Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher reopened to visitors Sunday after a two-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. The church, situated in Occupied Jerusalem's Old City, is the site where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, entombed, and resurrected. The Christian...

The Libyan Army has retaken two military camps from warlord Khalifa Haftar’s forces south of the capital Tripoli, said an army spokesman on Saturday. In a statement, Mohammed Kanunu said the army has taken the Hamza and Yarmuk Military Camps as part of its successful military operations...

A woman has died in Gaza Strip after contracting coronavirus, the Palestinian enclave's first fatality from the global pandemic, the health ministry said Saturday. It said the 77-year-old woman had suffered from a prior chronic illness and had travelled to Gaza through neighboring Egypt...

Iran Saturday moved to open businesses, religious and cultural sites as it eases restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Museums and historical sites are to reopen Sunday to coincide with the Eid el-Fitr celebrations that end the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan,...

Lebanon’s powerful parliament speaker said on Friday it was time for government action to help citizens grappling with an economic crisis and this could not wait for the outcome of International Monetary Fund negotiations. Speaker Nabih Berri, head of the Shi’ite Amal Movement, said the...

Iran's supreme leader said it was an "Islamic duty" to fight for the "liberation of Palestine" in a landmark speech Friday amid rising tensions with regional arch-enemy Israel. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out at Western nations and their Arab "puppets" for supporting the Jewish state, in...

A reformist Iranian lawmaker has stirred up a hornet’s nest by saying that Syria must reimburse Tehran for the whopping 20-30 billion dollars Iran has spent in the war-ravaged country. In a video interview with Etemad Online, the web portal of the reformist Etemad newspaper,...

Turkey Thursday reported its lowest daily increase in confirmed coronavirus cases in the past two months, with 961 new infections in the past 24 hours. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca also reported 27 more deaths in the past 24 hours. The total number of infections in the country now stands...

A wave of coronavirus infections among residents returning to Gaza has more than doubled the number of cases in the strip in recent days, raising fears of a bigger outbreak. The impoverished Palestinian enclave had managed to limit the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to no more than 20,...

Bethlehem is struggling back to life just in time for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, nearly three months after it became the first town in the West Bank to be sealed off because of a coronavirus outbreak. Although the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, remains...

Many Israeli websites were hit by a coordinated cyber attack Thursday, with the home pages replaced by images of the country's commercial capital Tel Aviv in flames. Israel's National Cyber Directorate said private companies using a particular operating system were targeted, but said the...

Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab pledged Thursday to stem devaluation and introduce subsidies on food imports, as his cabinet marked 100 days since it was formed to redress a free-falling economy. Lebanon is facing its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, now compounded...

Iran will support any nation or group that fights Israel, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday, ahead of this week's annual observance of Quds (Jerusalem) Day to express support for Palestinians. "We will support and assist any nation or any group anywhere who opposes and...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday voiced regret at Palestinian threats to end security coordination if Israel annexes occupied territory in line with President Donald Trump's Middle East plan. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, playing one of his only cards, said Tuesday...

Turkey does not risk a second wave of infections from the new coronavirus at the moment and it is preparing to start controlled "medical tourism" with 31 countries as of Wednesday, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said. "If we continue to abide by the rules of social distancing, wearing a...

The U.S. government imposed sanctions Wednesday on an Iranian government minister and senior law enforcement and military officials over human rights abuses. "The Iranian regime violently suppresses dissent of the Iranian people, including peaceful protests, through physical and...

An Israeli court on Wednesday denied a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be excused from attending the start of his impending corruption trial. The ruling by the Jerusalem District Court, where the first hearing is to be held on Sunday, cited a clause in Israeli criminal law...

Twenty years after Hezbollah guerrillas pushed Israel’s last troops from southern Lebanon, both sides are gearing up for a possible war that neither seems to want. Israeli troops are striking Hezbollah targets in neighboring Syria and drilling for what could be an invasion of Lebanon. The...

The Iranian navy will maintain regular missions in the Gulf, the ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday, a day after the United States warned mariners there to stay away from U.S. warships. "The naval units of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman will...

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says the Palestinian Authority will no longer be committed to any signed agreements with Israel or the United States, following Israel's pledge to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank. It was not immediately clear how the announcement, which was...