https://www.scmp.com/rss/522818/feed The latest news and top stories on Eyal Zamir, the Israeli military’s Chief of the General Staff. He assumed this pivotal role on 5 March 2025. His background includes serving as Director-General of the Ministry of Defense, Deputy Chief of Staff and Commander of the Southern Command, where he oversaw Gaza border security. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Sunday he was working to stop the Israel-Hezbollah war, even as Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in south Lebanon that the fight there was far from over. The Lebanese Red Cross said in a statement that one of its paramedics had been killed in the south. They said its teams had been “directly targeted by an Israeli drone” while on a humanitarian mission, even though “the ambulances and their crews bore the protective Red Cross... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349819/israels-netanyahu-south-lebanon-says-threat-invasion-removed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349819/israels-netanyahu-south-lebanon-says-threat-invasion-removed?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:10:38 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israeli strikes hit busy commercial and residential areas in central Beirut without warning on Wednesday, hours after a ceasefire was announced in the US-Israeli war with Iran. A total of 254 people were killed and over 1,100 ‌wounded across Lebanon, the country’s civil defence service said. The highest toll was in Beirut, where 91 people were killed. The health ministry gave a toll of 182 dead across the country and said it was not a final figure. All up, it was the deadliest day in the latest... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349447/israel-hammers-lebanon-strikes-killing-and-wounding-scores-deadliest-day-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349447/israel-hammers-lebanon-strikes-killing-and-wounding-scores-deadliest-day-war?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 01:59:37 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President ⁠Donald Trump and Iran threatened to escalate their war, targeting energy and fuel facilities in the Gulf, which could again roil global energy and financial markets and deepen a regional crisis. Trump on Saturday threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, a significant escalation barely a day after he talked about “winding down” the war, now in its fourth week. Iran warned on Sunday it would target US... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347454/trump-issues-hormuz-ultimatum-threatens-obliterate-irans-power-plants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347454/trump-issues-hormuz-ultimatum-threatens-obliterate-irans-power-plants?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:32:14 +0000 Agencies Agencies Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Iran’s powerful national security chief Ali Larijani was “eliminated last night”, along with the commander of Tehran’s Basij paramilitary force, General Gholam Reza Soleimani. “I have just been updated by the chief of staff that Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and the head of the Basij – Iran’s central repression apparatus – [Soleimani], were eliminated last night,” Katz said in a statement released by his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346898/irans-ali-larijani-basij-paramilitary-head-eliminated-tehran-strike-israel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346898/irans-ali-larijani-basij-paramilitary-head-eliminated-tehran-strike-israel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:03:58 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israeli forces imposed a lockdown on a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, their second day of operations there after a local resident killed two people in Israel. “The IDF [Israeli army] is operating forcefully against terror hubs in the village of Qabatiya … accompanied by a lockdown and a complete cordon around the locality,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement published by his office on Saturday. “We will continue to pursue an uncompromising offensive... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3337917/israel-seals-palestinian-village-west-bank-after-deadly-attack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3337917/israel-seals-palestinian-village-west-bank-after-deadly-attack?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Dec 2025 21:55:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel’s military announced the dismissal of three generals and disciplinary actions against several other senior officers over their failure to prevent the October 2023 assault by Hamas, the deadliest attack in the country’s history. The move comes two weeks after Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir called for a “systemic investigation” into the failures that led to the onslaught, even as the government dragged its feet on establishing a state commission of inquiry despite public pressure. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3333980/israeli-generals-dismissed-after-review-hamas-attack-failures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3333980/israeli-generals-dismissed-after-review-hamas-attack-failures?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 12:00:42 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israeli settlers torched and defaced a mosque in a Palestinian village in the central West Bank overnight, scribbling hateful messages in a show of defiance a day after some Israeli leaders condemned a recent attack by settlers against Palestinians. One wall and at least three copies of the Koran and some of the carpeting at the mosque in the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya had been torched when an AP reporter visited Thursday. On one side of the mosque, settlers had left graffitied messages... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332693/israeli-settlers-spark-outrage-mosque-attack-west-bank-village?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332693/israeli-settlers-spark-outrage-mosque-attack-west-bank-village?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Nov 2025 13:52:22 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israel on Sunday announced that the remains of three hostages had been handed over from Gaza and would be examined by forensic experts, as a fragile month-old ceasefire held. A Hamas statement earlier said the remains were found on Sunday in a tunnel in southern Gaza. Since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, Palestinian militants had released the remains of 17 hostages, with 11 remaining in Gaza, before Sunday’s handover. Israel’s military said official identification of these remains... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3331256/israel-says-it-has-received-remains-3-hostages-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3331256/israel-says-it-has-received-remains-3-hostages-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Nov 2025 19:32:34 +0000 dpa dpa Hamas’ armed wing published Saturday “farewell” photographs of most of the remaining hostages in Gaza, warning that Israel’s assault on Gaza City could endanger them. The images were captioned with the name of Israeli pilot Ron Arad, who has been missing since 1986 after being shot down over Lebanon. His fate has been the source of heavy speculation and public concern ever since, as his remains have never been found. Arad was believed to have been initially held by Shiite groups in Lebanon and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326272/hamas-threatens-remaining-hostages-amid-israels-gaza-city-attack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326272/hamas-threatens-remaining-hostages-amid-israels-gaza-city-attack?