Middle East

WHO warns illness in Gaza may ultimately kill more people than Israel's offensive

5:05am December 28, 2023

The Israel-Hamas war has devastated Gaza's health infrastructure, and overwhelmed the few remaining hospitals. Health professionals are increasingly concerned about infectious disease outbreaks.

Gaza food crisis is nothing like anything chef José Andrés had seen before

5:05am December 28, 2023

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit, about the hunger crisis in Gaza.

Does the U.S. and Israel see eye to eye when it comes to Gaza?

4:44pm December 27, 2023

Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer ended a visit with the White House and State Department. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Aaron David Miller about what it means for U.S.-Israel relations.

Alon Keren (left) and soldiers from his commando unit sleep on the floor of an evacuated Palestinian home in Gaza.

World News

Two weeks in Gaza, through one Israeli soldier's eyes

3:02pm December 27, 2023

A reservist serving in a logistics support role for his combat unit reflects on his first weeks stationed in Gaza. He's one of hundreds of thousands of reservists called up since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

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An Israeli battle tank moves along the border between the Gaza Strip and southern Israel on Wednesday as battles between Israel and Hamas continue.

World News

The latest Israel-Hamas cease-fire proposal drops details of future governance of Gaza

10:45am December 27, 2023

The updated plan, crafted by Egypt and obtained by NPR, is the most recent draft in a flurry of diplomatic activity in recent days aimed at ending Israel's devastating air-and-ground campaign in Gaza.

U.S. and Israeli confrontations with Iran-backed militias have increased

10:35am December 27, 2023

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the U.S. and Israel have been getting into more frequent conflicts with Iran-backed militias around the Middle East.

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Israel-Hamas war aggravates an already bad relationship between the U.S. and Iran

7:22am December 27, 2023

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Middle East Institute president Paul Salem about hostilities between the U.S. and Iran-backed militias, and the risk of a wider war in the Middle East.

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World News

An aid worker describes the 'unbearable' suffering of wounded children in Gaza

7:46pm December 26, 2023

by Aya Batrawy

A medical worker who recently left Gaza describes the difficulties treating children who've lost limbs and face hopelessness.

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The world crises Secretary Blinken has been looking at this year

6:03pm December 26, 2023

by Michele Kelemen

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. support for Israel has not left it isolated — despite anger over the Israeli offensive in Gaza. That's just one of the world crises he's looking at.

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Palestinian children, having fled the Israeli bombing of the northern Gaza Strip in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, are living in temporary shelters at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Global health groups say they are doing what they can to keep a lid on infectious diseases amid crowded, unsanitary conditions and a devastated health-care system.

Health workers struggle to prevent an infectious disease 'disaster in waiting' in Gaza

6:00pm December 26, 2023

Public health experts say conditions in war-torn Gaza are ripe for the spread of infectious disease. Health workers are struggling to spot and contain outbreaks, even as the health system teeters.