Middle East Monitor Latest news from the Middle East and North Africa

• 4 Israeli troops killed in Rafah bomb explosion, army says

  by Marwa A on September 18, 2025

  Four Israeli troops were killed in a bomb explosion in southern Gaza, the army confirmed on Thursday, Anadolu reports. A military statement said an officer and three soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded in Rafah city. The army said the dead troops served with the Dekel Battalion, adding that three other soldiers, who were cadets and posthumously promoted to lieutenant, were also injured in the blast. READ: Israeli army launches fresh airstrikes in southern Lebanon

• Pope Leo highlights grave humanitarian situation in Gaza despite US pressure on Israel

  by Marwa A on September 18, 2025

  Pope Leo XIV expressed deep concern over the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, criticizing the lack of effective measures to alleviate the suffering of civilians despite pressure on Israel from the United States, Anadolu reports. “Even though there has been some pressure on Israel from the United States, and despite some very clear statements recently from President Trump, there has not been a clear response in terms of finding effective ways to alleviate the suffering of the people, the innocent people in Gaza, and that is obviously of great concern,” the pope said in an interview with Penguin Peru published Thursday. The pope highlighted the urgent needs of Gazans, particularly children, emphasizing the requirement for medical assistance and humanitarian aid

• Gulf bloc approves new defense steps after Israeli strike on Qatar

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Defense ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announced a package of steps on Thursday to strengthen collective security after Israel’s Sept. 9 airstrike on Qatar, Anadolu reports. In a joint statement, the Gulf Joint Defense Council said members agreed to step up intelligence sharing through the Unified Military Command, provide a common air operations picture across the Gulf, and accelerate work on a joint ballistic missile early warning system. The ministers, meeting in Doha, also endorsed updating joint defense plans, holding coordination drills between operations and air defense centers within three months, and conducting a large-scale aerial exercise. They pledged to link national defense systems more closely to counter “any potential threats or acts of aggression.” Chaired by Qatari

• Gaza cut off as Israel maintains 2nd day of communications blackout

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  For a second straight day on Thursday, residents of Gaza City were left without internet or landline service as Israeli attacks knocked out major infrastructure routes, deepening the enclave’s isolation under an ongoing military campaign, Anadolu reports. The Palestinian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority confirmed that fixed-line and internet networks collapsed in Gaza City and parts of the north on Wednesday after key cables and facilities were damaged. Such blackouts, which paralyze hospitals, civil defense teams and humanitarian aid operations, have become a defining feature of Israel’s war on Gaza. Rights groups warn they are not accidental but part of a deliberate policy to silence the enclave and obstruct outside scrutiny. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has tracked more than a dozen

• Israeli army launches fresh airstrikes in southern Lebanon

  by Marwa A on September 18, 2025

  Israeli warplanes staged a wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Thursday, in the latest violation of last year’s ceasefire agreement, Anadolu reports. A military statement said the strikes targeted what the army claimed were Hezbollah military targets in southern Lebanon. The attacks came shortly after the army ordered residents of the towns of Meiss al-Jabal, Kfar Tibnit, and Debbin in Nabatieh to evacuate their homes. Lebanon’s state news agency NNA confirmed that an airstrike hit Meiss al-Jabal, without giving details about casualties or damage. READ: Lebanon begins 4th phase of Palestinian camp disarmament plan

• Clear conclusions: A UN commission finds Israel responsible for genocide in Gaza

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Yet another blistering addition to the ghoulish accounts of cruelty regarding the ongoing actions of Israel in Gaza made its appearance on September 16.  It came in the form of a report by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a lashing publication finding Israel guilty of committing genocide on the Strip.  Of the five elements outlined in the 1948 Genocide Convention, Israel was found guilty of four.  (The state’s interest in transferring Palestinian children from one group to another is yet to show itself.)  The relevant acts outlined in the report include instances of killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, the deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about physical

