Search focused on the Middle East

5+ min ago (97+ words) [Protesters, predominantly Houthi supporters, rally to celebrate the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on the day it went into effect, in Sanaa, Yemen, October 10, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)]UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the Houthis have arbitrarily detained 59 Yemeni UN personnel, who have been held "incommunicado - some for years - without any due process." UN chief condemns Houthi referral of some detained UN staff to court UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the Houthis have arbitrarily detained 59 Yemeni UN personnel, who have been held "incommunicado - some for years - without any due process."...

16+ min ago (171+ words) Contact was lost shortly before the yacht was due to reach the shores of Cyprus, with five people on board. Their condition is currently unknown. Departed Ashdod for Cyprus: Extensive search underway for missing yacht Contact was lost shortly before the yacht was due to reach the shores of Cyprus, with five people on board. Their condition is currently unknown. The Administration of Shipping and Ports is conducting a thorough investigation into the disappearance of a yacht that departed from Ashdod Port en route to Cyprus, after all communication with the vessel was lost. Authorities in Cyprus launched a search operation on Tuesday evening, dispatching a patrol vessel to the area where the yacht was last detected on radar. Contact with the yacht was lost shortly before it was expected to reach the island's coast. Five people were reportedly on…...

19+ min ago (92+ words) [President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends the 34th Arab League summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, May 17, 2025; illustrative. (photo credit: HADI MIZBAN/POOL VIA REUTERS)]Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is also reportedly demanding Israel withdraw from the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors, Ynet'said, quoting sources familiar with the matter. Meeting with Israel, US dependent on Netanyahu signing gas agreement, Egypt's Sisi says - report Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is also reportedly demanding Israel withdraw from the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors, Ynet said, quoting sources familiar with the matter....

34+ min ago (659+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 795 United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned on Tuesday a referral by Yemen's Houthis of some of the dozens of UN staff they have detained to a special criminal court. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the terror group, which is backed by Iran, has arbitrarily detained 59 Yemeni UN personnel. "The UN personnel have been held incommunicado, some for years, without any due process, in violation of international law," Dujarric's statement said. "United Nations personnel, including those who are nationals of Yemen, are immune from legal process in respect of all acts performed by them in their official capacity." The Houthis have controlled most of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since seizing power in 2014 and early 2015. Though some of the UN staffers the group has detained have been released, most aid workers have been held for months without…...

41+ min ago (38+ words) Real time news brief - Chilling footage: Six hostages light Hanukkah candles in Hamas captivity - Israel National News flashes around the clock are waiting for you on the site Chilling footage: Six hostages light Hanukkah candles in Hamas captivity...

47+ min ago (492+ words) Aid agencies say Israel is still restricting their aid shipments despite ceasefire announced two months ago Malnutrition continues to take a toll among Gaza's young despite a ceasefire declared two months ago, with more than 9,000 children hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October alone, according to the latest UN figures. While the immediate threat of famine has receded for most of the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza after the ceasefire announcement on 10 October, the UN and other aid agencies report continuing Israeli restrictions on their humanitarian aid shipments, which they say fall well below the needs of a population weakened and traumatised by two years of war, homelessness and living in flimsy shelters. Tess Ingram, a spokesperson for the UN child protection agency Unicef, said: "In Gaza's hospitals I have met several newborns who weighed less than one kilogramme, their tiny chests…...

53+ min ago (268+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 796 Deputy Editor Amanda Borschel-Dan is the host of The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, What Matters Now, Friday Focus and The Reel Schmooze podcasts, and heads up The Times of Israel's features. Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with James Pasch, the Anti-Defamation League's vice president of litigation. Pasch is currently in Israel to meet with the plaintiffs in a massive lawsuit the ADL initiated against Iran, North Korea, Syria and Hamas for their roles in the October 7 massacre. In a new strategy, the legacy Jewish organization's work in fighting antisemitism is moving to encompass lawfare, and since the Hamas onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, the ADL has filed more lawsuits than in all the years of the…...

1+ hour, 5+ min ago (337+ words) It is worth mentioning that in later rounds of negotiations with Hamas, particularly the most recent one that produced a ceasefire and the return of the living and deceased hostages, both the President's Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's close confidant and son-in-law Jared Kushner also engaged in direct contacts with the terror group's representatives. Regarding media claims at the time that the Gaza portfolio was taken away from him after the controversy, Boehler rejects them outright. "Those reports are wrong for two reasons: first, I never held the 'Gaza file' to begin with. Second, my portfolio is across the board, hostage affairs, and I continue working on bringing American and allied hostages home." As a result of the efforts, Iraq released not only Tsurkov but also the remains of another American held there for years. "Just like…...

1+ hour, 12+ min ago (718+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 795 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order on Monday designating one of the US's most prominent Muslim groups, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as a "foreign terrorist organization," becoming the second high-profile Republican governor to do so in recent weeks. As with the ban imposed last month by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, DeSantis's order also named the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt, as a foreign terrorist organization. Hamas began as the movement's Palestinian arm. The Florida executive order's text accuses the Muslim Brotherhood of supporting terror, being linked to Hamas and opposing American values. And it accuses CAIR of being tied to the Brotherhood and of having its own links to terrorism. "[T]he Muslim Brotherhood's Islamist ideology is irreconcilable with foundational American principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," the order says,…...

1+ hour, 17+ min ago (321+ words) But here's what makes this a matter of life and death: Nechemia has a Star of David tattoo on his arm. In prison, it made him a target. He was attacked by inmates and hospitalized. Guards subjected him to severe antisemitic treatment. A week ago, they beat him unconscious and threw him in solitary confinement. "My situation is very hard," Nechemia begged in a recent call. "Get me out of here." The Epstein family has no money for legal defense. Right now, there is no organization assisting Nechemia. A skilled German defense lawyer could fight for his release and protect him from continued abuse - but the costs are far beyond what the family can afford. Without proper legal representation, he faces up to 10 years in a German prison, where he's already been attacked multiple times. For immediate action to secure…...