Israel launches first Gaza air strike in more than a week An Israeli air strike targeting a three-wheeled vehicle in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya killed one Palestinian and wounded several others, Anadolu reported, citing a medical source. The wounded were taken to a hospital in Gaza City. An Israeli military spokesperson told AFP the strike was carried out to “remove a threat”.
Israel seeking to 'remove Palestine from world's agenda', Erdogan says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's government of seeking to "remove Palestine" from the world's agenda. "The aim of the Netanyahu government is to remove Palestine from the common agenda of humanity by profiting from chaos and new conflicts in the region," Erdogan said at a joint news conference with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Ankara. "No matter what they do, they will not succeed.
Exclusive: UK to announce raft of new policies on Israel including settlement goods ban Submitted by Imran Mulla on Wed, 08/12/2026 - 12:09 MEE can reveal new details of potential policies on Israel and the occupied West Bank under discussion in the British government UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband listens as he meets with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington, DC, on 5 August 2026 (AFP) Off Since Andy Burnham became prime minister, there has been a serious shift in approach to British foreign policy. But so far none of it has been made public, beyond a change in the rhetoric of government ministers. This is set to change after parliament's summer recess.
Iran's new Security Council shake-up reveals growing divisions over US deal Soon after Iranian negotiators reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States in late June to end months of hostilities, Iran 's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) issued a statement endorsing the agreement. The statement was signed by Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a former hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general who had replaced the slain Ali Larijani, a prominent moderate figure who had supported a deal with Washington and was killed in a US- Israeli strike on 17 March. In Iran, the SNSC secretary, who is appointed by the president, does not have a vote on the council.
Trump says US will keep 'total control' of Strait of Hormuz President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States is in control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz and will "keep it. " "The U. S.
Twenty-six countries condemn in 'strongest terms' Iran executions Twenty-six nations, including France, the UK and Canada, have condemned the use of capital punishment by Iranian authorities, saying in a joint statement the Islamic republic was executing protesters to "silence dissent". The countries, joined by the European Union's top diplomat, "condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty" by Iran. "The use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified".
Colombia sides with Morocco over Western Sahara as it aligns with Israeli foreign policy Submitted by Elis Gjevori on Wed, 08/12/2026 - 14:18 Bogota reversed its Western Sahara policy, recognising Moroccan sovereignty over the region, before endorsing Israel’s annexation of Syria's Golan Heights Demonstrators set fire to a sign depicting US President Donald Trump with the US and Israeli flags during a march in Medellin, Colombia, on 7 October 2025 (AFP/Jaime Saldarriaga) Off Colombia’s newly elected far-right government has recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, beginning its presidency with a raft of decisions that align Bogota with the foreign policy priorities of Israel and the United States. Vice President Jose Manuel Restrepo and Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar announced the reversal after holding talks with Moroccan officials. Escobar, in a post on X, said that Colombia “recognizes Morocco's sovereignty over its Sahara”.
‘The right to stay’: Albania’s Italian diaspora sails back to support the Flamingo Revolution Submitted by Dalia Ismail on Wed, 08/12/2026 - 14:30 Organisers in Italy connect the Albanian protest movement to the Palestinian cause as part of a wider struggle against land dispossession A flamingo sculpture with a Palestinian keffiyeh and an Albanian flag during a demonstration in support of the Albanian protest movement in Tirana, 17 June 2026 (Antonio Muco/Palestina e Lire) Off From the Italian port of Brindisi, activists from Italy’s Albanian diaspora and from Global Sumud Flotilla Italy will set sail for Albania on 20 August, travelling across the Adriatic to join the Flamingo Revolution , the protest movement against luxury developments backed by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The mission is organised by the Italian-Albanian collective Mesdhe (“Mediterranean” in Albanian) and the Albanian pro- Palestine collective Palestina e Lire (“Free Palestine” in Albanian), together with the Italian branch of the Global Sumud Flotilla , an international civil society initiative aimed at breaking Israel 's naval blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the enclave. It will link the two Adriatic shores with a three‑boat flotilla at a moment when activists in Albania are challenging the privatisation of protected land and the growing influence of foreign investors over the country.
Iran's new Security Council shake-up reveals growing divisions over US deal Submitted by MEE correspondent on Wed, 08/12/2026 - 10:52 Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appoints former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei to head Iran's top national security body Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Mohsen Rezaei, attend a farewell ceremony for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in a US-Israeli air strike, in Tehran, on 3 July 2026 (Reuters) Off Soon after Iranian negotiators reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States in late June to end months of hostilities, Iran 's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) issued a statement endorsing the agreement. The statement was signed by Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a former hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general who had replaced the slain Ali Larijani, a prominent moderate figure who had supported a deal with Washington and was killed in a US- Israeli strike on 17 March. In Iran, the SNSC secretary, who is appointed by the president, does not have a vote on the council.
Erdogan eyes expansion of regional defence pact President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he hoped more countries would join a defence agreement signed last week between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed on Friday. "Our vision for it is not limited to the three countries," the Turkish leader told Asharq Al-Awsat.
'This isn't the Britain I grew up in': The elderly activists raided by police over Palestine Action videos Submitted by Katherine Hearst on Wed, 08/12/2026 - 13:00 Activists say police searched their entire homes, confiscating personal devices and items bearing the Palestinian flag, even rifling through personal diaries Police remove protesters from outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London on 15 June 2026, as the High Court ruled on a legal standoff between the government and activist group Palestine Action (AFP) Off Marji Mansfield, a 70-year-old grandmother of seven, has been waiting for British counterterrorism police to show up at her door. The anxiety sharpens between five and seven in the morning, when police usually conduct dawn raids, particularly if she has her grandchildren stay overnight. “It’s been really, really quite scary not knowing when there's going to be the knock at the door,” Mansfield told Middle East Eye.