• Former Israeli captive accuses Netanyahu of ordering death of hostages in Gaza

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  A former Israeli captive accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday of giving an order to kill the hostages held in Gaza by pressing ahead with a plan to occupy Gaza City, Anadolu reports. Ilana Gritzovsky, released under a truce in November 2023, told Army Radio that Netanyahu’s decision meant “giving the order to kill the hostages.” Her partner, soldier Matan Zangauker, is still held in Gaza. “How many families must be thrown into grief before he listens to the public outcry?” she asked, adding that she longs to return to a normal life and to marry Zangauker once he is back. Gritzovsky said she cannot work amid expanding military operations. “I know what captives endure. With every plane overhead

• EU moves to end complicity in Gaza genocide, proposes trade freeze with Israel

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  EU Commission calls for freezing of free trade with Israel over Gaza genocide. The move targets Israeli ministers, €68bn ($72.5bn) trade agreement, amid mounting calls to end complicity Israel’s war of annihilation. The European Commission has called for the suspension of Israel’s preferential trade status with the EU, citing the unfolding genocide in Gaza and mounting evidence of war crimes. The proposal, if adopted, would represent the most serious breach in EU-Israel relations since the signing of the Association Agreement in 2000. “The horrific events taking place in Gaza on a daily basis must stop,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday. “There needs to be an immediate ceasefire, unrestrained access for all humanitarian aid, and the release

• ‘The intent is clear’: Bernie Sanders says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  “No more genocide” says Bernie Sanders who becomes first US senator to declare Israel is committing a campaign of extermination in Gaza. The Vermont senator had previously avoided the term, now joins chorus of experts and UN panel in stating Israel’s intent to carry out a genocide of the Palestinian people. Sanders issued a statement on his official Senate website yesterday declaring his position. “The intent is clear. The conclusion is inescapable: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.” The veteran Vermont senator, long known for his cautious criticism of Israeli policy, had previously said the term made him “queasy.” Now, citing overwhelming evidence from international experts and rights groups, Sanders has not only embraced the word but demanded an end

• Will Eurovision uphold Israel’s colonial genocide?

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Iceland have declared their intention to not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed to take part. In response, Eurovision’s director Martin Green issued a weak statement that can only be classified as impunity for Israel. “We understand the concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” Green stated. “It is up to each member to decide to take part in the contest, and we would respect any decision broadcasters make.” The statement completely misses the point. Five countries have declared they will not participate in the contest if Israel takes part, because Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. This not an opinion, but a stance.

• IOM says at least 50 dead after vessel carrying Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday that at least 50 people had died after a vessel carrying 75 Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya’s coast on Sunday, Reuters reported. The IOM said it had provided medical support to 24 survivors. According to the IOM, 456 people have died off the coast of Libya since the start of this year while attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean. The agency described the central Mediterranean as “the world’s most dangerous migration route”, citing increasingly ruthless trafficking practices, limited rescue capacity, and mounting restrictions on humanitarian operations as key factors driving the high death toll. Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across

• From cold peace to open tensions: Egypt-Israel relations tested

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s recent description of Israel as an “enemy” at the Doha summit marked a clear fracture in relations between the two countries, which had maintained a workable relationship for nearly half a century. Tensions have been mounting, particularly since the Gaza war that began about two years ago. Although the peace has always been a “cold peace” throughout its 46 years, Israel has consistently remained Egypt’s primary threat, and the Egyptian public has never truly accepted normalisation with Israel. Yet, security and trade ties between the two states grew steadily under American arrangements and pressure in the region. The pressing question today is how long this relationship can remain stable in light of long standing channels

• US labels four Iraqi factions as “terrorist groups” in escalation against Iran-aligned militias

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  The US State Department on Wednesday formally designated four Iraqi factions as Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs), escalating its campaign against groups it accuses of aligning with Iran. The groups named are Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kata’ib Imam Ali. All four had previously been blacklisted as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, but the new designation carries harsher restrictions and broader implications. In its statement, the State Department claimed the militias “conduct attacks against US personnel and facilities,” including strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and bases hosting American and coalition troops. Washington alleges the groups often operate under pseudonyms or front organisations to obscure their role. Framing the move as part of its maximum-pressure campaign, the department said the designations

• Genocide in Gaza and the New York Declaration: A verdict without teeth?

