https://www.scmp.com/rss/524413/feed The latest news and updates on Israel Katz, a prominent Israeli politician, currently serving as the Defence Minister since November 2024. He has held numerous significant cabinet positions, including twice as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, and a decade as Minister of Transportation, where he was recognised for modernising infrastructure. A long-standing Likud Knesset member since 1998, Katz’s career also includes roles in Intelligence, Energy, and Agriculture. Known for his... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters Israel struck Beirut ⁠on Wednesday for the first time since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last month, with Israel saying it targeted a commander of the militant group’s elite Radwan force in the city’s southern suburbs. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz announced the action in a joint statement. Israeli media reported that the commander was killed in the strike, but there was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli military or Hezbollah. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3352670/israel-strikes-beirut-first-time-lebanon-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3352670/israel-strikes-beirut-first-time-lebanon-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 18:55:00 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen The US-Israeli war on Iran enters a third month and efforts for Washington and Tehran to resume talks remain stalled. These are major takeaways from the events overnight. What did Trump say? US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that Iran is “dying to make a deal”. When asked whether talks with Tehran have stalled, Trump said only a few people know the status of talks with Iran. He also pointed to uncertainty over the Iranian leadership: “We have a problem... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352092/iran-dying-make-deal-us-war-costs-soar-heres-what-happened-overnight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352092/iran-dying-make-deal-us-war-costs-soar-heres-what-happened-overnight?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2026 00:40:30 +0000 Dewey Sim Dewey Sim Lebanon’s social affairs minister has backed calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, but cautioned the process would take time before a “political settlement” could be reached, noting that the group is also a “community”. Haneen Sayed told a discussion in Washington on Monday that disarming Hezbollah – an Iran-backed militant group – was a demand of her government and its people, and that it “must happen”. “Of course, we understand that implementation is not easy. It’s not instant coffee. It... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3351621/hezbollah-disarmament-must-happen-senior-lebanese-minister-tells-us-think-tank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3351621/hezbollah-disarmament-must-happen-senior-lebanese-minister-tells-us-think-tank?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 18:33:04 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press In areas of southern Lebanon it has occupied since agreeing last week to a ceasefire with Hezbollah, the Israeli army has been destroying homes it says were used as outposts by the Iran-backed militant group. But the demolitions were happening on such a wide scale that residents, Lebanese officials and UN peacekeepers were increasingly worried that large numbers of people displaced by the latest war would have nowhere to return if the fragile truce holds. From a hill overlooking Beit Lif - about... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3351107/lebanon-confront-israel-over-demolition-homes-occupied-areas-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3351107/lebanon-confront-israel-over-demolition-homes-occupied-areas-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 06:21:56 +0000 Reuters Reuters Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said it fired rockets and drones into northern Israel on Tuesday, accusing the Israeli military of violating a ceasefire ahead of US-mediated talks between the Israeli and Lebanese governments this week. The Israeli military earlier said Iran-aligned Hezbollah had fired several rockets towards its troops operating in southern Lebanon, in what it described as a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement. It was not immediately clear if the incidents were the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3350943/israel-and-hezbollah-exchange-fire-testing-lebanon-truce-talks-loom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3350943/israel-and-hezbollah-exchange-fire-testing-lebanon-truce-talks-loom?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 02:55:14 +0000 Agencies Agencies Israel on Monday told residents of south Lebanon ⁠to stay out of a belt of territory running the length of the border and not to approach the area of the Litani River, entrenching its grip over southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah. The US-mediated, 10-day ceasefire took effect on Thursday, largely halting the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that spiralled out of the ‌conflict between the United States and Iran. But it remains fragile, with Israeli troops... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3350658/israel-says-military-use-full-force-lebanon-despite-truce-if-soldiers-face-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3350658/israel-says-military-use-full-force-lebanon-despite-truce-if-soldiers-face-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 20:35:39 +0000 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 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Israeli military said Friday it had struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon in the month since fighting with the Hezbollah militant group began. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli attack that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has responded with massive strikes across Lebanon and a ground offensive. The Israeli military said on Friday it had killed about 1,000... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348961/israel-strikes-over-3500-lebanon-targets-month-says-military?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348961/israel-strikes-over-3500-lebanon-targets-month-says-military?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:26:29 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has reached unprecedented levels since the start of the war with Iran, with NGOs and opposition figures denouncing an environment of impunity. While so-called “Jewish terrorism” has drawn widespread condemnation both in Israel and abroad, little has been done to curb it. Assaults by violent settlers against Palestinians have been carried out for years, often to the indifference of mainstream Israeli... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348798/surging-jewish-terrorism-west-bank-condemned-goes-unpunished?