Islam and antisemitism

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call with Iran's acting top diplomat, Ali Bagheri Kani, on June 30 to discuss the war in Gaza and its potential to spread conflict across the region, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

When Israeli forces rescued four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza this month, it dominated the news that Saturday, but Jerusalem resident Eliana Gurfinkiel, an observant Jew, didn't find out until nightfall.

The French-Israeli was following the rules of Shabbat and not using her phone. Hearing the news after everyone else "made no difference", she said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accused Western powers of backing what he said were Israeli plans to attack Lebanon and "spread war" throughout the region.

Greece's foreign minister said on Monday that threats by Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah against Cyprus were unacceptable and the European Union would stand by member-states against all such threats.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the phase of intensive fighting against Hamas is nearing its conclusion, nearly eight months after the ground operation began. He emphasized, however, that the war will not truly end until Hamas loses complete control of the Gaza Strip, according to a Reuters report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the current phase of fighting against Hamas in Gaza is winding down, setting the stage for Israel to send more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group said Sunday it had targeted a military position in northern Israel with an armed drone in response to the killing of an Islamist commander.

Israel and the powerful Iran-backed group, a Hamas ally, have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the Gaza war erupted on Oct. 7.

Regular puffs of smoke from missile intercepts over northern Israel and fires from air strikes in southern Lebanon are outward signs of a fear that the Gaza war may be expanding into a wider conflict, which analysts say poses risks for both sides.

The EU's representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, had a phone call on Friday with the Cypriot foreign minister, Constantinos Kombos, regarding Hezbollah's recent threats against Cyprus. 

During the call, Borell expressed his solidarity with Cyprus and called for de-escalation in the Middle East. 

The US State Department on Thursday reacted to threats against Cyprus from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah which warned the Mediterranean island that it could become a target if it allows Israel to use its territory in any conflict between the two sides.