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The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) murdered at least 72,568 Palestinian civilians and injured at least 172,338 others since the beginning of the genocide that the Israeli occupation has been committing against the Gaza Strip in October 2023. Medical sources said that hospitals across the Gaza Strip received six Palestinian martyrs and 18 injured others over the past 24 hours. Since the “ceasefire” agreement went into effect in October 2025, the IOF murdered at least 791 Palestinians, and injured at least 2,235 others, while 761 bodies were pulled out from under the rubble of buildings destroyed by the Israeli occupation war machine. Source link
A senior Iranian parliament official said on Thursday that Tehran has received the first revenue from tolls it imposed on the strategic Strait of Hormuz in its war with the United States and Israel.”The first revenue received from the Strait of Hormuz tolls was deposited into the Central Bank account,” said deputy speaker of parliament Hamidreza Hajibabaei, according to Tasnim news agency.Other Iranian media carried the same statement, without elaborating.The Strait of Hormuz, a key energy chokepoint, has become a major flashpoint since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28.Iran has allowed only a trickle of ships to pass through the waterway, a route that in peacetime accounts for a fifth of the world’s oil and gas flows, along with other vital commodities.Before the announcement of revenue from tolls, Iran’s parliament had been deciding whether to impose them on shipping through the strait, with Iranian officials warning that maritime traffic through the strait would “not return to its pre-war status”.On March 30, Iranian state media said the parliament’s security commission had approved plans to impose tolls, but it was not clear if a final parliamentary vote on the proposal had taken place. US President Donald Trump has been pushing Iran to open the strait.Britain, France and military planners from over 30 countries have held talks to protect navigation through the strait, with Paris and London saying they would lead a multinational mission as “soon as conditions allow”. Source link
Palestinians in one of the only Gaza cities not overrun by Israeli ground forces during the war will vote this weekend in municipal elections that will feature some pro-Hamas candidates, offering a rare barometer of the militant group’s popularity. The vote in Deir al-Balah is part of Palestinian Authority municipal elections that Palestinians have cast as a display of national unity against a US plan for Gaza that they believe intends to entrench their separation from the occupied West Bank. It will be Gaza’s first vote of any kind since 2006, when Hamas won the PA’s legislative elections and later seized control of Gaza following a brief civil war with PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party, dominant in the West Bank. The polls will be the fifth municipal elections in the West Bank since 2005. In January, the PA said it would extend those elections to Gaza “wherever possible”, a move analysts see as a symbolic effort to show Gaza remains part of a future Palestinian state. For Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, including Adham Al-Bardini, the vote on Saturday marks an opportunity for political expression after the Hamas-led storming of Israel that sparked two-year assault on Gaza. “For the first time in my life, in 20 years, I will have this feeling. I have been hearing about elections since I was born but because of the circumstances no elections are done,” said Al-Bardini, 34.“We are eager to take (part) so we can change the reality imposed on us.” In Deir al-Balah, large banners bearing the logos of rival candidate lists decorate the streets. Voting will be held in 12 polling centres including open fields and tents. Fareed Taamallah, spokesman for the PA Central Elections Commission, said roughly 70,000 Palestinians were eligible to vote in Deir al-Balah, a city he said was chosen because it suffered less damage than the rest of the largely ruined territory. Four lists are fielding candidates in the election, including one that has several candidates who residents and analysts regard as pro-Hamas. Hamas has not explicitly fielded a list or endorsed any candidate, citing disagreements with Abbas over a PA decree that requires candidates to accept terms including recognition of Israel. Other factions are also boycotting the vote, meaning Fatah is expected to sweep larger city councils in the West Bank. But despite its official boycott of the vote, Hamas “may be betting on winning in this election” and could use pro-Hamas candidates’ performance to gauge its popularity, said Hani Al-Masri, a West Bank political analyst. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the group would respect the election results. Sources in the group told Reuters that it will deploy police and security forces to secure voting sites. Hamas reasserted control of Deir al-Balah and other areas in a stretch of Gaza’s coast from which Israeli forces withdrew under an October 2025 ceasefire. Israel retains control of more than 53% of Gaza. Some public opinion polling shows Hamas remains popular in Gaza and the West Bank, despite the devastation wrought by the war. In Gaza, an October 2025 poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that 41% of Palestinians there support Hamas, followed by 29% for Fatah. The vote comes as U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” pushes a plan for Gaza’s future that would see the territory rebuilt from scratch under the administration of an apolitical committee of Palestinian technocrats. The plan calls on Hamas to hand over Gaza governance to the committee as it lays down its weapons and Israeli forces withdraw from the Strip. Hamas has so far rejected disarmament, accusing Israel of failing to abide by the October ceasefire. The plan notably does not mention the West Bank, which, along with the Gaza Strip, Palestinians have long sought for a future state, and where the PA exercises limited self-rule. Palestinian political analyst Reham Owda said the municipal elections were “a symbolic step to send a message to the world, to the Board of Peace, and to Israel that the Gaza Strip is an inseparable part of the Palestinian political system.” For 25-year-old Abdul-Rahman Al-Shaaf, the vote, even at the local level, offers an opportunity to rebuild lives after conflict. Source link
An Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, bombings in Beirut, massive displacement and rising sectarian friction. The year is 2026, but for those who lived through Lebanon’s civil war five decades ago, it may as well be the 1970s.Lebanese who fought in the 1975-1990 war or documented it as journalists told Reuters they feel echoes of the intercommunal tensions and violence they witnessed then, and see a risk of renewed fighting among Lebanese. The latest war that erupted on March 2 between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has deepened enmity between the Iran-backed group and its domestic opponents, pushing Lebanon’s fragile state and society towards breaking point. A short-term ceasefire is meant to allow for peace negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, with the US to host a second round of talks on Thursday. But it is also sharpening the divide between the government and Hezbollah, which is firmly opposed to such negotiations.Lebanon’s civil war erupted in April 1975 when sectarian and economic tensions boiled over into clashes between Christian gunmen and Palestinian fighters, then expanded to draw in other communities and countries. Around one million people fled their homes, a figure the most recent conflict, with 1.2 million displaced, has already surpassed. Beirut became a battleground. Israel invaded in 1978, occupying a strip of southern Lebanon similar to the territory it has just reoccupied. From 1976-2005 Syria deployed troops to Lebanon — an idea that was floated to Damascus last year. Ziad Saab, 68, squinted as he read a handwritten letter he received in 1981 from a friend on the frontline, detailing Israeli bombardment on some of the same southern villages Israel recently struck.”This letter could be written today,” said Saab, who fought alongside Lebanon’s Communist Party at the time and now heads Fighters for Peace, an organization founded by former combatants. Internal divisions underpinning Lebanon’s civil war were never reconciled, he said, warning Lebanese against turning on each other.”Don’t repeat our experience. Because you’ll be surprised where it will take you,” Saab said, speaking to Reuters at his home in Beirut. “We ripped the country apart.” For Saab, the bombardments of April 8, when rapid Israel strikes across Lebanon killed more than 300 people, “basically brought back the scenes of the whole civil war in seconds”.Hezbollah was founded in 1982 at the civil war’s peak and was the only group to retain arms after it ended. After Israel withdrew in 2000, Hezbollah expanded its arsenal and deepened its sway over Lebanon’s government. Internal clashes broke out in 2008 and 2021.But after a 2024 war with Israel badly weakened Hezbollah, a new Lebanese government backed by the U.S. vowed to disarm it. Lebanese troops began to confiscate its arms gradually, fearing a confrontation if they seized Hezbollah’s arsenal by force. When Hezbollah fired into Israel on March 2 in support of Iran, some Lebanese blamed it for pulling the country into a new conflict. Some also blamed the wider Shi’ite community, from which Hezbollah draws its popular support. Meanwhile, Shi’ite Muslims, who have borne the brunt of wars with Israel and see Hezbollah as their only defence, have criticised the state for failing to protect them. Several Shi’ites displaced by Israeli strikes told Reuters they saw Lebanon’s top officials as “traitors”. Patrick Baz, a Lebanese photographer, said divisions among Lebanese youth made a new internal conflict possible, citing scenes of armed Christian men, angry at Hezbollah over the war, firing in the air during a funeral of a Christian