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348798/surging-jewish-terrorism-west-bank-condemned-goes-unpunished?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 08:45:00 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran has the “necessary will” to end the war with the US and Israel, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday, stressing that Tehran was seeking guarantees the conflict would not flare up again. The comment by the head of state – which boosted markets in the US – came after a day of heavy strikes on Iran and followed a tough warning from the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Guards threatened to retaliate against leading US tech firms such as Google, Meta and Apple from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348588/iran-says-it-has-will-end-war-trump-zigzags-escalation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348588/iran-says-it-has-will-end-war-trump-zigzags-escalation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 19:10:00 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israel will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, an area Defence Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday described as a “security zone”, spelling out for the first time Israel’s intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a 10th of the country. At a meeting with the military chief of staff, Katz said Israeli forces would “control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani,” a river that meets the Mediterranean about 30km (20 miles) ‌north of Israel’s border. Lebanon’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347801/israels-military-occupy-swathe-southern-lebanon-amid-widening-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347801/israels-military-occupy-swathe-southern-lebanon-amid-widening-war?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 04:48:04 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A series of strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday and early Tuesday, the first attack on the Hezbollah stronghold in days, as Israel’s military said it captured two members of the Iran-backed group in southern Lebanon. An earlier Israeli strike hit the upscale, predominantly Christian area of Hazmieh near Beirut, with Israel saying it targeted a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations arm. AFPTV’s live broadcast showed clouds of smoke over the capital’s southern... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347646/israel-strikes-south-beirut-claims-it-captured-hezbollah-members?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347646/israel-strikes-south-beirut-claims-it-captured-hezbollah-members?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 23:24:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel’s military said it was investigating whether its own fire killed an Israeli civilian near the Lebanese border on Sunday, after Hezbollah claimed an attack in the same area. Israeli emergency workers said earlier on Sunday that a man was killed in a “direct hit” on his car by a rocket from Lebanon. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group said after the incident that its fighters had attacked Israeli soldiers in the same area. But the Israeli army later said it was “conducting a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347503/hezbollah-claims-rocket-killed-one-israeli-army-demolishes-houses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347503/hezbollah-claims-rocket-killed-one-israeli-army-demolishes-houses?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 14:54:27 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Three weeks into the Iran war, tit-for-tat escalations on multiple fronts have dragged the Middle East to the brink of the region-wide conflict that its governments have repeatedly warned about – and tried to avert – since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. Israel has launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon in recent days, after Hezbollah entered the conflict in response to the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iraq has been turned into a shooting range, as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347363/iran-war-nears-3-front-tipping-point-gulf-energy-hubs-burn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347363/iran-war-nears-3-front-tipping-point-gulf-energy-hubs-burn?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 04:30:08 +0000 Agencies Agencies Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the country’s forces had killed Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib, adding that the military was authorised to kill any high-ranking Iranian official in its sights without seeking further approval. “Last night, Iran’s Intelligence Minister Khatib was also eliminated,” Katz said in a statement. The killing of Khatib comes soon after Israel killed Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, and another powerful figure, Gholam Reza... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347052/israel-claims-have-killed-iranian-intelligence-minister-esmail-khatib?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347052/israel-claims-have-killed-iranian-intelligence-minister-esmail-khatib?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 10:50:25 +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 Israel said the war against Iran was entering its “decisive phase” on Saturday, as explosions rocked cities across the Middle East, with strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility. Washington’s embassy in Iraq was hit by a drone, security sources said, the second time it had been targeted since February 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran and plunged the Gulf into a conflict that has sent shock waves through the global economy. Millions have been... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346626/iran-war-entering-decisive-phase-israel-says-attacks-continue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346626/iran-war-entering-decisive-phase-israel-says-attacks-continue?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 15:51:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israeli strikes and mass evacuation orders have seen nearly 700,000 people flee their homes in Lebanon in just over a week, with more than 100,000 fleeing in 24 hours, the UN said on Tuesday. “Lives have been upended on a massive scale,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, the representative in Lebanon of UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. In just over a week since the new escalation in Lebanon, Israeli air strikes and evacuation warnings to residents of dozens of villages “forced families... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346067/war-middle-east-nearly-500-dead-lebanon-israeli-offensive-last-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346067/war-middle-east-nearly-500-dead-lebanon-israeli-offensive-last-week?