MIDDLE EAST

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Qatar announced that it is suspending its role as mediator between Israel and Hamas, citing a lack of good faith negotiations from both parties. This development threatens to complicate efforts to secure peace and release remaining hostages in the ongoing Gaza conflict.

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Israel conducted widespread airstrikes across Lebanon overnight, targeting branches of Al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH), a financial institution sanctioned by the U.S. since 2007. Lebanese state media reported at least 16 strikes, including 11 in Beirut's Dahieh district, three in the south, and two in the Bekaa region.

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Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu shows who's the boss after sacking his defence minister. After Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, the country’s biggest ever military humiliation, Gallant was initially fully behind the war in Gaza.

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Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse violent demonstrators in Rome as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets in major European cities and around the globe Saturday to call for a cease-fire as the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel approached.

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Saudi Arabia's new national airline, Riyadh Air, announced on Wednesday it has ordered 60 narrow-body aircraft from Airbus, as it prepares for takeoff next year. The carrier, created last year, has reached "an agreement to purchase 60 Airbus A321neo single-aisle aircraft in the latest step towards its maiden flight in 2025", it said in a statement.

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Marking a significant escalation of Middle East hostilities, Iran launched approximately 180 missiles toward Israel on Tuesday, marking the first direct attack between the two nations. Israeli defense systems successfully intercepted most projectiles, with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reporting minimal damage and no casualties.