https://www.scmp.com/rss/524001/feed Effie Defrin is a highly experienced Israeli military officer, currently serving as the IDF Spokesperson since March 2025. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Friday that they had turned back three ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, adding the route was closed to vessels travelling to and from ports “belonging to allies and supporters of the Zionist-American enemies”. “This morning, following the lies of the corrupt US president claiming that the Strait of Hormuz was open, three container ships of different nationalities … were turned back after a warning from the IRGC Navy,” the Guards said on their... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348177/iran-says-hormuz-closed-shipping-and-enemy-ports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348177/iran-says-hormuz-closed-shipping-and-enemy-ports?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:48:54 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Sheltering from an Iranian missile attack on his town in southern Israel on Saturday, 17-year-old Ido Franky heard “terrifying” blasts like nothing he had experienced before. An Iranian missile hit Franky’s town of Arad, hours after another struck Dimona – home to a nuclear facility – wounding dozens and leaving entire residential blocks with heavy damage. Franky rushed to shelter with his family as air raid sirens sounded, warning of an incoming attack. “There was a ‘boom, boom!’, my mother was... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347462/israeli-towns-reel-terrifying-iranian-missile-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347462/israeli-towns-reel-terrifying-iranian-missile-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 05:59:07 +0000 Agencies Agencies Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered that Gaza City be captured more quickly than previously planned. The “timeline for conquering the last terrorist strongholds and defeating Hamas” should be shortened, Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday without giving details. Army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin announced that Israeli forces had already occupied the outskirts of Gaza City but it is still unclear when the full ground offensive will begin. Israeli Defence Minister... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322576/netanyahu-demands-gaza-city-taken-faster-planned?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322576/netanyahu-demands-gaza-city-taken-faster-planned?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 22:36:39 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israel on Wednesday reported one of its deadliest days in Gaza in months as its military said seven soldiers were killed when a Palestinian attacker attached a bomb to their armoured vehicle, while health officials in the battered enclave said Israeli attacks killed 79 people over the past day. The attack on the Israeli troops, which occurred on Tuesday, quickly drew the nation’s attention back to the grinding conflict with the Hamas militant group after nearly two weeks of war between Israel... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3315779/explosive-kills-7-israeli-troops-gaza-inside-armoured-vehicle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3315779/explosive-kills-7-israeli-troops-gaza-inside-armoured-vehicle?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jun 2025 08:39:48 +0000