Alex MacDonald

Reporter and Analyst at Middle East Eye

Middle East Eye, reporter/commentator. Mainly tweet about Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Israel-Palestine and UK. Folk musician. He/him. DM any story tips!

Articles

Ali Shamkhani: Iranian negotiator thought killed by Israel is alive, says state media

1 week ago | middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald

A senior Iranian negotiator who was suspected killed in an Israeli air strike in Tehran last week is alive, according to state media. Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Iran's supreme leader and representative at talks with the United States, was thought among the senior Iranian officials reportedly killed by Israeli attacks in the early hours of 13 June.
Jailed Iranian women activists issue letter condemning Israeli attacks

1 week ago | middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald

Four jailed women activists in Iran have issued a letter from prison condemning Israel's attacks on the country and warning against relying on "foreign powers" for regime change. Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, Verisheh Moradi, Sakineh Parvaneh and Reyhaneh Ansarinejad issued the letter, published by the pro-Kurdish Firat News Agency, from Evin prison in Tehran. They accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and said its goal was to create a "weak and submissive" Middle East.
'Unprecedented' civilian death toll in Yemen from US air strikes in 2025

1 week ago | middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald |Joe Gill

US air strikes on Yemen have led to an "unprecedented" death toll in the country, according to a new report by a monitoring group. Airwars analysed hundreds of open source civilian harm claims and concluded that US President Donald Trump's bombardment of Yemen has been more deadly than any of his predecessors'. The report suggests Trump's military campaign has killed almost as many civilians in 52 days as in the previous 23 years of US military action against Yemen.
Israeli forces kill 80 Palestinians in ambushes on Gaza aid centres

1 week ago | middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald |Chris Doyle

Israeli forces killed at least 80 Palestinians and wounded hundreds in two ambushes at US-run aid distribution centres in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Eyewitnesses told Middle East Eye that Israeli forces ambushed thousands of starving Palestinians, killing and wounding hundreds in the attacks. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, approximately 30 people were killed in the al-Alam area of Rafah, while the death toll rose to nearly 50 in the al-Tahlia area of Khan Yunis.
Israeli strike damages hospital in west Iran as mutual attacks kill dozens

1 week ago | middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald |David Hearst

An Israeli strike in western Iran on Monday heavily damaged a hospital, as the conflict between the two regional rivals escalated. At least 224 people have been killed inside Iran, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, while strikes in Israel have killed at least 24. The state-backed Fars news agency released a video of a hospital in Kermanshah city showing shattered glass, collapsed ceilings, and extensive damage in patient rooms.
Israel's attack on Iran: What do we know so far?

2 weeks ago | middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald

He warned that further attacks on Iran could be "even more brutal". “I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it,” Trump wrote in a message on Truth Social.
'The explosions didn’t stop': Tehran's residents fearful and angry after Israeli strikes

2 weeks ago | middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald

At roughly 3:30am the first Israeli missiles rained down across the Iranian capital Tehran. "Both my husband and I were thrown from our bed. The explosions didn’t stop. We had no idea what was happening," said Samira, a resident of the northern Tehran neighbourhood of Kamranieh. The windows of the entire apartment had shattered and the chandelier had crashed to the floor. "We got up from the ground in fear and realised the apartment across from ours had been bombed," she told Middle East Eye.
Israel orders military to stop aid boat with 'antisemite' Greta Thunberg reaching Gaza

2 weeks ago | middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald

Israel has ordered the military to block an aid boat headed for Gaza with 12 activists on board, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg. "I have instructed the military to prevent the Madleen flotilla from reaching Gaza," Israel Katz said in a statement from his office.
Cambridge students hit out at injunctions 'criminalising' Palestine encampment

3 weeks ago | middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald

Activists have hit out at a number of University of Cambridge colleges after they obtained court injunctions "criminalising" pro-Palestine encampments on campus. Interim injunctions were obtained by Trinity College and St John's College earlier this week after campaigners re-established encampments in protest at what they said was a failure by the university to divest from Israeli companies.
UK and France abandon plans to recognise Palestinian state at conference

3 weeks ago | middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald

The UK and France are set to abandon previous plans to recognise a Palestinian state at an upcoming conference, according to diplomats. France had been lobbying the UK and other European allies to recognise a Palestinian state at the upcoming UN conference on due to be held between 17 and 20 June. President Emmanuel Macron had described the move as “a moral duty and political requirement” and suggested it could come in return for Saudi Arabia recognising Israel at the conference.