Israel is destroying the Status Quo to establish full control over Muslim and Christian religious life at holy sites. Israeli security officers stand guard outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre blocking Christians from attending Easter events inside in occupied East Jerusalem's Old City on April 5, 2026 [Ammar Awad/Reuters] On Holy Saturday as Palestinian Christians tried to reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Israeli security forces started attacking and

Leo, ​who last year became the first US-born pope, has emerged as an outspoken critic of the US-Israeli ⁠war on Iran. Pope Leo XIV delivers his message as he leads a vigil for peace inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, on April 11, 2026 [Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo] Pushing back against United States President Donald Trump’s broadside, Pope Leo XIV says the Vatican’s appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he did not fear the Trump administ

Rights groups fear tactic of ‘domicide’ trialled in Gaza, where entire areas are made uninhabitable, is being used again Smoke rises from explosions induced by Israeli military activities on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Al Taybeh. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images The Israeli military has demolished entire villages as part of its invasion of south Lebanon, rigging homes with explosives and razing them to the ground in massive remote detonations. The Guardian r

China and Russia view the U.S. grand strategy as increasingly out of focus. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Napoleon Bonaparte’s maxim may well have been in the minds of policymakers in Moscow and Beijing these past weeks, as the U.S. war in Iran dragged on. And now that a 14-day ceasefire between Tehran and Washington is in effect – with both sides claiming “victory” – Russian and Chinese leaders still have an opport

According to Hamas, Israel "calls for an illusory peace through brute force, spreading destruction across the entire region." Hamas terrorists gather during a public event in Khan Younis, Gaza, on February 1, 2025. (photo credit: MOIZ SALHI/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images) Discussing Hamas's disarmament before the first phase of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal is fully implemented is an attempt to continue "a genocide against the Palestinian people," the terror or

While Trump has talked about diplomacy, fears of a ground invasion in Iran loom as US troops arrive in the region. US-Israeli overnight strikes hit Tehran and other cities, with power infrastructure targeted in the Iranian capital, as the conflict causes upheaval in global stock and oil markets. The attacks caused a blackout, which has since been restored, according to the Iranian authorities. United States President Donald Trump said in an interview that he wanted to “take t

Knesset approves measure that has been criticised by European countries and rights groups Security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, one of the bill’s strongest backers, has been wearing a noose-shaped lapel pin to the Knesset. Photograph: Oren Ben Hakoon/Reuters Israel’s parliament has passed a law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks, a measure sharply criticised as discriminatory by European countries and rights groups. The legislation makes the de

Several settler outposts have been erected in the West Bank in recent days | EPA A Palestinian man has been killed and others seriously injured in separate settler attacks in the occupied West Bank. Locals say that in the past day, several new outposts – clusters of settler homes unauthorised by the government – have been set up in areas where the Palestinian Authority is meant to have full control. Settler violence has continued to surge in the West Bank since the start of t

Human Rights Watch and others say they have documented use of weapon in civilian areas during war on Gaza An explosion of what appears to be white phosphorus fired by the IDF on the Israel-Lebanon border in November 2023. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters When the M825-series 155mm artillery projectile bursts, expelling its felt wedges containing white phosphorus, it leaves a distinctive knuckle-shaped plume. That is how Human Rights Watch (HRW) researchers said they were

Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, suggested that Israeli troops might remain in parts of Lebanon even after the fighting there winds down. Israeli military vehicles near the border of Lebanon on Saturday.Credit...Odd Andersen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Israel’s defense minister said on Tuesday that the country’s military plans to expand the territory under its control in southern Lebanon, suggesting it was ramping up its ground offensive against the Iranian-