Middle East

Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammed Raad accused its opponents of working for fragmentation and exclusion. He complained that his group had “extended its hand” by supporting Aoun’s election only to find the “hand cut”, and warned that “any government at odds with coexistence has no legitimacy whatsoever”. However, Christian and Sunni …

Sullivan said Biden was also due to speak with Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. The latest developments come as Netanyahu faces fierce opposition to a potential deal from within his governing coalition. Ten right-wing members, including some from Netanyahu’s own Likud party, have sent him a letter opposing a truce. …

For all these reasons, now is seen as the best chance in months to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas and bring an end to the war. What has not shifted in the eight months since they were last negotiating are the gaps between them. Key among them is …

Amnesty International said Taghavi’s health deteriorated considerably while she was detained at the notorious Evin prison – in Iran’s capital Tehran – where it said conditions were “cruel and inhuman” and the medical care was “inadequate”. She spent seven months in solitary confinement between her arrest and conviction, during which …

During Sunday’s call, which was the first to be publicly announced since October, Biden “stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal”. It came a day after Netanyahu …

Last November a ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Lebanon. Despite some skirmishes it has largely been upheld. But people on the ground say the provision of aid has not improved. International NGO Islamic Relief told the BBC that the “conflict, destruction, and evacuation orders have fuelled ongoing displacement in …

The ministry’s figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians though a recent report by the UN said the majority of verified victims over a six month period were women and children. Israel says Hamas’s figures cannot be trusted. In August, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had “eliminated …

But supporting annexation of the West Bank would be a much bigger and thornier issue for Trump. It would likely alienate Washington’s other key ally, Saudi Arabia, complicating Trump’s chances for a wider regional deal. It could also alienate some moderate Republicans in the US Congress, concerned about the impact …

The strike that killed Adam, Hamza and Reda Besharat happened while Israeli troops raided several homes in Tammun, the town’s mayor told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. The governor of Tubas, Ahmed Asaad, and Adam’s mother, Abla Besharat, said the cousins were sitting down in front of a house …

“This morning, a Swiss citizen committed suicide in Semnan prison,” a statement on Mizan’s website, attributed to Mohammad Sadegh Akbari, Semnan’s chief justice, said. The statement added that he had been “arrested by Iranian security forces for espionage” and the case was “under investigation”. In recent years, Iran’s elite Revolutionary …

Like Carter, Mr Sickmann went on to focus on charitable work. He said he was inspired by the former president to set up Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to families of Americaʼs fallen or disabled military and first responders. “President Carter was a good Christian man, married to his …

The Israeli military says its troops have found the body of a Bedouin Arab hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as evidence that suggests another may also be dead. The body of Yousef Zyadna, 53, was recovered from an underground tunnel in the southern Rafah area on Tuesday. …

In the north, the bodies of at least six people, including a baby, were recovered from two houses in Gaza City which were hit, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency. Meanwhile, three people were killed in a strike in the central town of Deir al-Balah, while another infant was …

Türk urged Iranian authorities to halt all further executions and to place a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to ultimately abolishing it. “The death penalty is incompatible with the fundamental right to life and raises the unacceptable risk of executing innocent people. And, to …

The transfer, which reportedly happened in the early hours on Monday, comes days before the accused mastermind of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is scheduled to plead guilty, following a deal with federal officials to avoid the death penalty. Monday’s transfer of the Yemeni …

Orthodox Christians around the world have been celebrating Christmas by attending church services. While the majority of the Christian world celebrate Christmas Day on 25 December, for many of the world’s 200 million Orthodox Christians, the birth of Jesus Christ is marked on 7 January. This is because they follow …

Shatha al-Sabbagh’s family accuses the Palestinian Authority over her death in Jenin, but the PA blames “outlaws”. BBC News

On the edge of Douma, one of the Damascus suburbs most devastated by the war, in a shrouded living room next to a stove, Umm Mazen recounts the 12 years she desperately sought news of two of her sons, who were arrested in the first years of the uprising and …

The Israeli prime minister’s office denied reports that Hamas had provided Israel with a list of hostages. Ceasefire negotiations resumed in Doha, Qatar, over the weekend, but the talks do not appear to have made significant progress yet. A Hamas official told Reuters news agency any agreement to return Israeli …

On Sunday the Israeli military said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, the latest in a series of such attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi movement. The Houthis said they had fired a “hypersonic ballistic missile” towards a power station near the Israeli city of Haifa. The group says …