Lebanon
US mediates fresh Israel-Lebanon dialogue
The latest round of U.S.-facilitated talks between Israel and Lebanon began on Tuesday in Rome and will continue through Thursday, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
Israeli military retrieves bodies of six hostages held in Gaza
1 min Mena Today
Israel retrieved the bodies of six hostages from the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza overnight, according to statements from the military and the prime minister's office on Tuesday.
A combination picture shows undated handout images of Israeli hostages Alex Dancyg, Yoram Metzger, Yagev Buchshtab, Chaim Peri and Abraham Munder and hostage Nadav Popplewell, who were kidnapped in the deadly October 7 attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Courtesy of Bring Them Home Now/The Hostages Families Forum/Handout via Reuters
Israel retrieved the bodies of six hostages from the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza overnight, according to statements from the military and the prime minister's office on Tuesday.
The families of Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, and Chaim Perry have been informed, the statements added.
The Hostages Families Forum, an organisation that represents most hostage families, welcomed the news but renewed its call on the government to conclude a hostage release deal with the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"The immediate return of the remaining 109 hostages can only be achieved through a negotiated deal. The Israeli government, with the assistance of mediators, must do everything in its power to finalise the deal currently on the table," it said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East this week trying to secure a ceasefire and hostage return agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The current war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's military has since levelled swathes of the Palestinian enclave, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease and killing at least 40,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Reporting by Maytaal Angel; Editing by Alex Richardson
Related
Iran
Iran denies diplomatic breakthrough with US
Iran said on Monday there were no talks under way with the United States and no plans for any meetings, contradicting U.S. President Donald Trump, who had cited talks he said would take place that afternoon as justification for calling off attacks.
Palestine
Singapore police question Massive Attack after performance
The British band Massive Attack said its members were detained by Singapore police and "isolated and separately questioned" after the two performers raised a Palestinian flag at their concert in the city-state last Wednesday.
Subscribe to our newsletter
