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Middle East

Middle East
Middle East
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Middle East. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
last updated:
28 August, 2024
Palestinians inspect a damaged car following an Israeli air strike at Deir Al Balah town, central Gaza Strip, on December 23. Photo: EPA-EFE
Israel-Gaza war

Israel says Rafah military operations led to killing of 6 Gaza hostages

An investigation into the August incident found that the victims were murdered just before troops reached them.

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The Netherlands

Amsterdam court sentences 5 men for ‘hit-and-run’ style attacks on Israeli fans

Israel

Israeli army forces patients out of Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, doctors say

War and conflict

Syria says armed groups agree to disband, merge under defence ministry

The move aims to unify the country after years of civil war.

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A rebel fighter poses in front of an abandoned tank in the town of Adra on the northeast outskirts of Damascus. Photo: AFP
War and conflict

Syrian Christians protest ‘injustice’, burning of Christmas tree

Protesters were demanding Christian rights and condemning injustice amid growing Islamist influence post-Assad, after Islamist fighters burned a Christmas tree.

Indonesia

What Erdogan’s summit walkout could mean for Prabowo, Indonesia-Turkey ties

Officials deny speculation of a rift even as analysts note Prabowo’s ‘diplomatic gaffe’ could indicate possible missteps in foreign policy.

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Israel-Gaza war

Israel acknowledges it killed ex-Hamas leader Haniyeh in Iran

Defence chief Israel Katz admitted to killing Ismail Haniyeh in July, warning the military would ‘decapitate’ leadership of Yemen’s Houthis.

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Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, centre, in Tehran, Iran on July 30. He was assassinated the following day. Photo: EPA-EFE
China-Middle East relations

China’s diplomatic clout in Mideast at risk as threats build around ally Iran

Trump factor and fall of Assad in Syria will force nations, including China, to reassess ties.

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Israel

Ex-Israeli spies describe exploding devices operation against Hezbollah

The Mossad operation, spanning a decade, was executed in September when booby-trapped walkie-talkies and pagers were set off in Lebanon.

Israel-Gaza war

Netanyahu vows to act with ‘force, determination’ against Yemen’s Houthis

Israeli prime minister makes statement a day after a missile fired from Yemen fell in the Tel Aviv area, injuring 16 people.

The scene of a missile strike that, according to Israel’s military, was launched from Yemen and landed in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv. Photo: Reuters
Israel-Gaza war

Israeli order to evacuate Gaza hospital ‘next to impossible’ to obey, medics say

Staff at Kamal Adwan hospital say evacuation impossible due to lack of ambulances.

Badly damaged Palestinian houses during the ongoing Israeli military operation in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip. Photo: Reuters
European Union

Qatar vows to stop EU gas sales if fined under due diligence law: media report

Companies operating in the EU face fines of up to five per cent of global turnover if found in violation of the new law.

War and conflict

2 US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident

The US Navy is investigating the cause of the accident which saw a two-seater F/A-18 Super Hornet shot down over the Red Sea.

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War and conflict

Turkey says it will take action on Kurdish militias if Syria doesn’t

Turkey’s stance may put it at loggerheads with the United States, which has relied on the Kurds in its fight against ISIS.

The flag of Turkey hangs from a pole at the Embassy of Turkey in the capital Damascus. Turkey has expressed concern about Kurdish militants based in a post-Assad Syria. File photo: AFP
China-Middle East relations

Opinion | Fall of Syria’s Assad narrows China’s diplomatic space in the Middle East

There is too much power in the hands of the US and regional actors like Turkey for China to play a key role.

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A man walks across from the embassy of China in the Syrian capital Damascus on December 12. Islamist-led rebels took Damascus in a lightning offensive on December 8, ousting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. Photo: AFP
Israel-Gaza war

Hamas, 2 other Palestinian groups say Gaza ceasefire deal ‘closer than ever’

A Hamas leader said talks had made ‘significant and important progress’.

Israel-Gaza war

Israel-Gaza war: rocket from Yemen strikes Tel Aviv, injures 16

The strike comes days after Israeli air strikes hit Houthi rebels launched missiles in solidarity with Palestinians.

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War and conflict

Israel and Turkey seize the chance to shape Syria’s future post-Assad

While Turkey backs the HTS regime, Israel is destroying its military capacity and claiming territory – fuelling fears of fragmentation.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) walks with soldiers at the seized Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, near the border with Syria, on Tuesday. Photo: Government Press Office / AFP
Syria

US scraps US$10 million bounty on Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa

Top US diplomat for the Middle East Barbara Leaf welcomed ‘positive messages’ from their talks, including a promise to fight terrorism.

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European Union

8 dead off Greek island of Rhodes as speedboat carrying migrants capsizes

The boat was carrying out ‘dangerous manoeuvres’ to try to evade a patrol vessel, the coastguard said.

Syria

US diplomats visit Syria to meet new rulers, still deemed a terrorist group

Diplomats from the United States have not been to Damascus on a formal mission since the early days of the civil war, which began in 2011.

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Cars belonging to a US delegation drive in a street in Damascus, Syria, on Friday. Photo: AFP
Gold in Hong Kong

Local bullion bourse restructures to become Hong Kong Gold Exchange

Friday vote will turn Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society into a corporation called Hong Kong Gold Exchange.

Members of the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society voted to turn the city’s 114-year-old gold bourse into a corporation. Photo: Shutterstock
War and conflict

US says it doubled number of its troops in Syria before Assad’s fall

Washington has for years said it has some 900 military personnel in Syria as part of international efforts against Isis.

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Vladimir Putin

Putin says Russia is ready to compromise with Trump on Ukraine war

Putin also said he was ready to organise another missile launch at Ukraine and see if Western air defence systems could shoot it down.

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Israel

Israeli strikes hit Yemen’s capital and port city after Houthi missile intercepted

Strikes targeted power stations and an oil terminal in Yemen after a Houthi missile was launched at Israel.

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Firefighters extinguish a fire at a power station following Israeli air strikes in Sanaa, Yemen. Photo: Reuters
War and conflict

CNN’s gripping Syria report unravels: freed prisoner was really an intelligence officer

CNN reporter says ‘very difficult to verify information in real time’ after prisoner turned out to be an ex-intelligence officer, not a civilian.

Reporter Clarissa Ward and a man who was freed after she and a Syrian rebel guard discovered him locked in a Damascus prison. Photo: CNN via AP
Diplomacy

Opinion | China should seize the moment to promote peace on Korean peninsula

The weakening of the Russia-North Korea alliance, political change in South Korea and Trump’s return create a conducive environment for denuclearisation talks.

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China-Middle East relations

China warns leaders in Syria not to threaten security elsewhere

Chinese envoy addresses UN briefing days after Turkestan Islamic Party publishes video encouraging Xinjiang Muslims to wage jihad.

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