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  The UN Human Rights experts concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. Days earlier, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed Palestinian statehood, with 142 nations in favour. Together, these developments deliver a verdict: the world now formally recognises both the destruction of Gaza as genocidal and the denial of Palestinian sovereignty as untenable. What remains in doubt is whether the institutions that made these declarations have the will — or the power — to act. Gaza’s devastation For more than seven decades, Palestinians have endured dispossession, occupation, and repeated military assaults. Since October 2023, the scale of destruction has been intensified. Nearly 65,000 people have been killed, entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble, hospitals dismantled, and water and sanitation systems

• Israel’s Smotrich calls devastated Gaza Strip a potential real estate “bonanza”

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday said that the devastated Gaza Strip was a potential real estate “bonanza” and that he was in talks with the United States on how to divide up the coastal enclave after the war. “There is enormous real estate wealth in Gaza, and we will share it with the Americans,” Smotrich said at the Urban Regeneration Summit of the Real Estate Center in Tel Aviv. When asked about the possibility of establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza, Smotrich replied that “a business plan prepared by experts is already on the table of US President Donald Trump.” He added: “We have completed the demolition phase, and now we must build.” Smotrich further stated: “We paid a

• Calibrating power: A people-first US approach to the Middle East

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Foreign policy is not abstract for most Americans. It arrives as an unexpected deployment that rearranges a family’s year, a quiet chair at the dinner table, a neighbour back from overseas who smiles yet startles and city budgets that delay the library roof because resources flowed elsewhere. For too long Washington has reached for military tools when steadier instruments — patient diplomacy, shared problem solving and real coalition work — could have advanced US interests more effectively at far lower human cost. This is not a rebuke of those who serve. It is a call for discipline about when and why we ask them to risk everything. A credible approach begins with evidence that has been stress tested, presented clearly

• Spain threatens to withdraw from 2026 World Cup if Israel qualifies

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Spanish officials have raised the prospect of withdrawing from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be hosted in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, if Israel takes part in the tournament. The Spanish sports daily Marca reported Wednesday that Patxi López, spokesman for the Socialist Group in Congress, left open the possibility of a boycott. His remarks came after a plenary session of Parliament, in response to questions about ongoing protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza. López drew a direct link between Spain’s sporting commitments and its political stance, stating: “Israel is now invading the Gaza Strip by land, and this requires a response. The vast majority of Spanish society cannot tolerate the images we see daily in every newscast,

• Hamas criticises US role in Gaza ceasefire talks as biased towards Israel

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  A senior Hamas official, Ghazi Hamad, on Wednesday accused the United States of siding with Israel in discussions over a potential ceasefire in Gaza, describing the movement’s experience with Washington as “bitter.” Hamad made the remarks in an interview with Al Jazeera, marking the first public appearance of a Hamas leader since the Israeli strike on Doha on 9 September. “Our experience with the US administration as mediators has been bitter. We engaged for a long time with their proposals, particularly with the American envoy, Steve Witkoff,” Hamad said, according to statements, which were reported by the movement’s official platforms. He added: “The US administration made two major mistakes. First, it lacked credibility. Every time we engaged with them, they

• 137,000 Israelis leave the country in two years

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics has reported that more than 137,000 Israelis left the country over the past two years, almost twice the number of new arrivals. The data shows that more than 82,000 Israelis left last year, while 31,000 arrived. In 2023, about 55,000 Israelis left, compared with 46,000 who arrived. According to the bureau’s data, Israel’s population on the eve of the Jewish New Year exceeded 10 million. Population growth in the past Hebrew year was recorded at 1.2 per cent, down from 1.6 per cent the year before. The statistical report noted that 21.4 per cent of Israel’s population are Palestinians from the occupied territories of 1948, while 78.6 per cent are Jews or others. The number

• You can’t see the forest for the trees: How the Oslo Accords became Israel’s greatest strategic victory

