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Middle East tensions

This Month

Two people embrace amid a sea of Israeli flags in hostages square in Tel Aviv.

Hamas says it has handed over body of Shiri Bibas

Israeli medical authorities said forensic teams were preparing to examine the body, which Hamas transferred via the Red Cross, and confirm its identity.

A coffin containing the body of Ariel Bibas is taken to Red Cross representatives in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.

‘Horrific’: Mother not among dead hostages handed over by Hamas

The Israeli military says a body released by Hamas did not belong to any of the hostages held in Gaza, accusing the militant group of violating the ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Netanyahu signals he’s transferring Palestinians from Gaza

The Israeli prime minister discussed the plan in Jerusalem with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Hamas “must be eradicated”.

 A man sells bread under the ruin of his bakery destroyed by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip.

Hamas signals it will release more hostages this weekend

The statement came amid rising tensions between Hamas and Israel pointed to rising risks about the future of the precarious truce between the adversaries.

Israeli army troops are seen on the Israeli-Gaza border during a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. in November.

Israel calls up reservists as fears for fragile Gaza ceasefire rise

Concern that the truce will collapse is growing as fury mounts in the Arab world over President Donald Trump’s plan for the United States to take over Gaza.

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An Israeli soldier driving a tank near the Israeli-Gaza border.

Netanyahu threatens to restart war if hostages not returned

“If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon – the ceasefire will end,” the Israeli leader said, adding he’s ordered the military to prepare.

Relatives of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip protest in Tel Aviv.

Trump says ‘all’ Israeli hostages must be released by Saturday

The US president says “all hell is going to break out” if the remaining Israelis are not freed after Hamas threatened to delay the deal.

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, last week.

Saudi Arabia lashes out at Netanyahu as investors wait in the wings

The Israeli-backed US proposal to take over Gaza has thrown a curveball into the mix, but investors still nurse hopes of a reset in the region.

Israeli captive, Eli Sharabi, was paraded on stage as part of his release.

‘Gut-wrenching’ hostage handover could hit Gaza ceasefire talks

The poor state of the latest Israeli hostages to be freed could bolster the view that Israel should resume its fight against Hamas, rather than negotiate a longer peace.

Trump has announced a stunning proposal of a US take-over of the war-torn Gaza Strip to redevelop the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

Albanese must stand up to Trump’s Gaza plan

Australia must be prepared to stick up for the international rule of law system that has contributed to our nation’s security, peace, and stability for decades.

President Donald Trump reiterated his vision for Gaza in a post on his social media site.

Trump slaps sanctions on international court for targeting Israel

The president has placed sanctions on International Criminal Court officials who investigate the US and its allies such as Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

Netanyahu backs Trump’s ‘remarkable’ Gaza plan

The White House defended Donald Trump’s “take-over” plan of the war-torn territory as US allies across Europe and the Middle East condemned the move.

January

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu from a meeting in Jerusalem in 2017.

Trump invites Netanyahu to the White House

The Israeli prime minister would be the first foreign leader to visit Washington in Donald Trump’s second term after receiving an invitation for February 4.

Thousands of displaced Palestinians walk towards their homes in northern Gaza, via the Netzarim Corridor.

Thousands of Gaza residents stream back to the north on foot

Palestinians began returning to the ravaged territory and what was left of their homes and families, after Israel and Hamas agreed to keep a ceasefire in place.

Today is the 80th anniversary of the holocaust

Eighty years later, ‘never again’ falls short

Holocaust memorial day is more than an annual commemoration. It is an urgent reminder of what happens when the world turns its back on the quest to murder Jews.

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Donald Trump on Air Force One on the weekend.

Trump’s Palestinian refugee idea falls flat with Arab allies

Middle East nations rejected Donald Trump’s idea to resettle Gaza’s population as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in the enclave held after a major crisis.

Israeli female soldier hostages wave and react at a Palestinian crowd before being handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.

Hamas frees four Israeli hostages in second swap

The four hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Albag, 19, are all conscripts from a military surveillance unit.

Donald Trump is on the cusp of a second term.

How Trump backed the TikTok ban before becoming its saviour

Donald Trump can take credit for reviving an app with 170 million users; Bill Shorten formally quits parliament. How the day unfolded.

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv call for the release of all hostages held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel delays Gaza ceasefire over hostage list

Benjamin Netanyahu said the truce would not go ahead until militant group Hamas provided the names of hostages to be released.

Steve Witkoff, pictured at a Trump rally last year, is the president-elect’s Middle East envoy and was key to the deal.

A Sheikh, a mogul and a diplomat: the unlikely trio behind Gaza truce

The Qatari prime minister worked with both President Biden’s envoy and President-elect Donald Trump’s representative to bring about a deal.

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