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Middle East conflict

Israeli army recovers bodies of two hostages abducted on October 7

According to the IDF press service, the bodies were identified in a procedure carried out by forensic experts, military rabbis and police

TEL AVIV, December 12. /TASS/. The Israeli military has found the bodies of two hostages abducted when Palestinian radicals attacked Israel on October 7, the army press service said.

"During an operation in Gaza, the bodies of the hostages Eden Zakaria and (CSM) Ziv Dado were recovered by IDF Special Forces and brought back to Israel," the IDF press service said.

According to it, the bodies were identified in a procedure carried out by forensic experts, military rabbis and police. Army and police officers notified the families of the killed hostages.

According to the military, "Eden (27) was taken hostage from the Re'im music festival and Ziv (36) was taken hostage and fell while serving as a logistics supervisor in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, and until today was recognized as a fallen soldier in captivity."

The IDF said that two Israeli military were killed and several were injured during the operation in which the bodies were located. One of the killed military was Gal Meir Eisenkot, the youngest son of the former Chief of IDF General Staff Gadi Eisenkot, and current member of the war cabinet.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Middle East conflict

Death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza Strip exceeds 41,400 — health ministry

More than 95,800 people being wounded

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Two unmanned aerial vehicles were downed outside Tikhoretsk this morning

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Russia’s Emergencies Ministry sapper dies in Kursk Region during mine clearance

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Israeli army declares strikes on 180 Hezbollah sites in Lebanon

"The Israel Defense Forces have completed a series of strikes on southern Lebanon," the army’s press service said in a statement

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Hezbollah attacks Israeli Ramat David air base for second time

Movement used two types of rockets: Fadi-1, with a range of 80 km, and Fadi-2, with a range of 105 km

Iran's supreme leader calls on Islamic countries to sever economic ties with Israel

"The Zionist regime is committing crimes shamelessly and without hiding it," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said

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The legislators are asking whether German weapons are used by the Ukrainian forces in their incursion into the Kursk Region

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Neglect of Russia’s interests makes lasting settlement in Ukraine impossible — MFA

At the same time, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova explained that Russian representatives "have not participated in any meetings within the framework of the ‘Buergenstock process’ and are not going to participate in any

Hezbollah reports rocket attack on Israeli Air Force Ramat David airbase

The Israel Defense Forces press service previously reported shelling of northern regions of the country

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The event will be held in New York on September 22-23 in the runup to the 79th session of the UN General Assembly

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Military record launch of 10 shells at northern Israel from Lebanon

According to its information, the shells were launched in the direction of the Jezreel Valley in the Lower Galilee

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The epicenter was located 158 km northwest of the city of San Luis

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Lavrov pointed put that without this, recurrent outbreaks of violence will never stop in the Middle East

Russia keeps balance in relations with Muslim countries — Muslim Board

Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin added that Russia was originally formed in the bosom of three monotheistic religions and for more than 1,000 years has continued and consolidated the tradition of communion, good-neighborliness and brotherhood of religions

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Russia says its Iskander missile destroys US-made HIMARS in Sumy Region

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Russian Baltic Fleet's patrol ship ends visit to Dar es Salaam

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Russian prime minister says Islam is integral part of national historical heritage

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Maria Zakharova pointed out that the European Union had lost independence

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Air defenses eliminated UAVs over eight regions, Defense Ministry said

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Russia says battlegroup West struck 4 Ukrainian brigades

Enemy lost up to 420 troops

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The foreign minister still assured that Russia possesses weapons "that will have serious implications for the handlers of the Ukrainian regime"

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This is quite obviously a positive development for us in some respects, Kovalchuk said

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At least 30 people died in Gaza in 24 hours due to Israeli strikes — Al Jazeera

This includes 22 people who became victims of the Israeli attack on a school building in the Az-Zeitoun area

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Ludwig Schneider explained that such a percentage of iron oxide was to certify that the knife had remained in the grave for much longer than the true results of the analysis indicated

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Some of them was intercepted, according to the statement

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German Chancellor emphasized the need to explore ways in order to peacefully resolve the Ukraine conflict

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"We underscore the need to prevent the conflict from escalating and spilling over in the region," said a joint statement by the leaders

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Russia’s air defenses repel massive attack on Bryansk region, taking down over 50 drones

Russian Defense Ministry’s air defense forces intercepted or destroyed 53 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles

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According to PressTV, this measure was introduced after the Lebanese authorities banned such devices from being brought into Beirut airport and transported by air

UN General Assembly adopts resolution on Golan Heights — results of vote

Press review: US shifts rhetoric on Ukraine and walkie-talkie explosions rock Lebanon