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  They say that hindsight is 20/20. It is more than three decades now since that historic handshake on the White House lawn in September 1993, when Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin shook hands under President Bill Clinton’s smiling supervision. The Oslo Accords were hailed as a breakthrough in Middle East peace. But it was all theatre. The flags, the applause, the lofty rhetoric, all designed to conceal the truth: Oslo was a trap, and Arafat walked right into it. It was a masterpiece of strategic deception. Arafat’s original sin was not betrayal but delusion, a catastrophic miscalculation that would spawn all his future strategic blunders. The guerrilla fighter who had spent his life escaping from Jordan to Lebanon to Tunisia

• Israeli forces push into new areas of Gaza City

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Israeli military vehicles including tanks have advanced into new neighborhoods in the northwest of Gaza City, according to local reports. Eyewitnesses said tanks pushed several hundred meters inside the al-Saftawi neighborhood and the area where Jala Street ends. Heavy machinery vehicles including bulldozers also carried out operations around the Karameh Towers neighborhood and Mukhabarat district. The Israeli army released photos and footage of the military vehicles positioned in the al-Saftawi neighborhood and the end of Jala Street. The military has begun carrying out an offensive aimed at expanding and consolidating its control over the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Israel will re-occupy the entire Strip. READ: Gaza bleeds, 99 killed in another bloody day On Aug. 8,

• Gaza bleeds, 99 killed in another bloody day

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Medical sources have reported that the death toll in Gaza has risen to 99 within less than 24 hours, marking another bloody day since the start of the Israeli assault. The Ministry of Health said that 77 of the victims were killed in the north of the Strip, where the heaviest strikes were concentrated. The area has suffered the worst destruction and remains overcrowded with displaced families. Eyewitnesses described scenes as “beyond endurance”, with Israeli air strikes targeting tents of displaced people, homes, residential towers, and gatherings of civilians waiting for aid. Inside hospitals, the situation was even harsher as families searched among the bodies for their loved ones, while doctors and medics struggled with limited resources to save the

• The people’s push: How grassroots solidarity reshaped Spain’s foreign policy

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  In several influential European countries, solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinian people is finally translating into action. Though such action may seem belated to the tens of thousands of lives lost in the genocide-stricken Strip, it is, nonetheless, critical for the future of the Palestinian cause.  The political shift underway in Europe is a development of strategic importance. This is not because Europe’s voice carries a higher value on the scale of global solidarity, but because of the central role the continent has historically played in the inception of Israel, as well as the sustained political and financial support for its settler-colonial project. For decades, this support has provided a political and economic shield, allowing Israel to operate outside the

• Israel assassinates senior Hezbollah leaders in Baalbek strike

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Two Lebanese men were killed on Wednesday evening in an Israeli drone attack on the city of Baalbek. Reports circulating suggest that the victims were senior figures in Hezbollah. According to the National News Agency (NNA), the drone targeted a car in the al-Asira area of Baalbek, killing two people. The Lebanese Ministry of Health confirmed that an Israeli airstrike hit a car in the city, with an initial toll of two dead. Meanwhile, accounts on the X platform reported that the victims were Hezbollah leaders Hussein Saifo Sharif and Kamal Raad Sharif, who were killed in the Israeli strike. READ: Israeli minister boasts of destroying 25 Gaza towers, threatens to turn the enclave into “ruins”

• Israel says security coordination with Egypt, Jordan and UAE continues despite criticism over Qatar incident

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  An Israeli official said on Wednesday that security coordination between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates is continuing as usual, despite international criticism and anger following the attempted assassination of Hamas leaders in Qatar and the emergency Arab summit held in response. The official, who spoke to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN without being named or identified by position, said: “Relations and security coordination with the three countries are continuing as usual. These states understand that strategic and security cooperation with Israel allows them to influence what happens in Gaza, and they want to remain key players in the scene.” He added that last week Egypt completed the construction of a compound with hundreds of tents in Deir al-Balah,

• Israeli minister boasts of destroying 25 Gaza towers, threatens to turn the enclave into “ruins”

  by MI on September 18, 2025

  Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the army had destroyed 25 residential towers in Gaza City since the start of its ground operations, claiming they were “terror-related buildings”. He warned that the Gaza Strip “will be ruined and turned into rubble” if Hamas does not release the captives and give up its weapons. In a post on X, Katz wrote: “With the start of the ground manoeuvre and the handover of command to field commanders, 25 terror towers have been destroyed. A large and important number, aimed at removing any sniper threats to our forces. Terrorists were killed, and infrastructure was demolished. Gaza residents have been told to move south for their protection.” He added: “If Hamas does

