Author: Steven Sahiounie

During a meeting with Lolwah al-Khater, Qatar’s minister of state for international cooperation, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed ways to work together to increase “humanitarian and relief aid” to the people in Gaza, Egyptian state media Ahram Online said, citing the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry. Shoukry expressed “great appreciation” for the role undertaken by Doha in trying to resolve the crisis in the enclave, the news outlet said. Source: AlJazeera

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged Muslim states to “at least cut off political ties with Israel for a limited period of time”, the semiofficial news agency Tasnim is reporting. During a joint summit between members of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League in Saudi Arabia’s capital last week, Muslim states did not agree to impose wide-ranging sanctions on Israel as requested by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi. Source: AlJazeera

Netanyahu has insisted there is no agreement on the release of Hamas’s captives in Gaza amid reports of an imminent deal for their release. In a briefing on Saturday night, the Israeli prime minister said there was no agreement “as of now” and there had been “a lot of incorrect reports” about the release of the captives. “I would like to make it clear: As of now, there has been no deal. But I want to promise: When there is something to say – we will report to you about it,” he said. On Wednesday, the Reuters news agency reported…

After his family home was destroyed in the Israeli shelling of the al-Zahra neighbourhood south of Gaza City, Mohammad Abu Salem began volunteering at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital on October 19 and has seen his family only twice since. Just 25, Abu Salem, who specialised in physiotherapy at the Islamic University in Gaza City, said Israeli massacres of Palestinians have become an everyday reality in the Gaza Strip. “I knew working in a hospital in general would be hectic, but working in a hospital during a war is on a whole new different level,” he said. “You don’t know what is…

The EU’s top foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, praised Qatar and said that the country has emerged as a critical mediator not only in the Middle East but also in other crises. “I want to recognise the personal engagement of Qatar in releasing Ukranian children taken by Russia and also mediating prisoners’ exchange deals in Iran,” he said, noting Qatar’s efforts to forge peace. At a news conference in Doha, Borell also told Qatar’s prime minister that he had visited the families of the hostages in Israel who had a plea to Qatar. “They asked me to tell you that…

According to the US leader, “an outcome that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza would once more perpetuate its hate and deny Palestinian civilians the chance to build something better for themselves” WASHINGTON, November 18. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden believes that a ceasefire in the Middle East would lead to new attacks from the Palestinian radical movement Hamas. “As long as Hamas clings to its ideology of destruction, a cease-fire is not peace. To Hamas’s members, every cease-fire is time they exploit to rebuild their stockpile of rockets, reposition fighters and restart the killing by attacking innocents again,” he…

“We must never forget the lesson learned time and again throughout our history: Out of great tragedy and upheaval, enormous progress can come,” he maintained WASHINGTON, November 19. /TASS/. The policy being pursued by Washington in Ukraine and the Middle East would bring progress and make the United States more secure, US President Joe Biden said in his article for The Washington Post. According to Biden, against the backdrop of “so much violence and suffering – in Ukraine, Israel, [the] Gaza [Strip] and so many other places – it can be difficult to imagine that something different is possible.” “We must never…

So far, 408 Russian citizens have returned homeland, and another 136 people are currently in Egypt waiting to be flown home MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. Another group of Russian nationals evacuated from the Gaza Strip has been flown to Moscow, according to a TASS reporter. An Il-76 flight of the Russian Emergencies Ministry carrying 120 Russian citizens who were evacuated from the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing on Saturday landed at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport. This is a fourth group of Russian evacuees. So far, 408 Russian citizens have returned homeland, and another 136 people are currently in Egypt…

According to the United Nations health agency, 291 patients and 25 health workers remained inside the hospital GENEVA, November 19. /TASS/. Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip can no longer function and an evacuation of all patients is needed as soon as possible, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said following an assessment mission to Gaza’s largest medical complex. “The team saw a hospital no longer able to function: no water, no food, no electricity, no fuel,” he wrote on his page on X (formerly Twitter), adding that there was a lack of medical…

The release of hostages could begin in the next few days, the people told WaPo WASHINGTON, November 19. /TASS/. The United States, Israel and the Palestinian radical movement Hamas have agreed to a tentative deal that would see a five-day pause in fighting, The Washington Post (WaPo) said, citing people familiar with its provisions. According to them, the deal would “free dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza, in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting,” the newspaper reported. The release of hostages could begin in the next few days, the people told WaPo. Source: Tass