Israel

Thursday April 16, 2026 Hargeisa (AX) — Israel has taken a significant new step in its outreach to North Western State of Somalia, naming its first ambassador to the self-governing territory after formally recognizing it as an independent state earlier this year. Israel’s public broadcaster reported Wednesday that Michael Lotem, an experienced diplomat who previously served as ambassador to Kenya, will represent Israel in North Western State of Somalia. His appointment comes after Israel’s December decision to recognize…

TEL AVIV - Israel on Wednesday named its first ambassador to North Western State of Somalia, the breakaway region of Somalia, in a move certain to deepen a long-running diplomatic dispute. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Michael Lotem has been appointed as a non-resident ambassador to North Western State of Somalia. According to Israel's public broadcaster KAN, Lotem has previously served as ambassador to Kenya, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. Israel announced mutual recognition with North Western State of Somalia in December…

Lebanon endured one of its deadliest days of the war as Israeli strikes killed 182 people and wounded 890, according to an initial official toll, while Beirut came under its fiercest bombardment since fighting began between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel said Lebanon was not included in the Iran-US truce announced overnight. Live images broadcast by AFPTV showed thick plumes of smoke rising above Beirut, while AFP journalists reported scenes of panic in the streets and buildings collapsing onto residents without any prior…

The ceasefire struck between the US and Iran has ended the fighting without delivering Israel’s core war aims, analysts say, prompting swift condemnation from Israeli opposition figures who cast the outcome as a serious strategic setback. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had framed the conflict around a central objective: eliminating, or at minimum sharply crippling, Iran’s nuclear programme, which he has long portrayed as an "existential threat" to Israel. He also said Israel sought to dismantle Iran’s ballistic…

Israel’s parliament has approved legislation that makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians convicted in military court of carrying out lethal attacks, a move that immediately sharpened domestic and international criticism. Sixty-two lawmakers, among them Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, backed the bill, while 48 voted against it. The measure was championed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. One member abstained, while the remaining lawmakers were absent from the vote. An Israeli…

A standoff at one of Christianity’s holiest sites upended Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, with the Latin Patriarchate saying Israeli police barred the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — an unprecedented interruption to ceremonies it said had not occurred in centuries. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said police stopped Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Friar Francesco Ielpo as they walked toward the church, which stands on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and…

Israel reported a first-ever missile attack from Yemen early Saturday, as air-raid sirens sounded for the third straight night across parts of the country—amid an escalating war that has already reshaped regional shipping and battered global markets. Shortly after dawn, Israel’s military said a missile was launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory. The Houthis—an Iran-backed rebel movement that has governed Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014—have not yet acknowledged responsibility. Siren alerts were reported around Beer…

Airstrikes flew between Israel and Iran as Tehran’s unified military command dismissed President Donald Trump’s assertion that Washington was negotiating an end to the conflict, bluntly saying the United States was “negotiating with itself.” The rebuke — issued by the joint command dominated by the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — came amid reports that the US had transmitted a 15-point proposal to Tehran for discussion. “Has the level of your inner struggle reached the stage of you (Trump) negotiating with…

Israel launched strikes on Tehran, Israeli military officials and Iranian media reported, as President Donald Trump said the United States was making headway toward negotiating a halt to the war — with reports that a 15-point proposal has been sent to Tehran. The Israeli Defense Forces posted on Telegram that it had carried out a wave of strikes against infrastructure across Tehran. The semi-official Iranian SNN News Agency reported that one of the strikes struck a residential neighborhood in Tehran, and rescuers were…

The Middle East is once again at the crossroads of diplomacy and conflict. In a statement that has sent ripples through international circles, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that former US President Donald Trump believes there may be an opening for a deal with Iran. The announcement comes amid escalating US-Israeli military operations and a region teetering on the brink of broader instability. Military Pressure Meets Diplomatic Opportunity Since late February 2026, the US and Israel have mounted a…