political office in Doha.

Persons: Anas, Israel, Benny Gantz, Gantz, Benjamin Netanyahu, Andrew Mills, Gebeily, Aidan Lewis, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Dan Williams, Mayaan, Angus McDowall, Michael Georgy, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, U.S, Hamas, Qatari, Palestinian, Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qassam Brigades, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Rights DOHA, CAIRO, Israel, Palestinian, Gulf, Qatar, Doha, Western, Beirut, Cairo, Jerusalem

☆ Exclusive-Qatar Seeking Israel-Hamas Deal to Release 50 Hostages and 3-Day Truce, Sources Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

The deal, under discussion, which has been coordinated with the U.S., would also see Israel release some Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails and increase the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza, the official said. It would mark the biggest release in hostages held by Hamas since the Palestinian militant group burst over the Gaza border, attacked parts of Israel and took hostages into the enclave. Hamas has agreed to the general outlines of this deal, but Israel has not and it is still negotiating the details, the official said. It is not known how many Palestinian women and children Israel would release from its jails as part of the agreement under discussion. (Reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha, Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Aidan Lewis and Ahmed Mohamed Hassan in Cairo; Additional reporting by Dan Williams and Mayaan Lubell in Jerusalem; Writing by Andrew Mills and Angus McDowall; Editing by Michael Georgy and Gareth Jones)

Persons: Andrew Mills, Aidan Lewis DOHA, Israel, Gebeily, Aidan Lewis, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Dan Williams, Mayaan, Angus McDowall, Michael Georgy, Gareth Jones Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Hamas Locations: CAIRO, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Doha, Beirut, Cairo, Jerusalem

☆ Israel approves some fuel for UN trucks in Gaza, source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An aid truck arrives at a UN storage facility as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in the central Gaza Strip October 21, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIRUT, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Israel has given approval for 24,000 litres (6,340 gallons) of diesel fuel to be used by trucks for United Nations operations in the Gaza Strip, a humanitarian source said on Tuesday. The fuel is only meant for U.N. trucks, and not for hospitals, the source said. Gaza health officials have suspended operations at many of the enclave's hospitals due to lack of fuel and other supplies. Colonel Moshe Terto, who heads an Israeli defence ministry body that handles civil affairs in Gaza, said Israel is monitoring the fuel situation "on a daily basis".

Persons: Mohammed Salem, Axios, Israel, Moshe Terto, Terto, Maya Gebeily, Emily Rose, Chris Reese, Howard Goller Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, ., United, UNRWA, Thomson Locations: UN, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Rights BEIRUT, United States, Egypt, Beirut, Jerusalem

☆ White House says it has evidence Hamas using Al Shifa hospital to run military actions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians take shelter at Al Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Doaa Rouqa Acquire Licensing RightsABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday said it had its own intelligence that Hamas was using Gaza's largest hospital Al Shifa to run its military operations, and probably to store weapons, saying those actions constituted a war crime. He said those groups were also prepared to respond to Israeli military operations against that facility. Israeli forces have surrounded Gaza City's Al Shifa hospital, the biggest in the enclave, which they say sits atop an underground headquarters of Hamas militants. The fate of Al Shifa in particular has become a focus of international alarm, including from Israel's closest ally, the United States.

Persons: Doaa, Al Shifa, John Kirby, Biden, Kirby, Gaza's, Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland, Andrea Shalal, Chris Reese, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, AIR FORCE, Air Force, Hamas, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Al Shifa, Israel, Gaza City, United States, Gaza, Beirut, Israel's

More than 1,200 people in Israel died, most of them in the Hamas attack, and about 240 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by Palestinian militants. The army said Tuesday that it has captured Gaza’s legislature building, the Hamas police headquarters and a compound housing Hamas’ military intelligence headquarters. Israeli news sites showed pictures of Israeli soldiers hoisting the Israeli national flag and military flags in some of the buildings. The Israeli military did not give a reason for her death, while Hamas said she was killed in an Israeli strike. On Nov. 5, the Israeli military struck a car on the road between the southern Lebanese towns of Ainata and Aitaroun.

