Tag Archives: ceasefire

Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israel on Monday after a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip, the first since the 11-day war between Israel and Palestinian militants in May. The Israeli military said in a statement that it identified one rocket launch that was intercepted by aerial defense …

Israel and Hamas will cease fire across the Gaza Strip border as of Friday, the Palestinian Islamist faction and Egyptian state TV said, bringing a potentially tenuous halt to the fiercest fighting in years. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said his security cabinet had voted unanimously in favour of …

The United Nations special envoy to Yemen began a two-day visit to Iran on Sunday during to meet with senior Iranian officials to discuss the on-going conflict. Martin Griffiths will meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs Javad Zarif as part of the diplomatic efforts to reach a political solution in …

Yemeni security forces, backed by the Arab coalition, killed three Al-Qaeda militants and captured two others in a raid on their hideout on Friday in Al-Ghaydah city, the capital of the western province of Mahra, local media and residents said. Large explosions rocked many districts in the city of Al-Ghaydah …

The Saudi-led Arab coalition announced that the terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militias fired on Tuesday morning two ballistic missiles from Yemen’s Sanaa province. Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said Tuesday the Houthis launched the missiles from residential areas. One rocket crashed 121 kilometers away, in the Amran province, and the second, …

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Wednesday it was halting military operations nationwide in support of U.N. efforts to end a five-year war that has killed over 100,000 people and spread hunger and disease. The move aims to facilitate talks sponsored by U.N. special envoy Martin Griffiths …

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a phone call on Friday that agreements reached between Russia and Turkey at recent talks would stabilize the situation in Syria’s Idlib province, the Kremlin said. “Bashar al-Assad rated the outcome of the talks between the leaders of Russia and …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed developments in Libya in a phone call, Turkey’s presidency said on Wednesday, days ahead of a summit in Berlin which will address the Libyan conflict. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host leaders of Turkey, Russia, Britain and Italy on Sunday …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib must be implemented to prevent more civilian deaths and an influx of refugees to Turkey, a statement from Erdogan’s office said. Erdogan told Putin over the phone on Thursday that Syria needed a political …

Houthi rebels in Yemen said on Monday they were halting drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their Yemeni allies, responding to a demand from the United Nations. The Iranian-aligned group, which has been battling the Saudi-backed government for nearly four years, also said it was ready for a broader ceasefire if …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced calls on Thursday from his coalition partners to hold an early election, a day after the defense minister’s resignation left the government with a razor-thin majority. Avigdor Lieberman quit on Wednesday over what he described as the government’s too-soft policy on cross-border violence with …

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation on Wednesday in protest at a Gaza ceasefire that he called a “capitulation to terror”, weakening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative coalition government. “Were I to stay in office, I would not be able to look southern residents in the eye,” Lieberman …

Palestinian militant groups in Gaza said on Tuesday they would halt cross-border attacks immediately if Israel did the same after the most serious exchanges of aerial fire since a seven-week war in 2014. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, responded by putting the onus on the Palestinians to …

Saudi Arabia and the United States have agreed to end U.S. refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi insurgents in Yemen, halting a divisive aspect of U.S. support to a war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. The move, announced by the coalition on Saturday …

Palestinian militants said on Saturday they would halt attacks into Israel from the Gaza Strip after they fired the heaviest rocket salvoes across the border since August. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, one of the armed groups that operates in Gaza, said it fired the rockets in retaliation for Israel’s killing …

Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers said Saturday they had accepted a cease-fire ending a massive Israeli onslaught on militant positions after a soldier was shot dead, once again pulling the sides back from the brink of a full-fledged war. Israel and Hamas have fought three such wars over the past decade …

After two days of rising hopes across the country, Taliban leaders on Sunday brusquely rejected the government’s proposal to extend a three-day cease-fire and said they were ordering all insurgent fighters to resume operations against “the foreign invaders and their internal supporters.” The insurgents’ terse announcement came as thousands of …

Afghanistan’s High Peace Council will hold a news conference on Sunday amid an unprecedented Taliban ceasefire and a day after President Ashraf Ghani said he would extend a government ceasefire but set no timeframe. Dozens of Taliban militants entered the Afghan capital and other cities on Saturday to celebrate the …

Russia has violated its duty to guarantee the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons and prevent the Assad government from using poison gas, the United States said on Wednesday. Syria signed up to the international ban on chemical weapons in 2013, as part of a deal brokered by Moscow to avert U.S. air strikes …

Rescuers in Syria’s eastern Ghouta said the bombing would not let up long enough for them to count the bodies during one of the bloodiest air assaults of the seven-year war, while the U.N. Security Council called for a 30-day humanitarian truce. The vote at the United Nations came as …

A new wave of bombs struck Syria’s eastern Ghouta on Friday, which a witness in one town described as the worst yet, ahead of a U.N. Security Council vote to demand a 30-day ceasefire across the country. For a sixth straight day, warplanes have pounded the densely populated agricultural pocket …

Russia suspects that western countries want to shift focus away from the necessity of starting the Geneva talks to launching plan “B” in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated. The minister went on by expressing concern over the proposed UN Security Council resolution on Syria, saying that it may aim to …

Syrian pro-government forces will help Syrian Kurds fighting against a Turkish offensive in north-west Syria, Syria’s state news agency reports. It comes after Syrian Kurdish officials said the government in Damascus had agreed to send troops. Turkey regards the Kurdish fighters, just across its border in Afrin, as terrorists. It …

The United Nations called on Tuesday for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Syria of at least one month as heavy air strikes were reported to have killed at least 30 people in rebel-held areas near Damascus and in the northwest. A man stands on rubble of damaged buildings after an airstrike in the besieged town …

A ceasefire took effect on Sunday in an Islamic State enclave straddling the Syria-Lebanon border, where the militants have been fighting the Lebanese army on one front and Hezbollah with Syrian troops on the other. The Lebanese army announced that a ceasefire in its own offensive took effect at 7:00 …

The Levant – – The United Nations observed the International Day of Peace with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealing to all warring parties to lay down their weapons and observe a global ceasefire and “stop the killings and the destruction, and create space for lasting peace.” The UN chief made the …

The Levant- – Al-Manar TV station controlled by Lebanon’s Hezbollah reported that Warring parties in Syria have agreed local ceasefires in two Shi’ite villages in northwestern Syria and a town near the Lebanese border, a group monitoring the war. It will be the third time local ceasefires have been agreed …

Israel and Hamas appeared at odds Thursday over prolonging a 72-hour Gaza ceasefire, with Hamas resistance group insisting on fulfillment of all pending stipulations. Guns have stayed silent in the tiny Palestinian enclave since 8:00 am (0500 GMT) Tuesday, bringing relief to millions of people on both sides after the …

THE LEVANT – A definitive end to the four-week conflict in Gaza appeared possible on Tuesday morning as an agreed 72-hour ceasefire between Hamas and Israel came into effect and the Israeli military said it had withdrawn from the Palestinian territory. The suspension of hostilities came into force at 8am on Tuesday and is due to be followed …