Two AP journalists in Ukraine and the Mideast break down the wars they covered in 2024

For the world, 2024 was riven by — and in some ways defined by — conflict on two fronts. The ripples after the previous year's Hamas attacks in Israel left Gaza a shambles and tens of thousands dead, and an adjacent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is playing out across the...

For thousands of Jews, Israel still doesn't feel safe after the Oct. 7 attacks. So they're leaving

LONDON (AP) — Leaving Israel is easier, Shira Z. Carmel thinks, by saying it's just for now. But she knows better. For the Israeli-born singer and an increasing number of relatively well-off Israelis, the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack shattered any sense of safety and along with it,...

Middle East latest: Israeli strike on a Gaza school kills 17 people sheltering there

Israeli airstrikes slammed into two schools sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City on Thursday, a Health Ministry official said, killing at least 17 people including five children in one of the schools. Rescue workers said at 30 people were also wounded across both locations. ...

UN General Assembly asks court to say what Israel needs to provide in Gaza

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution Thursday asking the U.N.’s highest court to state what Israel’s obligations are in Gaza and the West Bank to provide humanitarian assistance essential for the survival of Palestinian civilians. The vote on...

Israel and Hamas appear close to a ceasefire deal. These are the sticking points

CAIRO (AP) — Israel and Hamas appear closer than they have been in months to agreeing to a ceasefire that could wind down the 14-month war in Gaza and bring home dozens of people held hostage there. But the sides have come close before, only to have talks collapse over various...

Human Rights Watch says Israel's restriction of water supply in Gaza amounts to acts of genocide

NEW YORK (AP) — Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Israel of causing the deaths of thousands of Palestinians by systematically restricting and targeting Gaza’s water supply in a campaign that amounted to “acts of genocide.” The rights group was the latest among a growing...

Syrian villagers near the Golan Heights say Israeli forces are banning them from their fields

Israeli forces have set up a position in an abandoned Syrian army base in the village of Maariyah and prevented local farmers from accessing their fields, residents said Thursday. Associated Press journalists who visited the area saw the Israeli troops from a distance and watched a...

Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen's rebel-held capital and port city after Houthi attack targets Israel

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A series of intense Israeli airstrikes shook Yemen's rebel-held capital and a port city early Thursday and killed at least nine people, officials said, shortly after a Houthi missile targeted central Israel. Thursday’s strikes risk further...

Separated for decades, Assad's fall spurs hope for families split by Golan Heights buffer zone

MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights (AP) — The four sisters gathered by the side of the road, craning their necks to peer far beyond the razor wire-reinforced fence snaking across the mountain. One took off her jacket and waved it slowly above her head. In the distance, a tiny white speck...

Israel's military says it conducted airstrikes targeting Houthi rebel sites in Yemen