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Arab World

Israel Releases 55 Palestinians it Had Detained from Gaza, Including Hospital Director

A Palestinian man holds his children as he walks next to buildings destroyed in an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
A Palestinian man holds his children as he walks next to buildings destroyed in an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
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Israel Releases 55 Palestinians it Had Detained from Gaza, Including Hospital Director

A Palestinian man holds his children as he walks next to buildings destroyed in an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
A Palestinian man holds his children as he walks next to buildings destroyed in an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

A Palestinian health official says Israel released 55 Palestinians on Monday whom it had detained from Gaza, including the director of the territory’s main hospital, The Associated Press said.
Mohammed Abu Selmia was detained in November when Israeli forces raided Shifa Hospital.
In video comments aired by Palestinian media following his release, Abu Selmia accused Israeli authorities of subjecting Palestinian detainees to "daily physical and psychological humiliation.” Israeli authorities have denied such allegations.
Israel accuses Hamas and other militant groups of sheltering in hospitals and using them for military purposes. Palestinian health officials say Israeli raids have forced several hospitals to shut down or dramatically reduce services, recklessly endangering civilians. Hospitals can lose their protection under international law if they are used for military purposes.
The Israeli military says around 20 projectiles were fired from Gaza at communities near the border early Monday. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
Israel launched the war after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
Since then, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 37,700 people in Gaza, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
The war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and basic goods to Gaza, and people there are now totally dependent on aid.
The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies.

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Arab World

4 US Service Members Killed in Plane Crash Over Iraq

(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
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4 US Service Members Killed in Plane Crash Over Iraq

(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Four of the six crew members aboard a US military aircraft that crashed in western Iraq are confirmed to have been killed, the US military said on Friday, ⁠as rescue efforts ⁠continued for the remaining two.

A US military refueling aircraft crashed in western ⁠Iraq on Thursday, in an incident the military said involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.

"The circumstances of the incident are ⁠under ⁠investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," a statement from US Central Command said.

The plane was taking part in the operation against Iran.

Both President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have warned that the Iran war would likely claim more American lives before it ends.

Arab World

Iran War Raises Concerns Over Impact on Suez Canal Traffic

A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 
A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 
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Iran War Raises Concerns Over Impact on Suez Canal Traffic

A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 
A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 

The Iran war has sparked growing concern in Egypt over its potential impact on navigation through the Suez Canal, one of the country’s most important sources of national income. Experts say the conflict has already begun affecting traffic through the strategic waterway as security risks for ships increase.

Recent reports indicate that several major global shipping companies—including Denmark’s Maersk, France’s CMA CGM, and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd—have suspended the transit of some vessels through the canal.

The head of the Suez Canal Authority, Admiral Osama Rabie, expressed hope that regional stability would return soon, warning that escalating tensions could have serious repercussions for maritime transport and global supply chains.

In a statement issued Thursday, Rabie said the authority has moved to upgrade its maritime and navigational services and introduce new activities designed to meet customer needs in both normal and emergency circumstances. These include ship maintenance and repair services, maritime rescue operations and marine ambulance services, alongside continued modernization of the authority’s fleet of marine units.

Early impact on canal traffic

International transport expert Osama Aqil said the war’s effect on the canal had been evident since the first days of the conflict.

“Current indicators show that canal traffic has declined by about 50 percent since the war began,” Aqil told Asharq Al-Awsat. He attributed the drop to rising security risks and higher insurance premiums imposed on vessels passing through the region.

Aqil warned that the impact could deepen if the conflict drags on. Even after hostilities end, he said, it may take considerable time for shipping traffic to return to normal.

“International shipping groups that divert their vessels to the Cape of Good Hope route will likely sign contracts for the alternative passage,” he said. “Ending those arrangements and redirecting ships back through the canal will take time.”

Before the latest tensions, the Suez Canal had been showing signs of recovery following an earlier setback caused by Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea linked to the war in Gaza.

In January, the Suez Canal Authority said navigation statistics showed a “noticeable improvement” during the first half of the 2025–2026 fiscal year. Rabie said at the time that indicators pointed to improving revenues as some shipping lines resumed using the canal after conditions stabilized in the Red Sea.

Wider threat to global trade

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has also warned about the impact of regional tensions on shipping in the Red Sea. During a meeting in Cairo earlier this month with Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group, Sisi said Egypt had lost roughly $10 billion in Suez Canal revenues due to the Gaza war, according to the Egyptian presidency.

Aqil said the Iran war could affect not only the canal but global trade more broadly, which he said has already shown signs of slowing.

“If the conflict continues, transport costs will rise, which will push up prices for many goods and commodities,” he stated.

Suez Canal revenues dropped sharply in 2024, falling 61 percent to $3.9 billion, compared with about $10.2 billion in 2023.

Security risk management expert Major General Ihab Youssef noted that the continuation of the war poses a threat to global navigation, not only to the Suez Canal.

Egypt secures ships along the canal and up to the limits of its territorial waters, he remarked. However, vessels traveling to and from the waterway must still pass through areas affected by military operations in the Gulf region and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, prompting many shipping companies to reroute vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.

“Any closure of the Strait of Hormuz would further increase the risks of transit, particularly if the war is prolonged,” Youssef said.

 

 

Arab World

Australia Orders All 'Non-essential' Officials to Leave Lebanon

A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)
A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)
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Australia Orders All 'Non-essential' Officials to Leave Lebanon

A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)
A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)

Australia has ordered all non-essential officials in Lebanon to leave, Canberra's foreign minister said Friday, after issuing the same command to diplomats in Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

In a post on X, top diplomat Penny Wong said they had been ordered to depart due to the "deteriorating security situation", AFP said.

"Essential Australian officials will remain in-country to support Australians who need it," she added.

The warning came hours after Canberra issued the same order to officials in Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Canberra has said there are about 115,000 Australian nationals across the Middle East, of whom about 2,600 have returned home.

"We urge Australians in the Middle East to leave if you can and if it's safe to do so," Wong said.

"Don't wait until it's too late. It may be the last chance for some time."

The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 that killed its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and triggered a war in the Middle East.

Iran has responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Gulf states like the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.

Officials said 14 people had been killed in Israel since the start of the Iran war.

Inside Iran, its health ministry said this week that more than 1,200 people have been killed.

Hundreds more people have died in Lebanon.

Australia backed the US-Israeli strikes as necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

And Canberra said this week it would deploy a long-range military reconnaissance plane to the Gulf to protect civilians.