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3 days ago | 
thenationalnews.com | Mina Aldroubi
Seven Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in southern Gaza, the military said on Wednesday, as the Palestinian death toll in the enclave continued to mount. Israeli media reported that six soldiers and a platoon commander were killed in the city of Khan Younis when an explosive device planted on their vehicle was detonated. In a separate incident, another soldier was severely wounded, the military added.
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6 days ago | 
thenationalnews.com | Mina Aldroubi
Bahrain, home to the US Central Command's regional base, issued public safety guidance on Sunday in the wake of American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The Gulf nation is strategically close to Iran. It hosts US personnel and military officials and established ties with Israel several years ago.
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1 week ago | 
thenationalnews.com | Mina Aldroubi
Israel's justification for its war against Iran is its claim that Tehran is on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fears that a nuclear-armed Iran would alter the balance of power in the Middle East and provide Tehran with the ability to follow through on calls for Israel's destruction. However, Israel remains the only country in the Middle East believed to possess a nuclear arsenal.
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1 week ago | 
thenationalnews.com | Mina Aldroubi
World leaders have warned against further military escalations between Israel and Iran following two days of missile fire between the two countries. The exchange began when Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran on Friday, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists, and striking military bases, nuclear sites and residential areas across the country.
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2 weeks ago | 
thenationalnews.com | Mina Aldroubi
Residents of Tel Aviv woke up on Saturday to destruction across the city as Israel and Iran exchanged strikes throughout the night. Blasts were heard in the Israeli capital and Jerusalem in the early morning, with at least three people killed and 64 more than injured by Iranian strikes, Israeli authorities said. Videos circulating on social media showed the moment a missile struck a building in the Kirya area of Tel Aviv that is home to a military headquarters and the ministry of defence.
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2 weeks ago | 
thenationalnews.com | Mina Aldroubi
The US staff evacuations from its embassies in the Middle East on Thursday signals the threat of either an Israeli or American attack on Iran, experts told The National, as tension heightens across the region. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that US personnel were being moved from the potentially “dangerous” Middle East as nuclear talks with Iran faltered and fears grew of a regional conflict.
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2 weeks ago | 
thenationalnews.com | Mina Aldroubi
The US embassy in Bahrain is operating as normal despite orders from Washington to evacuate non-essential diplomatic staff based in the Middle East, an official at the mission told The National on Thursday, as tension rises over Iran's nuclear programme. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that US personnel were being moved out of the region because “it could be a dangerous place”. The US would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, he added.
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2 weeks ago | 
thenationalnews.com | Mina Aldroubi
Syrian authorities have issued new directives to the public urging women to wear modest swimwear on public beaches, with a particular recommendation for “burkinis". The new regulation, published on Tuesday by the Ministry of Tourism, comes six months after rebel forces retook the capital, led by new President Ahmad Al Shara, and overthrew the regime of longtime ruler Bashar Al Assad in December last year.
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2 weeks ago | 
thenationalnews.com | Mina Aldroubi
Syria’s desert refugee camp has closed after a decade of hardship for those living there, after the last remaining families returned home this weekend. The camp, known as Rukban, was a dark reminder of the country’s brutal civil war. It was established in 2014 to house desperate people fleeing ISIS and bombardment by the former government. They lived under a crippling and punishing siege for years. For years, residents were cut off from the rest of the world with little or no aid entering the area.
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2 weeks ago | 
thenationalnews.com | Aveen Karim |Vanessa Ghanem |Mina Aldroubi
Six months after the downfall of Bashar Al Assad, Syria’s new leader Ahmad Al Shara has established himself on the global stage and is pushing ahead with efforts to rebuild a fractured nation. After 13 years of civil war, Mr Al Shara led a rebel assault against the Assad regime and within 12 days ousted the president on December 8, without much of a fight.
