Gaza death toll passes 28,000 By Linah Alsaafin Published On 10 Feb 202410 Feb 2024 Gaza’s health ministry says 117 Palestinians have been killed and 152 wound during the past 24 hours. As Israel intensifies its attacks on Rafah, people are now escaping to the central part of the Gaza Strip about 20km (eight miles) away. Hind …

Continue reading

  Netanyahu asks military to submit Rafah plan By Linah Alsaafin and Brian Osgood Published On 9 Feb 20249 Feb 2024 The Israeli prime minister says he has ordered the military to develop a plan to both evacuate civilians from Rafah and defeat the remaining Hamas battalions. Israeli snipers in Khan Younis kill at least 21 people outside …

Continue reading

   300k at risk of famine in north Gaza – UN By Linah Alsaafin, Tamila Varshalomidze and Brian Osgood Published On 8 Feb 20248 Feb 2024 UNRWA chief says 300,000 at risk of famine in north Gaza as Israel has blocked “half” of aid missions there since beginning of year. In the past 24 hours, Israeli forces have killed 130 …

Continue reading

Israel-Gaza war: Hamas responds to ceasefire offer with 135-day truce plan By Ido Vock & Lyse Doucet BBC News Hamas has laid out a series of demands, including exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners and rebuilding Gaza, in response to an Israel-backed ceasefire proposal. The armed group wants a full withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to …

Continue reading

Rafah attack to lead to ‘large scale’ casualties By Linah Alsaafin and Brian Osgood Published On 6 Feb 20246 Feb 2024 The UN says “everything possible” must be done to avoid an Israeli attack on Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, which it says could lead to a “large scale” loss of life. Palestinian Health Ministry says at …

Continue reading

Blinken in Middle East as UK parliament debates Houthi strikes Summary US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has landed in Saudi Arabia on his fifth trip to the Middle East since 7 October His visit comes after the US said it What we learned from UK defence secretary We just heard UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps …

Continue reading

US says strikes on Iran-linked targets just ‘the beginning’ of response In summary: Arab press reacts to US strikes BBC Monitoring There’s been extensive focus in the Arabic-language press on the strikes against Iranian-linked sites in Iraq and Syria by the US last Friday. Here’s some of the reaction. Many dailies, such as Emirati daily al-Khaleej, show …

Continue reading

 Iraq warns of disastrous consequences for region after US strikes Iran expert says Tehran to ‘cool’ Iraqi militia As we continue to analyse the US airstrikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, tells the BBC that we are now likely to see a “reduction” of Iran’s …

Continue reading

  Israel plans ground attack on Rafah, ‘last refuge’ for Gaza’s displaced Israel’s defence minister says army will next target Rafah, the southern area it designated as a ‘safe zone’ for Palestinian civilians. The Israeli military plans to expand its ground assault into Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where most Palestinians in the besieged enclave …

Continue reading

US approves plan to strike Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, officials say By Bernd Debusmann Jr BBC News, Washington The US has approved plans for a series of strikes on Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, officials have told the BBC’s US partner CBS News. The strikes will take place over a number of days, officials …

Continue reading