Persons: —, Gilad, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Lula, ” Lula, “, Lynn Gottlieb, KNTV, WASHINGTON, Janet Yellen, Shelly Shem Tov, Omer Shem Tov, Benjamin Netanyahu, JERUSALEM — Vivian Silver, Silver, Yonatan Zeigen, ” Zeigen, Noa Marciano, Marciano, ”, Israel, Iqbal Abu Saud, Ramzi Kaiss, Israel’s, KFAR, Ayelet, David Kachko Kazir, Aftonbladet Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Health Ministry, “, FIRE, Jewish, Peace, Berkeley, Consulate, Grand, Station, New York, Islamic, Treasury Department, TEL, JERUSALEM TEL, Israel, JERUSALEM, Israel Radio, Rights Watch, Israel — Residents, DR Locations: Gaza, Israel, Gaza City, Palestinian, Gaza's, Detroit, israel, ISRAEL, GAZA, JERUSALEM, DE JANEIRO, Brazil, “, CALIFORNIA, FIRE OAKLAND, California —, Oakland , California, Chicago, New York, United States, Islamic Jihad, Iran, Lebanese, United Kingdom, U.S, TEL AVIV, JERUSALEM TEL AVIV, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Canadian, BEIRUT, Lebanon, Ainata, Rights Watch Lebanon, KFAR AZA, Israel —, Kfar Aza, SWEDEN, DENMARK, COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Sweden, Danish, Egypt

☆ Lebanon front with Israel heats up, stoking fears of wider war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Israeli strikes killed two people in south Lebanon on Monday, according to a first-responder organisation affiliated to the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement. Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israeli forces since its Palestinian ally Hamas went to war with Israel on Oct. 7. The exchanges mark the deadliest violence at the border since Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006. So far, more than 70 Hezbollah fighters and 10 civilians have been killed in Lebanon, and 10 people including seven troops have been killed in Israel. The 2006 war killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Persons: Israel, Hamas, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Nasrallah, Najib Mikati, Al, Lloyd Austin, Mohanad Hage Ali, Phil Stewart, Crispian Balmer, Dan Williams, Edmund Blair Organizations: Amal, Israel Electric Company, Hezbollah, United, Israeli, U.S . Defense, Carnegie Middle East Center, Thomson Locations: Israel, BEIRUT, JERUSALEM, Lebanese, Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, United States, Beirut, Al Jazeera, Israel's, Seoul, U.S, Jerusalem

☆ Israel sharpens warning to Lebanon as cross-border hostilities spike
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The chief Israeli military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, described Hezbollah as "the defender of Hamas-ISIS", in reference to the Islamist Palestinian faction whose cross-border rampage against Israel on Oct. 7 sparked a devastating Gaza war. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday described the Israel front as "active". A rocket set off sirens near the Israeli port city of Haifa, 27 km (17 miles) from the Lebanese border, but caused no casualties. Smoke rises as seen from Israel-Lebanon border in northern Israel, November 12, 2023. Residents of villages and towns on the Lebanese border have evacuated southward even as Gaza border communities hit by Hamas emptied, making for some 250,000 internally displaced Israelis.

Persons: Daniel Hagari, Hassan Nasrallah, Israel, Evelyn Hockstein, Rights Israel, Hagari, Antonio Guterres, Fareed Zakaria, Guterres, Maayan Lubell, Crispian Balmer, Giles Elgood Organizations: ISIS, Palestinian, Saturday, Sunday, Lebanese, REUTERS, Rights, IDF, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Haifa, Lebanese, Lebanon, Beirut, Iran

☆ Hezbollah Says Front With Israel Will Remain Active
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The head of Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah said on Saturday that his armed group had used new types of weapons and struck new targets in Israel in recent days, and pledged that the front in the south against its sworn enemy would remain active. It was Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's second speech since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October. Nasrallah said on Saturday there had been "an upgrade" in Hezbollah's operations along its front with Israel. But the tit-for-tat shelling has been largely restricted to the border and Hezbollah has mostly struck military targets. Israel tightened its siege of Hamas-ruled Gaza following the Oct. 7 cross-border assault by the group that Israel says killed around 1,200, with about 240 abducted as hostages back to the Palestinian enclave.

Persons: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's, Nasrallah, Israel, Laila Bassam, Giles Elgood Organizations: Hamas, Lebanese, Iran's, Guards Locations: BEIRUT, Israel, Kiryat Shmona, Tehran, United States, Gaza

☆ Hezbollah says front with Israel will remain active
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters through a screen during a rally commemorating the annual Hezbollah Martyrs' Day, in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon November 11, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher Acquire Licensing RightsBEIRUT, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The head of Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah said on Saturday that his armed group had used new types of weapons and struck new targets in Israel in recent days, and pledged that the front in the south against its sworn enemy would remain active. It was Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's second speech since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October. But the tit-for-tat shelling has been largely restricted to the border and Hezbollah has mostly struck military targets. Israel tightened its siege of Hamas-ruled Gaza following the Oct. 7 cross-border assault by the group that Israel says killed around 1,200, with about 240 abducted as hostages back to the Palestinian enclave.

