Iran Informs Qatar of its Stance on Ceasefire in Gaza

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (QNA)
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (QNA)
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Iran Informs Qatar of its Stance on Ceasefire in Gaza

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (QNA)
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (QNA)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian informed senior Qatari officials of his country's point of view on the war on the Gaza Strip, saying it was natural that the Iran loyalists will not remain silent in the face of all the Israeli crimes.

Amir-Abdollahian met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, where he conveyed a verbal message from Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on several regional and international issues, especially the developments in the Palestinian territories.

The Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported that Amir-Abdollahian also met with Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

During the meeting, they discussed means of cooperation to advance an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territories, protect civilians, and prevent the expansion of violence and conflict in the region, which will have dire consequences for everyone.

The Qatari FM said he discussed with Amir-Abdollahian the escalations in Gaza and the West Bank and advancing ceasefire efforts.

He wrote in a post on the "X" platform: "We stressed intensifying efforts to prevent expanding conflict that will result in serious consequences for everyone."

According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Amir-Abdollahian stressed that the Zionist regime continues to commit crimes against the defenseless people and impose a siege on Gaza.

"We are gradually witnessing an increase in reactions and the escalation and expansion of the scope of conflicts in the region," he added.

Before leaving Doha for Ankara, Amir-Abdollahian met with the head of the Hamas politburo, Ismail Haniyeh, for the second time this month.

"It was necessary to use the latest political opportunities to stop the war, and if the situation goes out of control, no party will be safe from its consequences," the top official said, according to Iranian media.

He said the US was part of the war in Gaza, adding that Washington is in no position to ask others for restraint.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani announced that an immediate ceasefire is on the agenda of discussions between Iran and Qatar, stressing the need to halt the Zionist bloodshed in the Gaza Strip and send humanitarian aid.

Kanaani told reporters accompanying the Iranian delegation that the visit comes from Iranian regional consultations and international efforts to help end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

According to the spokesman, the two countries agreed that the current situation is unacceptable and expanding the scope of the conflict could affect everyone, pointing out that the situation in the region is on the verge of an explosion due to the crimes of the Zionist entity.

Qatar could convey Iran's message to concerned parties, said Kanaani, adding that Iran shared its point of view, and for it, the ceasefire and truce are an important humanitarian point.

Concerning the hostages, Kanaani said that the conditions in the Gaza Strip now do not allow for the release of some prisoners.

Kanaani accused the US of obstructing efforts to reach a ceasefire in the enclave because of its use of veto power against a Russian and a Brazilian resolution in the Security Council.

Iran issued several warnings and threats to Israel and the US, but it has so far refrained from revealing its position if the war between Israel and Hamas turns into a regional conflict, according to an analysis published by Agence France Presse.



Israeli Strikes Wound Dozens in Lebanon as Talks in US Enter Second Day

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Tibnit on May 15, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Tibnit on May 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Wound Dozens in Lebanon as Talks in US Enter Second Day

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Tibnit on May 15, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Tibnit on May 15, 2026. (AFP)

Israel carried out new strikes in southern Lebanon that it said targeted the Hezbollah group on Friday, wounding 37 people as the two countries' envoys started a second day of peace talks in Washington. 

United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza condemned the "unacceptable" toll from continued attacks, saying that "diplomatic efforts now offer a critical opportunity to stop the violence". 

A truce in the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has been in place since April 17, but it has not stopped the fighting, with hundreds killed in strikes since then and both sides accusing the other of violations. 

"The army has begun striking Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the area of Tyre in southern Lebanon," the Israeli military said in a statement. 

An AFP correspondent reported a series of strikes, two of them near Tyre city, while state media said another targeted a center run by a local NGO near a hospital. 

Lebanon's health ministry said the strikes on the Tyre district wounded at least 37 people, including six hospital personnel, nine women and four children. 

Hafez Ramadan, a resident near the building targeted by the airstrike, said the building housed displaced people who had fled their towns due to the war, and was adjacent to a hotel where the displaced were also staying. 

"There are only women, children and the elderly here. Because of this strike, people have been displaced again." 

The Israeli army had earlier issued evacuation warnings for five towns and villages in and around the southern city. 

