Middle East

The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments usually pass, has effectively been closed since the start of the US and Israel’s war with Iran in late February due to Iranian attacks on vessels and a US blockade of Iranian ports. In mid-June, the …

Amid the rubble of Gaza, the majority of the two million population is reliant on humanitarian aid to survive and there are few ways for people to earn a decent salary. The UN says the unemployment rate has passed 80%, compared to 22% before the war. Humanitarian groups see online …

US President Donald Trump said the Board of Peace has reached an agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas in Gaza. BBC News

International editor Jeremy Bowen reacts after a senior Hamas official tells the BBC the group has agreed to disarm in Gaza. BBC News

The site at Pickaxe Mountain may have been chosen to protect it from air strikes with some analysts estimating, external the core of the facility could be roughly 100m (328ft) underground. This would also mean it’s buried deeper than Iran’s two nuclear enrichment complexes at Fordo and Natanz which the …

Some Palestinians in Gaza and Israelis have been giving their reaction to the plan to the BBC. Tala, an 18-year-old who has been living in a tent in Gaza since her home was destroyed in air strikes, said “every time people hear about a possible ceasefire, we hope that it …

There are many reasons why it might not work. At the same time, it is potentially a rare chink of light in a bleak picture. Hamas has never agreed to disarm before now. Handled carefully and well, there is a chance now to make diplomatic progress. A bargain lies at …

Egypt’s cabinet has confirmed that a drone attack caused the fire that broke out on Wednesday on two ships at the Mediterranean port of Damietta, a key liquified natural gas (LNG) hub. “No party has claimed responsibility,” a statement said, adding that authorities were continuing to investigate the incident and …

The UK Foreign Office says his case has been raised with the Saudi authorities. Its current travel advice warns that it is illegal in Saudi Arabia to say anything publicly that the authorities “deem disruptive to public order”. And it urges visitors to avoid commenting on the royal family, the …

“We’ve been displaced from place to place, and now we have nowhere left to go,” says Umm Mohammed al-Shawish. She is desperately searching for somewhere to live after Israel moved yellow concrete blocks that mark out where it controls in the Gaza Strip. Families living in al-Tuffah in northern Gaza …

BBC reports from Palestinian village under weekly attack by Israeli settlers BBC News

At a conference of settler leaders in July, the IDF commander for the West Bank, Maj Gen Avi Bluth, said farm outposts “align well” with Israel’s security concept, “provided that this is also reflected in operational conduct, as well as ethical conduct, and in accordance with the law”. “All of …

Iran reacted with fury to the assault which it said had killed one sailor and injured several others. The foreign ministry said Iran had “never intervened in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the attack represented “a blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel’s …

A wave of attacks by Israeli settlers has continued across the occupied West Bank, after four Palestinians and two Israelis were shot dead in a violent confrontation near Nablus on Friday. Both sides accused the other of provoking the violence. The confrontation has further inflamed the situation in the West …

The Palestinian foreign ministry said it “condemns in the strongest terms the massacre” in Tal. It said “the escalation of settler terrorism is a direct consequence of the protection, political backing, and complete impunity granted by the Israeli government and occupation forces”. “Official Israeli incitement continues to fuel and encourage …

So what effect is all this having on the wider region? Firstly, it is important to note that two countries previously wracked by ruinous civil wars – Iraq and Syria – are now largely peaceful and stable, at least compared to where they were. The Gaza War is technically in …

Oil prices hit $100 a barrel for the first time since May as the escalating conflict in the Middle East reignited fears over global energy supplies. Brent crude – the global benchmark for oil prices – rose more than 5% on Thursday after several days of increases as the US …

Verified video shows an Iranian drone hitting a warehouse in Kuwait BBC News

US President Donald Trump said the latest strikes by the US hit Iran “very hard”, adding that the attacks were “in honour” of three US soldiers killed in recent days – two in Jordan, one in Iraq. US Central Command (Centcom) said it had launched a “new wave” of strikes …

The school day had begun as usual, Amaineh says. Because it was the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the children gathered inside the prayer hall to recite the Quran, she recalls, before she began teaching her pupils a new letter of the Persian alphabet. But, as the first attacks of …