Mena Today

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel "sooner, rather than later" and warned Tehran not to proceed.

The European Union announced on Friday new sanctions against several Palestinian militant groups, citing "widespread sexual violence" during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The United States on Friday issued sanctions aimed at a Hamas spokesperson and leaders of the group's drone unit, the Treasury Department said.

 Soaring prices have helped fuel a food crisis in West and Central Africa, where nearly 55 million people will struggle to feed themselves in the coming months, U.N. humanitarian agencies warned on Friday.

France has warned its citizens to “imperatively refrain from travel in the coming days to Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories,” French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s entourage tells AFP.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the crisis in Sudan could worsen in the coming months as the distribution of humanitarian aid and medical supplies remains restricted.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday said there were "clear signs" in Europe that countries in the region were prepared to recognise a Palestinian state.

The General Secretariat of Catholic Schools in Lebanon has declared the closure of all its educational institutions this Friday, announcing it as a "day of prayer for the salvation of Lebanon."

Israel was on Friday bracing for an attack launched by Iran in the coming 24 to 48 hours.

A conflict in Sudan that erupted a year ago has wreaked havoc across swathes of the country, unleashed waves of ethnic violence in Darfur, driven millions into extreme hunger and created the world's largest displacement crisis.

Iran has signalled to Washington that it will respond to Israel's attack on its Syrian embassy in a way that aims to avoid major escalation and it will not act hastily, as Tehran presses demands including a Gaza truce, Iranian sources said.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that Israel would respond directly to any attack by Iran.