Middle East
Latest stories
France hosts Arab, Europe ministers for talks on 'day after' Gaza war

France on Thursday hosts foreign ministers from Arab and European countries for talks on helping the Palestinians once the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas ends, a meeting that comes hours after the two sides agreed a ceasefire deal.

Israel and Hamas earlier agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal to free the remaining living Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group. It is a major step towards ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.

W140 Full Story
Israel cabinet to meet at 6 pm to discuss Gaza 'hostage liberation plan'

Israel's cabinet will meet on Thursday at 1500 GMT to discuss a plan to secure the release of all hostages held in Gaza, a government statement said after U.S. President Donald Trump's announced a ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

"Government meeting at 18:00 (1500 GMT). Agenda – Plan for the release of all Israeli hostages," an announcement posted on the government website said.

W140 Full Story
Key reactions to Gaza ceasefire deal

World leaders on Thursday welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas, which could help end the two-year war in Gaza.

- Palestinian Territories -

W140 Full Story
Hamas, Israel agree hostage release, ceasefire under Trump plan

Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal to free the remaining living hostages, in a major step towards ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.

W140 Full Story
South African activists on Gaza flotilla claim harsh treatment by Israel

Six South African activists who were detained by Israel while attempting to reach Gaza as part of an aid flotilla said Wednesday they were subjected to harsher treatment than other detainees because of South Africa's role in a genocide case against Israel.

W140 Full Story
US envoys arrive at Gaza truce talks as Egypt, Hamas voice 'optimism'

U.S. President Donald Trump's top adviser for the Middle East and other senior officials joined the third day of peace talks between Israel and Hamas in an Egyptian resort on Wednesday, a sign that negotiators aim to dive deeply into the toughest issues of an American plan to end the war in Gaza.

W140 Full Story
Turkey slams Israel interception of Gaza flotilla boats as 'piracy'

Turkey's foreign ministry on Wednesday lashed out at an "act of piracy" after Israeli forces intercepted several more boats heading for Gaza, saying several Turkish lawmakers were on board.

"The intervention in international waters against the Freedom Flotilla... is an act of piracy," it said in a statement, describing it as "an attack on civil activists, including Turkish citizens and members of parliament".

W140 Full Story
Saudi Arabia condemns far-right Israeli minister's 'storming' of Al-Aqsa compound

Saudi Arabia condemned on Wednesday a visit by Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the Al-Aqsa compound, a disputed area in occupied east Jerusalem home to Islam's third-holiest site that is also Judaism's holiest place.

Riyadh voiced its "condemnation of the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli officials and settlers under the protection of the occupation forces, reiterating its strongest condemnation of the continued attacks on the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

W140 Full Story
'Optimism prevails among all parties' in Gaza talks

A senior Hamas official said on Wednesday that negotiations held in Egypt for an end to the war in Gaza were advancing in a "spirit of optimism".

"The mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to the implementation of the ceasefire, and a spirit of optimism prevails among all parties," Taher al-Nunu told AFP from the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, where indirect talks began on Monday between Israel and Hamas.

W140 Full Story
Hamas says working to 'surmount all obstacles' in Gaza truce talks

Hamas said Tuesday it was working to overcome "all obstacles" as Palestinian militant leaders held indirect talks with Israel aimed at ending the two-year Gaza war.

"The delegation of the movement participating in the current negotiations in Egypt seeks to surmount all obstacles to achieving an agreement that fulfils the aspirations of our people in Gaza," senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said in a televised speech.

W140 Full Story