President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday he had a “very good talk” with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, about the war in Gaza and reiterated his threat that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas does not release its hostages by Jan. 20, the day Trump takes office. “As you know, I gave a…
President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should be prepared to make a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring an end to the nearly three-year-old Ukraine war. “Gotta make a deal,” Trump said at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump said he would…
An Israeli technical team is in Doha for working-level talks with Qatari mediators on “remaining issues” in a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, an official with knowledge of the talks told Reuters on Monday. The talks are currently focused on bridging gaps between Israel and Hamas on the deal US President Joe Biden outlined on…
The US military said it conducted an airstrike on Monday against a command and control facility operated by the Houthis in Yemen. “The targeted facility was a hub for coordinating Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” the US military’s Central Command said in…
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of the “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS) group that toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, said Monday that opposition forces in the war-torn country would be disbanded and their fighters would join regular army units. “The factions will be disbanded and the fighters trained to join the ranks of the defense ministry, and…
Taiwan has received 38 advanced Abrams battle tanks from the United States, the defense ministry said Monday, as the island boosts its military capabilities against a potential Chinese attack. Washington has long been Taipei’s most important ally and biggest arms supplier — angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory. The M1A2…
The new administration in Syria should be given a chance to govern following their constructive messages, and Turkey stands ready to provide military training if such help is requested, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said. NATO member Turkey backed the Syrian armed opposition groups who toppled President Bashar al-Assad last weekend, ending a 13-year civil war. Turkey…
Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory on Sunday killed at least 40 people, including several children, an Al Jazeera TV cameraman and three rescuers. Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera said its cameraman Ahmed al-Louh was killed “in an Israeli bombardment” that targeted Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Civil defense…
US president-elect Donald Trump hosted Akie Abe, the widow of slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for a private dinner with his wife Melania Trump at their Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Sunday. Trump and Abe, 62, had met during his first term as president, during which time her husband had pursued a close…
A Syria war monitor said early Monday that Israeli strikes had targeted military sites in Syria’s coastal Tartus region, calling them “the heaviest strikes” in the area in more than a decade. “Israeli warplanes launched strikes” targeting a series of sites including air defense units and “surface-to-surface missile depots”, said the Syrian Observatory for Human…
A French diplomatic mission will travel to the Syrian capital Damascus Tuesday to reestablish contact after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. The four-strong team would “retake possession of our real estate” as well as “establishing initial contact” with the new authorities and “evaluating the urgent needs of the population,”…
Israel will close its Dublin embassy due to the “extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday, citing its recognition of a Palestinian state and support for legal action against Israel. Israel’s ambassador to Dublin was recalled following Ireland’s decision on a Palestinian state in May, Saar’s statement added….
Saudi Arabia on Sunday condemned as “sabotage” of Syria an Israeli plan to double the population of the occupied and annexed Golan Heights. In a statement, the Saudi foreign ministry expressed “condemnation and denunciation” of the plan, which it called part of “continued sabotage of opportunities to restore security and stability in Syria” after opposition forces overthrew…
Israel agreed on Sunday to double its population on the occupied Golan Heights while saying threats from Syria remained despite the moderate tone of opposition leaders who ousted Bashar al-Assad a week ago. “Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it,…
South Korean lawmakers on Saturday voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, with the opposition declaring a “victory of the people.” The vote took place as hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Seoul in rival rallies for and against Yoon, who launched a failed attempt to impose martial…
