Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

Blinken puts pressure on Middle East countries to contain Gaza conflict

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The US secretary of state was speaking in Turkey, on trip that will take him to Jordan, Egypt and Israel

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has urged Middle East countries to use their influence over regional actors to ensure the Gaza conflict is contained and prevent “an endless cycle of violence,” as he continued his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions.

Blinken was speaking on Saturday, after Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah group said it had fired rockets at Israel, who said it had struck a “terrorist cell” in retaliation. Hezbollah called the strikes a “preliminary response” to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut last week in an attack widely attributed to Israel

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Creation of Palestinian state is only way to peace, EU foreign policy chief says – as it happened

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Josep Borrell wants European-Arab initiative to revive a peace process, with the ultimate aim being a two-state solution

The World Health Organization and the United Nations have made a new delivery of medical supplies to southern Gaza, the WHO director-general has said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the shipment included eight refrigerators, eight solar panels, and clean delivery kits to supports 66 births as well as medicines and supplies to enable surgeries. He added that it would support 142,000 people requiring care.

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Hundreds block off Westminster Bridge in call for Gaza ceasefire

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Protesters also call for UK to stop arms sales to Israel and end to Israeli occupation of Palestine

Hundreds of protesters in London have staged a sit-in on Westminster Bridge, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in the first big demonstration of the year.

Elsewhere on Saturday, there were protests in Belfast and Dublin.

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US and EU launch twin diplomatic mission to calm tensions in Middle East

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Escalation of violence comes as US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and Europe’s Josep Borrell begin tours of the region

• Middle East crisis – live updates

The most senior diplomats from the US and the EU launched a dual diplomatic offensive in the Middle East on Saturday aimed at calming tensions that threaten chaos and wider conflict across the region.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, began a five-day tour of the region with meetings in Turkey and the EU’s most senior diplomat Josep Borrell, visited the Lebanese capital Beirut.

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UN warns Gaza is now ‘uninhabitable’ as war continues

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Humanitarian chief fears ‘famine is around the corner’ with 85% of population displaced and more than 20,000 dead

The UN humanitarian chief has described Gaza as “uninhabitable” three months into Israel’s war with Hamas, warning that famine was looming and a public health disaster unfolding.

In a grim assessment of the devastating impact of Israel’s military response to the horrific Hamas attacks on 7 October, Martin Griffiths said that Gaza’s 2.3 million people face “daily threats to their very existence” while the world just watches.

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Israel tries to appease US with proposals for Gaza as Blinken heads to Middle East

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Washington wants concessions from the Netanyahu administration, as critics say plans lack detail or commitment

Israeli officials are scrambling to head off mounting frustration in Washington in the run-up to a potentially difficult meeting between the top US diplomat and Benjamin Netanyahu by offering a series of policy proposals on Gaza that critics say lack detail or commitment.

The US has offered staunch support to Israel since the outbreak of its war with Hamas three months ago but is anxious to secure some concessions from Netanyahu to lower regional tensions and help avert a wider conflict in the Middle East.

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Hezbollah chief says response to killing of senior Hamas official is ‘inevitable’

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Hassan Nasrallah says assassination in Beirut has changed nature of his group’s conflict with Israel, raising fears of escalation

The assassination of one of Hamas’s most senior officials in Beirut has changed the nature of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, Hezbollah’s head, Hassan Nasrallah, has said, adding that a response is “inevitable”.

In a second nationally televised address within three days, Nasrallah said that all of Lebanon would be “exposed” if there was no response from his group to the killing of Saleh al-Arouri, further heightening fears of a dangerous escalation in the conflict, even as Israel said its military was ready for any eventuality.

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Israel could keep security control of Gaza after Hamas defeat, says defence minister

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Yoav Gallant’s proposal suggests Palestinians would run day to day administration of territory

The Israeli defence minister has suggested that Israel would keep security control of Gaza after Hamas has been defeated with an undefined, Israeli-guided Palestinian body running day to day administration and the US, European Union and regional partners taking responsibility for the reconstruction of the territory.

Yoav Gallant revealed the plan to media on Thursday before a visit by Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, and after growing pressure from the US for Israel to make proposals for postwar scenarios.

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Unauthorised Jewish settlements surge in occupied West Bank, says watchdog – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. Our full report on the latest developments in the Middle East is here and all our Israel-Gaza war coverage here

The German government is monitoring the situation on the border between Israel and Lebanon, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday, as the country’s top diplomat prepares to travel to the Middle East for talks.

The spokesperson said:

The risk of escalation is unfortunately very real.

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Bombs, boat sinkings and assassinations: is the Middle East descending into war?

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Beyond the conflict in Gaza it has been a violent few weeks in the wider Middle East, from attacks on shipping in the Red Sea to bomb blasts in Iran and a killing by drone in Beirut. Julian Borger explains what may happen next

Iran suffered the worst terrorist attack in the history of the Islamic Republic this week when dozens of people were killed in two bomb blasts in the city of Kerman. In Beirut a drone attack in a suburban area killed a senior Hamas commander, and in the Red Sea the US navy shot down two anti-ship missiles and sunk three small boats after responding to distress calls from a container ship that was attacked twice by Houthi rebels.

The Guardian’s world affairs editor, Julian Borger, talks to Hannah Moore about the significance and possible consequences of these events and examines their potential to trigger a regional war. He says there is increasing appetite in Israel for further conflict with Hezbollah at the Lebanese border, and growing rhetoric that a direct war with Iran – which backs Hezbollah and the Houthi movement – is inevitable. Can international leaders do enough to calm tensions in the region?

