Latest Middle East News

Israeli strikes in central Beirut kill at least 20 as diplomats push for a cease-fire

Nov. 24, 2024 01:20 AM EST

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli airstrikes Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 20 people, officials said, as the once-rare attacks on the heart of Lebanon's capital continued without warning while diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire. Lebanon's Health Ministry said 66...

Canadian security forum honors Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Vladimir Kara-Murza

Nov. 23, 2024 12:36 PM EST

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — A Canadian security forum on Saturday presented an award to Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who was freed from prison earlier this year in a massive prisoner exchange. The Halifax International Security Forum...

Blinken heads to last G7 meeting of Biden presidency with Ukraine and Mideast topping the agenda

Nov. 23, 2024 11:50 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is leaving Saturday on a diplomatic trip to Europe that includes a meeting of foreign ministers from the leading industrialized nations that will focus on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The State Department said Blinken...

More aid workers have been killed in 2024 than in any other year, UN says

Nov. 22, 2024 06:03 AM EST

GENEVA (AP) — More aid workers, health care staffers, delivery personnel and other humanitarians have been killed in 2024 than in any other single year, the United Nations reported Friday. Bloodshed in the Middle East has been the single-biggest cause of the 281 deaths among...

Iran's vast collection of Western art, much long hidden, re-emerges despite high tensions with US

Nov. 22, 2024 04:14 AM EST

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — As Iran faces increasing tensions with the West and turmoil at home, a new exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is displaying Western artwork including pieces not seen by the public in at least a decade. The unveiling of the exhibition “Eye to...

Death toll in Gaza from Israel-Hamas war passes 44,000, Palestinian officials say

Nov. 21, 2024 20:12 PM EST

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The death toll in the Gaza Strip from the 13-month-old war between Israel and Hamas has surpassed 44,000, local health officials said Thursday. The Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has...

Middle East latest: ICC issues warrant for Israel's Netanyahu as Gaza death toll soars past 44,000

Nov. 21, 2024 18:45 PM EST

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military leader, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The announcement came as health officials in the Gaza Strip said the...

US defense chief regrets China's decision not to meet during Southeast Asian security talks

Nov. 20, 2024 20:26 PM EST

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed regret Wednesday that his Chinese counterpart chose not to hold talks with him during meetings of Southeast Asian defense chiefs in Laos, calling it a setback for the entire region. The Association of Southeast...

Israeli officials demand the right to strike Hezbollah under any cease-fire deal for Lebanon

Nov. 20, 2024 13:51 PM EST

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli officials demanded Wednesday the freedom to strike Lebanon's Hezbollah as part of any cease-fire deal, raising a potential complication as a top U.S. envoy was in the region attempting to clinch an agreement. The development came as an airstrike hit the...

US support for Ukraine and Israel is eating into weapons stockpiles, Indo-Pacific commander says

Nov. 19, 2024 17:58 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are eating away at critical U.S. weapons stockpiles and could hamper the military's ability to respond to China should a conflict arise in the Indo-Pacific, the top U.S. commander for that region said Tuesday. Head of U.S....