The war on Iran cracked the US-led regional order. The Mecca pact could deal the final blow Submitted by Sami Al-Arian on Tue, 08/11/2026 - 22:30 The new alliance is no Sunni 'Islamic Nato' against Iran, but could lay the foundation for an independent security framework that eventually draws in Tehran, Cairo and beyond Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shakes hands with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on after the signing of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on 7 August 2026 (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters) On The signing of a joint defence agreement in Mecca on 7 August between Saudi Arabia , Turkey and Pakistan predictably set off a flurry of explanations. Three of the most important Sunni Muslim states, alarmed by Iran 's strategic ascendancy and the turmoil engulfing the region, were finally banding together, the argument went, to establish a military alliance that could eventually become a "Sunni" Islamic version of Nato.
Libya reels from assassination, oil strikes and central bank turmoil Submitted by Elis Gjevori on Wed, 08/12/2026 - 11:41 The violence has shaken claims of stability and placed further pressure on Libya’s divided authorities Black smoke rises during a fire at the Zawiya refinery, Libya’s second-largest oil refinery, after a storage tank was attacked by unknown perpetrators in Al-Zawiyah on 11 August 2026 (AFP/Mahmud Turkia) Off Libya was plunged into fresh turmoil this week after a car bomb killed eastern military intelligence chief Fawzi al-Mansouri in Benghazi, drone attacks struck the country’s largest operational oil refinery and the central bank governor resigned from his post. Mansouri, the military intelligence chief for forces controlling eastern Libya, was leaving a mosque on Monday night when an explosive device attached to his vehicle detonated, the Libyan National Army (LNA) said on Tuesday. Khaled Haftar , the son of the LNA renegade commander Khalifa Haftar who controls eastern Libya, said authorities had opened an investigation, adding that "indicators point to a despicable terrorist tactic".
Turkey's cross party Kurdish peace coalition makes history with PKK clemency law Submitted by Ragip Soylu on Wed, 08/12/2026 - 10:49 Landmark legislation granting limited clemency to PKK members wins unprecedented support across the political spectrum, opening a path to ending four decades of conflict Turkish Nationalist Movement Party's (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli (centre) shakes hands with Pervin Buldan (centre left), an MP of the Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party after voting on the bill at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara on 10 August (AFP/Adem Altan) Off It would have been unimaginable three years ago to see lawmakers from Turkey's ruling coalition pose in parliament alongside pro-Kurdish MPs and other opposition politicians after voting to grant partial clemency to members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). But that's exactly what has happened after a historic vote. For the first time in Turkey's modern history, the government introduced legislation establishing a framework for resolving its conflict with the PKK - and potentially ending nearly four decades of fighting.
Iran and US did not discuss ceasefire extension, senior Iranian official says There were no discussions between Iran and the US to extend the ceasefire because from Tehran's perspective the deal had no start date and therefore there was nothing to extend, a senior Iranian source has told Reuters.
Reform UK's love affair with a Middle Eastern dictatorship Submitted by Imran Mulla on Tue, 08/11/2026 - 15:32 Middle East Eye investigates the increasingly close relationship between Nigel Farage's anti-immigration party and the United Arab Emirates Nigel Farage hasn’t always been fond of the United Arab Emirates : Writing in The Telegraph on 15 December 2023 in opposition to a bid by the oil-rich Gulf state to take over the newspaper, he didn’t mince words. “As the UAE is an absolute monarchy with an abysmal human rights record, it seems fanciful that it would take jokes or questions in the spirit that runs through the British press,” Farage argued forcefully. “Would Sheikh Mansour, the vice-president of the UAE and a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, allow one of his relatives to be caricatured in a Telegraph cartoon?
Four killed in the Red Sea as Houthis claim ship attack Yemen's Houthis attacked a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, on Tuesday, Houthi-run news agency Saba reported, and Pakistan said on Wednesday that three of its nationals had been killed in an attack on a ship. Four crew members of a small cargo ship were killed when it was hit by the Houthis on Tuesday, Yemen's transport ministry said, adding the dead also included an Indonesian. The fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah marked the first deaths in a Houthi strike on shipping since the Iran war began on 28 February.
Pakistan interior minister in Iran for talks Pakistan's interior minister is visiting Iran to discuss regional security, stability and other developments, the Pakistani foreign office said on Wednesday. Mohsin Naqvi, previously involved in mediation efforts between Iran and the US, is known to be close to the powerful head of the Pakistani army, Asim Munir. Iranian state news agency IRNA reported late on Tuesday that Naqvi met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni.
Burnham is the new captain, but he's charting the same course on Israel Submitted by Hamza Yusuf on Mon, 08/10/2026 - 19:54 The new British prime minister acknowledges Labour's failures on Gaza, yet his words are not being matched by actions British Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks to the media in Dover, southern England, on 2 August 2026 (Jack Taylor/AFP) On A new dawn has arrived in Britain . Andy Burnham has replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister. The Labour Party has arrested its seemingly irreversible slump, having learned its lessons, and is ready to resume governing, while addressing the concerns of ordinary people.
Morning update Good morning Middle East Eye readers, These are some of the latest developments from across the region: US President Donald Trump told reporters that he does not "trust Iran", and further claimed that the US has full control over the vital Strait of Hormuz. "I don’t trust Iran. I’m the last person to trust Iran; they’ve lied to me constantly.
