President Trump is expected to put his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, in charge of the Iran file, signaling the administration will try diplomacy with the Islamic Republic, Financial Times reported on Thursday. Sources told FT that Witkoff, who put pressure on...
Gaza Hospitals Receive 122 More Bodies, Raising Death Toll
Gaza's Health Ministry said Thursday that hospitals received 122 more bodies as Palestinians continue to dig the remains of people killed by Israel's bombing campaign out of the rubble on the fifth day of the ceasefire. The Health Ministry said that 120 of the bodies...
US Private Security Contractors To Operate Checkpoint in Gaza
Armed US private security contractors will begin operating a checkpoint in Gaza in the coming days, Axios reported on Thursday, citing Israeli officials. The report said the US contractors will be deployed to Gaza as part of a multinational group that's been...
Trump Re-Designates Yemen’s Houthis as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization’
On Monday, President Trump signed an executive order re-designating Yemen's Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization," a move that will impede aid deliveries to Yemen and complicate the chances of a lasting peace deal between the Saudis...
Israel Wants to Extend Troops’ Stay in Lebanon Another 30 Days
Just one day after Israel’s Foreign Minister was saying they are “committed” to the ceasefire in Lebanon, multiple media reports say that Israel is now seeking an additional 30 days to keep troops in Lebanon, beyond the 60-day deadline for the pullout currently in...
Taiwan Publicizes the US Is Sending Troops for Two-Year Naval Training Program
Last week, Taiwan's Defense Ministry announced it had signed a deal with the US under which the US will send military personnel to the island for a naval training program. The US has a history of sending personnel to train Taiwanese forces, but the training programs...
Yemen’s Houthis Release Crew of Commercial Ship It Seized Over a Year Ago
On Wednesday, Yemen's Houthis released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a commercial ship the Yemeni group seized in November 2023 as part of its response to Israel's onslaught in Gaza. Yemen's Al Masirah TV reported that the Houthis released the crew to Oman in...
Trump Envoy Says It’s ‘Good’ Hamas Wants Talks With the US
President Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Wednesday that it was "good" that Hamas was open to talks with the United States. Witkoff was asked in an interview with Fox News about comments from Mousa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas official based in Qatar. "We’re...
Zelensky Says US Troops Must Be Deployed To Ukraine for Peace Deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that US troops must be included in a Western peacekeeping force that he wants deployed to Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal with Russia. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelensky called...
The Pentagon’s New Middle East Policy Chief Wants To Scale Down US Presence in the Region
The Trump administration has appointed a new Middle East policy chief in the Pentagon who believes the US should scale down its military presence in the region. Michael DiMino, a former CIA analyst, was sworn in on Monday as the deputy assistant secretary of defense...