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Arab World

Israel Launches a Satellite to Expand Its Surveillance Capability Throughout Middle East 

Vehicles line up as protesters block a main road during a demonstration demanding the immediate end of the war and the release of all hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Yakum near Tel Aviv, Israel, August 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Vehicles line up as protesters block a main road during a demonstration demanding the immediate end of the war and the release of all hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Yakum near Tel Aviv, Israel, August 26, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Launches a Satellite to Expand Its Surveillance Capability Throughout Middle East 

Vehicles line up as protesters block a main road during a demonstration demanding the immediate end of the war and the release of all hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Yakum near Tel Aviv, Israel, August 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Vehicles line up as protesters block a main road during a demonstration demanding the immediate end of the war and the release of all hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Yakum near Tel Aviv, Israel, August 26, 2025. (Reuters)

Israel has launched a new spy satellite that defense officials described as a strategic cornerstone, saying it will strengthen their surveillance capacity across the Middle East in the years ahead.

Military officials and Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the satellite, launched late Tuesday, will enhance Israel’s ability to collect images like the 12,000 gathered over Iran during a 12-day war earlier this year.

“This is also a message to all our enemies, wherever they may be - we are keeping an eye on you at all times and in all situations,” Katz said in a post on X.

In addition to monitoring Iran, Israel gains reconnaissance capabilities in other parts of the Middle East as it conducts what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called a “seven-front war,” with Israeli forces striking targets in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq throughout the 23 months of war in Gaza.

Maj. Gen. Amir Baram said the satellite, called Ofek 19, was part of a broader effort “to maintain persistent, simultaneous surveillance of any point throughout the Middle East.”

Israel’s decades-old space program has expanded its fleet with several satellite launches in recent years and is one of the few nations globally with high resolution monitoring and intelligence gathering capabilities.

The aerospace and defense industry is a pillar of Israel’s economy and the satellite's manufacturer, Israel Aerospace Industries, builds and sells satellites, missile systems, drones and aircraft to Israel as well as countries in Europe, Asia and North America.

Israel's military did not say from where the satellite was launched Tuesday evening.

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Arab World

Foreign Press Group Slams Israeli Police for Breaking Journalist’s Wrist

Israeli security forces disperse Muslim worshippers who were performing the nightly Taraweeh prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, while the al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed. (AFP)
Israeli security forces disperse Muslim worshippers who were performing the nightly Taraweeh prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, while the al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed. (AFP)
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Foreign Press Group Slams Israeli Police for Breaking Journalist’s Wrist

Israeli security forces disperse Muslim worshippers who were performing the nightly Taraweeh prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, while the al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed. (AFP)
Israeli security forces disperse Muslim worshippers who were performing the nightly Taraweeh prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, while the al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed. (AFP)

An international media association on Wednesday criticized an "unprovoked assault" by Israeli police on journalists in Jerusalem, which it said left a CNN producer with a fractured wrist.

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) said police officers on Tuesday night "unnecessarily and aggressively repelled a group of journalists who were doing their jobs, documenting individuals who were praying outside the walls of the Old City".

It said police detained several journalists, damaging photographic equipment and confiscating memory cards.

"During the assault, one Israeli officer fractured the wrist of a CNN producer," the FPA said in a statement.

"None of this is acceptable," added the association, which represents hundreds of journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

An AFP photographer at the scene said a small group of journalists had been documenting Muslims trying to perform the evening Taraweeh prayers outside the Old City walls, when a group of police suddenly arrived and "violently attacked the worshippers and journalists covering the event."

A foreign journalist told AFP that police "beat the CNN producer and some other journalists with batons," adding that "at least one Palestinian was detained".

AFP has asked Israeli police for comment on the incident.

Israeli authorities have closed holy sites in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem's Old City for security reasons since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28.

The FPA called on the police to "immediately take action against the officers involved in this unprovoked assault and to act in the future to safeguard press freedoms, rather than trample upon them."

In an X post, the Union of Journalists in Israel said it was "appalled" by the police conduct and urged the police commissioner to "immediately suspend the officers involved".

Arab World

Three Iraqi Fighters Killed in Strike Near Syria Border

Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
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Three Iraqi Fighters Killed in Strike Near Syria Border

Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)

A strike near Iraq's western border with Syria killed three fighters from former coalition Hashed al-Shaabi on Wednesday, the alliance said.

The fighters from the alliance -- also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), now part of Iraq's regular armed forces -- were hit in an US or Israeli strike that targeted their main command centre in Anbar province, AFP reported.

Since the start of the Middle East war, Baghdad has repeatedly denounced attacks on the Hashed al-Shaabi, which also includes brigades belonging to Iran-backed groups.

Arab World

Israel Says Hit Hezbollah-controlled Gas Stations in Lebanon

Smoke and explosion following an Israeli air defense interception over Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, on the border with Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Smoke and explosion following an Israeli air defense interception over Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, on the border with Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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Israel Says Hit Hezbollah-controlled Gas Stations in Lebanon

Smoke and explosion following an Israeli air defense interception over Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, on the border with Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Smoke and explosion following an Israeli air defense interception over Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, on the border with Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel's military said Wednesday it had struck gas stations in south Lebanon belonging to a company owned by the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah.

"Overnight, the 'Israeli army' struck Al-Amana Fuel Company gas stations in southern Lebanon", the military said.

A map shared with the statement showed the locations of five gas stations the military said it struck, all in Lebanon's south, including two near the country's Mediterranean coast.

The statement added that the Al-Amana fuel company is controlled by Hezbollah "and constitutes fundamental economic infrastructure that supports Hezbollah's military capabilities".

It said Hezbollah receives "millions of dollars of profits" from the company via another Hezbollah-owned association to fund its military activities.

Since the war with Iran broke out, Israel has also bombed Al-Qard al-Hassan, a financial firm with links to Hezbollah.