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Middle East tensions

This Month

Smoke covers a building that collapses following an Israeli airstrike in Tayouneh, Beirut.

Israel pounds area near Beirut amid signs of a widening offensive

Airstrikes on the Dahiya area, south of Beirut, where the militant group Hezbollah holds sway, were the latest in a string of bombings this week.

  • Euan Ward, Aaron Boxerman and Farnaz Fassihi
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has been fired.

Israel defence minister unexpectedly sacked

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the popular Yoav Gallant have repeatedly been at odds throughout the war against Hamas in Gaza.

  • Updated
“Sejjil” missiles systems are displayed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard during an annual armed forces parade in September.

Iran preparing strike on Israel from Iraq within days, Axios reports

Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the US presidential election.

  • Reuters

October

The Qantas saga is filled with red flags

Readers’ letters on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Qantas flight upgrades, superannuation tax, Israel’s ban on UNRWA and blackouts in Broken Hill.

Hezbollah’s deputy leader Sheik Naim Kassem has been appointed the group’s new head.

Hezbollah names new leader as Israel warns assassination coming

The Iran-backed militant group has appointed cleric Naim Qassem as its new head, after its longtime chief was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

  • Bassem Mroue
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a meeting in Tehran on Sunday.

Tehran considers response as Netanyahu says Israel hit Iran hard

The Islamic Republic has not yet signalled how it will react to Saturday’s long-anticipated strikes, which involved scores of fighter jets bombing targets.

  • Updated
  • Ari Rabinovitch and Adam Makary
Restaurant owner Al Yazbek arrives at Downing Centre Courthouse to appear in court.

Nomad owner pleads guilty to displaying swastika sign at pro-Palestinian march

Nomad co-owner Alan Yazbek admits displaying swastika at Sydney rally after being charged under laws prohibiting the use of Nazi symbols.

  • Duncan Murray
Smoke rises from a building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon.

Israel strikes Damascus, military site near Homs, Syrian defence says

The Israeli strikes targeted the central Damascus neighbourhood of Kafr Sousa and a military site in the Homs countryside.

  • Maya Gebeily and Maayan Lubell
King Charles and Queen Camilla meet with locals at the Sydney Opera House.

King and Queen greet royal fans at Sydney Opera House

King Charles and Queen Camilla enjoyed a barbeque in Parramatta before heading towards the CBD; Hero Bondi stabbing police officer to meet visiting royals. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade
Senator Lidia Thorpe disrupts proceedings as King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend a Parliamentary reception.

Thorpe should resign over protest: royal diehards

Andrew Forrest greets the King during garden tour; Tony Abbott says Senator Lidia Thorpe’s protest at a reception was “political exhibitionism”. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade
Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas militant group’s leader in the Gaza Strip pirctured in 2018.

Who was Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar?

The prime mover behind the Hamas attacks that rocked Israel and killed 1200 people in October last year, his death is a significant moment in the conflict.

  • The Associated Press
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt has been accusing of walking back a deal to review the small business definition.

Watt calls steady unemployment rate ‘remarkable achievement’

Murry Watt says claims jobs figures as a Labor win: Liam Payne tributes flow after balcony fall death as hotel describes “aggressive” man’s behaviour. As the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on Dahiyeh, Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Israel risks US wrath after fresh strikes on Beirut

Lebanon’s besieged capital was hit again by military airstrikes, despite the US saying it opposed the scope of Israel’s attacks on the city.

  • Updated
  • Laila Bassam and Humeyra Pamuk

AFP investigating CFMEU corruption claims not publicly known

Police are investigating construction industry claims that are not “in the public domain”; PM dodges $4.3m home purchase questions. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade
Journalism legend George Negus on Elwood beach in Victoria in 2004.

Veteran Australian journalist George Negus dies aged 82

Negus died after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease; Peter Dutton wishes PM well with $4.3m house purchase. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade
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An Israeli soldier secures a road after a drone attack that caused mass casualties near Haifa.

Four Israeli soldiers killed in Hezbollah drone attack

The Iran-backed terror group said the barrage on the IDF base showed it could still inflict Israeli losses despite the death of its leader in Beirut last month.

  • Updated
  • Jotam Confino
Men queue to collect food for their families after being displaced by Israeli airstrikes in Sidon also known as Saida, Lebanon.

UN peacekeeper nations slam Israel over ‘unjustified’ attack

The Israeli military targeted a new location in northern Gaza, as a third UN peacekeeper was wounded in Lebanon in the escalating conflict with Hezbollah.

  • Updated
  • Amina Ismail and Ahmed Tolba
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

More AFR readers support Dutton’s Middle East stance than the PM’s

Many Financial Review readers support the opposition leader’s stance, while others see it as a wedge in his attempts to gain political advantage.

  • Max Mason
Flames and smoke rise at the scene of destroyed buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut.

Israel hits Beirut in deadliest strike since start of war

The UN says Israeli forces also fired on peacekeepers’ headquarters in southern Lebanon.

  • Updated
  • Bilal Hussein and Wafaa Shurafa

Do you know this week’s news? Answer these 10 questions

Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.

  • Daniel Arbon

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/middle-east-tensions-1nd1