Middle East

Donald Trump’s threat reportedly played a ‘big factor’ in hostage and ceasefire talks, with Hamas now scrambling to make concessions.
World
Max Corstorphan

Trump threat sparks Hamas concessions, says official

A threatening message from President-elect Donald Trump has high-ranking Hamas officials scrambling to reach a truce deal with Israel, halting war in Gaza and bringing forward the release of hostages. 

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Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024.
World
Staff Writers

Gaza truce efforts intensify, Israeli strike kills 20

Israeli authorities have called on residents of al-Bureij camp in the centre of the Gaza Strip to leave, saying militants had fired rockets from the area.

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Israel's new Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks during a hand over ceremony with his predecessor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem on November 10, 2024. - Israel's outgoing Foreign Minister Israel Katz , succeeded by Saar, was sworn in as Israel's new defence minister before parliament on November 7, after his predecessor's shock dismissal by the prime minister over a breakdown in trust during the war in Gaza. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
Politics
Ellen Ransley

Penny Wong lashed by Israeli counterpart in ‘sharp clash’

Israel’s foreign minister has blasted his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in a heated phone call, accusing her of turning her back on the Jewish state in its darkest hour.

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A deal could free Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Middle East

Hope for Gaza ceasefire ‘in days’ as officials urge deal

A Gaza Strip ceasefire deal involving Hamas and Israel could be signed within days, sources say, amid talks in the Middle East.

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Palestinians in the besieged enclave are desperate for a ceasefire after 14 months of conflict.
World
The Washington Post

Faced with mounting public anger, Hamas starts to compromise

THE WASHINGTON POST: With its military power depleted and its political influence on the wane, Hamas is under growing public pressure to help bring the war in Gaza to an end.

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Khaled Nabhan with his granddaughter Reem, who was killed in November 2023 in what he said at the time was an Israeli airstrike in Al Nuseirat refugee camp in southern Gaza.
World
Abeer Salman and Nadeen Ebrahim

Grandfather whose tribute to slain granddaughter went viral is killed by Israeli fire

Khaled’s grandchildren were killed while they were sleeping in their bed. Now he has suffered a similar fate.

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Bashar al-Assad has fled to Moscow with his family after Russia granted them asylum.
Middle East
Staff Writers

‘Terrorist forces’: Assad breaks silence after fleeing Syria

Syria's ousted president Bashar al-Assad has spoken for the first time about his evacuation and newly found asylum in Russia.

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A screenshot of video taken from an Israeli strike on Syria.
Middle East
David Johns

Massive Israeli strike in Syria registers on Richter scale

A massive Israeli strike that registered on the Richter scale has targeted military sites in Syria’s coastal Tartus region.

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The Middle East looms large as an issue for Donald Trump when he takes office in January.
USA
Maayan Lubell and Jeff Mason

Trump and Netanyahu discuss Gaza hostages and Syria

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has held a ‘very friendly, very warm and very important’ conversation with US President-elect Donald Trump.

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Israel captured most of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, annexing it in 1981. (AP PHOTO)
Middle East

Israel reveals plan to double settlers in Golan Heights

Israel's government has approved a plan to expand Israeli settlements on the Golan Heights it occupies, citing "the new front facing Syria".

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The Israeli army says it has seized explosives and dozens of grenades in Beit Lahiya.
Middle East
Staff Writers

Israel air, ground attacks kill dozens of militants in Gaza

Israeli air and ground attacks in the northern part of the Gaza Strip have left dozens of militants dead while others have been captured.

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Looters at Syria's notorious Sednaya prison after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. MUST CREDIT: Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post
World
The Washington Post

Middle East on edge over Syrian rebel fears

The leaders - from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - are worried that Bashar al-Assad’s ouster could stir unrest at home, analysts, officials and diplomats say.

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Syrian rebels escorted American Travis Timmerman, centre, to a U.S. military outpost near Jordan's border on Friday.
World
The Washington Post

US civilian found in Syria, handed to government forces

An American citizen jailed in Syria was handed to the US government and taken to Jordan on Friday, US and Syrian officials said, after he was freed during the chaotic collapse of the Assad regime.

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Thousands have assembled in Damascus after prayers to celebrate the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule. (AP PHOTO)
World
Staff Writers

‘Free’: Thousands celebrate in Damascus after Friday prayers

Thousands of Syrians have gathered at a square in the capital Damascus to celebrate after the first Friday prayers following Bashar al-Assad's ousting.

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Syrian opposition forces help US citizen Travis Timmerman, centre, who was found by residents in the town of Dhiyabiya.
World
Chris Pollard

US pilgrim found after 7 months in notorious Syrian jail

Travis Timmerman was found wandering barefoot in Syria yesterday after being released from the notorious Sednaya prison.

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