Middle East

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is working in “full cooperation” with the US on a “common strategy” for Gaza, after talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Netanyahu praised US President Donald Trump’s “bold vision” for Gaza’s future and said he and Rubio had discussed ways to “ensure that future becomes a … Read more

Nafiseh Kohnavard Middle East correspondent, BBC World Service Reporting fromReporting from Syria BBC After years of military expansion, everything Iran was trying to build in Syria is in ruins Mouldy half-finished food on bunk beds, discarded military uniforms and abandoned weapons – these are the remnants of an abrupt retreat from this base that once … Read more

Watch: Celebrations in Israel as three more hostages released Hamas has released another three Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners following a week in which the fragile ceasefire deal appeared under threat. American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, Argentinian-Israeli Yair Horn, 46, and Russian-Israeli Alexander Troufanov, 29, were freed in return for 369 Palestinians … Read more

Israel released 369 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office. This comes after Hamas released three more hostages, marking its sixth hostage release since the the ceasefire with Israel began in January. Loved ones were seen hugging freed prisoners as they arrived in Khan Younis in buses and Palestinian prisoners were … Read more

Family, friends and supporters celebrated across Israel as three more hostages were released by Hamas. The armed group handed Alexander Troufanov, Yair Horn and Sagui Dekel-Chen over to the Red Cross in Gaza in a carefully choreographed event on Saturday morning. Crowds in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square rejoiced as they watched a live broadcast of … Read more

Jamie Roberts Co-director, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone BBC Zakaria lives on his own at al-Aqsa hospital where he helps paramedics bring in casualties Zakaria is 11 years old and lives in Gaza. He reckons he has seen thousands of bodies since the war started. But at an age when children are typically found … Read more

The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon says its outgoing deputy commander has been injured after one of its convoys was “violently attacked”. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said in a statement that the convoy was taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport when it was targeted and one of its vehicles set on fire. … Read more