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Sep 2025 17:19:03 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israel controls 40 per cent of Gaza City, a military spokesperson said on Thursday, as its bombardment forced more Palestinians from their homes there, while thousands of residents defied Israeli orders to leave, remaining behind in the ruins in the path of Israel’s latest advance. Gaza health authorities said Israeli fire across the enclave had killed at least 53 people on Thursday, mostly in Gaza City, where Israeli forces have advanced through the outer suburbs and were a few kilometres from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324464/israeli-military-says-it-controls-nearly-half-gaza-city-push-takeover?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324464/israeli-military-says-it-controls-nearly-half-gaza-city-push-takeover?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 07:07:54 +0000 Agence France-Presse,Associated Press Agence France-Presse,Associated Press Israel estimates that its imminent offensive on Gaza City would displace one million Palestinians, a senior military official said on Wednesday, as Gaza’s civil defence reported dozens killed across the territory. In Jerusalem, meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli protesters took to the streets to call for a truce and hostage release deal after nearly two years of war. Israel’s military has been building up its forces for the planned operation to seize Gaza City, the Palestinian territory’s largest... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324285/million-people-expected-flee-israel-prepares-gaza-city-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324285/million-people-expected-flee-israel-prepares-gaza-city-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 04:28:53 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Tens of thousands of reservists started to report for duty on Tuesday ahead of a new Israeli offensive in Gaza City, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to speed up, despite warnings from senior ranks. Israeli Army Radio said that some 40,000 would report for duty on Tuesday for the Gaza City offensive, as the military prepares logistically for their intake. Israel’s security cabinet, chaired by Netanyahu, approved a plan last month to expand the campaign in Gaza with the aim of taking... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324069/gaza-war-thousands-reservists-report-duty-israel-begins-new-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324069/gaza-war-thousands-reservists-report-duty-israel-begins-new-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 10:29:57 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Israeli military said Tuesday that its double strike on a Gaza hospital that killed 20 people targeted what it believed was a Hamas surveillance camera. But the first strike killed a cameraman from the Reuters news agency doing a live television shot, according to witnesses and health officials. The military released its initial findings into the strike, offering no immediate explanation for striking twice and no evidence for an assertion that six of the dead were militants, including two... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3323253/israeli-military-says-strikes-gaza-hospital-targeted-hamas-camera-and-militants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3323253/israeli-military-says-strikes-gaza-hospital-targeted-hamas-camera-and-militants?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Aug 2025 17:55:53 +0000 Agencies Agencies Gaza’s civil defence agency said five journalists were among at least 20 people killed on Monday when Israeli strikes hit a hospital in the south, with Reuters, Associated Press and Al Jazeera mourning their slain contributors. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said “the toll so far is 20 martyrs, including five journalists and one member of the civil defence”, after strikes hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis – a large medical complex in the south that has been targeted several times by Israel... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3323070/israel-hits-gaza-hospital-killing-least-15-people-including-journalists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3323070/israel-hits-gaza-hospital-killing-least-15-people-including-journalists?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 09:35:01 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had approved the framework for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Hamas condemned what it called “aggressive” Israeli ground incursions in Gaza City. The approval for the expanded offensive comes days after Israel’s security cabinet called for the seizure of Gaza’s largest city, following 22 months of war that have created dire humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory. Israeli armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir “approved the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3321751/israeli-army-approves-framework-gaza-offensive-hamas-claims-aggressive-incursions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3321751/israeli-army-approves-framework-gaza-offensive-hamas-claims-aggressive-incursions?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 11:07:34 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel must “complete” the defeat of Hamas in Gaza to secure the release of the remaining hostages, days ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss an updated war plan. Recent footage of weak and emaciated captives has sparked outrage in Israel, while UN experts also warn of an unfolding famine for Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli media have said the premier is considering ordering the total occupation of Gaza, even as international pressure mounts for... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3320861/israels-netanyahu-faces-backlash-over-new-gaza-war-plan-hostage-families-hamas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3320861/israels-netanyahu-faces-backlash-over-new-gaza-war-plan-hostage-families-hamas?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Aug 2025 13:22:23 +0000 dpa dpa Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided that his forces should occupy the whole of Gaza, media reports said on Monday, amid mounting criticism of the dire humanitarian situation in the coastal territory. Netanyahu reportedly plans to consult his cabinet and military leadership in the coming days to muster support for the plan. News portal Ynetnews.com quoted a senior official said to be close to Netanyahu as saying: “The die is cast, we are going for a full occupation of the Gaza... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3320738/israeli-pm-netanyahu-decides-full-occupation-gaza-reports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3320738/israeli-pm-netanyahu-decides-full-occupation-gaza-reports?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Aug 2025 21:39:39 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Hamas on Wednesday said it would release 10 hostages as part of Gaza ceasefire talks after Israel struck an upbeat note about the prospects for a deal to stop the fighting in the embattled Palestinian territory. The Islamist group’s statement came after four days of indirect talks brokered by Qatar and as the United States signalled its belief that agreement for a 60-day truce would be struck before the end of the week. US special envoy Steve Witkoff said part of the deal would be the return of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3317609/hamas-agrees-release-10-hostages-difficult-gaza-truce-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3317609/hamas-agrees-release-10-hostages-difficult-gaza-truce-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jul 2025 21:44:50 +0000