Palestinian militant group Hamas told AFP Sunday it insists on the implementation of a second ceasefire phase after Israel endorsed a temporary extension of the initial phase. “The only way to achieve stability in the region and the return of the prisoners is to complete the implementation...

Hamas’s armed wing on Saturday released footage showing what appeared to be several Israeli hostages in Gaza, as the first phase of a fragile ceasefire neared its expiry amid uncertainty over the next steps. The video released by the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, which AFP was unable to...

Hamas said on Saturday that it rejected Israel’s “formulation” of extending the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, on the day the first stage of the deal was set to expire. The group’s spokesperson Hazem Qassem also told Al-Araby TV there were no current talks for a second ceasefire...

Ordinary Ukrainians were dumbfounded by Friday’s raised-voice confrontation between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his US counterpart Donald Trump at the White House. “I just don’t even have the words,” said 32-year-old Roman Shkanov, an office worker. “For such a strong country to...

The US on Friday announced the approval of the sale of more than $3 billion in munitions, bulldozers and related equipment to Israel, which used American-made weapons to devastating effect in densely populated Gaza. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed off on the sales of $2.04 billion...

The US State Department this week terminated a USAID initiative that invested hundreds of millions to restore Ukraine’s energy grid from Russian attacks, according to a report. Overnight power outages have occurred in parts of Ukraine following attacks on energy infrastructure, NBC News...

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Friday voiced support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his fiery clash at the White House, warning that a cease-fire without security guarantees would open the door to further Russian expansion across Europe. Zelenskyy got into a heated war of...

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday said that Moscow and Washington have agreed on steps to remove obstacles to financing their embassies. Commenting on the outcome of Thursday’s talks in Istanbul, a ministry statement said that "discussions were conducted in a meaningful and businesslike...

The Israeli army has claimed it killed Mohammad Mahdi Ali Shaheen, a Hezbollah leader, in a Thursday airstrike in the eastern Lebanese region of Hermel. In a Friday statement, the Israeli army said that the airstrike had targeted the Bekaa Valley. “Shaheen, a key Hezbollah figure, was involved...

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday there were “pretty good talks going on” regarding Gaza, when asked about the future of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants, but he offered little detail at a White House press conference. A three-phase ceasefire in Gaza went into effect...

Kurdish party leader Abdullah Ocalan on Thursday urged fighters to lay down their arms and to dissolve the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group that he founded. Here are five key dates in the history of Ocalan and the PKK, which has fought an insurgency against the Turkish state...

Israel released about 600 prisoners overnight, including the longest-serving prisoner and a man convicted of killing an American peace activist, in the latest exchange for Israeli hostages held by Hamas. They were supposed to have been released last weekend after Hamas freed six living hostages....

Palestinians released from Israel's Ofer Prison arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah early Thursday.​​​​​​​ An Anadolu correspondent said a bus carrying dozens of released Palestinian prisoners accompanied by teams from the International Red Cross arrived at the Cultural Palace, where...

As part of efforts to normalize relations between Washington and Moscow, a Russian delegation arrived at the US Consulate General residence in Istanbul for a meeting to discuss operation of their respective embassies. The Russian delegation reached the residence in Istanbul at 09.50 a.m. local...

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Wednesday that it will hand over the remains of four Israeli captives on Thursday in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of prisoners. “The resistance will hand over the bodies of four Israeli captives on Thursday, in parallel with Israel’s...

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Monday that his country’s military is preparing to occupy the Gaza Strip under the leadership of the newly appointed Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, in coordination with US President Donald Trump’s administration. Smotrich made the remarks during a...

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expressed concern Monday over the situation in the occupied West Bank. "The International Committee of the Red Cross is deeply concerned with the impact of ongoing security operations on the civilian population in Jenin and Tulkarem, Tubas and...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that a new meeting between Russia and the US will take place later this week. Speaking at a news conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara, Lavrov said full-fledged Russia-US talks are set for this week to address...

Germany’s conservative alliance comprising the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) have won the country’s parliamentary elections with 28.6% of the vote, according to official provisional results announced Monday by the Electoral Commission. The far-right...

Pope Francis said he prepared a resignation letter in 2013, his first year in office, that would be used if he were ever compelled to step down due to poor health, reports revealed Sunday. "I have already signed my resignation. Tarcisio Bertone was Secretary of State. I signed it and I told...