'After Israel's annihilation of Gaza, can I ever return home? ' Opinion by Bahzad al Akhras It was a routine online meeting with my academic supervisors during the summer. One of them, who had just returned from visiting her home country, spoke about the joy of being surrounded by family, the comfort of familiar places, and the quiet sense of belonging that comes from returning home.
After Israel's annihilation of Gaza, can I ever return home? Submitted by Bahzad al Akhras on Wed, 08/12/2026 - 17:30 The destruction of my family's house was not simply a loss of walls or furniture. It was the erasure of a place that once held our lives together A boy sweeps through the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli bombardment of Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on 12 June 2026 (Eyad Baba/AFP) Off It was a routine online meeting with my academic supervisors during the summer.
Over 350,000 people in need of medicines in Gaza: Palestinian Medical Relief Society Over 350,000 patients in Gaza need medicines, the head of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, Mohammad Abu Afash, has warned. He told Al Jazeera that supplies in the territory are insufficient, warning that if medical aid is not boosted "our health situation will become extremely difficult".
Iranian official urges Qatar to move detained pilots to hospital on land, Tasnim says An Iranian military official called on Qatar on Saturday to transfer detained Iranian pilots to a hospital on land, saying they were being held on water and were in "poor physical condition", Tasnim news agency reported. Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, said the location where the pilots were being held was unsuitable and requested that the International Committee of the Red Cross send an air ambulance to Qatar to expedite the return of injured and sick detainees to Iran.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A pro-Palestinian demonstration was held in central Budapest on Friday in solidarity with Palestinians detained by Israeli regime forces.
Exclusive: UK's advertising regulator not investigating Great Israeli Real Estate Event Submitted by Imran Mulla on Fri, 08/21/2026 - 10:50 British government says it referred the event promoting illegal settlements to the Advertising Standards Authority Israel's controversial wall separating East Jerusalem from the Palestinian village of Abu Dis in the West Bank Off The UK 's advertising regulator is not investigating a real estate event, referred to it by the government, which promoted properties in illegal Israeli settlements, Middle East Eye can reveal. On 16 June, the then foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said in parliament that ministers had asked the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to "urgently" investigate the Great Israeli Real Estate Event. On 15 June MEE had reported that properties in illegal Israeli settlements were advertised at the event, which was held a day earlier at the Edgware United Synagogue in London.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The UN human rights office warned that violence by Israeli settlers and regime forces in the occupied West Bank is worsening, alongside a widening push by the Zionist regime toward annexation.
The Islamic Republic may want the world to forget what happened in January, but the bodies of those who survived make that difficult.
Indian workers in Israel demand accountability after murder of Indian caregiver Submitted by Shraddha Joshi on Fri, 08/21/2026 - 20:17 The stabbing of an Indian domestic worker has raised concerns about the vulnerability of thousands of Indian workers in Israel Long lines of Indian men queued on January 25, applying for jobs in Israel (Naeem Ansari / AFP) Off Indian workers in Israel have filed an appeal demanding justice and accountability following the murder of Indian caregiver Rajeev Acharya, who was stabbed to death by an Israeli national, India's NDTV news channel reports . Israeli authorities have since indicted Avior Zaken, the grandson of the elderly couple who employed Acharya, for attacking him repeatedly with a sharp object on 23 July. Workers have called for the Israeli government to prosecute the case fully, provide compensation to Acharya's family, and protect Indian foreign workers from violence and abuse, according to NDTV.
'Shameful:' UK, Canada and Australia condemn Israel's refusal to investigate aid worker attack Israel's decision not to launch a criminal investigation into an attack on a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy in Gaza is "shameful", according to the UK , Canada and Australia. The 2024 attack by Israel killed at least seven humanitarian workers. "The announcement by the [Israeli military] on August 19, 2026, that it would not pursue criminal investigations into this strike, without further explanation, is shameful," the three countries wrote in a statement on Friday.
