Middle East

Students, staff, and parents alike are traumatised by what has happened and the destruction that surrounds them.

“No state… can be exempt from the obligation not to commit war crimes, not to commit genocide, not to commit ethnic cleansing,” Mirjana Spoljaric tells the BBC.

The mother of a Palestinian killed in an IDF attack on emergency vehicles tells the BBC of her loss.

Israel’s defence minister also said it had taken over a “security zone”, which separates the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.

Eighteen months since Omri Miran was taken hostage by Hamas, his wife Lishay still sends family updates, which she hopes he will read one day.

The highest-level talks between the two nations since Trump’s first term in office will resume next week.

Netanyahu is the first world leader to visit the White House since the US president announced tariffs on global trading partners.

35 minutes agoShareSaveMegan FisherBBC NewsShareSaveIsrael has blocked all goods from entering Gaza for more than a monthThe heads of six UN agencies have appealed to world leaders to act urgently to make sure food and supplies get to Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel has stopped letting in deliveries for more than a month.
A joint statement said Palestinians were “trapped, bombed and starved again” with supplies “piling up” at crossing points.
Israel has blocked the entry of supplies, including humanitarian aid, since 2 March, after the first stage of a ceasefire expired, demanding Hamas agree to extend that part of the truce. Hamas has refused, accusing Israel of reneging on its commitments.
Israel has said there is enough food in Gaza “for a long period of time”, but the agencies said this was not the case.
“The latest ceasefire allowed us to achieve in 60 days what bombs, obstruction and lootings prevented us from doing in 470 days of war: life-saving supplies reaching nearly ev..

4 hours agoShareSaveSean Seddon & David GrittenBBC NewsShareSaveThe US and Iran will hold “direct talks” over a possible new nuclear deal on Saturday, says President Donald Trump.
Hours after the surprise announcement, Iran's foreign minister said the talks in Oman would be “indirect” but could be “as much an opportunity as… a test”.
Trump – who pulled the US out a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers during his first term – said discussions would be at “very high level” and that Iran would be in “great danger” if talks were not successful.
Last month, Iran said it was open to the possibility of indirect talks after Trump said he wanted a deal to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and avert possible US military action.
Trump disclosed the talks after a White House meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has also threatened to strike Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran insists its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful, but it has increasin..

3 days agoShareSaveMalu CursinoBBC NewsShareSaveState media released a picture of Shahram Dabiri and his wife, superimposing a marker on the name of the ship to the South Pole, PlanciusIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has fired one of his deputies for taking a “lavish” trip to Antarctica with his wife during Nowruz, the Persian new year.
The president's office described Shahram Dabiri's trip as “unjustifiable and unacceptable given the ongoing economic challenges” in Iran.
A picture of Dabiri and his wife posing in front of MV Plancius, which was bound for Antarctica, circulated widely on social media and caused outrage in Iran.
In a statement on Saturday, Pezeshkian said Dabari had been removed as vice president of parliamentary affairs for “indefensible” actions, regardless of whether they were financed from his own pocket.
“In a government that seeks to follow the values of the first Shia Imam (Imam Ali), and amid significant economic pressures on our people, the lavish..