Middle East

April 1, 2025

The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) discovered a bomb-making lab in Tulkarm that contained landmines, explosives, explosive-making materials, and a welding machine last week, the military announced on Tuesday. The IDF and Shin Bet also arrested 12 wanted individuals in Tammun and Kabatiya over the past 24 hours, the military added. A further 15 ...

April 1, 2025

Turkey has begun efforts to take control of Syria’s Tiyas air base, also known as T4, and is preparing to deploy air defence systems there, sources familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye. Construction plans for the site are also reportedly under way. Ankara and Damascus have been negotiating a defence pact since December, following ...

March 29, 2025

The U.S. warned of an increased possibility of attacks in Syria during the Eid el-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Eid could begin in Syria on Sunday depending on the sighting of the new moon. Syrian authorities said they have detained several militant cells over the past weeks that ...

March 26, 2025

HALO’s programme will expand to save lives across the country in response to soaring accidents caused by explosives The German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) supports the HALO Trust in Syria with a €5M grant to boost vital mine clearance efforts as tens of thousands of people return to reclaim their pre-war homes and cultivate their fields. ...

March 25, 2025

UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday, renewing the UN peacekeeping mission’s support for humanitarian and operational demining in the UNIFIL area of operations in south Lebanon. UNIFIL Chief of Staff Major General Jean-Jacques Fatinet and the Director of the LAF’s Lebanon Mine Action Centre (LMAC), Brigadier General ...

March 25, 2025

The IDF confirmed that “several terrorists” opened fire upon troops from southern Syria on Tuesday morning. The soldiers then returned fire, and the Israel Air Force struck targets in the region, the military added, stating that there were confirmed hits on terror targets. According to Syrian reports, the IDF launched a ground advance toward the village ...

March 20, 2025

Israel’s military intercepted a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels early Thursday, the second to target Israel since the collapse of the Gaza ceasefire, as the United States’ intensifies airstrikes against the Iran-backed militant group. The Houthis claimed responsibility for what it said was a ballistic missile fired in support of Palestinians and in response to ...

March 20, 2025

A British bomb disposal expert has been injured in an attack on a UN facility in the Gaza Strip, the charity he works for has said. The 51-year-old, who was not named, was one of five people injured in an explosion that also killed a UN worker at the facility in Deir al-Balah on Wednesday morning, ...

March 19, 2025

Two ISIS militants, including a suicide-bomber who self-detonated, were killed during clashes with Iraqi security forces in northern Iraq on Wednesday, according to Baghdad’s Security Media Cell. “After intensive monitoring and the use of technical and intelligence resources, a force from the second battalion of the 88th Brigade and Military Intelligence Directorate detachments within ...

March 18, 2025

The IDF and the Shin Bet started around 2:00 a.m. Tuesday morning to conduct dozens of extensive air strikes specifically on mid-level Hamas commanders in Gaza and some senior Hamas political officials, but it was unclear if they were targeting senior Hamas commanders like Mohammed Sinwar, who might be holding Israeli hostages nearby. Nearly eight hours ...

March 17, 2025

Syrian troops exchanged fire with Lebanese soldiers and armed groups in northeast Lebanon overnight and into Monday in a new round of clashes along the two countries’ border. Late on Sunday, Syria’s defence ministry accused Hezbollah of crossing into Syrian territory and kidnapping and killing three members of Syria’s new army. Hezbollah denied any involvement. A ...

March 17, 2025

The European Union has hosted a donor drive for Syria to encourage a peaceful transition following the ousting of former leader Bashar al-Assad. Western and regional powers participated in Monday’s one-day meeting in Brussels, chaired by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. Among all donors, the EU reported that 5.8 billion euros ($6.3bn) was pledged in ...

March 16, 2025

Iraqi Special Forces have completed an over two-month-long training course at the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) in northwestern Pakistan, state-run media reported on Sunday, as both countries eye bolstering military and defense cooperation for regional security. The Iraqi personnel arrived in Pakistan in December 2024 to undergo training at the NCTC located in Pabbi town ...

March 15, 2025

The U.S. launched strikes Saturday in Yemen as President Trump said the U.S. would use “overwhelming lethal force” until Houthis cease shipping attacks. “Today, I have ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen. They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against ...

March 14, 2025

Tampa, Fla. – On March 13, U.S. Central Command forces, in cooperation with Iraqi Intelligence and Security Forces, conducted a precision airstrike in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, that killed the Global ISIS #2 leader, chief of operations and the Delegated Committee Emir – Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, alias “Abu Khadijah”, and one other ISIS operative. As ...

March 14, 2025

Vienna will allocate €5 million to Ukraine for mine clearance efforts and €2 million for grain delivery following a visit by Austria’s Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger to Kyiv on Friday 14 March. Meinl-Reisinger is reported to have arrived on a visit to Ukraine on 14 March. She announced that Austria will allocate €5 million to assist ...

March 12, 2025

Yemen’s Houthi rebels warned shippers early Wednesday that “any Israeli vessel” traveling through nearby Mideast waters is now a target as Israel continues to block aid to the Gaza Strip. The warning from the Houthis again throws into chaos a crucial maritime waterway between Asia and Europe, threatens revenue from Egypt’s Suez Canal and possibly will ...

March 12, 2025

The IDF conducted several counterterrorism operations in the West Bank last night, the military announced on Wednesday. The IDF arrested a dozen suspects involved in terrorist activities and confiscated their weapons. During searches in Kabatiya, soldiers located about 100 kilograms of materials for creating explosive devices and combat posts. Both the suspects and the weapons were ...