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:22:42 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israel’s defence minister on Wednesday threatened whoever Iran picks to be the country’s next supreme leader, saying he will be “a target for elimination”. Israel Katz made the statement on X. “Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people - will be a target for elimination,” he wrote. One of Khamenei’s potential successors is... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345381/israel-says-next-leader-iran-also-target-elimination?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345381/israel-says-next-leader-iran-also-target-elimination?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 07:05:21 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A top Israeli official said on Tuesday that measures adopted by the government that deepen Israeli control in the occupied West Bank amounted to implementing “de facto sovereignty”, using language that mirrors critics’ warnings about the intent behind the moves. The steps “actually establish a fact on the ground that there will not be a Palestinian state,” Energy Minister Eli Cohen told Israel’s Army Radio. Palestinians, Arab countries and human rights groups have called the moves announced... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3343094/israels-de-facto-sovereignty-over-west-bank-ends-future-palestinian-state-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3343094/israels-de-facto-sovereignty-over-west-bank-ends-future-palestinian-state-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:09:10 +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 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Lebanon is bracing for intensified Israeli attacks in the new year, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration set a December 31 deadline for Hezbollah to disarm, following its assassination of the group’s military commander. Rather than heralding another land invasion like a year ago, however, analysts say the military ultimatum issued by Defence Minister Israel Katz last week aims to further diminish the role of Hezbollah – and its creator Iran – in Lebanon’s national... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334841/israel-sets-deadline-hezbollah-disarmament-can-lebanon-deliver?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334841/israel-sets-deadline-hezbollah-disarmament-can-lebanon-deliver?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 03:31:07 +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 Reuters Reuters Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel remained opposed to a Palestinian state after protests by far-right coalition allies over a US-backed statement indicating support for a pathway to Palestinian independence. Netanyahu spoke two days after Israel’s key ally the United States and many Muslim-majority nations endorsed a draft UN resolution backing US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, saying the process offered a route to Palestinian statehood. The 15-member UN... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332999/netanyahu-government-threatened-over-us-statement-palestinian-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332999/netanyahu-government-threatened-over-us-statement-palestinian-state?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Nov 2025 14:24:38 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Israeli military said on Sunday a ceasefire in Gaza had resumed after an attack killed two of its soldiers and prompted a wave of air strikes that Palestinians said killed 26 people, in the most serious test yet of this month’s US-brokered truce. US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire he brokered was still in place. US officials, Trump said, believe Hamas leadership may not be involved in the violations, which will be “handled toughly, but properly”. Speaking to reporters aboard Air... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3329603/israel-says-ceasefire-and-aid-resume-after-wave-strikes-kill-26-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3329603/israel-says-ceasefire-and-aid-resume-after-wave-strikes-kill-26-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Oct 2025 00:31:21 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Preparations were under way on Sunday for a ramp-up of aid entering the war-battered Gaza Strip under a new ceasefire deal that many are hoping will signal an end to the devastating two-year-long war. The Israeli defence body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, Cogat, said that the amount of aid entering the Gaza Strip is expected to increase on Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement. Egypt said it is sending 400 trucks carrying aid into Gaza on Sunday. The trucks... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3328697/gaza-aid-increase-ceasefire-deal-brings-hope-end-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3328697/gaza-aid-increase-ceasefire-deal-brings-hope-end-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Oct 2025 09:17:15 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Israel’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that it had completed the development of a powerful laser weapon that will become operational by the end of the year to bolster the country’s multilevel air defences. The 100-kilowatt Iron Beam laser, developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and Elbit Systems, successfully intercepted drones, rockets, mortars and aircraft in a series of tests in southern Israel, according to a ministry statement. It will be integrated into the Iron Dome missile... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325924/israel-says-its-developed-iron-beam-laser-weapon-stop-missiles-and-drones?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325924/israel-says-its-developed-iron-beam-laser-weapon-stop-missiles-and-drones?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Sep 2025 21:25:59 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Israeli military told Palestinians in Gaza City to leave for the south on Saturday before bombing a high-rise tower as its forces advanced deeper into the enclave’s largest urban area. Israeli forces have been carrying out an offensive on the suburbs of the northern city for weeks after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to capture it. Netanyahu says Gaza City is a Hamas stronghold and capturing it is necessary to defeat the Palestinian Islamist militants, whose... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324599/israels-army-urges-gaza-city-residents-move-humanitarian-zone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324599/israels-army-urges-gaza-city-residents-move-humanitarian-zone?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Sep 2025 08:11:52 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday to destroy Gaza City if Hamas did not agree to disarm, release all remaining hostages in the territory and end the war on Israel’s terms. “Soon, the gates of hell will open upon the heads of Hamas’s murderers and rapists in Gaza – until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war, primarily the release of all hostages and their disarmament,” the minister posted on social media. “If they do not agree, Gaza, the capital of Hamas, will... