Middle Orient

The war in Gaza has been ongoing for exactly six months: Is an end in sight?

The war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, which has been ongoing for six months and has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, shows no signs of ending, according to the German news agency dpa. Negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of hostages …

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What’s happening: Israel has withdrawn most of its troops from the southern Gaza Strip, leaving only one brigade behind

The Israeli army has withdrawn all its ground forces from the southern Gaza Strip except for one brigade, said an army spokesman. The army did not immediately provide further details. It is unclear whether the withdrawal will postpone the entry of the army into the city of Rafah in southern …

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Netanyahu: There is no force in the world that will stop us

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will continue with its goal of eliminating all Hamas brigades, including those in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. Commenting on his statements, a Hamas spokesperson told Al Jazeera that this calls into question the purpose of the ongoing negotiations in …

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Iran Update, April 8, 2024

Senior Iranian military officials have continued to suggest that they will carefully calibrate Iran’s response to Israel’s killing of senior IRGC commanders in Syria. This careful approach aims to avoid a direct war with Israel. Iranian Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri said on April …

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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (April 1-8, 2024)

This past week Hezbollah continued its attacks on northern Israel, attacking military and civilian targets 43 times. In response, the IDF attacked Hezbollah facilities along the border and in Ba’albek. in one of the attacks a senior operative in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force was killed. Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah secretary general, delivered …

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Five years since al-Baghouz battle
The caliphate ended but the Islamic State is still present

In the Syrian village of al-Baghouz, in the eastern Deir Ezzor province, the last battles between the Islamic State organization and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by the International Coalition Forces, took place on February 9 and ended on March 23, 2019, marking the end of the organization’s geographical …

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UN Human Rights Council Calls for Arms Embargo on Israel

Latest Developments The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on April 5 passed a resolution that calls upon all states “to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel.” It further calls for an existing UN Commission of Inquiry to report on these …

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Stopping Famine in Gaza

The Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip has pushed many of its residents to the edge of death from starvation and disease. Only a prolonged ceasefire accompanied by a massive aid operation can improve the situation enough to avoid a horrific toll. What’s new? The Israeli offensive after the …

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Iran’s Order of Chaos

How the Islamic Republic Is Remaking the Middle East The Israel-Hamas war—and the possibility that it may explode into a wider conflagration—has upended the determined efforts of three U.S. presidents to pivot American resources and focus away from the Middle East. Immediately after Hamas’s October 7 attack, U.S. President Joe …

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How do Iranians ‘Boil a Frog’? Slowly and methodically.

Iran’s apparent restraint in the face of Israeli aggression should not be mistaken for weakness. Tehran steadily applies pressure on Tel Aviv through its own methods, setting the stage carefully for Israel’s unravelling. A strategy in asymmetrical warfare is expressed by the “boiling frog” theory: Legend has it that a …

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