• UN says women in Gaza forced to give birth on streets amid worsening Israeli attacks

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  The UN on Wednesday said women in the Gaza Strip are being forced to give birth on the streets as thousands are displaced amid Israeli military operations that have continued since October 2023, Anadolu reports. “Israel’s offensive in Gaza is forcing women to give birth in the streets, without hospitals, doctors or clean water,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news conference, citing the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The “UNFPA says that 23,000 women are going without care, and about 15 babies are being born each week with no medical help,” he added. Dujarric urged the immediate protection of civilians, saying the situation on the ground “is worsening by the hour.” He stressed that “issuing displacement orders does not

• Palestine urges UNESCO to protect Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque after Israeli seizure

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Palestine called on the UN culture and education agency UNESCO on Wednesday to take “immediate and urgent” action to protect the Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque following Israel’s seizure of the shrine’s roof, Anadolu reports. Ali Abu Zuhri, who heads the National Committee for Tangible and Intangible Heritage, urged UNESCO “to prevent this grave assault, and take practical and concrete steps to safeguard the Ibrahimi Mosque and protect it from alteration and distortion.” He said the Israeli seizure of the mosque’s roof “constitutes a blatant assault on the character of this historic and human site, which is inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.” The measure, Abu Zuhri said, “is a continuation of occupation policies aimed at Judaizing the Ibrahimi Mosque, erasing its

• EU commissioner urges action after UN inquiry declares Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  All UN nations have a responsibility to act after the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory declared that genocide is being committed by Israel in Gaza, EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said Wednesday, Anadolu reports. Speaking at the opening of an exhibition in Brussels featuring 40 works by Gazan artist Ahmed Muhanna, EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Lahbib underlined that the UN commission of inquiry declared that genocide is being committed by Israel in Gaza. “It is our responsibility, all the UN nations, to stop it. So we take our responsibility,” she said The UN commission concluded on Tuesday that Israeli forces committed “four of the five” genocidal acts defined under the 1948

• Israel and Islamophobia: Twin Engines Driving the Gaza Genocide | Palestine This Week

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  In this episode of Palestine This Week, we unpack the findings of a new United Nations report which concludes that Israel’s conduct in Gaza meets the legal definition of genocide. Led by the former chief judge of the Rwanda tribunal, the report’s findings places renewed pressure on international institutions to act. We also look at the fallout from Israel’s unprovoked strike on Doha. With reports emerging that Donald Trump was informed of the attack in advance yet failed to intervene, the episode examines the impact of US failure to protect a key ally. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has issued fresh threats against Qatar while promoting a vision of Israel as a militarised “Super Sparta”. We ask what this means in reality. Finally,

• Slovenia welcomes EU’s proposed measures against Israel

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon welcomed the European Commission’s proposed measures against Israel on Wednesday, Anadolu reports. “Slovenia welcomes the EU measures against Israel,” Fajon wrote on US social media company X. She said Slovenia’s and the other like-minded countries’ actions contributed to the decision. “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians, as confirmed yesterday by an independent UN investigative commission. Europe must act now!” Tajon added. Her statement came after EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas unveiled plans on Wednesday to downgrade trade ties with Israel and sanction top officials over findings of human rights abuses in Gaza, marking a major shift in the bloc’s approach to Tel Aviv. Maros Sefcovic, European commissioner for trade and economic security, said

• UN says at least 75 Palestinians died in Israeli detention since October 2023

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  At least 75 Palestinians, including a 17-year-old, have died in Israeli detention since Oct. 7, 2023, according to a report released on Wednesday by the UN human rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Anadolu reports. The report accused Israeli authorities of systematic torture, deliberate ill-treatment, and denial of medical care. The office said Israeli authorities “must urgently end the systematic torture and other ill-treatment of Palestinians held in their prisons and other places of detention and protect and ensure their right to life.” Of the deaths, 49 were from Gaza, 24 from the West Bank, and two were Palestinian citizens of Israel. Another 19 deaths were acknowledged by Israeli authorities without sufficient details to verify identity. At least five

