U.S. President Donald J. Trump criticized an Israeli airstrike on Beirut Sunday that overshadowed his 80th birthday and threatened to complicate efforts to finalize a U.S.-Iran framework agreement aimed at ending months of armed conflict across the Middle East.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency has fired 70 employees in Gaza with immediate effect, saying the move was necessary “to mitigate safety and security risks” for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA personnel, and agency facilities amid long-running Israeli allegations that Hamas has deeply infiltrated the agency.
The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday it struck more than 70 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the past day, as Israel continues its campaign to dismantle the Iranian-backed terror group’s infrastructure along the northern border.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel is at war with Hezbollah, not with the people of Lebanon, accusing the Iranian-backed terror group of dragging Lebanon into repeated conflict while using its territory to attack Israel.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Wednesday that Israel’s military operations in Syria and Lebanon have reached the point of threatening Turkey itself, escalating a bitter war of words with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as tensions widen across the Middle East.
Israel’s Knesset on Wednesday approved in a preliminary reading a controversial Basic Law proposal that would declare Torah study a foundational value of the State of Israel and effectively recognize long-term yeshivah study as a form of meaningful service comparable to serving in the Israel Defense Forces.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned Tuesday that Israel remains fully prepared to resume operations against Iran, saying the military’s recent strike inside the Islamic Republic was only preparation for a far heavier blow if Tehran attacks Israel again.
Israel says it is prepared for sustained combat after Iran and the Houthis fired missiles toward Israeli territory, prompting new Israeli strikes on Iranian defense systems and ballistic missile-related facilities.
Israel says the IDF now controls roughly one-fifth of Lebanese territory, marking a major expansion of its campaign against Hezbollah as Jerusalem works to push the Iranian-backed terrorist group away from Israel’s northern border.
Iran fired a volley of missiles toward northern Israel on Sunday night, pushing the region back toward the brink of open war after Tehran made good on its warning that an Israeli strike in Beirut would bring Iranian retaliation.
The Israel Defense Forces struck Hezbollah command centers in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district on Sunday, escalating Israel’s campaign against the Iran-backed terrorist group after renewed fire from Lebanon toward Israeli territory.
Slovenia entered a new political era this weekend after parliament approved a center-right government led by pro-Israel Prime Minister Janez Jansa, a move expected to reverse several Middle East policies adopted by the previous administration.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Thursday rejected a U.S.-brokered ceasefire framework between Israel and Lebanon, warning that the Iran-backed terrorist group would continue attacks as long as Israeli military operations continue in Lebanon.
Israel’s Mossad reportedly carried out a covert operation to supply Kurdish militias with weapons and military aid as part of a broader effort to destabilize Iran’s ruling regime, according to recent investigative reports in Israeli media.
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a ceasefire provided the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement also halts hostilities and withdraws its operatives from areas south of the Litani River, the United States announced Thursday.
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to downplay signs of friction this week after Trump confirmed he used sharp language during a private phone call over Israel’s continuing military operations in Lebanon.
Senior members of Israel’s delegation said Tuesday that Hezbollah had not stopped fighting despite pledging to U.S. President Donald Trump a day earlier that it would de-escalate, as Israeli and Lebanese representatives opened a new round of U.S.-brokered talks in Washington.
President Donald Trump said Monday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to halt attacks after a day of rising tensions in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened renewed strikes on Hezbollah’s Dahiyeh stronghold in Beirut if the Iranian-backed terror group continued firing on northern Israel.
Israel moved another step closer to early elections after the coalition’s bill to dissolve the Knesset passed its first reading late Monday night by a vote of 106-0, with no lawmakers voting against the measure.
The United States has effectively signaled support for Israel to expand its military operations deeper into Lebanon, including toward Beirut, after a fresh diplomatic initiative collapsed and Hezbollah continued launching rockets and explosive drones at northern Israeli communities, according to U.S. and Israeli officials.