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Middle East conflict

Israel reports death of four more hostages in Gaza Strip

According to the IDF, the investigation of the circumstances of their deaths continues

TEL AVIV, June 3. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has reported the death of four more hostages held by Hamas radicals in the Gaza Strip.

"Today (Monday), IDF representatives have informed the families of Haim Perry, Yoram Metzger, Amiram Cooper, and Nadav Popplewell who were brutally abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7th, that they are no longer alive and that their bodies are held by the Hamas terrorist organization," it said. "The decision to pronounce the four hostages dead was based on intelligence and was confirmed by a Ministry of Health expert committee, in coordination with the Ministry of Religious Services and the Chief Rabbi of Israel."

According to the IDF, the investigation of the circumstances of their deaths continues.

Earlier in the day, the IDF said that the body of Dolev Yehud, who has been thought to be kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, was found in Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was identified following a thorough "analysis by the IDF in coordination with anthropological experts." He was murdered on October 7, 2023.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023 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 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. 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. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.

In late November 2023, Hamas announced an agreement with Israel, which was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, on a four-day humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, which took effect on November 24. The sides extended the ceasefire several times but on the morning of December 1 the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hamas had violated the truce in Gaza and opened fire on Israeli territory, thus prompting the IDF to resume combat operations in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli side, as many as 110 hostages were released during this period.

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Russia firmly committed to principles of UN Charter unlike West — Lavrov

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Ukrainian servicemen captured: developments in Kursk Region

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Russian Baltic Fleet's training ship Smolny makes port call at Equatorial Guinea’s Malabo

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Ukrainian forces create concentration camps in Russian border areas — diplomat

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Russia's military to restore control of all districts of Kursk Region — Kremlin

"The situation in those areas which are under the control of the Ukrainian militants is extraordinary, of course," Dmitry Peskov stated

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Inclusion in the sanctions list entails the freezing of assets in the US and a ban on American citizens and companies doing business with sanctioned persons and entities

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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"

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In his words, Kiev is not independent from the military point of view, having no material and technical capabilities for independent warfare that involves western weaponry

Russia deeply concerned by events unfolding in Lebanon — diplomat

Maria Zakharova asserted Russia’s solidarity with the people of Lebanon

Russian forces take control of two settlements in Kursk Region

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ABC sources confirmed that the Jewish state was involved in the production of these communication devices

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The Russian global navigation satellite system is designed to promptly provide navigation information to users of land, sea, air and space

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Maria Zakharova pointed out that the European Union had lost independence

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

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Turkey’s top diplomat confirms Ankara seeks to join BRICS

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"We have warned from the beginning that those who help the Zelensky clique stay afloat will become our legitimate targets," Vasily Nebezya reminded

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

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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, for his part, said that Moscow was aware of the West's decision to attack deep into Russian territory and to send appropriate signals to Kiev

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Sanctions and export controls are "our tools", US Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh said

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The statement said that the Shiite units conducted these operations in response to the Israeli Air Force strikes on Lebanese populated localities

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Russia cautions Chisinau against involvement in Ukrainian conflict — Foreign Ministry

Maria Zakharova drew attention to the speculations about Romania's plans for redirecting to Moldova the mobile maintenance stations for F-16 fighter jets received by Bucharest for their subsequent deployment at the Marculesti airbase

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"The North Korean people express their support for the Russian people in their just struggle," Choe Son Hui stressed

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The Russian Investigative Committee wants the suspects to be kept in custody until trial

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The newspaper pointed out that the pager blasts have turned daily life in Lebanon into scenes of panic and violence

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"I will attend certain international events, which we consider important, but we will not travel much - our responsibility lies here," Claudia Sheinbaum said

Hezbollah sets up committees to look into circumstances of gadget explosions

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Germany is also preparing to deliver 12 Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery units

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Apart from that, according to the report, Russian aircraft struck areas of deployment of manpower and weapons of the Ukrainian army’s three mechanized, one tank, and two assault brigades

Israeli forces kill over 300 radicals in southern Gaza — portal

Besides, they found and destroyed a cache with long-range missiles and an arms depot with sniper rifles

One Ukrainian drone attacks Energodar, another downed — administration

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West’s attempts to turn UNGA into pro-Ukrainian show doomed to fail — Russian MFA

"The UN General Assembly always encompasses a very broad agenda," Sergey Ryabkov stressed

Ukrainian forces in difficult situation in Kursk Region, try gain foothold — commander

Major General Apty Alaudinov added that, on Thursday, he visited the rightmost flank of the Russian troops on the Kursk direction - near cities of Rylsk and Lgov

Russian Federation Council Speaker calls detonations in Lebanon a 'heinous attack'

Valentina Matviyenko noted that Russia’s position regarding the ongoing escalation in the Middle East was "clearly stated by the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Representative to the UN"

US carries out mock electronic launch of Minuteman III ICBM

Such test deployments of Minuteman III missiles without an actual launch are being carried out twice a year at various air bases, the statement says