• Israel blasts EU sanctions plan, vows retaliation

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Israel on Wednesday lambasted the European Commission’s proposed sanctions plan against Israel, calling it “morally and politically distorted,” and threatening to strike back if the measures were implemented, Anadolu reports. “Actions against Israel will harm the interests of Europe itself,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote on US social media company X. He said that Israel “will continue to fight, with the help of its friends in Europe, against attempts to harm it.” “Steps against Israel will be answered in kind, and we hope they will not be necessary,” Saar threatened. His remarks came after the European Commission on Wednesday proposed suspending parts of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a move the commission said could affect about €5.8 billion ($6.87 billion) of

• Thousands protest Trump in London, voice support for Gaza

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Thousands of demonstrators staged a rally in London on Wednesday to protest US President Donald Trump while chanting pro-Palestine slogans in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reports. Protesters gathered at Portland Place upon a call by Stop Trump Coalition to oppose Trump’s state visit to the UK and his policies on immigration, climate change and particularly his stance on Gaza. Carrying various signs, the crowd criticized the British government for the state visit and continued Israeli attacks on Gaza. Some of the signs read: “Migrants welcome, Trump not welcome” and “No to racism, no to Trump.” Demonstrators later held a march toward Parliament Square to attend the main rally. “Donald Trump, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,”

• Israel committing war crimes in southern Syria: Human Rights Watch

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Israeli forces occupying parts of southern Syria since December 2024 have committed abuses that amount to war crimes, including forced displacement, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday, Anadolu reports. The New York-based rights group said in a statement Israeli forces “have seized and demolished homes, blocked residents from their property and livelihoods, and arbitrarily detained residents and transferred them to Israel.” According to HRW, the violations took place in the UN-monitored demilitarized zone stretching from Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) through Quneitra to western Daraa, where Israel has established nine new military posts since last December. “Israel’s military forces operating in Syria should not have a free hand to seize homes, demolish them, and drive families out,” said Hiba Zayadin, HRW’s

• Israeli forces storm West Bank cities, demolish homes, detain 120 Palestinians

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Israeli forces on Wednesday stormed several Palestinian cities in the West Bank, demolished homes in the south, and carried out mass arrests as part of a widening campaign of raids in the occupied territory, Anadolu Agency reports. Witnesses said undercover units entered al-Bireh town near Ramallah before reinforcements arrived with armored vehicles in the al-Masyoun neighborhood. In Nablus, troops pushed into the eastern districts, deploying in the Musallakh area and the Balata refugee camp. In the Hebron province, local council head Mohammed Ribee said Israeli bulldozers leveled houses and caves in the village of Khirbet Khillet al-Daba, and destroyed tents, water pipes, sanitation units, and solar power cells. He noted that the operation wiped out the remaining shelters of families

• 79,000 Israelis left country in 2024, outnumbering newcomers, official figures show

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Around 79,000 Israelis left the country last year, a figure significantly up from a year earlier, amid rising regional tensions over Tel Aviv’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reports. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Israel’s population reached around 10.148 million people, with a growth rate of 1.0%. Of this figure, roughly 7.758 million are Jews (78.5 percent), about 2.13 million are Arabs (21.5 percent), and around 260,000 are foreign nationals. The count also includes some 400,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967 and unilaterally annexed in 1980 — a move not recognized by the UN. READ: Thousands of Israelis back petition calling for recognition of Palestinian state, end to Gaza war The bureau

• 18 flotilla ships set sail from Tunisia, Greece en route to Israel-blockaded Gaza

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Eighteen ships from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have set sail en route to the Israel-blockaded Palestinian territory, organizers said on Wednesday. The departing vessels included 12 from Tunisia and six Syros, Greece, as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla. “The Maghreb fleet has dispatched 12 ships from Tunisia toward Gaza,” Jawaher Channa, a member of the steering committee, told Anadolu. She said the coalition is preparing another vessel to sail toward Gaza later Wednesday. “All ships of the Maghreb fleet cannot set sail at once from Tunisian ports due to technical and logistical difficulties,” she said. According to Channa, the Spanish “Family Boat,” the largest ship in the aid flotilla, had already left the northern Tunisian port of Bizerte and

