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Blinken Meets With Israeli Leaders, Says Palestinians Must Be Able to Return to Their Homes

Wed, 01/10/2024 - 05:17
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Israel has agreed to allow the United Nations to conduct an assessment of conditions in northern Gaza, as displaced Palestinian civilians taking refuge in the south of the enclave are begging to return to their homes. VOA's Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department
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Blinken: Israel Agrees on UN Mission to Evaluate North Gaza Situation

Wed, 01/10/2024 - 03:23
state department — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his latest mission to contain the Gaza war, said displaced Palestinians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow, and Israel has agreed to allow a United Nations mission to evaluate the situation in war-ravaged northern Gaza. "As Israel's campaign moves to a lower intensity phase in northern Gaza and as the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] scales down its forces there, we agreed today on a plan for the U.N. to...
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Palestinian Authority Could Seek Full UN Membership This Year

Wed, 01/10/2024 - 02:10
new york — The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations said Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority could seek full United Nations membership this year. “This is an investment in peace and an investment in saving the two-state solution,” Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters at the United Nations. In November 2012, the U.N. General Assembly voted to upgrade the Palestinians’ status to that of a nonmember observer state, allowing its envoy to participate in debates and U.N. organizations...
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Health Catastrophe Unfolding in Gaza as Humanitarian Space Shrinks

Tue, 01/09/2024 - 21:04
Geneva — World Health Organization officials warn a humanitarian and health catastrophe is unfolding in the Gaza Strip as the humanitarian space for providing life-saving treatment and aid is shrinking. “At the same time that we are seeing this humanitarian catastrophe unfold before our eyes, we are seeing the health system collapse,” said Sean Casey, WHO Emergency Medical Teams Coordinator. “Hospitals are closing, patients are lacking access to health facilities, health workers are being...
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Islamic State Group Kills 14 Syrian Soldiers: Monitor

Tue, 01/09/2024 - 21:04
Beirut, Lebanon — An Islamic State group attack killed at least 14 soldiers aboard a military bus in the Syrian desert Tuesday, a war monitor said, in the second such attack this year. "At least 14 members of the regime forces were killed" and several others wounded "in a bloody IS attack on a military bus" in the desert near the ancient city of Palmyra, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Syria's defense ministry confirmed the attack in a statement...
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Blinken Urges Israel to Avoid Further Harming Civilians in Gaza

Tue, 01/09/2024 - 08:20
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv Tuesday to ensure his country’s military avoids inflicting further harm on civilians in Gaza in its ongoing war against Hamas militants. “The Secretary reaffirmed our support for Israel’s right to prevent the terrorist attacks of October 7 from being repeated and stressed the importance of avoiding further civilian harm and protecting civilian infrastructure in Gaza,” State...
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Alarm Over High Rate of Media Casualties in Gaza Conflict

Tue, 01/09/2024 - 06:31
As two more journalists are killed covering the war in Gaza, the United Nations says it is alarmed by the historically high death toll, with nearly 80 media workers killed since October. VOA press freedom editor Jessica Jerreat has the story.
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As Hezbollah Clashes With Israel, Lebanon’s Christians Fear the Worst

Tue, 01/09/2024 - 04:27
Hezbollah’s call for revenge after Israel’s killing of a senior Hamas commander in Lebanon is raising fears of an all-out war in the country. Lebanese Christians are especially alarmed at the prospect of getting caught in the middle of a conflict in which they otherwise would have no stake. From Beirut for VOA, Nicole Di Ilio reports.
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Blinken: Middle East Leaders Determined to Prevent Wider War

Tue, 01/09/2024 - 04:00
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday leaders in the Middle East are determined to prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading and that there is broad recognition on the need to "chart a political path forward for the Palestinians."  "The West Bank and Gaza should be united under Palestinian-led governance," Blinken told reporters at Al Ula airport in Saudi Arabia.  "The future of the region needs to be one of integration, not division and...
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SKorea's Spy Agency: Hamas Used North Korean Weapons Against Israel

Tue, 01/09/2024 - 03:21
washington — South Korea’s spy agency confirmed Monday that Palestinian militant group Hamas has been using North Korean-made weapons in its conflict with Israel, amid a report of new photos showing weapons etched with Korean characters retrieved in the conflict. The National intelligence Service (NIS) made the confirmation in response to VOA’s Korean Service report published Friday showing new photos of North Korean F-7 rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) with Korean letters inscribed on...
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Gaza War Sparks New Research into Oxygen Therapy for PTSD

Tue, 01/09/2024 - 03:20
Hundreds of Israeli soldiers and civilians suffering trauma from the Hamas attack of October 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza are getting a unique treatment for PTSD in hyperbaric oxygen chambers. Doctors say it physically helps the brain heal from trauma. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Shamir Hospital in the central Israeli city of Rishon Letzion. Camera: Ricki Rosen
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Analysts: Blinken Visit May Signal Larger Role for Turkey in Efforts to End Israel-Hamas War

Mon, 01/08/2024 - 23:47
Until recently, observers say Washington had largely sidelined Turkey in diplomatic efforts to resolve the Israel-Hamas war, but as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, the visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Turkey in the last few days signals that has changed.
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Iran Backs Iraqi Call to End Presence of US-Led Force

Mon, 01/08/2024 - 23:38
Tehran — Iran on Monday threw its weight behind calls from neighboring Iraq to oust the U.S.-led anti-jihadi coalition from its territory after a U.S. strike killed a pro-Iran commander in Baghdad. "Regarding Iraq and the actions that the American government took recently, the Iraqi government has clearly announced its position," foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani told a press conference. Iran is confident that its neighbor has "the ability, strength and authority...
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Iran Seeks Quick Resolution of Issues Preventing Umrah Pilgrimage

Mon, 01/08/2024 - 23:25
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Iran hopes technical problems preventing Iranian Muslims from making the Umrah pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia will soon be resolved, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday. Iran initially announced in December that the first Umrah pilgrims would travel on December 19 following an agreement between Tehran and Riyadh to allow the pilgrimage to take place after a pause of eight years. However, this flight and subsequent ones were canceled due to...
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Israel & Palestine: Weighing the Solutions

Mon, 01/08/2024 - 16:51
The ups and downs of the one-state, two-state and three-state proposals to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
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For Egypt's Coptic Christians, Christmas Comes at a Time of Sacrifice

Mon, 01/08/2024 - 16:39
Egypt’s Copts, the biggest Christian population in the Middle East, celebrate Orthodox Christmas across the Egyptian capital
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