Russia’s Akhmat special force destroys military storage facility in Kursk direction

Akhmat also eliminated one armored personnel carrier and one self-propelled artillery weapon, the deputy chief of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces Apty Alaudinov said

Russian National Guard eliminates about 30 Ukrainian vehicles in Kursk Region

The National Guard noted that its troops provide extra protection measures for important state facilities

Hezbollah fires rockets at seven Israeli barracks

Large-caliber Burkan missiles were used in an attack on the town of Metula and its environs, causing several fires and disrupting power supply to the settlement

Belarus ready to cooperate with Ukraine on same terms as with DPR

Alexander Lukashenko stressed that by cooperating with the DPR, Belarus "is absolutely not violating any international norms"

Pakistan joins formation of corridor from Belarus to ports of Indian Ocean

"The Minister of Communications of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan signed this Memorandum, emphasizing the importance and significance of this project for the development of trade and economic relations and cargo transportation in the region," the statement reads

Israeli air force attacks around 100 Hezbollah sites in Lebanon in past two hours

The strikes were directed by the IDF intelligence units and the IDF Northern Command, the Israel Defense Forces said

Press review: Hezbollah pagers attack threatens wider war and Russia ready to test nukes

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, September 18th

Kiev still plans to attack Kursk NPP — Foreign Ministry

Maria Zakharova pointed out that the US and the UK were behind all of Kiev's crimes

Iran warns about pending response to Israel after Hamas leader Haniyeh’s killing

The head of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office slammed human rights activists for practicing double standards, when they are "silent while 41,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, have been killed by the cruel Zionist regime"

Two-thirds of Abrams tanks in Ukraine already destroyed — Russia’s deputy OSCE envoy

As Maxim Buyakevich noted, the discussion is afoot in the West about the possibility of using high-accuracy long-range weapons against facilities deep inside Russian territory

Ukraine participates in NATO’s counter-drone drills for first time

The document says that "more than 60 counter-drone systems and technologies such as sensors, drone-on-drone systems, jammers and cyber interceptors were tested live" during the exercise

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

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

Israeli attacks Hezbollah facilities, red lines: Middle East escalation

The constant shelling of the Lebanon-Israel border continued amid Israel's operation in the Gaza Strip

West switches to open support for Kiev's terrorist attacks against civilians — MFA

"The West continues to supply arms and money to the Kiev regime, propose pseudo-peace initiatives, and try to rally as many countries as possible to their side," Maria Zakharova said

US citizen Zenkovich, convicted in Belarus, asks Lukashenko for pardon

Zenkovich also addressed the US side

Putin examines kamikaze drones, unmanned systems at St. Petersburg defense plant

The Russian president was accompanied by Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Maxim Oreshkin and Presidential Aide Alexey Dyumin

Russian aviation wipes out base of Ukrainian militants in DPR — expert

The Russian Aerospace Forces delivered a strike with a glide munition

Ukrainian breakthrough attempts thwarted: developments in Kursk Region

The Russian military repelled three attempts by the Ukrainian military to break through the border near Novy Put, Malaya Obukhovka and Medvezhye

Florida court rules to arrest Russian citizen Postovoy, take him to Washington

The date of the next court hearing, to take place in Washington, has not been set yet

Ukraine's terrorist community growing by recruiting fighters in Syria — diplomat

Citing media information from Syrian sources, the Maria Zakharova said that 250 Ukrainian instructors arrived in Idlib the other day to train militants

Situation on Korean Peninsula becomes tenser because of US — North Korean Foreign Minister

Choe Son-hui underscored that "global peace and security are in jeopardy"

Cases against Ukrainian servicemen: situation in Kursk Region

Russian investigators have initiated three criminal cases against Ukrainian militants involved in crimes against civilians in the Kursk Region

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

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

NATO was called obsolete, braindead in past 10 years — Stoltenberg

"During my time as Secretary General, the relevance of NATO has been questioned," Jens Stoltenberg noted

Zelensky says Ukrainian troops in extremely difficult situation in two DPR areas

The situation on the frontline remains extremely difficult, Ukrainian President said

EU will grant loan to Kiev that will be paid from frozen Russian assets — EC president

Ursula von der Leyen stressed that 35 billion euros is the part which the European countries will contribute to the 45 billion euro loan approved by the G7 in Italy in the summer

Putin has no plans to attend Mexican president's inauguration — Kremlin

Earlier, the Mexican embassy in Moscow stated that the Russian president had received an invitation to Sheinbaum's inauguration ceremony

Biden, Harris to meet with Zelensky at White House on September 26

The leaders will discuss the state of the conflict in Ukraine, including Ukraine’s strategic planning and US support for Ukraine

One killed in stabbing attack in Dutch city of Rotterdam

According to the NOS television channel, the attack occurred near the Erasmusbrug bridge in the city center