Browsing: Middle East

Gaza Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov, together with the Board of Peace team, met on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his team. According to the Board of Peace, the meeting was part of the process of decommissioning weapons in Gaza and enabling the transition to civilian governance, and “creating a safer future in the region” for both Israelis and Palestinian Arabs in Gaza. The board noted that the meeting was constructive and detailed. Israel and the Board of Peace share a common understanding of the ultimate objectives. “The goal is clear and is not in…

The IDF killed a terrorist over the weekend who participated in the October 7 attack, helped hold Rom Braslavski hostage and took part in ceremonies marking the handover of hostages, the military said Monday. The terrorist, Mahmoud Fatair, was a Nukhba commander in Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Central Camps Brigade. He was killed in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Fatair was documented wearing Palestinian Islamic Jihad uniform at ceremonies in which hostages were transferred. According to the IDF, he took part in the handovers of Amit Shani, Ofir Engel, Moran Stella Yanai, Itay Regev, Liam Or, Raz Ben Ami,…

The Board of Peace, established in the wake of the US-backed ceasefire in Gaza in October, said there are important developments in Gaza this week. This is linked to Israel agreeing that the International Stabilization Force, a key part of the ceasefire and peace proposal, will enter Gaza. Israel has approved the principles of the 20-point plan that the Trump administration secured in October 2025. What this means is that the IDF will continue to control the Yellow Line in Gaza, which is around half of Gaza. Recent reports say that Israel actually controls up to seventy percent of Israel. Hamas controls…

Hamas has recently formed a special committee composed of field commanders from the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the movement, to inventory its missing weapons from the war. It is believed that some of these weapons remained with members of other Palestinian factions, clan members, and others. Some were lost as a result of being found by the Israeli army. Another portion appears to have remained under the rubble of destroyed homes. Palestinian sources familiar with the matter revealed to i24news’s sister Arabic channel that the committee was overseen by Adham Nesman, a prominent field commander in the al-Qassam-affiliated…

Against the backdrop of renewed efforts to restart U.S.-Iran nuclear talks and concerns that Tehran could continue advancing its nuclear program despite Israeli and U.S. strikes over the past year, experts warned Monday that the threat remains far from eliminated. Speaking during Yedioth Ahronoth’s National Security Conference, held in partnership with the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), the panelists said Iran’s nuclear program had been significantly damaged but not destroyed. The discussion, moderated by Col. (res.) Assaf Orion, featured Avner Vilan, a former senior Israeli security official; Sima Shine, former head of the Mossad’s Research Division and now a…

Khalil al-Hayya has been elected to be the new leader of Hamas, the terror group announced Monday. Al-Hayya, who previously served as the head of the group’s political bureau in Gaza, defeated former Hamas chief and veteran leader Khaled Mashaal in the leadership contest. Al-Hayya, unlike Mashaal, is close to the regime in Iran, and his election underlines the ongoing close ties between Iran and Hamas, both of which are avowedly committed to the destruction of Israel. The top official was the chief negotiator for the terror group during ceasefire-hostage release talks to end the war in Gaza, which began after the…

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 massacre in 2023, believed Israel might respond to the terrorist invasion by using nuclear weapons against Gaza, according to a document he wrote by hand on August 24, 2022. It was revealed to the public on Monday. The document was disclosed by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) as part of an ongoing disclosure of Hamas documents captured by the IDF during its counter-invasion of Gaza. Prior documents revealed by the ITIC or the IDF last October or earlier were also written by Sinwar on similar topics, and one was even…

Hamas terrorists on Saturday forcibly entered a World Food Programme (WFP) food distribution site in Jabaliya, forcing the suspension of distributions that had provided daily assistance to thousands of families. According to United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Humanitarian Coordinator Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, humanitarian workers were forced to halt food distributions after armed personnel affiliated with Hamas authorities forcibly entered the Abu Rashid food distribution point in Jabalyia, northern Gaza. “The forces also entered a WFP warehouse and reportedly assaulted two truck drivers who were delivering humanitarian supplies,” he said. Continue reading this article…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in the southern Lebanon security zone on Tuesday that the military would remain in the area for the foreseeable future, crediting the soldiers’ work for the recent agreement between Israel, Lebanon, and the US that demands Hezbollah’s disarmament to enable an Israeli withdrawal. “If you identify a threat to your security, to your lives, or to the lives of your soldiers — act. Do not wait. Act. That is an ironclad directive,” Netanyahu told troops during the visit, according to a statement from his office. The visit also included Defense Minister Israel Katz and…

For decades, Hezbollah quietly constructed a sprawling tunnel network beneath Lebanese soil, a flagship project whose true scale is only now coming into focus. The underground system was built to conceal missiles, living quarters, food supplies, weapons, and an entire raid plan awaiting the order to strike. Former Israeli sector commanders describe an infrastructure far larger than earlier estimates suggested. Much of the threat, they caution, still lies ahead. Major General (res.) Yitzhak Gershon explained that tunnels run throughout Lebanon and were designed to hide hundreds of operatives capable of raiding the Galilee within hours. Had Hezbollah joined the October…