• Israel’s military escalation in Gaza will not lead to peace, Germany warns

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Israel’s military escalation in Gaza will not lead to peace in the enclave, Germany warned on Wednesday, Anadolu reports. “The federal government has always made it clear that it rejects these military operations, which only lead to more deaths, injuries and displacement,” government spokesman Stefan Kornelius told a press briefing in Berlin. “The federal government is therefore very dismayed by the fate of the civilian population and the humanitarian situation, and in contrast to other governments, we are increasingly less aware of how these military operations can effectively lead to a lasting peace,” he added. Germany is facing international pressure to agree to EU sanctions against Israel over what the UN has said is a genocide in Gaza. Asked about

• Qatar, Saudi Arabia denounce Israel’s expanded ground offensive in Gaza City

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday condemned an Israeli decision to expand its ongoing military assault in Gaza City as a “flagrant violation of international law,” Anadolu reports. On Tuesday, the Israeli army expanded its offensive in the densely populated city, as part of Tel Aviv’s plan to entirely occupy the area. In a statement, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry decried the assault as “an extension of the war of genocide against the brotherly Palestinian people and a flagrant violation of international law.” The ministry warned that the Israeli escalation threatens regional and international peace and security, calling for a “decisive international solidarity to compel Israel to comply with international legitimacy resolutions.” Saudi Arabia strongly denounced the deadly military operations in the Gaza

• Finland’s president condemns Israel’s Gaza assault as breach of international law

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Wednesday condemned Israel’s ground assault on Gaza, describing it as a violation of international law and norms, Anadolu reports. Speaking at a joint press conference with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics in Riga, Stubb said the international community had “failed to control the situation” in Gaza, YLE news reported. “The attack violates international law and norms,” he stressed. Israel’s military confirmed earlier Tuesday that it had launched an offensive on Gaza City, saying it was targeting positions held by Hamas. Finland’s politically divided government has been struggling to agree on a unified stance. Stubb has previously taken a stronger line on the conflict than the four-party coalition government in Helsinki. READ: F1 driver Lewis Hamilton decries Gaza

• F1 driver Lewis Hamilton decries Gaza crisis, urges public to help

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Seven-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton has spoken out on the crisis in Gaza, following a UN commission’s classification of the situation as genocide, stressing that the global community cannot stand by in the face of such ongoing atrocities, Anadolu reports. In a series of posts, the 40-year-old British driver decried the escalating humanitarian crisis, saying: “In the past two years, more than 10% of the population has been killed or wounded – including tens of thousands of children – and that number only continues to rise. “The latest incursion on Gaza City has forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, with hospitals across the strip already overwhelmed with those suffering from famine, and casualties of the

• Qatar’s emir in Jordan for 1st visit since Israeli strike on Doha

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held talks on Wednesday at Basman Palace in Amman, Anadolu reports. The talks opened shortly after the emir arrived in the Jordanian capital, accompanied by a high-level delegation, Jordan’s state news agency Petra reported. The visit marks Sheikh Tamim’s first trip to Jordan since last week’s Israeli airstrike on Doha, which killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer. Expanded talks between the two leaders are expected to focus on the fallout of the attack and wider regional developments. The Sept. 9 strike drew sharp condemnation from Qatar, which vowed accountability and stressed its right to defend its sovereignty. The attack came even as Doha, together

• Pope renews call for Gaza ceasefire, urges respect for human dignity

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, stressing the need to uphold the “inviolable dignity” of every person and full respect for international humanitarian law, Anadolu reports. At the conclusion of his weekly General Audience, according to a Vatican News report, the pope expressed his “deepest” sympathy for the Palestinian people, lamenting that they “continue to live in fear and survive in unacceptable conditions, forced—once again—from their lands.” His remarks came a day after Israeli forces launched a new offensive against Gaza City, the largest urban center in the enclave, prompting mass displacement. Pope Leo insisted that “every person always has an inviolable dignity, to be respected and protected.” He reiterated his appeal