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322873/israel-vows-destroy-gaza-city-if-hamas-doesnt-disarm-and-release-hostages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322873/israel-vows-destroy-gaza-city-if-hamas-doesnt-disarm-and-release-hostages?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Aug 2025 12:20:03 +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 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel’s defence minister has approved a plan for the conquest of Gaza City and authorised the call-up of around 60,000 reservists to carry it out, his ministry confirmed on Wednesday. Defence Minister Israel Katz’s move piled pressure on Hamas as mediators pushing for a ceasefire in the nearly two-year war in Gaza awaited an official Israeli response to their latest proposal. While mediator Qatar had expressed guarded optimism over the latest proposal, a senior Israeli official said the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322501/israel-mobilises-60000-reservists-seize-gaza-city-heaping-pressure-hamas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322501/israel-mobilises-60000-reservists-seize-gaza-city-heaping-pressure-hamas?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 08:16:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Sunday that Israel’s plan to relocate residents from Gaza City constitutes a “new wave of genocide and displacement” for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area. The group said the planned deployment of tents and other shelter equipment by Israel into southern Gaza was a “blatant deception”. The Israeli military has said it is preparing to provide tents and other equipment starting from Sunday ahead of its plan to relocate residents from combat... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322116/israel-move-palestinians-southern-gaza-ahead-new-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322116/israel-move-palestinians-southern-gaza-ahead-new-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Aug 2025 03:59:33 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Israeli military attacked Houthi targets in Yemen’s Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the Iran-backed militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army was “forcefully countering any attempt to restore the terror infrastructure previously attacked”. The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said on Monday that a series of attacks on the port was under way, without providing any details. In a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3319019/israel-attacks-houthi-targets-yemens-hodeidah-port?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3319019/israel-attacks-houthi-targets-yemens-hodeidah-port?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jul 2025 09:21:48 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Some US$20 billion of foreign investment and financial aid is set to pour into Syria over the next few years, kick-starting the reconstruction of the war-torn country after Western sanctions were lifted two months ago. But the desperately needed funds forthcoming from Gulf Arab, Turkish and Western firms remain tied to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s willingness to reach some kind of Washington-backed peace agreement with an antagonistic Israel, according to several Middle East experts who... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3318602/syrias-future-tied-israel-peace-deal-billions-investment-set-arrive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3318602/syrias-future-tied-israel-peace-deal-billions-investment-set-arrive?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jul 2025 09:33:32 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Syria announced that its army had begun to withdraw from violence-hit Sweida on Wednesday, following a wave of Israeli strikes on the capital and a US call for government forces to leave the majority-Druze southern city. The United States, which is close allies with Israel and has been trying to reboot its relationship with Syria, said an agreement had been reached to restore calm in the area, and urged “all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made”. The Syrian government earlier... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3318457/clashes-erupt-syria-israel-threatens-escalation-protect-druze-minority?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3318457/clashes-erupt-syria-israel-threatens-escalation-protect-druze-minority?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jul 2025 10:32:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said, in an Israeli strike which the military said missed its target. The Israeli military said the missile had been intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall “dozens of metres from the target”. “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians,” it said in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3318063/israeli-missile-hits-gaza-children-collecting-water-idf-blames-malfunction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3318063/israeli-missile-hits-gaza-children-collecting-water-idf-blames-malfunction?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jul 2025 18:30:26 +0000 Associated Press,dpa Associated Press,dpa US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and warned Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. Trump announced the development as he prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House on Monday. The US leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war in Gaza. “My Representatives had a long... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3316566/trump-says-israel-has-agreed-gaza-ceasefire-terms-warns-hamas-accept?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3316566/trump-says-israel-has-agreed-gaza-ceasefire-terms-warns-hamas-accept?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jul 2025 23:33:24 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press An Israeli strike hit a street in central Gaza on Thursday where witnesses said a crowd of people was getting bags of flour from a Palestinian police unit that had confiscated the goods from gangs looting aid convoys. Hospital officials said 18 people were killed. The strike was the latest violence surrounding the distribution of food to Gaza’s population, which has been thrown into turmoil over the past month. After blocking all food for two-and-a-half months, Israel has allowed only a trickle... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3316000/israeli-strike-kills-18-palestinians-gaza-turmoil-mounts-over-food-distribution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3316000/israeli-strike-kills-18-palestinians-gaza-turmoil-mounts-over-food-distribution?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jun 2025 18:18:21 +0000