Free Republic

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in the Iranian capital Tehran, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hamas on Wednesday, a major escalation that deepens fears of an all-out war in the Middle East. Haniyeh is the second leader of an Iran-backed militant group reported to have been assassinated in recent days. His death represents a significant blow to Hamas, eliminating its most public figure who headed up the group’s political operations while living overseas. In a statement, Hamas accused Israel of targeting Haniyeh and his bodyguard in a “strike” on where he was staying in Tehran,...

Jerusalem (CNN)The Palestinian Authority has canceled an agreement with Israel that was to have seen at least 1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19 transferred to the West Bank and Gaza. The abrupt turnaround came after health officials in Ramallah inspected the first delivery of almost 90,000 doses Friday afternoon, the Palestinian Health Minister said. ''It was found that the doses did not conform to the technical specifications as previously agreed upon, and that their expiry date was close,'' minister Mai Alkaila said, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. But they were criticized for failing to...