Middle East

On a bleak late winter’s day, under leaden skies and occasional driving rain, this was the moment all Israelis had been dreading. The return of the dead. It began, as all the handovers so far have begun, with a politically charged display by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups involved in holding Israeli hostages for … Read more

Reuters Four coffins were displayed on a stage flanked by armed Hamas fighters Hamas has handed the Red Cross the bodies of four hostages who have been held in Gaza since being taken alive in the group’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Hamas says they are those of a mother and two children … Read more

Getty Images About half of Yemen’s population needs humanitarian assistance, including nearly 10 million children When Hanaa arrived at work a few months ago, she found “drawers and doors smashed, and the boss surrounded by security personnel”. Computers, phones, cameras and documents were all confiscated, her boss was arrested and the organisation’s bank account was … Read more

Hamas says it will hand over the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, including the two youngest people held by the Palestinian armed group. The group’s negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said the bodies to be released would include those of the Bibas family – Shiri and her young children Kfir and Ariel, who were aged nine … Read more

Before being detained, the Foremans shared videos of their travels in Iran Detained Britons Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been charged in Iran with espionage, the country’s judiciary news agency has said. Mr and Mrs Foreman were arrested in January but news of their detention, on unspecified security charges, emerged last week. Judiciary spokesman Asghar … Read more

Israel has pulled its forces from southern Lebanon apart from five positions, Lebanon’s state news agency says. Israel’s withdrawal is a key part of the ceasefire which ended a year-long conflict with Shia militant group Hezbollah. Israeli ministers said some troops would remain inside Lebanon to protect Israel’s northern communities. In response, Lebanon said Israel … Read more

When US President Donald Trump wanted someone to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin last week to open negotiations for a potential deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, he didn’t dispatch his secretary of state. The man he sent to the Kremlin to handle a titanic geopolitical challenge does not even have a diplomatic background. Instead … Read more

The choice by the Trump administration of Saudi Arabia as the location for key talks on Ukraine underscores how far the Kingdom has come diplomatically from the near pariah state it became after the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The shadow that cast over the country and its de facto leader, … Read more

Zakaria is 11 and helps at one of the biggest hospitals in Gaza – al-Aqsa – under the mentorship of an experienced paramedic. As war raged across the strip, he could be found carrying wounded and traumatised victims into the emergency ward for treatment, wiping blood from his hands as he went about his duties. … Read more

Armen Nersessian BBC World Service Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images The collection includes Jackson Pollock’s Mural On Indian Red Ground It has been dubbed one of the world’s rarest treasure troves of art but few people outside its host country know about it. For decades, masterpieces by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Warhol … Read more