Author: Steven Sahiounie

The foreign minister of Iran sent his condolences to Kuwait on the passing of the Arab country’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah. In a message on Saturday, Hossein Amirabdollahian offered his condolences to the Kuwaiti nation and government on the loss of the emir. He also wished success, dignity and security for Kuwait. The emir of Kuwait died at 86 on Saturday. Authorities gave no cause of death, but announced the start of a 40-day official mourning period and a three-day closure of government departments. Kuwait’s crown prince and his half-brother, Sheikh Meshaal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, 83, was subsequently named…

A senior Hamas official says more than 8,000 people are missing under the rubble from Israeli’s bombardment on top of the death toll of more than 19,000. He said 70 percent of the dead and missing are women and children. “The occupation has committed many massacres in the 71 days of war in Gaza. The aggression continues in the occupied West Bank where 300 deaths have been recorded since October 7,” Osama Hamdan said at press conference in Beirut, Lebanon. “This fascist failing government [in Israel] does not care about the lives of their own soldiers and just pushes them…

Israeli media report Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet and deliver a televised statement on Saturday night. Netanyahu’s office did not immediately confirm that. The hostage crisis has become ever-more acute in Israel since its military disclosed troops accidentally killed three captives who approached them with a white flag after apparently having escaped their captors in Gaza. Hamas released a video showing hostages, some of whom had died, and ending with the Hebrew warning: “Time is running out.” Source: AlJazeera

In a phone call held this evening, President Mahmoud Abbas and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa engaged in a conversation addressing the latest developments in the Palestinian territories, particularly the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. President Abbas briefed King Hamad on the ongoing situation in Palestine, highlighting the Israeli attacks and emphasizing the need for coordinated efforts with the Arab brethren to ensure a halt to the Israeli aggression, prevent displacement of the Palestinian people, and facilitate the swift delivery of humanitarian aid, water, and electricity. The leaders discussed bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries,…

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN agency that provides relief to Palestinians, says he is “horrified at the smear campaigns that target Palestinians and those who provide aid to them”. “I’m asking you to help us push back against misinformation and inaccuracies. As commissioner-general of UNRWA, I have experienced this more than once since our agency is also one of the targets of this war,” he said. Source; AlJazeera

David Barnea, the Israeli intelligence agency’s chief, and Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister, are set to meet on Saturday in Norway’s capital, Oslo, to renew discussion for the release of captives, The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The talks were described as “exploratory”, read the report, adding that Barnea is also expected to meet with Egyptian officials. Pressure on the Israeli government to find a deal for the release of the 129 remaining captives doubled down after Israeli soldiers mistakenly shot dead three Israeli captives in northern Gaza. Source: AlJazeera

Israeli forces have arrested 16 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society has said in a statement. The group said the number of people detained in the occupied territory since the war began on October 7 has now risen to 4,520. source: AlJazeera

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian territory, has called on the UN’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to press for the deployment of a “protective presence” in Palestinian land under Israel’s military occupation. Albanese said on social media the UN chief’s support for a protective presence would help “restore peace” after Israel’s 56-year-long military occupation of Palestinian territory. Noting her support for a 2018 proposal by Guterres for such a presence by the UN, Albanese said: “I implore you to push for it now.” At that time, Guterres presented four options to protect Palestinians who are under Israeli…

Arab and Islamic officials on Friday held talks with Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and foreign ministers of Nordic and Benelux countries in Oslo, the Saudi foreign ministry said. The members of the Ministerial Committee assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit under the chairmanship of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan included foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, Palestine, Turkiye and the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. They met their counterparts from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. During the talks, they discussed the dangerous developments in the Gaza Strip, and the…

The Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed in a statement that diplomatic efforts were ongoing to reach a new truce in Gaza. “Qatar affirmed its ongoing diplomatic efforts to renew the humanitarian pause and expressed hope for building upon the progress made to accomplish a comprehensive and sustainable agreement that would end the war, stop the bloodshed of our Palestinian brethren, and lead to serious negotiations and the launch of a political process that yields a comprehensive, permanent, and just peace in accordance with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative,” the ministry said in a statement. A seven-day…