Skip to navigationSkip to contentSkip to footerHelp using this website - Accessibility statement
Advertisement
World

Middle East

Today

caption

Shippers know the Suez is always a crisis waiting to happen

The channel should still be used, when it’s safe, as the savings are great. But knowing there’s a backup is enough assurance that the global economy won’t crash.

  • Tim Culpan
As Washington tries to forge a common position - one option is strikes on Yemen - shippers are digging in for weeks of disruption.

Over 100 container ships reroute as US weighs Red Sea response

Insurance premiums are surging for those who do cross the Red Sea, freight rates are up and so are oil prices – all potential factors for more inflation.

  • Stefan Nicola
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Hamas leader visits Egypt amid intensive talks on new ceasefire

Ismail Haniyeh, who usually lives in Qatar, typically wades publicly into diplomacy only when progress seems likely.

  • Nidal al-Mughrabi, Bassam Masoud and Dan Williams

Yesterday

A photo released by the Houthi Media Centre shows a Houthi gunman on the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on November 19.

The Houthi rebels ignored for 10 years who threaten global trade

Gulf experts say the West may have underestimated the power of the Iran-backed militant group.

  • James Rothwell and James Crisp
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

Street fighting rages in Gazan city as UN delays vote again

Khan Younis residents reported intensifying gun battles on Wednesday between Hamas fighters and Israeli forces in the centre and eastern districts of the southern city.

  • Nidal al-Mughrabi and Bassam Masoud
Advertisement
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump attends the UFC 296 in Las Vegas.

Shares hit a high; Trump not eligible; 2023 good and bad

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog.

Israel ready to pause fighting again for more hostages

Israeli President Isaac Herzog told ambassadors from around the world the country is prepared to agree to a pause in exchange for more hostages.

  • Gwen Ackerman
The Galaxy Leader ship was captured by Houthi fighters on November 19 and anchored offshore of As Salif, Yemen.

Red Sea shipping chaos, by the numbers

Since the attacks ramped up last month, at least 13 vessels have been subject to incidents in the area. Ambrey Intelligence puts the figure even higher.

  • Alex Longley

This Month

Shipping containers sit idly in Sydney.

Freight, oil climb as Red Sea attacks shut down shipping

Intensifying attacks from Houthi rebels in the Red Sea hastened a US-led response to a dangerous escalation of the Gaza war that threatens global trade.

  • Jenny Wiggins, Jacob Greber, Sarah Jones and Mark Mulligan
Labor MP Anne Aly.

The political establishment isn’t backing the Palestinians

An anti-Israel petition for politicians secured only 215 signatures, mostly minor figures, demonstrating support for the Jewish state in political circles.

  • Aaron Patrick
Palestinians flee the Israeli ground offensive in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip.

US envoys work for new hostage deal as Israeli barrage continues

US officials have repeatedly expressed concern about the large number of civilian deaths in Gaza. Still, there is no sign yet that a shift in the war is imminent.

  • Tara Copp, Melanie Lidman and Samy Magdy
Israeli soldiers in a tunnel in Gaza.

What worries me about the Gaza war after my trip to Arab states

No Gulf Arab state will come into Gaza with bags of money to rebuild it unless Israel has a legitimate Palestinian partner and commits to a two-state solution.

  • Thomas Friedman
Michele Bullock.

RBA considered rate rise; Oil, gas surge; WFH’s new phase

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

Children who were wounded in a strike on an al-Astal family home being treated last month at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.

More than 100 members of this Gaza clan have been killed in war

Family trees have been dismembered, and whole branches obliterated, since the conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7.

  • Vivian Yee and Iyad Abuheweila
Palestinians loot a humanitarian aid truck as it crossed into the Gaza Strip in Rafah.

Israel opens aid crossing to Gaza, steps up bombardment

Two security sources from Egypt said Israel and Hamas were open to a renewed ceasefire and hostage release, though disagreements remained on how it would be implemented.

  • Nidal al-Mughrabi, Ibrahim Abu Mustafa and Emily Rose
Advertisement
Damage from cyclone Jasper.

‘Billion-dollar’ floods; $1.2b Link buyout; Wild end to 2023?

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

The newly located tunnel is wide enough for a car to travel down.

Inside the Hamas tunnel network

Running 50 metres deep in places and emerging just shy of the Erez Crossing at Gaza’s northern tip, it is believed to have been designed for a wider invasion.

  • Updated
  • Paul Nuki
From left: Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, Liz Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania, and Pamela Nadell, professor of history and Jewish studies at American University, during the US House education and the workforce committee hearing last week.

Israel-Hamas tangled up in Ivy League identity politics row

The war in Gaza has exposed the splits within Western societies between those who believe in critical theory and those who still believe in the egalitarian genius of liberal democracy.

  • Alexander Downer
An image of HMS Diamond firing its Sea Viper missile to engage and shot down an aerial drone over the Red Sea.

US, British warships shoot down attack drones over Red Sea

Global shipping companies have halted journeys through the area because of attacks by rebels, in moves that could disrupt vital trade through the Suez Canal.

  • Jill Lawless
Israelis take cover from the incoming rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel.

Israel found the Hamas money machine years ago. Nobody turned it off

Agents worried as millions poured in. Hamas bought weapons and plotted an attack. The authorities now say the money helped lay the groundwork for the October 7 assault.

  • Jo Becker and Justin Scheck