Middle East

6 days agoShareSaveHugo BachegaMiddle East correspondentReporting fromBeirutEmma RossiterBBC NewsReporting fromLondonShareSaveAn Israeli air strike on Beirut's southern suburbs has killed a Hezbollah official and three other people, Lebanon's health ministry says, putting further pressure on a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese armed group.
The strike also injured seven people, the health ministry said.
The attack was the second on the Dahieh area, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, in recent days, despite the truce that came into force in November.
The Israeli military said it had targeted Hassan Bdeir, who it alleged had helped Hamas plan an attack against Israeli civilians.
Hezbollah confirmed Bdeir had been killed along with his son, who was also a member of the group.
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike, calling it a dangerous warning.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said it was a “flagrant violation” of the ceasefire.
The strike happe..

6 days agoShareSaveTom BennettBBC NewsReporting fromLondonShareSaveThe United Nations agency for children says that at least 322 children are reported to have been killed since Israel launched a renewed offensive in Gaza two weeks ago.
Unicef said at least 609 other children were reportedly wounded during the same period.
“The ceasefire in Gaza provided a desperately needed lifeline for Gaza's children and hope for a path to recovery,” said Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell. “But children have again been plunged into a cycle of deadly violence and deprivation.”
Israel launched its renewed Gaza offensive on 18 March, blaming Hamas for rejecting a new US proposal to extend the ceasefire and free the 59 hostages still held captive in Gaza.
Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of violating the original deal they had agreed to in January.
Unicef said “relentless and indiscriminate bombardments” had resumed in Gaza, with 100 children killed or maimed every day in the 10 days to 31 ..

6 days agoShareSaveDavid GrittenBBC NewsShareSaveIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the police of holding the two men as “hostages”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced an investigation into possible links between his aides and Qatar as a “witch hunt”, after he gave testimony to police.
An adviser and a former spokesman were arrested on Monday over alleged payments from the Gulf Arab state as part of the probe, which has been dubbed “Qatar-gate”. They have denied any wrongdoing.
Netanyahu, who has not been named as a suspect, accused the police of holding the two men as “hostages”, adding: “There is no case.”
A Qatari official also dismissed the probe as a “smear campaign” against Qatar, which has played a key role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas during the war in Gaza.
It comes as Netanyahu faces escalating protests in Israel over his policies, including the resumption of Israel's offensive against Hamas before securing the release of all t..

5 days agoShareSaveShareSaveJames Kirby, 47, died when an aid convoy targeted by Israeli drones The family of a British aid worker killed by an Israeli drone strike in Gaza have accused the government of giving “nothing but empty apologies”.
James Kirby, 47, from Bristol was one of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) killed in the attack, in which two other Britons also died.
The group was travelling in a convoy of marked vehicles when it was fired upon by Israeli armed drones on 1 April last year.
The deaths of the three Britons was raised in Parliament on Tuesday, with Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer telling MPs he had met the families of those killed in November, alongside the Foreign Secretary.
John Chapman (left), James 'Jim' Henderson (centre) and Mr Kirby (right) were all killed in the strikeHe also called on Israel to “quickly and thoroughly conclude” its investigation into the air strike.
Louise Kirby, Mr Kirby's cousin, said on Tuesday “the lack of jus..

Many Palestinians say they are going hungry after Israel stopped all aid deliveries to put pressure on Hamas.

Palestinian paramedic Munther Abed rejects Israel’s assertion that the vehicles approached troops with their lights off.

5 days agoShareSaveDavid GrittenBBC NewsLucy WilliamsonMiddle East correspondentShareSaveIsrael's military said it hit “military capabilities that remained” at Hama airbaseSyria has strongly condemned a fresh wave of Israeli strikes on airbases and other military sites overnight as an “unjustified escalation”.
The foreign ministry said the attacks almost destroyed Hama airbase and injured dozens of people. A monitoring group reported that four defence ministry personnel were killed.
Israel's military said it hit “capabilities that remained” at the western Hama and central T4 airbases, along with military infrastructure in Damascus. It also said Israeli forces killed gunmen during a ground operation in Deraa province, where authorities put the death toll at nine.
It came amid reports that Turkey was moving to station jets and air defences at Syrian airbases.
Israel's defence minister warned Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday that he would “pay a ve..

5 days agoShareSaveDavid GrittenBBC NewsShareSaveCasualties from the air strikes included women and children, while Israel said it struck 'prominent terrorists who were in a Hamas command and control centre'At least 27 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air strike on a school in northern Gaza that was serving as a shelter for displaced families, the Hamas-run health ministry says.
Dozens more were wounded when the Dar al-Arqam school in the north-eastern Tuffah district of Gaza City was hit, it cited a local hospital as saying.
The Israeli military said it struck “prominent terrorists who were in a Hamas command and control centre” in the city, without mentioning a school.
The health ministry earlier reported the killing of another 97 people in Israeli attacks over the previous 24 hours, as Israel said its ground offensive was expanding to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory.
The spokesman for Gaza's Hamas-run Civil Defence agency, Mahmoud Bassal, sai..

5 days agoShareSaveBarbara Tasch & Anna HolliganBBC News, London and The HagueShareSaveThe move was announced hours after Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who is sought under an ICC arrest warrant, arrived in Hungary for a state visitHungary is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC), its government has announced.
A senior official in Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government confirmed this hours after Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who is sought under an ICC arrest warrant, arrived in Hungary for a state visit.
Orban had invited Netanyahu as soon as the warrant was issued last November, saying the ruling would have “no effect” in his country.
In November, ICC judges said there were “reasonable grounds” that Netanyahu bore “criminal responsibility” for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu has condemned the ICC's decision as “antisemitic”.
The ICC, a global court, has the authority t..

The BBC’s Hugo Bachega explores the future for Hezbollah in the wake of Israel’s devastating attacks.