Persons: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Aziz Taher, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's, Nasrallah, Israel, Laila Bassam, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Hamas, Lebanese, Iran's, Guards, Thomson Locations: Beirut's, Lebanon, Rights BEIRUT, Israel, Kiryat Shmona, Tehran, United States, Gaza

AMMAN/GENEVA, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights chief on Friday urged an investigation into what he called Israel's use of "high-impact explosive weapons" in Gaza, which he said was causing indiscriminate destruction in the besieged Palestinian enclave. Israel's air, sea and land bombardment of Gaza, accompanied now by a ground assault deep inside the territory, aims to destroy the militant group Hamas which controls Gaza. Israel's subsequent bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 10,000 Palestinians according to health authorities in the Palestinian enclave. "The extensive Israeli bombardment of Gaza, including the use of high-impact explosive weapons in densely populated areas ... is clearly having a devastating humanitarian and human rights impact," Turk told a news conference during a visit to Jordan's capital Amman. "But such conduct by Palestinian armed groups does not absolve Israel of its obligation to ensure that civilians are spared."

Persons: Volker Turk, Turk, Israel, Suleiman Al, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Emma Farge, Maytaal, John Davison, Linda Pasquini, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Human Rights, West Bank, Thomson Locations: AMMAN, GENEVA, Gaza, Israel, Amman, Khalidi, Geneva, Jerusalem, Beirut

☆ HonestReporting accepts news groups had no prior warning of Oct. 7 Hamas attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

HonestReporting's Gil Hoffman told Reuters his organisation had not claimed to know that there had been any prior knowledge by the news groups of the Hamas attack. "I was so relieved when all four of the media organisations said they didn't have prior knowledge," Hoffman said in an interview by telephone about the article. "I still very much think that the questions were legitimate and the answers were adequate from the media organisations themselves." Reacting to the HonestReporting article posted on X, the Israeli Foreign Ministry had described the use of the various images by the four news groups as "a serious violation of journalistic ethics." Despite HonestReporting's suggestions that the Palestinian photojournalists had secured their images in coordination with Hamas, he said he was "happy" their pictures had been published.

Persons: Esa Alexander, HonestReporting, HonestReporting's Gil Hoffman, Hoffman, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Danny Danon, photojournalists, Crispian Balmer, Edmund Blair Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, The New York Times, Palestinian, Israeli Foreign Ministry, Likud, United Nations, AP, Jerusalem Post, HonestReporting, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Beirut, Lebanon, Israeli

[1/2] A view shows smoke in the Gaza Strip as seen from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON/BAGHDAD, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A defective drone in Iraq may have helped keep America from being dragged deeper into a widening Middle East conflict. The possibility of a major strike that draws America into a conflict is "a very realistic concern," he said. "I think they are calibrating the attacks to harass rather than kill en masse U.S. troops," he said of Iraqi and Syrian militias. "We had rocket attacks, mortar attacks, before we got hit with the big bomb," he said.

Persons: Amir Cohen, David Schenker, Joe Biden, Biden, Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ali Turki, Arif al, didn't, Saddam Hussein, it's, Blinken, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, isn't, Biden's, Lloyd Austin, hasn't, Tom Cotton, Austin, Lindsey Graham, Austin demurred, Graham, David Madaras, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail, Parisa, Michael Georgy, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Israel, Pentagon, Washington Institute for Near, Sunday, Haq, IRAN Iraq's, U.S . Navy, Wednesday, U.S . Defense, Democrat, Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican, United, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, WASHINGTON, BAGHDAD, Iraq, America, Erbil, Iranian, Syria, U.S, Iran, Syrian, Sudani's, Baghdad, IRAQ, IRAN, Tehran, Iraqi, Lebanon, Russian, Washington, TEHRAN, Yemen, Ukraine, China, pullout, Afghanistan, Ohio, Beirut, United States

☆ U.S. Forces Under Fire in Middle East as America Slides Towards Brink
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +10 min

By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Ahmed RasheedWASHINGTON/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A defective drone in Iraq may have helped keep America from being dragged deeper into a widening Middle East conflict. The possibility of a major strike that draws America into a conflict is "a very realistic concern," he said. "I think they are calibrating the attacks to harass rather than kill en masse U.S. troops," he said of Iraqi and Syrian militias. Iran says it had no role in Hamas' Oct. 7 raid on Israel, though it has welcomed the attack. "We had rocket attacks, mortar attacks, before we got hit with the big bomb," he said.