It later issued a new evacuation warning for five other towns across the south. 

- 'Unacceptable' toll - 

In a separate statement, the military said an Israeli soldier was killed in southern Lebanon, bringing the number of Israeli soldiers killed in clashes with Hezbollah since early March to 19. A civilian contractor was also killed. 

Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported other strikes on locations in the south not included in the Israeli evacuation warnings. 

Hezbollah meanwhile claimed several attacks on Israeli troops in at least six southern Lebanese towns. 

Riza said "the reality on the ground in Lebanon has been deeply alarming", adding that "airstrikes and demolitions continue daily, with an unacceptable toll on civilians and civilian infrastructure". 

But he expressed his hope that the Lebanon-Israel talks "will pave the way toward a political solution". 

Representatives from Lebanon and Israel, officially at war for decades, resumed talks at the State Department in Washington shortly after 9:00 am (1300 GMT), one diplomat said. 

The US described the first day of talks in Washington on Thursday as positive, but neither Lebanon or Israel have commented. 

Lebanon hopes that the round of negotiations in Washington on Friday will end with an extension of the ceasefire and an agreement from Israel to halt its attacks. 

The truce is set to expire on Sunday if an extension is not agreed. 

- 'Humiliating' talks - 

Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei. 

Israeli attacks since then have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including more than 400 since the truce took effect, according to Lebanese authorities. 

The negotiating teams in Washington are being led by Lebanon's Simon Karam and Israel's Yechiel Leiter, both political veterans with entrenched views. 

A former ambassador to Washington and independent politician, 76-year-old Karam is known for his defense of Lebanese unity in a country riven by sectarian divisions. 

Leiter is Israel's ambassador to the United States and a longtime ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and is well-versed in Israeli settler politics, conservative activism and hard-edged diplomacy. 

Lebanon is under heavy US and Israeli pressure to disarm Hezbollah. 

Israeli troops have invaded parts of southern Lebanon since the start of the war, carrying out widespread demolitions of villages over the past weeks. 

Hezbollah, meanwhile, rejects outright any direct engagement between the two countries. 

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qamati said Friday that Beirut "going to direct, humiliating negotiations with the Israeli enemy is not a separate issue from a comprehensive conspiracy against the nation, its sovereignty and its resistance" at a time when "the south is being destroyed and martyrs are being killed daily". 


Israel Army Says Striking Hezbollah Sites in Tyre Area of South Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on May 15, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on May 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Army Says Striking Hezbollah Sites in Tyre Area of South Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on May 15, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on May 15, 2026. (AFP)

Israel's military said Friday it was striking Hezbollah targets in the Tyre area of south Lebanon, as the two countries entered the second day of US-brokered talks in Washington.

"The military has begun striking Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the area of Tyre in southern Lebanon," the army said in a statement, hours after issuing evacuation warnings for five towns and villages.

An AFP correspondent saw strikes in the area.

In a separate statement, the military said "a number of explosive drones" had fallen in several areas of northern Israel, with no injuries reported.

The exchanges of fire come despite a truce with Lebanon intended to halt the fighting.


Palestinian Authority Says Teen Killed by Israeli Forces in West Bank

Palestinian boys from a local soccer academy run after the ball during a training session at the municipal stadium of the West Bank City of Nablus, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Palestinian boys from a local soccer academy run after the ball during a training session at the municipal stadium of the West Bank City of Nablus, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Palestinian Authority Says Teen Killed by Israeli Forces in West Bank

Palestinian boys from a local soccer academy run after the ball during a training session at the municipal stadium of the West Bank City of Nablus, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Palestinian boys from a local soccer academy run after the ball during a training session at the municipal stadium of the West Bank City of Nablus, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The Palestinian Authority said Friday that a 15-year-old was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, while the Israeli army said he had been throwing stones at Israeli cars on a road.

The authority's health ministry said it had been informed of the killing of Fahd Zidan Oweis. He was "shot dead by the (Israeli) forces at dawn today in the town of Al-Lubban al-Sharqiyya in the Nablus governorate. His body has been withheld," it said.

The Israeli army told AFP it "eliminated a masked terrorist" who had "hurled rocks towards Israeli vehicles on a central road, endangering lives.”