• Thousands of Israelis back petition calling for recognition of Palestinian state, end to Gaza war

  by MI on September 17, 2025

  More than 7,500 Israelis have signed a petition urging recognition of a Palestinian state and an end to Israel’s war in Gaza, an Israeli advocacy group said on Wednesday, Anadolu reports. The petition was launched by Zazim, a Jewish-Arab grassroots movement, which said the initiative seeks to send “a clear, united Israeli message to the international community” before the UN General Assembly meets in New York on Sept. 22. Organizers said they expect the number of signatories to exceed 10,000 before the session convenes. “The recognition of a Palestinian state is not meant as punishment for Israel, but as a step toward a better future based on mutual recognition and security for both peoples,” the petition reads. Zazim warned that

• Gaza’s genocide, the Ben-Gurion canal, and the politics of reconstruction – erasure by design

  by Marwa A on September 17, 2025

  “Every plan, every scheme, every initiative put forward by Israel has meant in practice, the further dispossession has meant, in practice the further dispossession of the Palestinian people” The violence in Gaza is not simply episodic slaughter; it is an engineered campaign of erasure — of lives, livelihoods, memory, and geography. The Independent UN Commission of Inquiry concluded in June 2024 that the pattern of killing, denial of life-sustaining services, and the rhetoric of some Israeli officials meet the threshold of genocide. To understand what is being lost, we must follow not only the bombs but also the canals: how water, land, and sea are being weaponised, and how grand infrastructure fantasies — above all the idea of a Ben-Gurion

• UN chief: What is happening in Gaza is horrendous

  by Marwa A on September 17, 2025

  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly criticised Israel’s military escalation in Gaza as its forces launched an assault on Gaza City on Tuesday. Speaking in New York, Guterres said: “What happens in Gaza today is horrendous. We are seeing massive destruction of neighbourhoods, and now the systematic destruction of Gaza City.” He stated: “We are seeing massive killing of civilians in a way that I do not remember in any conflict since I am Secretary-General.” Guterres added that this is in fact “something that is morally, politically, and legally intolerable.” His remarks came after an independent commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, set up by the UN Human Rights Council, earlier reported that Israel is committing genocide against

• The futility of demanding purity

  by Marwa A on September 17, 2025

  In the biblical account of the women accused of adultery, Christ said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her,” thereby invoking a purity test against the powerful. In the contemporary times, however, such purity tests are sometimes misplaced, directed not against the structures of domination, but paradoxically against public intellectuals, writers or artists who seek to give voice to the marginalised. This inversion of the biblical test often shifts the burden from real dominant forces and freezes or burdens those who in essence attempt to resist or critique the powerful. An example of such a misplaced purity test, invoked against Roy, appeared a few days ago in a piece titled “Penguin, Palestine

• Ireland urges accountability for Israeli government after UN report on Gaza genocide

  by Marwa A on September 17, 2025

  Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Tuesday called for the Israeli government to be held accountable after a United Nations commission of inquiry confirmed that the situation in Gaza amounts to genocide. Speaking to reporters after a party event in Douglas, a suburb of Cork City, Martin referred to the findings of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which were reached by independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Martin said genocide is “clearly” being carried out in Gaza, adding: “I welcome this very serious and comprehensive report, which is based on facts.” He noted that the head of the commission had also been part of the team that reported on

• The deception of Antisemitism

  by Marwa A on September 17, 2025

  Olive trees cry in despair in the land of injustice and oppression. The illegal settlers vandalize gardens. The owners feel like intruders, and the invaders pretend to be the real owners. The land of compassion and love bleeds under the machete of Zionism. Unfortunately, olive tree owners must gain a permit from the Israeli government to harvest olives. Despite having permits, the farmers are shot and killed. The settlers do not give the Palestinian farmers any access to water. Some decide not to take risks, but for others, it becomes a matter of do or die. Trees are uprooted or cut down to force Palestinians to leave their homeland behind and find another country to live in. One Palestinian farmer,