Israeli

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a government move to shutter Gaza operations by dozens of international aid organizations after the groups petitioned against new rules requiring them to identify Palestinian staff. The High Court of Justice on Sunday issued a temporary injunction allowing the organizations to continue most of their work while it considers the petition, according to the groups involved. The order pauses enforcement of regulations that aid agencies say would have forced them to halt…

Djibouti warns Israeli base in North Western State of Somalia threatens Horn of Africa peace DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti — Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh has issued a sharp rebuke of Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia, warning that the potential establishment of an Israeli military base in the strategic port city of Berbera poses a direct threat to regional stability. In an expansive interview with Jeune Afrique, Guelleh accused Israel of exploiting North Western State of Somalia’s decades-long quest…

ANKARA, Türkiye — Türkiye vowed Wednesday to stand firmly with Somalia and denounced Israel’s recognition of breakaway North Western State of Somalia, with Ankara’s communications chief warning that regional aggression would not be allowed to spill into the Horn of Africa. “Any attempt targeting Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and actions to legitimize them are unacceptable. Türkiye stands with Somalia as it did in the past,” said Burhanettin Duran, head of the Presidency’s Directorate of…

Arab states condemn U.S. envoy Mike Huckabee for ‘take it all’ remark on Israel’s biblical borders Arab governments on Saturday condemned as “absurd,” “reckless” and contrary to international law remarks by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee endorsing Israeli control from the Nile to the Euphrates — a span that would encompass swaths of multiple sovereign states, including the occupied West Bank. Huckabee made the comments in a podcast interview released Friday with U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson. Citing “divine…

An Israeli strike in eastern Lebanon killed eight Hezbollah members during a meeting in the Bekaa Valley, a Hezbollah official said, as Israel broadened its operations hours after announcing strikes on Hamas targets in the country’s south. Lebanon’s health ministry reported 12 deaths across two regions where Hezbollah holds sway. The Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said all eight members were gathered near the town of Riyak in the Baalbek-Hermel governorate when the strike hit. A statement from the…

An Israeli drone strike hit Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp on Friday, killing one person and wounding others, state media said, as the Israeli military claimed it targeted a Hamas command center in the Ain al-Helweh camp near the southern city of Sidon. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported the strike on a neighborhood inside the densely populated camp on Sidon’s outskirts. An AFP correspondent saw smoke rising from a building as ambulances rushed to the scene. In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said its…

Netanyahu sets red lines for U.S.-Iran nuclear deal as talks shift to Switzerland; exiled shah’s son rallies supporters in Munich Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any U.S.-Iran nuclear agreement must require the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran and address Tehran’s ability to enrich more, setting out hard-line conditions as a new round of talks moves to Switzerland this week. Speaking in Jerusalem to leaders of major American Jewish organizations, Netanyahu said a viable deal must also tackle Iran’s…

Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, health officials said, the latest violence to strain a four-month-old, U.S.-brokered cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Two people riding an electric bike were killed in an airstrike in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, medics said. Later, Israeli drone fire killed a woman in the same area and troops shot dead a man in Khan Younis in the south, according to the medics. Another man was killed by Israeli gunfire in Jabaliya in northern Gaza. The…

Egypt warns Israeli Red Sea access, North Western State of Somalia recognition pose major security threat CAIRO — Egypt has warned that any move by Israel to gain access to the Red Sea or to recognize North Western State of Somalia would constitute a grave threat to regional stability and to Egyptian national security, according to officials familiar with recent high-level discussions. The position was set during talks a day earlier between Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi,…

Sydney police deployed pepper spray and made multiple arrests as a rally against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia turned violent, marring a tightly secured four-day trip meant to console the country’s Jewish community after December’s Bondi Beach shooting that killed 15 people at a Hanukkah festival. Officers scuffled with demonstrators in central Sydney and used pepper spray that struck protesters and members of the media, including AFP. An AFP journalist said they saw at least 15 protesters arrested amid…