Search focused on the Middle East

19+ min ago (558+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 799 The UN General Assembly on Friday endorsed the International Court of Justice's view that allegations of Hamas infiltration of the agency are unsubstantiated, in a vote hailed by the organization's chief as "a strong endorsement" of its neutrality. Citing the ICJ, he said UNRWA is "the key humanitarian actor in the occupied Palestinian territory," urging member states to support its work in Gaza and expand "critical public health and education services." As part of its recent non-binding advisory opinion, the ICJ also asserted that Israel is legally obligated to allow UNWRA to provide humanitarian aid in Gaza, and stated that the provision of aid to the Strip during the war there has been inadequate. "UNRWA = hotbed of terrorism," Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, wrote on X in response to Friday's vote. Danon accused the…...

1+ hour, 22+ min ago (853+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 799 International troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month to form a UN-authorized stabilization force, two US officials told Reuters, but it remains unclear how the Palestinian terror group Hamas will be disarmed. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the International Stabilization Force (ISF) would not fight Hamas. They claimed lots of countries have expressed interest in contributing and US officials are currently working out the size of the ISF, composition, housing, training and rules of engagement. The US Central Command will host a conference in Doha on December 16 with partner nations to plan the International Stabilization Force for Gaza, the officials said. More than 25 countries are expected to send representatives to the conference, which will include sessions on the command structure and other issues related to the Gaza…...

1+ hour, 27+ min ago (51+ words) [Eitan Mor greets the public upon his release from Hamas]Eitan Mor described how he was starved, beaten, and electrocuted during his captivity. Hamas official told Eitan Mor he would be released two weeks after abduction, ex-hostage recounts Eitan Mor described how he was starved, beaten, and electrocuted during his captivity....

2+ hour, 37+ min ago (1270+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 799 WASHINGTON (Reuters) " US intelligence officials temporarily suspended sharing some key information with Israel during the Biden administration over concerns about its conduct of the war in Gaza, according to six people familiar with the matter. In the second half of 2024, the US cut off a live video feed from a US drone over Gaza, which was being used by the Israeli government in its hunt for hostages and Hamas terrorists. The suspension lasted for at least a few days, said five of the sources. The US also restricted how Israel could use certain intelligence in its pursuit of high-value military targets in Gaza, said two of the sources, who declined to specify when this decision was taken. All of the sources spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss US intelligence. The decision came as worries…...

2+ hour, 44+ min ago (260+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 799 Iran has seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, Iranian media said overnight Friday to Saturday, adding that 18 crew members from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were on board. "An oil tanker carrying six million liters of contraband diesel fuel has been boarded off the coast of the Sea of Oman," the Fars news agency said, quoting an official from the southern province of Hormozgan. "The vessel had disabled all its navigation systems." Iranian forces regularly announce the interception of ships it says are illegally transporting fuel in the Gulf. Retail fuel prices in Iran are among the lowest in the world, making smuggling it to other countries particularly profitable. Iran seized an oil tanker in Gulf waters last month "for carrying an unauthorized cargo," dismissing suggestions it was a retaliatory measure against another…...

3+ hour, 10+ min ago (91+ words) [Posters of Ran Gvili, whose body is still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza, seen at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. December 02, 2025. (photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)]In addition to the names of terrorists, Israel reportedly handed over a map with locations relevant to the search for Gvili's remains. Israel hands mediators list of PIJ terrorists with knowledge of Ran Gvili's location - report In addition to the names of terrorists, Israel reportedly handed over a map with locations relevant to the search for Gvili's remains....

3+ hour, 21+ min ago (106+ words) [A US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) and Egyptian Navy frigate ENS Alexandria (F911) conduct manoeuvring-operation exercises during a 60 nations International Maritime Exercise. (photo credit: US NAVAL FORCES CENTRAL COMMAND/US NAVY THEOPLIS STEWART LL/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)]The ship was boarded on the Indian Ocean a month ago, with military equipment being seized, officials revealed to the Wall Street Journal. US forces seize Chinese cargo ship while on its way to Iran with military equipment - WSJ The ship was boarded on the Indian Ocean a month ago, with military equipment being seized, officials revealed to the Wall Street Journal....

3+ hour, 46+ min ago (66+ words) [Soldiers loyal to Yemen]Discussions by the delegation in Aden, the base of the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized Yemeni government, will address measures to rectify recent unilateral actions. Joint Saudi-Emirati delegation arrives in south Yemen to defuse takeover by separatist group STC Discussions by the delegation in Aden, the base of the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized Yemeni government, will address measures to rectify recent unilateral actions....

3+ hour, 48+ min ago (427+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 799 Two activists from anti-Israel group Palestine Action were reportedly arrested Friday in central London after spraying a Ministry of Justice building with red paint to demand that Justice Minister David Lammy agree to meet with fellow activists currently on hunger strike. The two suspects were protesting the treatment of eight Palestine Action activists, who have been held in custody for more than a year before trial and have been conducting hunger strikes ranging from nine to forty days, they told the Guardian. Five have been hospitalized. Several Palestine Action activists have been arrested in the last year and are awaiting trial. Six are on trial over what prosecutors have described as a meticulously planned assault by the group on the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England, in August 2024. They are being charged with aggravated…...

4+ hour, 33+ min ago (1130+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 799 The Times of Israel is liveblogging Saturday's events as they happen. JTA " The former top civil rights litigator at the Anti-Defamation League is making public his scorching resignation letter from the group, in the latest sign of Jewish discontent over the organization's shifts during the second Trump administration. Joe Berman, who chaired the ADL's National Legal Affairs Committee from 2018 to 2022 and who volunteered in other capacities until this year, says in an interview he left because the venerated civil rights group had become a "useful idiot" for the Trump administration by failing to respond aggressively to antisemitism on the right. "Whether intentionally or ignorantly, ADL is providing cover to people who intend great harm to our nation," Berman says in his letter resigning from two national and one regional leadership bodies. Berman sent the letter in…...