For this final edition of Middle East Matters, we bring you a series of reports from our correspondents in the region. We begin in Israel, where as the war in Gaza drags on, divisions in Israeli society are growing more stark. Immediately after the attacks of October 7, the vast majority of people supported the government's decision to pursue Hamas aggressively. But a growing, vocal minority argues the government's strategy is not working – particularly when it comes to rescuing the Israeli hostages. Our correspondent Claire Duhamel reports ..read more

Around a dozen donor countries are freezing funding to UNRWA, the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, after Israel alleged that 12 UN staffers took part in the October 7 Hamas attacks. The UN has fired the employees in question and promised a full investigation. The budget cuts come at a profoundly challenging time. A quarter of the population of Gaza is starving, and UNRWA is the biggest aid provider in the enclave. Unless funding resumes, the agency says it will have to stop its operations in the coming weeks. We take a closer look and speak to Johann Soufi, who ran UNRWA's legal departmen ..read more

From Lebanon to Iraq and Syria, the ripple effects of the war between Israel and Hamas are being felt, but nowhere more so than Yemen. For months now, Houthi rebels there have been firing missiles at cargo ships in the Red Sea, prompting the US and UK to bomb targets inside Yemen this past weekend. FRANCE 24 spoke to Dr Elisabeth Kendall, a Yemen specialist at the University of Cambridge ..read more

The International Court of Justice is to hold hearings this week on a case brought by South Africa, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza and seeking a halt to its military campaign. Israel has described the allegations against it as "baseless" and intended to stir up lethal hatred of Jews. FRANCE 24's Shirli Sitbon tells us more about South Africa's decision to file the case, the Israeli response and what's likely to happen at the hearings ..read more

In this edition, we look at the ripple effects of the war in Gaza. In the Red Sea, Houthi rebels from Yemen are stepping up their attacks on vessels in the vital shipping lane, saying they're doing so in protest at Israel's actions in Gaza, even though many of the ships in question are not Israeli-owned. Might that lead to a wider conflict? We speak to Abdul Ghani Al-iryani, senior researcher at the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies ..read more

This week, we are starting to learn more about the conditions of the mainly Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Those who have been released tell different stories: some received medical attention, while others were denied it. Many were held in the dark, with little food. What is clear is that all the hostages suffered a massive ordeal; we take a closer look. Plus, FRANCE 24's Wassim Nasr tells us why those released so far are only women and children ..read more

The world's eyes are on Gaza at the moment, and rightly so. But violence is also continuing in the occupied West Bank. Even before the October 7 Hamas attacks, 2023 was already the deadliest year for Palestinians there in two decades. Now, violent confrontations are happening almost every day. Israel says it is trying to stamp out militant groups in the West Bank, but civilians are being killed. For more, we speak to Tahani Mustafa, a Palestine analyst at the International Crisis Group ..read more

We bring you a special edition of Middle East Matters, one month after the start of the Israel-Hamas war. On October 7, 1,400 people were killed in the unprecedented Hamas attacks; the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust. A month on, Israelis are still reeling, none more so than the families of hostages still held in Gaza, as our team on the ground reports. Meanwhile, amid intensifying Israeli bombardments on Gaza, the UN says the enclave is becoming a "graveyard for children". At least 10,000 Palestinians have been killed there, including more than 4,000 infants. F ..read more

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