The first rainstorm of winter sent water pouring into Ghalia al-Attar's house through cracks in the walls and tin roof, as the widow, her children and grandchildren spread buckets across the floor.

Their home was among tens of thousands that were damaged during the 11-day Gaza war in May between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which rules the isolated and impoverished territory. Hundreds of homes were completely destroyed, and reconstruction efforts have yet to get off the ground.

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, and EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Development from 24 Member States have co-authored an op-ed marking the first anniversary of the EU Gender Action Plan III and the International Day to eliminate violence against women.

Naharnet exclusively publishes the English-language version of the op-ed below, as received from the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon:

The buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine has left U.S. officials perplexed, muddying the Biden administration's response.

Some Republican lawmakers have been pressing the U.S. to step up military support for Ukraine. But that risks turning what may be mere muscle-flexing by Russian President Vladimir Putin into a full-blown confrontation that only adds to the peril for Ukraine and could trigger an energy crisis in Europe.

A visit by the United Arab Emirates' top diplomat this week may have turned a page for Syria's embattled autocratic president, enabling more Arab countries to re-engage with Bashar Assad.

That would be a major shift in a region that for a decade ostracized Assad, supported his adversaries and worked with the U.S. to seek a negotiated settlement of the Syria conflict.

George Kordahi was popular among TV viewers in the Middle East for his dapper charm. He schmoozed with beautiful women, dropped jokes and recited lines of Arabic poetry — all the while weighing in with his political opinions about the region's events.

Now the former host of the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" is Lebanon's information minister, and those opinions have landed Kordahi at the center of his country's worst-ever crisis with Saudi Arabia.

An assassination attempt targeting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi marks the latest escalation in tensions following last month's legislative polls, amid allegations of fraud from pro-Iran groups.

Three days a week, Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank village of Qaffin line up at a yellow gate and show military permits to soldiers in order to tend their crops on the other side of Israel's separation barrier.

The farmers say that because of increasingly onerous Israeli restrictions they can no longer live off their land, which is suffering without proper cultivation. The olive groves just beyond the gate are scorched from a recent blaze — firefighters also need permission to enter.

Iraq's prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi -- who survived an assassination attempt on Sunday -- is a former spy chief and skilled negotiator who faces an uncertain future following last month's legislative elections.

With nuclear talks set to resume this month with Iran, an increasingly skeptical U.S. President Joe Biden is seeking the right balance between threats and incentives to bring Tehran back into compliance with a 2015 deal.

What if a simple pill could help heal from Covid-19?