Persons: Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Ahmed Rasheed WASHINGTON, David Schenker, Joe Biden, Biden, Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ali Turki, Arif al, didn't, Saddam Hussein, it's, Blinken, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, isn't, Biden's, Lloyd Austin, hasn't, Tom Cotton, Austin, Lindsey Graham, Austin demurred, Graham, David Madaras, Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail, Parisa, Michael Georgy, Pravin Char Organizations: U.S, Israel, Pentagon, Washington Institute for Near, Sunday, Haq, IRAN Iraq's, U.S . Navy, Wednesday, U.S . Defense, Democrat, Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican, United Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraq, America, Erbil, Iranian, Syria, Gaza, U.S, Iran, Syrian, Israel, Sudani's, Baghdad, IRAQ, IRAN, Tehran, Iraqi, Lebanon, Russian, Washington, TEHRAN, Yemen, Ukraine, China, pullout, Afghanistan, Ohio, Beirut, United States

Two sources in Lebanon familiar with the Iran-backed group's arsenal say he was referring to Hezbollah's greatly enhanced anti-ship missile capabilities, including the Russian-made Yakhont missile with a range of 300 km (186 miles). Hezbollah perceives the U.S. warships as a direct threat because of their ability to hit the group and its allies. PAYING ATTENTIONThree current and one former U.S. official said Hezbollah has built an impressive array of weapons, including anti-ship missiles. Asked about the sources' accounts of Hezbollah having acquired Yakhont missiles, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "First of all, this is news without any confirmation at all. Moscow said in 2010 it had signed a deal to send anti-ship cruise missiles including a version of the Yakhont to Damascus.

Persons: Aziz Taher, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Washington, Bashar al, Assad, Nasrallah, We're, Dmitry Peskov, Nasser Qandil, Qandil, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, John Davison, Maya Gebeily, Guy Faulconbridge, Tom Perry, Claudia Parsons Organizations: REUTERS, Group, U.S, Yakhont, Hamas, Hezbollah, Pentagon, Friday, Washington -, Strategic, International Studies, CSIS, Reuters, Marines, Thomson Locations: Aaramta, Lebanon, Russian, Syria, States, U.S, BEIRUT, Israel, Iran, Washington, Jihad, United States, Gaza, Lebanese, Iraq, Beirut, Russia, Hezbollah, Moscow, Damascus

Hamas derided the Palestinian Authority for its cooperation with Israel, including the use of Palestinian police to prevent attacks on Israel. Instead of firing rockets over issues in Gaza, Hamas was fighting for concerns central to all Palestinians, including those outside the enclave. “The Israelis were only concerned with one thing: How do I get rid of the Palestinian cause?” Mr. Hamdan said. But inside Gaza, Hamas’s capabilities grew. That restoration deepened the relationship between Hamas’s military wing in Gaza and the so-called axis of resistance, Iran’s network of regional militias, according to regional diplomats and security officials.

Persons: Sinwar, Deif, Mohammed Deif, ”, “, Osama Hamdan, Israel, Mr, Hamdan Organizations: Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Israel, Hamas, Qassam, Agence France, National Security Council, Palestinian Locations: Israel, Gaza, Egypt, Italian, “, Qatar, East Jerusalem, Aqsa, Jerusalem’s Old City, Beirut, Lebanon, Jihad, Iran, Syria

☆ Lebanese painter says Christie's withdrawal of his works from auction is 'discrimination'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Christie's auction house has removed two paintings by Lebanese artist Ayman Baalbaki from its London sale this week following complaints, according to emails seen by Reuters, with the artist criticising the decision as a form of "discrimination". Both are no longer available on the website for Christie's auction on modern and contemporary Middle Eastern Art. A third piece by Baalbaki, depicting red flags seemingly on fire, remains on sale. A Christie's spokesperson said: "Decisions relating to sales remain confidential between Christie's and our consignors." The email said it was "normal policy" to remove pieces "if a work receives multiple complaints" in order to avoid "damaging press".

