Gadi Eisenkot, the man who could unseat Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, almost always dresses in black, speaks halting English and tends to respond in interviews with bullet-point lists, a reflection of the military culture that shaped him. For some voters in
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's consummate political survivor, faces the fight of his life in Tuesday's election as he tries to convince voters he is still the only candidate capable of keeping them safe. The 77-year-old's security-first reputation was all but
When Israel goes to the polls on Tuesday, voters will weigh in on military conscription, the economy and how the state should investigate its failure to prevent Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack. AFP looks at the key issues that have shaped the campaign. - Accountability for
A deeply divided Israel headed to the polls o
By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN, Oct 26 (Reuters) - American rapper Macklemore vowed to continue to speak out loudly against Israel's war in Gaza at the opening of his "Free Palestine" concert tour organised after he was dropped as the opening act for Ed Sheeran over pro-Palestinian
The Jordanian military said it had struck "terrorist organisations" in neighbouring Syria on Monday in retaliation for a deadly jihadist attack on a church last week, hours after authorities arrested three men they accused of the killings. It said air force jets had "destroyed
By Steven Scheer and Pesha Magid JERUSALEM, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a fight for political survival in Israel's election on Tuesday, with voters weighing his leadership after the 2023 Hamas-led attacks, wars in Gaza and with Iran, and Israel's
By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Israel holds a parliamentary election on Tuesday, its first since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that shook the country and plunged the Middle East into turmoil. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hold on power is at stake,
Security forces arrested three suspects after a shootout, authorities said, as the attack on a Greek Orthodox church killed nine and wounded 40. No group has claimed responsibility. Syria said the strikes were not coordinated
Oct 26 (Reuters) - Jordan said on Monday its air force struck what it described as militant hideouts in southern Syria after determining that the attackers behind last week's deadly church attack were linked to "terrorist groups" operating there. There was no immediate comment
Syria’s interim president is balancing Western demands for inclusion with pressure from Islamist hard-liners as he seeks to consolidate power and shed his jihadi past.
Battered by two wars, the group is stockpiling explosives, building attack drones and rebuilding command structures, sources tell Reuters, as Israeli forces occupy southern villages and pressure mounts in Beirut for its disarmament
GENEVA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Israel continued to commit genocide in Gaza after last October's US-brokered ceasefire in the enclave, a UN commission said in a report published on Monday that Israel dismissed as part of a "misinformation campaign". The report by the UN Independent
Israel's military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, launched after a deadly attack by Palestinian gunmen, raises serious concerns of "ethnic cleansing", the United Nations warned Monday. The municipality in Hebron, the Palestinian territory's largest city,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrapped up his campaign to remain in power on Monday with a claim that Israel faced potential annihilation at the hands of Iran should his election rivals prevail. Over the course of a neck-and-neck race, Netanyahu has campaigned heavily on
The four impacted states had a combined estimated population of about 14.1 million, according to 2024 UN data.
The talks were the first high-level contact between Iran and the three nations – which signed the Mecca mutual defense pact in August – since a war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran also spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen
A trickle of flights landed and departed from the Saudi capital on Monday as the Houthis continued to threaten aviation in the Gulf state.
Egypt's parliament authorised on Monday sending military support to Saudi Arabia to defend the kingdom from attacks by Yemen's Houthis, following a request from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The House of Representatives voted with a two-thirds majority in favour of
By Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily BEIRUT, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has spent three months preparing for a possible resumption of hostilities with Israel, after receiving an infusion of cash from Iran, according to Lebanese security personnel briefed on
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Fuel shortages in Yemen's besieged city of Taiz have forced one hospital to cut the number of incubators it can operate from 40 to 10, putting newborn babies at risk as weeks of fighting choke off vital supplies and deepen a
The arrests follow days of searching for the three suspects in Friday’s attack, which killed nine people.
Egypt, which has one of the region's largest militaries, is reliant on Saudi investment and ties the kingdom's security to its own.
Egypt's President al-Sissi has said his country's assistance to the Gulf kingdom would be limited to defending Saudi territory and borders rather than attacking the Houthis in Yemen, whose recent advances also threaten a gateway to Egypt's Suez Canal
In first such gathering, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman will join Pakistani army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin for talks with Iranian officials amid fears of renewed US and Israeli attacks against Iran.
By Steven Scheer and Emily Rose JERUSALEM, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted of his endorsement from Donald Trump on the eve of Israel's election, suggesting the two leaders could restart their war against Iran if he wins, after Trump said they should
(Corrects attribution of remarks to Sisi not the letter in 13) CAIRO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Parliament authorised Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday to take "all necessary measures" to help Saudi Arabia defend itself — a move that could push Cairo more directly into
By Maayan Lubell and Michal Yaakov Itzhaki BE'ERI, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Gal Cohen walks along a memorial wall engraved with the names of the men, women and children slain in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on his kibbutz. For him, the idea that the man leading Israel, then and
Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan held talks with Iran in Tehran on Monday in an attempt to stop the Middle East war from resuming, as Egypt authorised military support for Riyadh as the kingdom faces attacks by Yemen's Houthis. Officials from the three
Yemen's Houthis have kept up their attacks on Saudi Arabia as senior officials from the kingdom, Turkey and Pakistan are due to hold high-stakes talks with Iran in Tehran on Monday, following warnings of a return to war. Fresh explosions rattled Riyadh overnight, along with a
By Gianluca Lo Nostro Oct 26 (Reuters) - Attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have nearly emptied the skies over Riyadh this month, aviation data showed on Monday, with cancellations grounding almost nine out of every 10 scheduled flights at the Saudi capital's airport.
By Vinaya K and Federico Maccioni DUBAI, Oct 26 (Reuters) - An oil spill from a damaged tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates has widened, satellite images showed, triggering more beach closures and raising environmental concerns. Images from the European Union's
The suspects refused to surrender and opened fire on security forces, who returned fire and arrested them after they were wounded, Jordan's Public Security Directorate said. No security personnel were injured. Firearms and ammunition were seized