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Middle East

This Month

President Donald Trump meets with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office.

Trump says Iran ‘in great danger’ if nuclear talks with US fail

The US will hold direct talks at a very high level on the weekend, the first between Trump officials and Tehran since he returned to office.

Turkish democracy is fighting for its life

The jailing of President Erdogan’s main political rival Ekrem Imamoglu follows a familiar trajectory. It could also backfire spectacularly.

Israeli forces to seize ‘large areas’ of Gaza

Defence minister Israel Katz says the offensive is “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists” and “seizing large areas that will be added” to Israel.

Hundreds of Palestinians chanted anti-Hamas slogans at a protest in northern Gaza on March 25.

The case for Palestinian pragmatism

It’s time to reject violent extremism and embrace Israeli security as complementary to the pursuit of freedom, dignity and independence in Gaza and the West Bank.

March

The beach at Hurghada.

Six killed as tourist submarine sinks off Egyptian coast

The Russian embassy reportedly said that 45 people were on board the submarine when it sank in the tourist port city of Hurghada.

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Why the Trump-Putin bromance could finally topple Iran’s ayatollahs

The question is: will Russia defend the clerics in Tehran, or sacrifice their regime on the altar of Russo-American rapprochement?

Hundreds of Palestinians chanted anti-Hamas slogans at a protest in northern Gaza on March 25.

Palestinians stage rare Gaza protest against Hamas

One protester who attended the rally said they wanted Hamas to end the war and leave the Palestinian territory.

Israeli soldiers sit on a tank as it takes position in front of the northern Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu’s secret plans to ‘finish the job’ in Gaza

The new military leadership has drawn up a drastically harsher proposal to destroy Hamas and corral Palestinians into a tiny stretch of land.

Displaced Palestinians fleeing Rafah amid ongoing Israeli military operations arrive in Khan Younis.

Israel strikes largest hospital in southern Gaza

Israel’s military confirmed the strike, saying it hit a Hamas militant operating there. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates among civilians.

Palestinians inspect the rubble of a structure hit by an Israeli bombardment in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, at the weekend.

Israeli airstrike kills Hamas political leader in southern Gaza

Pro-Hamas media said the airstrike killed Salah al-Bardaweel, a member of the group’s political office, and also his wife.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel strikes Hezbollah targets after fire from within Lebanon

Israel vowed a forceful response to rocket fire from Lebanon on Saturday as a fragile four-month truce with Hezbollah showed new signs of strain.

An Israeli soldier Stans on a tank as it is taking position in front of the northern Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu restarts forever war amid Israeli anger, burnout

Israel’s PM is accused of resuming airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza for political reasons, and endangering the lives of hostages.

Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, looks on during a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

The secret history of Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa

Is the man once known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani intent on moderating or a brutal strongman?

An Israeli soldier Stans on a tank as it is taking position in front of the northern Gaza Strip.

Israeli troops begin limited ground incursion in Gaza

Israel’s army began “targeted ground activities” in the Palestinian territory, with the aim of creating a partial buffer between northern and southern Gaza.

 Palestinians carry the body of someone killed during Israeli airstrikes at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, Gaza.

Netanyahu says Israeli strikes across Gaza are ‘only the beginning’

The prime minister said the military would press ahead until it achieves all of its war aims: destroying Hamas and freeing all hostages held by the militants.

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Gaza strikes March 18.

‘Gates of hell will open’: Israel launches major strikes on Gaza

Israel’s military said it was conducting extensive strikes on Hamas targets and medics reported dozens of deaths, in the biggest attacks since the ceasefire.

Houthi supporters chant slogans and hold pictures of Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi movement, during an anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen.

Pentagon says operation targeting Yemen’s Houthis is open-ended

The Pentagon said US forces had struck more than 30 Houthi targets since Saturday, including command-and-control and training sites and drone infrastructure.

Smoke rises from a location reportedly struck by US airstrikes in Sanaa.

‘Hell will rain down’: Trump orders strikes on Iran-backed Houthis

US president warned Tehran against supporting the militant group which has disrupted global shipping in the Red Sea.

Iranians burn a representation of the Israeli flag during the funeral of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, killed in an airstrike in Tehran. The country’s mutual aminosity is spurring espionage.

The astonishing stories of Israelis spying for Iran

In the past year, 39 Israelis have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, prompting speculation about why they were open to overtures from their country’s bitterest foe.

Volodymyr Zelensky meets with Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Royal Palace in Riyadh.

As Ukraine and US ceasefire talks near, gulfs remain

Ukraine wants a cessation of air and sea strikes, but also security guarantees before laying down its arms. The US wants an immediate, comprehensive ceasefire.

February

Donald Trump posted to social media an AI-generated video purporting to show Gaza’s future.

Trump posts bizarre AI video of Gaza’s golden future

The video features belly dancers and skyscrapers and concludes with a shirtless US President and Benjamin Netanyahu lying next to each other on sun beds by a pool.

Freed Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov gestures from a van as he arrives at Beilinson hospital in Petah Tikva, Israel.

Israel delays release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners

The prisoners were due to be set free after Hamas released six Israeli hostages as a precarious ceasefire beset by recriminations nears the end of its first phase.

Donald Trump first publicly raised the idea that the US would take over Gaza in early February.

Without Egypt or Jordan onboard, Trump retreats from his Gaza plan

Donald Trump had said he favoured taking control of Gaza and displacing the Palestinians who lived there. But Egypt and Jordan rejected cooperating.

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.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/world/middle-east