AQABA, Jordan (AP) — Blinken says US has been in direct contact with Syrian group that ousted Assad and is designated terrorist organization.
A surrendering North Korean soldier risked his life by refusing to drop his sausage at gunpoint, according to the Ukrainian paratroopers who captured him.
CAIRO/TEL AVIV (Reuters) -Hamas said on Monday it would next release hostages held in Gaza on Saturday, after an official with the Palestinian militant group had said they would be released a day later than expected. Hamas is set to release 33 hostages over the coming weeks as part of a complex ceasefire deal reached with Israel this month that could end the 15-month war in Gaza. The militant group said in a statement that the next group of hostages would next be released on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees who are held by Israel.
South Korea's military said on Friday that it suspects North Korea is preparing to send more troops to Russia to fight Ukrainian forces, even after suffering losses and seeing some of its soldiers captured. "As four months have passed for the dispatch of troops for the Russia-Ukraine war, and multiple casualties and captives have occurred, (North Korea) is suspected to be accelerating follow-up measures and preparation for an additional dispatch of troops," the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement. The JCS analysis did not specify what other follow-up measures Pyongyang might take.
STORY: Following Sunday’s ceasefire, Hamas police patrol the streets of an enclave leveled by a 15-month war. The militant group’s gunmen guard aid convoys and its officials oversee the clearance of rubble. It’s sending a clear message: Hamas are in charge.Officials, diplomats and security experts say the group’s hold on power could challenge the implementation of a permanent ceasefire.In the days since the deal, Gaza's Hamas-run administration has moved quickly.It’s reimposed security, started restoring basic services and is rebuilding infrastructure in neighborhoods reduced to rubble by Israel's offensive. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not expressed a vision for Gaza's postwar future - beyond insisting that Hamas play no role.He stated that the Palestinian Authority – a West-backed body that partially governs the West Bank - also cannot be trusted under its current leadership. In recent weeks, Israeli airstrikes have targeted lower-ranking administrators in Gaza, in an apparent bid to break Hamas' grip on government.But the Gaza government media office said the Hamas-run administration continued to function. Its director said Hamas wanted to prevent a security vacuum, and that it had deployed some 700 police to protect aid convoys.One analyst said the situation leaves Israel with a choice…To reignite fighting in the future - or to allow a Hamas-approved arrangement where the Palestinian Authority takes control. While senior Hamas officials have expressed support for a unity government…The Palestinian Authority’s chief has not given his assent. Neither the Palestinian Authority nor the Israeli government responded to requests for comment.
Israel’s defense minister has announced a series of raids that he says are targeting “terrorism” in the occupied West Bank, as Palestinian officials warned of a “man-made disaster.”
A survivor of the 7 October Hamas attack has been chosen to represent Israel at Eurovision. Yuval Raphael was at the Nova music festival when Hamas led a cross-border attack from Gaza into southern Israel. The amateur singer was there with friends and later told Israel's parliament she hid under dead bodies for eight hours.
Commercial flights between Turkey and Syria resumed Thursday after 13 years with a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Damascus. Turkish media showed Syrian families draped in their national flag singing pro-opposition songs and cheering as they prepared to board flight TK0846 to Damascus. “I missed Syria and am happy to fly back,” said Fuad Abdulhalid, who has lived in Turkey for 12 years.
Secluded in his stronghold in southern Afghanistan, reclusive Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is the cornerstone of the movement that has ruled the country unchallenged since reclaiming power in 2021, strictly enforcing Islamic law.After Kabul's fall in summer 2021, the "emir" gained another title, Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, which comes with new challenges, including transforming his movement into a governing force.
Israel has reportedly asked the US for more time to withdraw from southern Lebanon - only days before the deadline to do so is up. Hezbollah says this is unacceptable, and support for Lebanon from major international players is on display.View on euronews
Gunmen killed two soldiers and wounded 12 others who were deployed to secure a U.N. livelihood project in the southern Philippines, military officials said Thursday. The attack Wednesday in Sumisip town in Basilan province sparked a clash in which two gunmen were also killed, they said. The military said the attackers included members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, an armed Muslim group that signed a 2014 peace deal with the government.
Violent settlers descend on Sinjil and other West Bank towns to protest against release of Palestinian prisoners
A thousand North Korean troops have reportedly been killed in the Kursk region of Russia
China says it ‘strongly’ condemns attack on its national
An IDF attack on a Lebanese apartment block targeting Hezbollah killed mostly civilians, BBC finds.
RAMALLAH (Reuters) -Hundreds of Jenin residents left their homes on Thursday, prompted by messages from drones fitted with loudspeakers, witnesses said, as the military demolished a number of houses on the third day of a major operation in the West Bank city. The operation, involving large columns of vehicles backed by helicopters and drones, was launched in the first week of a ceasefire in Gaza that saw the first exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails since a brief truce in November 2023. Israeli officials said the Jenin operation was aimed at what the military said were Iranian-backed militant groups in the refugee camp adjacent to the city, a major hub for armed Palestinian groups for years.
DCI Jason Pye says declaration would have given investigators longer to question Axel Rudakubana and compile evidence
The local rebel commander hands over a thin plastic shopping bag so full of live grenades it seems likely to split under the weight.
Colombia called on neighboring Venezuela Thursday to help tackle guerrillas blamed for a week of bloody violence that has displaced 40,000 people in the lawless border region. Colombia is struggling to contain violence in the mountainous northeastern Catatumbo region, where a 5,800-strong leftist militia has targeted rival armed groups and their alleged sympathizers.
In the days since a fragile ceasefire took hold in the Gaza Strip, Israel has launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank and suspected Jewish settlers have rampaged through two Palestinian towns. The violence comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces domestic pressure from his far-right allies after agreeing to the truce and hostage-prisoner exchange with the Hamas militant group. U.S. President Donald Trump has, meanwhile, rescinded the Biden administration's sanctions against Israelis accused of violence in the territory.
Life expectancy in the Gaza Strip was nearly cut in half in the first year of the war between Israel and Hamas, a new study has estimated.
