Israeli war planes have unleashed airstrikes against Syrian army targets in response to a roadside bombing in the Golan Heights that wounded four soldiers.

Egyptian helicopters have fired on a meeting of suspected militants in the Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 12 people as authorities stepped up their attacks following an Israeli drone strike in the region.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he has successfully undergone hernia surgery.

A senior Israeli military intelligence official has claimed Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons last month in his battle against insurgent groups.

Lifting a nearly 25-year veil of secrecy, Israel acknowledged today that it killed the deputy of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in a 1988 seaborne raid in Tunisia.

IRAN said yesterday it had successfully test fired what it described as two long-range missiles, flexing its military muscle in the face of mounting Western pressure over its nuclear programme.

AN Israeli cabinet minister has called off a visit to Britain because of concerns he could be arrested on suspicion of committing war crimes, a spokesman said yesterday, becoming the latest Israeli official affected by a Palestinian legal campaign in Britain.

An Israeli Cabinet minister has called off a visit to Britain because of concerns he could be arrested on suspicion of committing war crimes.

Israelis would vote Ehud Olmert out of office if elections were held now, polls indicated today, as the defiant prime minister defended his performance in the Lebanon war and lashed out at his critics.

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has agreed to delay the pull-out from the Gaza Strip by three weeks, ostensibly to avoid a conflict with a Jewish period of mourning.

Israel’s army chief has ordered troops to halt operations in the Gaza Strip and to scale them back in the West Bank.

RESPONDING to growing threats of insubordination, Israel's army chief announced yesterday he'll expel officers and soldiers who refuse to participate in a planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.

Jewish settlers’ leaders warned Israel’s army chief that hundreds, and possibly thousands, of soldiers could refuse to carry out orders to evacuate them from the Gaza Strip if the government went ahead with its plan to withdraw from the coastal area later this year.

The Israeli army believes that al-Qaida carried out three car bombings in Egyptian resorts last week that killed at least 34 people.

ISRAEL would not endanger its security by giving up the Golan Heights in exchange for peace with Syria, Israel’s army chief said yesterday, departing from the military’s traditional view that Israel needs at least part of the plateau as a buffer.

Israel will step up military operations in the Gaza Strip, including a more intensive air campaign and the possible demolition of hundreds of Palestinian homes, in response to recent fighting in the area, Israeli officials said today.

ISRAELI military officials yesterday identified Mahmoud Zahar, a surgeon and prominent Hamas hard-liner, as the new leader of the Islamic militant group in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli military officials today identified Mahmoud Zahar, a surgeon and prominent Hamas hard-liner, as the new leader of the Islamic militant group in the Gaza Strip.

Iraq had chemical weapons and the means to deliver them ahead of last year’s US-led invasion, Israel’s military chief claimed in an interview published today.

ISRAEL will try to kill the entire leadership of Hamas after assassinating the founder of the Islamic militant group in a missile strike, security sources said in Jerusalem yesterday.

Israeli forces backed by tanks and combat helicopters raided the West Bank town of Jenin today, sparking a gun battle that killed a Palestinian woman in her home.

Israel has warned the Palestinians that there can be no progress towards peace in the Middle East unless they rein in militant groups, following two suicide bombings in less than an hour.

FOUR Palestinians were killed yesterdayin separate incidents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including a teenager who was shot dead when rock-throwing Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops.

Four Palestinians were killed today in separate incidents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including a teenager who was shot dead when rock-throwing Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops.

ISRAELI army chief Moshe Yaalon said yesterday that Israel was prepared for an attack by Iraq as a conflict with Baghdad loomed after Washington said it would act against Saddam Hussein with or without world support.

Israel confirms it is prepared for an Iraqi attack that could come as retaliation for any US military action against the Arab state.

PALESTINIAN militants pose a “cancer-like” threat to Israel and must be defeated at all costs, Israel’s new army chief has said.

Palestinian militants pose a "cancer-like" threat to Israel and must be defeated at all costs, Israel’s new army chief has said.