'Shameful:' UK, Canada and Australia condemn Israel's refusal to investigate aid worker attack Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 08/21/2026 - 18:45 Israel sidelining death of aid workers is 'egregious', allies say A boy walks carrying a table on his back past salvage workers scrapping the rubble of a building that was destroyed during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, to use the recycled remains in the future, in Gaza City on August 16, 2026. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP) Off Israel's decision not to launch a criminal investigation into an attack on a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy in Gaza is "shameful", according to the UK , Canada and Australia. The 2024 attack by Israel killed at least seven humanitarian workers.
In light of new revelations regarding the alleged involvement of the United States in attacks on Ecuadorian vessels, including the Fiorella vessel—eight of whose crew members remain missing—Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said: “The U. S. role in this attack is becoming increasingly difficult to deny.
Seven World Central Kitchen workers were killed in the Israeli strike on their convoy in 2024.
'Bloodline punishment': Iranian family faces ongoing punitive ICE detention A Los Angeles-based Iranian family has spent over 130 days in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention to date due to their relative’s political activity nearly 50 years ago. In a letter published in The Nation, Iranian academic Maryam Tahmasebi described the arrest and detention of her husband, Eissa Hashemi, their 16-year-old son and herself, as "bloodline punishment" as the three permanent residents were stripped of their green cards following an online campaign. Neither of the three family members has any criminal history.
Iran's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of 24-year-old political prisoner Arghavan Fallahi, who was convicted of “baghi,” or armed rebellion, the US-based HRANA rights group reported on Friday.
'Bloodline punishment': Iranian family faces ongoing punitive ICE detention Submitted by Shraddha Joshi on Fri, 08/21/2026 - 13:13 Three relatives of a former Iranian politician have been held in indefinite detention for over 130 days Texas State Troopers prepare to disperse a crowd protesting ICE outside the South Texas Family Residential Center on 28 January 2026 in Dilley, Texas (Joel Angel Juarez / Getty Images via AFP) Off A Los Angeles-based Iranian family has spent over 130 days in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention to date due to their relative’s political activity nearly 50 years ago. In a letter published in The Nation, Iranian academic Maryam Tahmasebi described the arrest and detention of her husband, Eissa Hashemi, their 16-year-old son and herself, as "bloodline punishment" as the three permanent residents were stripped of their green cards following an online campaign. Neither of the three family members has any criminal history.
Ghazal Marzban, a transgender woman held in Tehran’s Evin prison, says she was raped after being detained by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry in 2023 and later threatened into silence, according to a letter published by the HRANA human rights news agency.
Death of Syrian detainee sparks protest and conversation about prison reform Submitted by Munir Mohammed on Fri, 08/21/2026 - 10:30 Authorities detain police investigator who struck former White Helmets volunteer, as activists call for further progress in overhauling detention system Mohammed Ghamira, a father of two and former volunteer at the White Helmets rescue organisation, died on Sunday (Syria's Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management) Off The recent death in custody of a Syrian detainee sparked backlash and protest in the country, as activists and rights groups urged authorities to build on efforts to overcome the dark history of arbitrary detentions, torture and disappearances under former leader Bashar al-Assad. Mohammed Ghamira, a father of two and former volunteer at the White Helmets rescue organisation, died on Sunday, days after being detained over a financial dispute. He left al-Haffah police station in the Latakia province in a critical condition, and was later pronounced dead in hospital from “complications from cerebral and gastrointestinal haemorrhaging” that “resulted from a beating he sustained after being detained”, Syrian authorities said.
Canada condemns Israel for closing probe into aid worker killings Canada has condemend Israel for closing its investigation into the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza. Israeli strikes hit the charity’s convoy in April 2024, killing Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger and six colleagues. Foreign Minister Anita Anand described Israel’s decision to end the investigation as “unacceptable” and said the attack involved “serious failures”.
The men who spent the war demanding control of the Strait of Hormuz have returned to demanding control of women's clothing. As the fighting subsides, Iran's hardliners are pressing to revive a hijab law the state itself suspended for fear of new protests.
