Middle East

Jerusalem: The capture of dozens of Israeli soldiers and settlers by Hamas militants has stirred Israeli emotions more viscerally than any crisis in the country’s recent memory and presented an impossible dilemma for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government. The Palestinian freedom fighters’ 2006 seizure of a sole young conscript, Gilad Shalit, consumed Israeli society for

Israel has pounded the besieged Gaza Strip for a second night in a row after formally declaring war against the Palestinian Hamas group. Its military says some 100,000 reserve troops have amassed near Gaza. Fierce fighting is continuing between Hamas fighters and Israeli troops in at least three areas in southern Israel, including a kibbutz in Karmia and in the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. Hamas

Jerusalem, Oct 8: Israel's army said Sunday it aims to evacuate all Israelis living close to the Gaza Strip within 24 hours as it deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to fight Palestinian militants who had infiltrated into Israel. "Our mission for the upcoming 24 hours is to evacuate all residents living around Gaza," military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters, adding that fighting was

The death toll from powerful earthquakes in western Afghanistan is estimated to be over 2,050, a senior Taliban leader said, adding that the number might rise further in one of the deadliest quakes to hit the country in two decades. Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban spokesperson based in Qatar, said that many people were missing and rescue operations were under way to save people trapped in debris in

Israel fired barrages of artillery into southern Lebanon on Sunday after Hezbollah targeted three Israeli military positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms. There were no immediate reports of casualties. On Saturday, the most serious attack in years by Palestinian gunmen on Israeli towns left at least 250 Israelis dead, with another 230 Gazans killed in Israel’s retaliatory bombardment. Hezbollah, a

Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement says it has fired shells and guided missiles toward Israeli-occupied territories, in the aftermath of a surprise operation by Gaza-based Palestinian fighters against the regime. In a statement released on Sunday, Hezbollah said it had targeted the Radar, Zabdin, and Ruwaysat Al-Alam sites in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms. “The martyr commander Hajj Imad

Israeli forces have killed six Palestinian youths, including a 13-year-old child, during attacks across the occupied West Bank as Gaza-based resistance groups launched a major operation against the regime. According to a report by Palestinian Wafa news agency quoting the Health Ministry, 18-year-old Mahmoud Bassem Akhmis succumbed to his wounds after he was shot by Israeli forces in the town of

Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says the number of Israelis taken captive in the ongoing operation against the regime is far more than "dozens" that was claimed by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the Gaza Strip-based movement's military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, provided the information in a recorded message aired shortly after midnight on Sunday.

Israel’s military has launched massive air strikes on Gaza amidst a barrage of more than 2,000 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip that killed at around 40 Israelis and wounded hundreds. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said that at least 198 people have been killed and at least 1,610 wounded in the territory in Israel’s retaliation after a wide-ranging Hamas assault into Israel. The toll

Palestinians have launched their biggest operation against Israel in years in a surprise offensive that combined fighters crossing the fence into Israeli occupied cities with a heavy barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip. Resistance groups have captured five Israeli soldiers and killed some others, reports said Saturday, citing media sources in the besieged Gaza Strip. Red alert warning sirens