Middle East

U.S. suspends aid to Palestinian refugee agency. Norway is still sending money

7:47am January 30, 2024

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide about why Norway hasn't suspended aid to a U.N. agency, when some staff is accused of participating in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

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Amit Soussana (r), who was held hostage by Hamas and released hugs a friend near her house where she was kidnapped during the Oct. 7 attack on the kibbutz, on Jan. 29, 2024, in Kfar Aza, Israel. Many of the towns and kibbutzim attacked on that day remain completely evacuated, with their residents having relocated to other parts of Israel.

Rabbis offer pastoral care for those traumatized by Oct. 7 Hamas attack

7:23am January 30, 2024

by Jason DeRose

The Oct. 7 attacks on Israel displaced tens of thousands of Israelis from their kibbutzim near Gaza. Since then, rabbis have been crisscrossing the country offering trauma-informed care to victims.

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Diplomat trying to end Gaza war warns an attack on U.S. forces could widen it

5:11am January 30, 2024

by Eyder Peralta

The prime minister of Qatar is in Washington for talks with U.S. officials trying to iron out the framework of a deal to pause or end the war in Gaza and get Israeli hostages released.

National

Morning news brief

5:11am January 30, 2024

U.S. weighs a response to a drone strike that killed American soldiers. Texas bars federal agents from entering a park used by migrants illegally entering the U.S. A farmers' blockade reaches Paris.

The University of Haifa on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel.

The war in Gaza is leading to deep divisions at Israeli universities

5:01am January 30, 2024

by Jackie Northam

With Arab students suspended for social media posts, it's "the first time we see this large amount of disciplinary procedures against students for expressing themselves," says a civil rights attorney.

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World News

Israeli and Palestinian radio stations broadcast messages for locked up loved ones

6:25pm January 29, 2024

by Daniel Estrin

An Israeli radio station is airing messages and songs to hostages in Gaza, while a Palestinian station broadcasts families' voice messages to relatives held in Israeli prisons.

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A satellite view of the U.S. military outpost known as Tower 22, in Rukban, Rwaished District, Jordan, in October last year.

World News

The killing of U.S. troops in Jordan raises specter of a wider war in the Middle East

5:46pm January 29, 2024

by Hadeel Al-Shalchi

An escalation of violence in the Middle East over the last 24 hours, including a drone attack that killed three U.S. service members, has raised concerns about the possibility of a regional war.

World News

UNRWA loses funding after charges that some employees took part in Hamas attack

5:44pm January 29, 2024

by Michele Kelemen

Some countries have paused funding to a UN agency that looks after Palestinian refugees after Israel provided evidence that it said showed Palestinian employees took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

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Who are the Iranian-backed militias attacking U.S. forces in Jordan

5:44pm January 29, 2024

by Jane Arraf

A group called the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" has claimed responsibility for a drone attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan. It creates a threat to the U.S. military in the region.

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After Jordan attack, White House says it doesn't seek war, but vows to respond

5:44pm January 29, 2024

by Tom Bowman

The Biden administration said it will respond after three U.S. service members were killed in a drone attack in Jordan. But any kind of military action in the volatile region carries its own risks.

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