الشرق الأوسط

Fighters in Syria have held 54 children and women as hostage for a year, rights group Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday, and urged that they should be freed. It also warned that holding civilians could amount to a war crime. The New York-based rights group said that the group of 54 was captured from the province of Latakia in …

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday said that the UN is willing to help Gaza rebuild, but warned that it would be the last time they would offer their help. He opened a special meeting of the UN General Assembly by appealing for a more permanent ceasefire as the 72-hour truce deal between Hamas and Israel held …

Wednesday marked the second day of a temporary return to normalcy in the Gaza Strip as the 72-hour ceasefire held on. Meanwhile, Egyptian negotiators continued to engage in shuttle diplomacy as it looks to extend the ceasefire. Markets, banks and shops reopened in Gaza, with residents looking more confident than they did on Tuesday, when the ceasefire began; small businesses …

Several demonstrations against the Israeli aggression in Gaza were held across the United States last Saturday, with the public outburst of support suggesting Washington’s pro-Israel take on the situation is becoming increasingly unpopular. Over tens of thousands Americans protested in front of the White House, travelling from all over the country in buses to join the rally. Demonstrators waved Palestinian …

Jordan presented a new resolution to the UN Security Council regarding the current crisis in Gaza and hoped that action would be taken in the coming days. The draft resolution has been backed by several Arab nations and calls for a more permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and an international effort to rebuild the Gaza Strip after the fighting …

The 72-hour ceasefire drawn up by Egypt and agreed to by both Hamas and Israel has demonstrated Cairo’s indispensable role in mediating conflicts between the two parties, several experts have said. After a violent campaign in Gaza over the past 29 days, Israel has withdrawn all of its soldiers from the Palestinian enclave as the truce began at 05:00 GMT …

On Monday, international rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of killing civilians in Gaza during their attempts to flee an afflicted neighborhood in the Palestinian Enclave. It also said that Israel’s actions would amount to a war crime. The HRW report cited testimonials from Palestinians who were able to get out of the town of Khuza’a near Khan …

The international community intensified its condemnation of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip on Monday after a strike close to a UN school harboring civilians killed 10 people and sparked worldwide outrage. As the Israeli military operation entered day 28 on Monday, the international community seems to be losing patience with Israel. Over 1,800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza …

Abigail Disney, philanthropist, filmmaker and great-niece of the legendary Walt Disney, has publicly forsaken her share in her family’s profits from an Israeli enterprise she claimed is exploiting “occupied natural resources”. She donated her profits and funds equal to the worth of her shares in Ahava, the Dead Sea minerals cosmetics firm, to “groups working to end this illegal exploitation”. …

The United States has blamed Hamas for the failure of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel on Friday, and accused it of launching a “barbaric” attack to apprehend an Israeli soldier. “This is an outrageous action and we look to the rest of the world to join us in condemning it”, Tony Blinken, House Deputy National Security Adviser, said in …