Persons: Ayman Baalbaki, Al Moulatham, Baalbaki, Maya Gebeily, Abdelhadi, Alison Williams Organizations: Reuters, Eastern, Hamas, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, London, Christie's, Israel, Gaza, Beirut, Frankfurt

☆ Hezbollah MP: group will respond 'double' over Lebanese civilians hurt
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra Acquire Licensing RightsBEIRUT, Nov 7 (Reuters) - A Hezbollah lawmaker said on Tuesday that the Lebanese militant group would respond "double" to any Israeli attacks on civilians after a strike that killed three children and their grandmother in south Lebanon. "The resistance will respond double to any aggression that targets civilians," Ali Fayyad said at the funeral of the four Lebanese killed in the south on Sunday. Lebanese authorities said an Israeli strike hit the car the family was travelling in on Sunday. Israel said on Monday it struck Hezbollah targets in response to a large barrage of rockets fired at northern Israeli cities. The violence along the Lebanese border has killed more than 60 Hezbollah fighters and 10 civilians, Lebanese security officials say.

Persons: Zohra, Ali Fayyad, Israel bombards, Israel, Laila Bassam, John Davison, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Lebanese, Thomson Locations: Israeli, Blida, Lebanon, Rights BEIRUT, Lebanese, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Hamas

☆ Jordan open to 'all options' as Gaza conflict intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Jordan also announced last week that Israel's ambassador, who left Amman shortly after Hamas' attack, would not be allowed to come back, effectively declaring him persona non grata. "All options are on the table for Jordan in our dealing with the Israeli aggression on Gaza and its repercussions," Khasawneh, whose country signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, told state media. Khasawneh said Israel's siege of the densely populated Gaza was not self-defence as it maintains. Jordan is reviewing its economic, security and political ties with Israel and may freeze or revoke parts of its peace treaty if the Gaza conflict worsens, diplomats familiar with Jordanian thinking said. The Israel-Hamas war has reawakened long-standing fears in Jordan, home to a large population of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

Persons: Bisher, Najib Mikati, Mohamed Azakir, Jordan, Bisher al Khasawneh, Khasawneh, Israel, King Abdullah, Jens Stoltenberg, Ayman Safadi, Safadi, Jordan's, Antony Blinken, William Burns, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Mark Heinrich, Lisa Shumaker, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Jordanian, Lebanese, REUTERS, Rights, Jordan, West Bank, NATO, U.S, CIA, Thomson Locations: Beirut, Lebanon, Rights AMMAN, Gaza, Israel, Amman, Jordan, Palestine, Brussels, Jerusalem, Jordanian, U.S

☆ Jordan says 'all options' open as Gaza conflict intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsAMMAN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Jordan said on Monday it was leaving "all options" open in its response to what it called Israel's failure to discriminate between military and civilian targets in its intensifying bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip. "All options are on the table for Jordan in our dealing with the Israeli aggression on Gaza and its repercussions," Khasawneh, whose country signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994 - told state media. Khasawneh said Israel's siege of the densely populated Gaza was not self-defence as it maintains. Such worries have increased since Israel's religious-nationalist ruling coalition, its most right-wing government ever, took office last year, with some hardliners espousing the "Jordan is Palestine option". "Any attempt to expel Palestinians in an attempt by Israel to change geography and demography we will confront," Safadi said last week.

Persons: Bisher, Najib Mikati, Mohamed Azakir, Jordan, Bisher al Khasawneh, Khasawneh, Israel, Ayman Safadi, Safadi, Jordan's, Antony Blinken, William Burns, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Jordanian, Lebanese, REUTERS, Rights, Gaza, Jordan, West Bank, U.S, CIA, Thomson Locations: Beirut, Lebanon, Rights AMMAN, Gaza, Israel, Amman, Jordan, Palestine, Jordanian

☆ Slain Lebanese schoolgirl sisters are latest victims of Mideast war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Abdelaziz Boumzar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

When they set off on Sunday, a missile Lebanon says Israel fired hit their car, killing all three and their grandmother, and leaving their mother wounded and confused. The Ayyoub sisters, aged 14, 12 and 10 respectively, are the latest victims of a Middle East war that began on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,400 people, most of them civilians. Israeli strikes have killed some 60 Hezbollah fighters and at least 10 civilians, Lebanese security officials say. One of the girls’ aunts, Ahlam Ibrahim, said she did not expect this latest dark chapter for southern Lebanon to be the last. Among those killed in southern Lebanon in the current conflict is Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah.

