Middle East

The BBC’s Nick Robinson spoke to Head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Tom Fletcher about his recent visit to Gaza. Fletcher recounted scenes of “despair and hopelessness” and said driving to Gaza City was like “going through the ruins of Hiroshima”, referencing the Japanese …

Lucy WilliamsonMiddle East correspondent, in Jerusalem AFP The bodies of the dead Palestinians were transferred by the Red Cross in refrigerated lorries Out of a single room, with no DNA testing facilities or cold storage units of its own, the forensics team at Gaza’s Nasser hospital face the challenges brought …

Benedict Garman, Emma Pengelly and Matt Murphy,BBC Verify BBC The Israeli military is exerting control over more of Gaza than expected from the ceasefire deal with Hamas, a BBC Verify analysis has found. Under the first stage of the deal, Israel agreed to retreat to a boundary running along the …

A small number of British planning officers has been sent to Israel to join a US-led multinational taskforce to help monitor the ceasefire in Gaza, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. The taskforce, called the civil military coordination centre, is also likely to include troops from Egypt, Qatar, …

Israel has received two bodies that Hamas says are two more deceased hostages who had been held in Gaza. The Israeli military said two coffins were handed over to troops in the Palestinian territory by the Red Cross, which had earlier received them from Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) …

Under Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, the “yellow line” – which Israel withdrew to earlier this month – is the first of three stages of Israeli military withdrawal. It leaves it in control of about 53% of the Gaza Strip. One Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, referred to it as …

A 55-year-old Palestinian woman has been taken to hospital after being clubbed over the head by a masked Jewish settler as she was picking olives. The unprovoked attack, which took place on Sunday morning in the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya in the occupied West Bank, was captured on video …

Yolande KnellMiddle East correspondent, Jerusalem Reuters Sunday saw the deadliest day of attacks since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October One week ago, US President Donald Trump was given a hero’s welcome in Israel after securing the Gaza ceasefire and exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. But the …

The US State Department says it has “credible reports” that Hamas is planning an “imminent” attack on civilians in Gaza, which it says would violate the ceasefire agreement. A statement released on Saturday said a planned attack against Palestinians would be a “direct and grave” violation of the ceasefire agreement …

Tim WhewellPresenter of A People’s History of Gaza BBC “I rode away on a camel with my grandmother, along a sandy road, and I started to cry.” Ayish Younis is describing the worst moment of his life – he still regards it as such, even though it was 77 years …

The head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has told the BBC the tide is turning on starvation in Gaza, as more aid enters the territory after Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal. Speaking from Gaza City, Tom Fletcher said “hundreds of trucks a day” were …

A 10-year-old Palestinian boy has been killed by Israeli forces in a village south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military says its soldiers opened fire on Thursday in response to “confrontations and rock-hurling” directed at them. Residents of al-Rihiya say that Muhammad al-Hallaq and his friends …

Israel’s prime minister has told a memorial for victims of the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that he is “determined” to secure the return of the dead hostages still inside Gaza, and that the country will continue to fight terrorism with “full force”. Benjamin Netanyahu made the comments hours …

Yemen’s Houthi movement says its military chief of staff, Mohammed al-Ghamari, has been killed. A statement gave no details, but it did say that Ghamari and his teenage son died during what it described as the “honourable battle against the Israeli enemy”. The Israeli military has carried out many rounds …

The most prominent Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti, was beaten unconscious by Israeli prison guards on 14 September, his family has said. The 66-year-old – serving life for the murders of five Israelis – was allegedly attacked by eight guards during a transfer between Ganot and Megiddo prisons. The Israel Prison …

Syria’s interim President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has held his first talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow since ousting Russia’s ally Bashar al-Assad 10 months ago. Putin spoke of the “special relationship” between both countries. Sharaa suggested he would continue to allow Russia access to its military bases in Syria. He …

Paul Brown, Kayleen Devlin, Erwan Rivault and Barbara MetzlerBBC Verify Getty Images As thousands of Gazans made the journey back to their neighbourhoods following the ceasefire, many of them already knew their homes were in ruins. The prospect of rebuilding homes, businesses and all the institutions and services needed for …

Merlyn Thomas, Matt Murphy, Benedict Garman & Shayan SardarizadehBBC Verify Getty Images US President Donald Trump has threatened to disarm Hamas “violently” amid moves by the group to reassert control over the Gaza Strip, targeting what it called “collaborators”. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said if Hamas failed to …

An Israeli couple who were abducted during the Hamas attacks of 2023 have been reunited, two years after they were violently split up. Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on 7 October. Video of Ms Argamani being dragged away in terror on the back …

Fergal KeaneSpecial correspondent, Amman BBC King Abdullah II of Jordan has warned that the Middle East is doomed unless there is a peace process leading to a Palestinian state. The king was speaking in an exclusive interview for BBC Panorama, as he prepared to attend a summit in Egypt’s Sharm …