On Thursday, Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal rejected any claim that Hama will disarm as demanded by Israel, and said that the Palestinian movement’s weapons were “sacred”. “The weapons of the resistance are sacred and we will not accept that they be on the agenda” of any future negotiations with Israel, he said at a press conference in Doha, where he …

The United Nations on Friday said that there are now over three million Syrian refugees due to the civil war in Syria, as US President Barack Obama revealed that the US government has no strategy in place to tackle the advancing extremists. António Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in Geneva that Syria has become the “biggest …

Two natives of Calgary have joined extremist group Islamic State (IS), as global worry over foreign fighters in the Middle East continues to grow. The two brothers, Collin and Gregory Gordon, had converted to Islam recently and became known to Muslims in Calgary as Khalid and Abdul Malik. Sometime between 2011 and 2012, they lived in an apartment in a …

On Friday, the United States imposed new sanctions on networks connected to Iran, intensifying pressure over Iran’s nuclear program, its backing to terrorism and evasion of international and US sanctions. The new sanctions expanded the international sanctions already imposed on Iran despite a temporary lift of sanctions in exchange for the suspension of some of Iran’s nuclear activities. “Today we …

Extremists from the Islamic State have executed over 160 Syrian soldiers fleeing from them, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday. The assault is the latest of several human rights abuses in the country which have alarmed Western powers, who are afraid of a global escalation of terror. The killings come as US President Barack Obama is reportedly …

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that its foe Palestinian movement Hamas did not achieve any of its demands in the ceasefire deal that ended 50 days of conflict in the Gaza Strip. “Hamas was hit hard and got none of its demands.Hamas wanted a port and airport in Gaza, the liberation of Palestinian prisoners, the mediation of …

On Wednesday, a UN humanitarian aid convoy entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt for the first time since the blockade was placed on the territory in 2007. The World Food Program (WFP) said that the convoy, which entered the Palestinian enclave through the Rafah crossing, carried food for around 150,000 and is expected to support them for five days. The …

The long-term ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that has ended over seven weeks of bloodshed in the Gaza Strip has exposed a split within Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition. The truce deal, effective since 16:00 GMT on Tuesday, was accepted by the Israeli premier after consultations with his Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon. However, he did not put the …

On Tuesday, Qatar hailed the ceasefire which ended 50 days of conflict in and around the Gaza Strip, and offered to provide funds for reconstruction efforts. Qatar is a key backer of Hamas and hosts the Palestinian movement’s exiled leader Khaled Meshaal. On Tuesday, it paid tribute to “the resistance and the sacrifices” of Palestinians in seven weeks of conflict …

On Thursday, Syrian rebel groups captured 43 UN peacekeepers on the Syrian half of the border at Golan Heights and surrounded 81 others, the United Nations said. Forty-three peacekeepers from Fiji were forced to give up their arms and were taken hostage near the Quneitra crossing, but 81 Filipino peacekeepers “held their ground” and refused to surrender their arms, the …