Persons: Samir Ayoub, Lianne Ayyoub, Israel, Samir Ayyoub, Ahlam Ibrahim, “ It’s, we’ve, Issam Abdallah, Lebanon's, John Davison, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Reuters, United Nations, Palestinian, Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah, Hezbollah, Thomson Locations: Israeli, Aytaroun, Lebanon, Israel, Beirut, Iran

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops early Monday had surrounded Gaza City and cut off the northern part of the besieged territory as communications lost for several hours across Gaza overnight were gradually being restored. Some 800,000 people have heeded Israeli military orders to flee to southern Gaza, even though Israel had continued airstrikes in the area. Strikes in central and southern Gaza — the purported safe zone — killed at least 53 people on Sunday. The Israeli military said late Sunday that it had severed northern Gaza from the south, calling it a “significant stage” in the war. The Israeli military said it had attacked Hezbollah targets in response to anti-tank fire that killed an Israeli civilian.

Persons: King Abdullah II, Israel, ”, Paltel, ___ Magdy, Najib Jobain, Khan Younis, Amy Teibel, Kareem Chehayeb Organizations: Troops, Health Ministry, Hamas, Communications, Palestinian, Paltel, Grad, Associated Press Locations: DEIR, Gaza, Gaza City, Israel, U.S, Jordan, Egypt, Jordanian, Lebanon, Northern Gaza, Cairo, Jerusalem, Beirut, israel

☆ Lebanon Must Be Kept Out of Hamas-Israel War, Patriarch Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's top Christian cleric urged state officials on Monday to shield Lebanon from the war between Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel, as the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah clashes with Israeli forces at the border. The Iran-backed Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces across the Lebanese-Israeli frontier since the Hamas-Israel war began on Oct. 7, in the worst fighting there since Hezbollah and Israel fought a war in 2006. He called on Lebanese state officials to work to keep Lebanon away "from the scourge of this war ... and to carry out its political and diplomatic role in support of the Palestinian cause. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in his first speech since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, said on Friday escalation on the Lebanon front would hinge on events in Gaza and Israeli actions towards Lebanon. Hezbollah's supporters say its arsenal has defended Lebanon from Israel.

Persons: Israel, Long, Bechara Boutros Al, Rai, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's, Tom Perry, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Maronite, Security Locations: BEIRUT, Lebanon, Israel, Lebanese, Iran, Gaza

BINT JBEIL, Lebanon (AP) — An Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon on Sunday evening killed four civilians, including a woman and three children, raising the likelihood of a dangerous new escalation in the conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border. One woman and three girls, ages 10, 12 and 14 were killed, and others were wounded, it said. Shortly after the Israeli strike, Hezbollah said its fighters had fired Grad rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel in response. Local media reported that the rockets landed in the Israeli border towns of Metula and Kiryat Shmona. Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee tweeted that one Israeli was also killed Sunday in a strike launched by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Persons: BINT, —, Samir Ayoub, ”, ‘, Mohammad Suleiman, Salah Ghandour, Bint Jbeil, Daniel Hagari, “, Najib Mikati, Avichay Adraee, hadn't, Israel, Abby Sewell, Kareem Chehayeb, Julia Frankel Organizations: Sunday, National News Agency, Grad, Local, Associated Press, . Security Locations: BINT JBEIL, Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon’s, Ainata, Metula, Shmona, Lebanese, Bint, Israeli, Blida, Beirut, Jerusalem

☆ Hezbollah says Israel to 'pay price' after strike kills 3 children in Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Footage from Al-Mayadeen Tv shows emergency teams working next to a burnt vehicle at the scene where Hezbollah says an Israeli strike killed three children, in southern Lebanon, November 5, 2023. AL-MAYADEEN TV/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsBEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Nov 5 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike on a car in south Lebanon killed three children and their grandmother on Sunday, Lebanese authorities said, as the Israeli army said a Hezbollah attack from Lebanon killed an Israeli citizen in northern Israel. "The enemy will pay the price for its crimes against civilians," Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told Reuters. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire across the frontier since the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel went to war on Oct. 7. It has marked the worst violence across the border since Israel and Hezbollah fought a war in 2006.

Persons: Hassan Fadlallah, Najib Mikati, Abdallah Bou Habib, Israel, Mikati, Antony Blinken, Laila Bassam, Tom Perry, Maytaal Angel, Emily Rose, Conor Humphries, Giles Elgood, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Tv, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, United Nations, Hamas, Hezbollah, U.S, National News Agency, Lebanon's Amal, Risala Scout Association, Thomson Locations: Al, Lebanon, Rights BEIRUT, JERUSALEM, Israeli, Israel, Iran, Lebanese, Kiryat Shmona, Aynata, Palestinian, Amman, Gaza, Lebanon's, Zebdine, Tayr, Beirut, Jerusalem

Search resuls for: "Beirut"

25 mentions found