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, September 19th

Nazi Germany’s Gestapo officers accompanied Katyn commission

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US mistaken if it thinks nuclear conflict would affect Russia, Europe only — diplomat

Anatoly Antonov reiterated that there must never be a nuclear war and that there can be no winners in any nuclear conflict

Top brass proposes specifying state borderline in Russia’s westernmost region

"This will alter the Russian state maritime border due to a change in the territorial sea’s external bounds," it says

Explosions in Lebanon pose interest for Russian intelligence — Kremlin spokesman

According to Dmitry Peskov, Moscow has not discussed the events in Lebanon with regional actors

Senior Russian lawmaker warns that calls for long-range strikes open way to nuclear war

Vyacheslav Volodin commented on a recent resolution of the European Parliament to allow strikes inside Russia with Western weapons

Russia, China launch joint naval exercise in Vladivostok — Pacific Fleet

A joint group of warships from the Pacific Fleet and China’s PLA Navy has departed from Vladivostok to conduct Russian-Chinese naval maneuvers

Russia ready for talks with Turkey on Su-35, Su-57 fighters

Russia earlier noted its readiness to participate in the program of developing the Turkish TF-X fifth-generation fighter

Russia's newest satellites to change course of Ukrainian conflict — former UN inspector

According to Ritter this conflict would become "unsustainable for the Ukrainian sometime by the end of summer, early fall"

Russia, China do not need to create military alliance — Lavrov

Those relations are the best in the whole history of ties that existed between two countries, Foreign Minister added

Press review: BRICS challenges existing security concepts and Europe's economy in trouble

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, September 13th

Russian prime minister approves list of countries imposing destructive attitudes

It includes the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan and other states

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The two-day event is expected to set the direction for future action in the field of sustainable development, security and human rights

Second rocket attack launched on Israeli territory from Lebanon — TV

According to Al Jazeera TV channel, the target of the shelling were cities in the northern part of the Jewish state

Russian Su-34 bomber destroys Ukrainian manpower, equipment in Kursk area

After receiving a confirmation from reconnaissance that the Ukrainian army’s temporary disposition location had been destroyed, the crew safely returned to the airfield of departure

Israeli air force attacks 290 Hezbollah facilities in Lebanon in 24 hours

According to IDF, 180 targets were hit

Press review: Israel declares new phase of war and Russia boosts drone production

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, September 20th

Evacuation starts in Kuban settlement due to explosion after drone fragments fall

Two unmanned aerial vehicles have been downed near Tikhoretsk

Erdogan says ready to meet with Syria’s Assad, waiting for response from Damascus

We have said that we would like to hold a meeting with Bashar Assad to normalize relations between Turkey and Syria, Erdogan said

Russia fully ready to defend its interests in Arctic — Lavrov

The minister to say that NATO is becoming increasingly interested in the Arctic region

Hezbollah handing out pagers hours before their detonation — agency

The sources said that the Shiite movement did not have any specific suspicions about these pagers and their "checks had been part of a routine 'sweep' of its equipment to find any indications that they were laced with explosives"

Putin highlights importance of efforts to develop relations between Russia, Armenia

The Russian President congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Armenia’s Independence Day

Russia welcomes normalization of Iran’s relations with Arab countries — Lavrov

It is in the interests of both Iran and its Arab countries to establish "friendly, normal, goods relations," Russian Foreign Minister added

5.1 magnitude earthquake registered off the coast of El Salvador

There were no reports of casualties, and no tsunami threat was declared.

US coalition’s aircraft violated Syria's airspace 12 times over past day

At the same time, no bombardments of Syrian government forces' positions by terrorist groups were recorded in the Idlib de-escalation zone

Kerimov transfers his stake in Polyus to Foundation for Support of Islamic Organizations

Polyus ranks first among the world's gold mining companies in terms of gold reserves and fourth in terms of production

Kremlin spokesman says West ‘obsessed’ with fighting Russia until Ukraine runs out of men

Peskov was commenting on NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's recent statement that there is no need to be afraid of using Western weapons for strikes deep inside Russia

Kremlin slams Poland's idea to revise Crimea's status 'absurd'

"Russian territory and Russian regions cannot be the subject of any discussion or transfer to anyone," Dmitry Peskov emphasized

Israel wants no war with Lebanon — ambassador to UN

Unless de-escalation is reached through diplomacy, Israel will have no other choice except to use all means for protection of its citizens, Danny Danon said

German authorities say escalation of Middle East conflict can be avoided

"The devastation resulting from such a confrontation would be catastrophic," the Cabinet’s spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said