Middle East & North Africa

DUBAI, November 29. /TASS/: The US has failed to accomplish its goal of creating "a New Middle East" and achieve its political objectives in the region, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said.

"US plans for forming "a New Middle East" have failed: They planned to eliminate Hezbollah, but it’s 10 times stronger now. They failed to devour Iraq and Syria, and they failed to settle the Palestinian dispute to the benefit of the usurper regime (Israel - TASS) using a devious ‘2-state’ solution," he said on X, formerly Twitter.

ANKARA, November 29. /TASS/: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone down in history as the "butcher of Gaza," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"Since October 7, our brothers and sisters in Gaza have been subjected to the most treacherous attacks in human history. Their mosques have been bombed. Their schools have been reduced to rubble. The refugee camps where they have sought shelter have been deliberately targeted. Netanyahu has went down in history as the butcher of Gaza," the Turkish president said in a speech to parliament.

CAIRO, November 29. /TASS/: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an international conference to protect the rights of the Palestinians.

He made the appeal on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

TEHRAN, Nov 29 (NNN-IRNA) – The Iranian Army has tracked and identified a U.S. aircraft carrier, in the Gulf of Aden and the Sea of Oman.

“The intelligence systems of the Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), tracked and identified the aircraft carrier through the exchange of information, with the army’s naval forces and thanks to their complete dominance over the Strait of Hormuz,” it said.

TEHRAN, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Wednesday that he and his accompanying delegation will not be able to take part in a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the Israel-Palestine crisis in New York later in the day due to the delay in visa issuance of the U.S. government.

JERUSALEM, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli government confirmed on Tuesday that the fifth batch of hostages released from the Gaza Strip by Hamas has returned to Israel.

The 12 hostages, including 10 Israelis and two Thai nationals, will undergo an initial medical examination before being escorted by security forces to the hospital to be reunited with their families, according to the statements issued by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office and Israel Defense Forces.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — International mediators on Wednesday worked to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas militants to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel’s air and ground offensive. The cease-fire will otherwise end within a day.

Ahead of the swap of 10 militant-held hostages for 30 Palestinian prisoners panned Wednesday, Hamas handed over two Russian-Israelis, the Israeli military said.

JERUSALEM (AP) — It has become an Israeli mantra throughout the latest war in Gaza: Hamas is ISIS.

Since the bloody Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the conflict, Israeli leaders and commanders have likened the Palestinian militant group to the Islamic State group in virtually every speech and public statement. They point to Hamas’ slaughter of hundreds of civilians and compare their mission to defeat Hamas to the U.S.-led campaign to defeat IS in Iraq and Syria.

28 November 2023; MEMO: Testimonies collected from Israelis released by Hamas indicate that they were treated “extremely well” and that they were “not subjected to any kind of violence or insult.” The testimonies are in line with the public statements of Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who was released in late October, and told reporters after her release that the Hamas fighters took good care of her and other captives and made sure to provide them with everything they needed in terms of medication, food and even hygie

28 November 2023; MEMO: Over 17,000 foreign workers have left Israel since 7 October, after Israel launched its bombing campaign against the besieged Gaza Strip, the Maariv newspaper reported citing a senior official.