Middle East

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan told the court that Hassoun’s case was examined against the background of events that began when the regime crushed a peaceful pro-democracy uprising against Assad in 2011 with lethal force, sparking a devastating civil war in which more than 600,000 people were killed and 12 million …

It was already in deep trouble before the war, with high inflation and a rapidly weakening currency, and has deteriorated further since the fighting began with US and Israeli air strikes on 28 February. The weakening of the Iranian currency, the rial, is felt sharply and widely. Imports cost more, …

Four kites were found in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, which is about 800m (2,620ft) from the Gaza border, on Friday and Saturday. Several more were found elsewhere in southern Israel last week, according to local media. The Israeli reports cited military sources as saying they believed Hamas was behind the kites …

In its statement on Wednesday, the IDF said the presence of an armed guard with the convoy had not been flagged to it before the convoy set off, and that he was falsely identified as a Hamas fighter. It also accused the convoy of deviating from the route co-ordinated with …

Samer is partially blind and has a leg injury that makes moving difficult. “Fear dominates everything. We are completely defenceless,” he said. “All of them have weapons. I’m bringing concrete blocks to close off this side of the house because I’m afraid for my children.” Samer has watched settlements – …

The Iranian economy has long been struggling under the weight of decades of international sanctions, which left it in tatters. Earlier this year, Iran experienced weeks of protests due to the spiralling cost of living and inflation – with everyday Iranians blaming the regime for their difficulties. Official figures show …

Verified videos show the aftermath of Tuesday and Wednesday’s strikes in Gaza City which show several injured people, including women and children. The Hamas-run health ministry said multiple Palestinians had been killed. The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas commanders and that it had taken measures to mitigate harm …

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem – land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state – during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them. Despite the fierce international opposition, …

The United States has issued a rare rebuke of Israel after reports emerged it struck a Syrian military airbase near the Turkish border, calling the attack an “unnecessary escalation”. Eight airstrikes hit the Abu Duhur airport runway and storage facility on Tuesday, according to Syrian state TV, although there were …

Whilst in Egypt, Kushner also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. According to Israeli media reports, Kushner, Mladenov and Blair will meet Netanyahu on Monday with the aim of advancing Trump’s plan. The Israeli prime minister has said he wants a full Hamas disarmament first in order to implement the …

Activists have tried to delivered supplies to Palestinians whose homes in the occupied West Bank have been besieged for days by Israeli settlers. The group left water and food near one of the houses in Qusra where two Palestinian families have been trapped since Sunday, with their power and water …

Lebanon’s parliament has voted to abolish the death penalty, a move that would make it the first country in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment. A majority of MPs in the 128-seat parliament backed the measure on Tuesday, while Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc voted against it. The legislation will …

Three people have reportedly been killed in a Houthi attack on a small cargo ship in the Red Sea, in what would be the first deadly strike by the group on a vessel since the US and Israel started a conflict against Iran. The ship is reported to have been …

Two human rights groups have said an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon that killed al-Akhbar newspaper reporter Amal Khalil and seriously wounded freelance camera operator Zeinab Faraj was an apparent war crime. Separate reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International concluded that the journalists were targeted while reporting in …

At least 30 Yemeni government troops are reported to have been killed in Houthi rebel attacks on military camps in central Yemen. Government sources said missiles and drones struck several camps run by the Emergency Forces in the al-Ruwaik area of Marib province and al-Abr area of Hadramawt. Health Minister …

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 …