Mena Today

The head of the Druze community in Israel on Thursday hailed plans for the first visit by a Druze religious delegation from Syria in five decades, despite escalating cross-border tensions underscored by an Israeli airstrike on Damascus.

Israel carried out "genocidal acts" against Palestinians by systematically destroying women's healthcare facilities during the conflict in Gaza, and used sexual violence as a war strategy, United Nations experts said in a report on Thursday.

The Lebanese army on Thursday received a soldier who had been detained by Israel on Sunday, the army said in a post on X.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi has not ruled out talks with Washington, but says they can only take place if both countries are on "equal terms," an Iranian state-run newspaper reported on Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would put a 200% wine tariff on all wines and other alcoholic products coming out of the European Union if the bloc did not remove its tariff on whiskey.

Israel carried out an air strike on the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, targeting what the military said was a command centre belonging to the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, used to direct 'terrorist activities' against Israel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's top foreign policy aide said on Thursday that he had told Washington that a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States to pause the war in Ukraine would simply give Kyiv's forces a much-needed battlefield respite.

Turkish forces killed 24 Kurdish militants in northern Iraq and Syria over the past week, the defence ministry said on Thursday, continuing attacks in the region after a disarmament call from the PKK leader and a separate accord between U.S.-backed Kurds and Damascus.

Turkey has emerged as a key potential partner in restructuring European security, diplomats and analysts say, as Europe scrambles to bolster its defence and find guarantees for Ukraine under any forthcoming ceasefire deal urged by the United States.

Egypt said on Thursday it appreciated U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks on not demanding that residents of Gaza leave the enclave, according to a statement from the foreign ministry.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem welcomed on Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump’s apparent retreat from his proposal for a permanent displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, urging him to refrain from aligning with the vision of the "extreme Zionist right."

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree on Wednesday to form the country's national security council, according to a statement by the Syrian president's office