Tag Archives: mideast

BBC anchor asks if Israeli forces warned Palestinians ahead of hostage rescue mission: Defeats 'the purpose'

A former IDF spokesperson pushed back against a BBC anchor who asked if Israeli forces would have warned Gazans ahead of a secret raid to liberate a handful of hostages so they could seek safety. “Would there have been a warning to those civilians [Gazans] for them to get out on time?” BBC anchor Helena Humphrey asked former IDF spokesperson …

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Iran-backed Houthi rebels strike 2 commercial ships in Gulf of Aden

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen struck two commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden over the weekend, increasing the number of launched attacks since Nov. 19, 2023 to upwards of 175. Houthi attacks ramped up earlier this month after joint U.S.-U.K. strikes targeting several Houthi locations, including a weapons storage facility, missile launchers and a command-and-control center in Yemen. F-18 …

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Israel demands answers from Al Jazeera why ‘Hamas terrorist’ allegedly worked as a reporter

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday accused the Qatari regime-owned Al Jazeera news organization of employing a Hamas terrorist whose family held three of the hostages freed in Saturday’s IDF raid. The IDF killed the alleged Al Jazeera reporter Abdallah Aljamal during its dramatic rescue mission in Nuseirat in the Gaza Strip. The IDF wrote on X, formerly known as …

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Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz quits Netanyahu's emergency government

Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has quit Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency government, saying the prime minister was making “total victory impossible.” In announcing his resignation Sunday, Gantz said the government needs to put the return of the hostages seized Oct. 7 by Hamas “above political survival.” “Months after the October disaster, the situation in the country and in the decision-making …

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How Israel's daring hostage rescue mission unfolded: 'A surgical operation'

New details about Israel’s bold rescue of four hostages are coming to light with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) describing the daytime operation as a “high-risk, complex mission” that was “surgical” in its precision. The mission was planned for weeks using “precise intelligence” and took place at around 11 a.m. local time in the heart of Nuseirat in central Gaza, …

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AI enabling Iran’s crackdown on women as authoritarian regime uses tech to enforce head covering

The Islamic Republic ofIran’suse of artificial intelligence (AI) to crack down on its populace is having a particular impact on the freedoms of Iranian women. Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital the Iranian regime “is moving into the AI realm to benefit even more from technology that links together …

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Israel rescues 4 hostages kidnapped by Hamas: 'We are overjoyed'

Israel says it safely rescued four hostages that were captured by Hamas during the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. The IDF said the hostages, three men and one woman, were rescued in the largest such hostage recovery operation since the war with Hamas began in Gaza. Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Shlomi Ziv, 41, and Andrey Kozlov, 27, were …

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A Pride Month note to Queers for Palestine

June ishere –and you know what that means. “PrideMonth” is upon us,anow-obligatory (almost mandatory) public celebration of the LGBTQ community. Given the laughably large number oftransgender flagsand thepanoply of sexual orientationsseenat pro-Hamas protests in recentmonths, it’sall but certainanew contingent will be joining inPrideParades this year from coast to coast:QueersforPalestine. But before the enbyactivistsand “DykesforDivestment” throngs line up behind the QfP …

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Houthis detain at least 9 UN employees and other aid workers, officials say

At least nine Yemeni employees of United Nations agencies have been detained by Yemen’s Houthi rebels under unclear circumstances, authorities said Friday, as the rebels face increasing financial pressure and airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition. Others working for aid groups also likely have been taken. The detentions come as the Houthis, who seized Yemen’s capital nearly a decade ago and …

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Taliban publicly flogs 63 in Afghanistan, including women, drawing UN condemnation

The United Nations is condemning the Taliban after it publicly flogged more than 60 people at a sports stadium in northern Afghanistan. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan wrote on X that 63 people were “publicly lashed” by “Afghanistan’s de facto authorities” on Tuesday in the Sari Pul province. “UNAMA reiterates its condemnation of corporal punishment and calls for …

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