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Global economy faces period of prolonged weakness, UN warns

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Secretary general urges countries to increase investment to avoid falling behind on climate action and sustainable development

The world faces a protracted period of weak economic growth that will undermine progress on sustainable development, the UN has warned, as it urged countries to raise investment to tackle the climate emergency.

Its annual assessment of the state of the global economy presents a sombre outlook for growth as countries grapple with the impact of higher borrowing costs, geopolitical tensions and heightened risk of climate disasters.

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Islamic State claims responsibility for Iran bombings that killed at least 84

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Afghan affiliate of IS claims responsibility for blasts in memorial crowd as Tehran tightens security on its eastern borders

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on a crowd in southern Iran marking the anniversary of the death of the senior Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Suleimani.

At least 84 people died when two blasts ripped through the crowd near Suleimani’s tomb in the city of Kerman, four years after he was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad. Suleimani had been a staunch enemy of IS, which resents the damage he did to its cause in Iraq and Syria.

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US strike kills Iran-backed militia leader in Baghdad as regional tensions rise

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Two killed and five wounded, militia officials say, amid fears war in Gaza could spill into surrounding countries

The US military has carried out an airstrike in Baghdad against a high-ranking Iraqi militia commander who it blames for attacks against US forces in the country, killing him and another person, a US official told Reuters.

The US official said the strike hit a vehicle in the capital on Thursday. It targeted a leader of Harakat al-Nujaba, the official said, without naming the person.

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Netanyahu seeks ‘fundamental change’ on Lebanon border – as it happened

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This blog has now closed. You can read our full report on the latest developments in the Middle East here and all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war here.

The Times of Israel is carrying some quotes from a relative of one of the hostages seized from Israel by Hamas who later died during a failed resuce attempt by the Israeli military. Merav Barkai described the situation as “incredibly sad and difficult”.

Citing her appearance on 103 FM radio, it reports the aunt of Sahar Baruch said:

When we received the notification that he had been killed, it could have been a different notification. This was a rescue attempt; we were so close to being there. We were scared from the beginning that there would be a military attempt to rescue him and it would end this way. It’s incredibly sad and difficult. Hostages were freed, people left there alive, we felt like we were close, just a step away from that embrace.

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‘A circle of death’: Nova festival survivor recalls 25km barefoot escape from Hamas

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Nadav Hanan describes encountering multiple Hamas squads on 7 October when 360 young Israelis were murdered

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Nadav Hanan was at the smaller of the dance stages at the Nova dance festival in southern Israel when Hamas attacked.

It was the beginning of an extended nightmare for the 27-year-old that saw him zigzag more than 25km of rough ground barefoot, surviving seven ambushes by Hamas attackers along the route to safety.

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Al Jazeera journalist arrested in Tunisia amid crackdown on freedom of press

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Samir Sassi joins growing number of journalists imprisoned and prosecuted in country

Tunisian authorities have arrested an Al Jazeera reporter, the network’s bureau chief said on Thursday, as campaigners voiced concern over a growing number of journalists behind bars in the north African country.

“Samir Sassi, a journalist at the Al Jazeera office in Tunisia, was arrested after security forces raided his house,” said Lotfi Hajji, director of the Qatar-based television network’s bureau in Tunis.

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Stakes high as South Africa brings claim of genocidal intent against Israel

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Israel’s decision to defend itself at the international court of justice will make it harder for it to brush aside any adverse finding

South Africa’s request for an interim measure by the international court of justice to prevent Israel from committing acts of potential genocide – primarily by calling for a halt to combat operations – has suddenly taken on an urgency and relevance that seemed implausible a fortnight ago.

Crack legal teams are being assembled, countries are issuing statements in support of South Africa, and Israel has said it will defend itself in court, reversing a decades-old policy of boycotting the UN’s top court and its 15 elected judges.

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US soldier’s family rescued from Gaza in secret operation – report

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The mother and uncle of Ragi A Sckak were taken from Gaza in an operation coordinated by the US, Israel and Egypt, according to a US official

The mother and uncle of a US service member were rescued from the fighting in Gaza in a secret operation coordinated by the US, Israel, Egypt and others, according to a US official speaking to the Associated Press.

It is the only known operation of its kind to extract American citizens and their close family members during the months of devastating ground fighting and Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

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Whoever is behind Kerman bombing risks igniting regional war

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US points towards Islamic State or Sunni extremists but Iran has accused Israel

It is still unclear who is responsible for the double bombing of a crowd in the south-eastern Iranian city of Kerman, but whoever is behind the outrage is clearly willing to risk igniting a regional war.

In Washington, officials have been pointing towards the possible role of Islamic State or some affiliated Sunni extremist group, and away from the partnership of Israel and the secular Iranian rebel group, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MeK), who have reportedly been behind previous attacks deep inside Iran.

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Almost 100 dead in blasts at Iran memorial for assassinated commander

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Two explosions at Kerman ceremony marking anniversary of killing of Qassem Suleimani raise Middle East tensions further

More than 95 Iranians were killed and scores more injured in a terrorist attack at a ceremony in Iran to commemorate the assassination of a top general, further heightening tensions in the increasingly volatile Middle East.

The explosions came at a memorial ceremony in Iran marking the fourth anniversary of the killing of Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s al-Quds force, and it was not clear whether either of Suleimani’s principal regional adversaries – Israel or Islamic State – were responsible for the carnage.

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