politician killed in an Israeli strike this month. Baz, who learned the craft in the civil war’s early days and spent his adulthood documenting it, pointed to universities, often a microcosm of broader political tensions. “I’m sure if you go to universities today and you tell them to carry guns and go and fire at your political opponents or someone you don’t like, they will do it,” he said.Last week’s announcement of a temporary ceasefire brought welcome respite after more than five weeks of Israeli strikes that killed nearly 2,300 people.But the deal leaves key issues unaddressed. It neither requires Israeli troops to withdraw from Lebanon nor explicitly demands Hezbollah’s disarmament. It sets Beirut on track for peace talks with Israel, fiercely opposed by some Lebanese across sectarian divides.A diplomat working on Lebanon described the text as a “detailed recipe for internal confrontation.”Rafic Bazerji, a senior figure in a Lebanese Christian armed group during the civil war, said deals that don’t have “a good foundation” are doomed to reignite tensions, citing the Taif Agreement which ended the civil war but was never fully implemented, and the government’s unfinished plan to disarm Hezbollah.Bazerji now owns a guesthouse in the mountains southeast of Beirut and heads the Latin League in Lebanon, which represents Latin Christians, one of the country’s many religious groups.He taught his two adult sons to shoot and sees a young generation that could take up arms.”As much as we were, in our days, fanatics and we were excited to fight, I’m seeing today a new generation that is scary. We’re kids compared to them,” he told Reuters.Lebanese were worried about reliving the 1975-1990 war, when around 150,000 were killed, he added, but splits over Hezbollah, Israel and other key issues could tip into violence.”In the end, if we can avoid it, we avoid it. But if the razor reaches our throats, we’re also not going to take it lying down,” Bazerji said. Related Story Source link
A Palestinian was martyred and three others were wounded today as a result of Israeli occupation forces shelling Khan Younis in Gaza.Palestinian medical sources reported that one Palestinian was killed and three others were wounded when the Al Maslakh area, south of Khan Younis, was targeted by an Israeli drone, amid continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.Since the ceasefire was declared October 2025, 786 Palestinians have been killed and about 220 others have been wounded. Source link
Palestinian children play on a street in Gaza City on April 20, 2026. Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored truce in Gaza has largely halted the…
FILE PHOTO: Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid…
Iraqi security forces reopen the Rabia border crossing with Syria after more than a decade of closure, aiming to accelerate overland fuel oil exports and revive…
Mourners attend the funeral of people, including Hezbollah members, who were killed during the conflict with Israel before a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went…
In partnership with the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is implementing a livelihood project to help improve the economic conditions of the people of Gaza. Dr Akram Nassar, head of QRCS’s representation office in Gaza, explained, “The project provides training for 60 graduates to qualify them to work freelance, including e-marketing, graphic design, UI design, and smartphone application development.” He revealed arrangements to secure four-month internships for the graduates under the supervision of specialised trainers, helping them develop their practical skills and become self-employed workers. According to Dr Nassar, another component of the project is temporary employment for 23 graduates, by engaging them in psychosocial support programs with local NGOs in Gaza serving children, women, older persons, and other vulnerable groups. Aya is one of the beneficiaries of a graphic design course held as part of QRCS’s project. Illustrating the humanitarian impact of vocational training on the lives of beneficiaries amidst difficult conditions, she described this experience as a “big asset” that would help her get design work with private-sector companies, both in and out of Gaza. “At university, I studied graphic design,” said Aya. “But this training introduced me to totally new skills of visual branding, stronger digital visibility, AI design tools, project marketing, and how to sell my creative ideas to the clients”. The $234,000 project falls under an entire portfolio of humanitarian interventions aimed at strengthening the resilience of the Palestinian people and allowing youths to unlock their potential. In the context of economic empowerment for entrepreneurial families in Gaza, QRCS plans to establish and support 500 productive gardens with agricultural tools, irrigation water, seeds, and fertilisers, as well as rehabilitate agricultural land and secure greenhouses, irrigation networks, solar panels. These projects will serve 600 farming families, at a total cost of QR 6.4mn. Source link