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Middle East tensions

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Palestinians gather to collect humanitarian aid from a distribution point in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on Sunday.

Penny Wong: Israel condemnation channels Australians’ ‘distress’ over Gaza

Penny Wong has sought to downplay a rift with the Trump administration after Australia joined a coalition of 28 nations calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza.

  • Matthew Knott, Nick Newling and Angus Thompson

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A member of Syria’s civil defence works in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on Syria’s defence ministry headquarters on Wednesday.

Syrian government, Druze announce new ceasefire after rare Israeli strikes hit military HQ

Convoys of government forces began withdrawing from the city of Sweida, but it was not immediately clear if the agreement would hold.

  • Abdelrahman Shaheen and Kareem Chehayeb
Diogo Jota (centre) and Muhannad Fadl Al-Lili (right).

What the death of two soccer stars says about how – and who – we grieve

These are very different stories: Diogo Jota was a player on the world stage, while Muhannad Fadl Al-Lili lived in a war zone. But actually, that’s the point.

  • Waleed Aly
United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese told an Australian audience Israel did not have the right to defend itself against a threat emanating from a territory it occupied.

‘Malicious’: US sanctions UN Palestine expert Francesca Albanese

The rare move to target the high-profile United Nations representative comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues a multi-day visit to Washington.

  • Michael Koziol
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, hands President Donald Trump a folder during a meeting in the Blue Room of the White House, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

World leaders are figuring out how to manage Trump – but winning tactic may backfire

The flattery was as obvious as it was effective. Seated at a dinner table in the White House, with the cameras rolling, Benjamin Netanyahu handed the US President a piece of paper.

  • Michael D. Shear
US President Donald Trump with Israeli hostages released from Gaza (from left): Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher and Noa Argamani at the White House.

Spurned by Netanyahu, Israeli hostage families turn to Trump

As the agony for the families of Israel’s hostages drags on, some now believe one man holds the key to achieving their freedom.

  • Matthew Knott
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Rabbi Dovid Gurnick speaks to Dvir Abramovich outside the East Melbourne synagogue on Saturday.

Thugs who perform violence over distant atrocities have no place here

Violence carried out in the name of protest but fuelled by hatred of Jewish citizens of Australia is as imbecilic as it is inexcusable.

  • Tony Wright
Kate Geraghty photo index

‘I’m under siege’: The families fighting for their homes on the West Bank

While the war between Israel and Iran ended after 12 days, tensions in the fiercely contested West Bank are only increasing. Foreign affairs correspondent Matthew Knott and photojournalist Kate Geraghty travelled there for this report.

  • Matthew Knott
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington in January 2020.

Netanyahu went all in on Trump. His grave miscalculation will echo for years to come

In cosying up to a mercurial American president, Israel’s vulnerability and utter dependence on the US has been exposed to the world – and Iran.

  • Amin Saikal
US President Donald Trump has taken issue with Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s statements following the war with Israel.

The art of the lie: Why Trump is taking issue with Iran’s alternative facts

Donald Trump didn’t need to warp intelligence to justify bombing Iran. But he did so because US presidents can’t resist extravagant boasting when it comes to the Middle East.

  • Maureen Dowd

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