Middle East

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife) -- An Egyptian convert to Christianity was looking forward Monday, January 18, to be recognized as a Christian by the state, after spending 31 years officially identified as a Muslim, but another convert was so far refused such an opportunity Christians said.

BosNewsLife Middle East Service JERUSALEM/GAZA CITY (BosNewsLife)-- Militant group Hamas announced a "ceasefire" Sunday, January 18, giving Israeli troops a week to leave, hours after an Israeli ceasefire began.

(ADDS COMMENTS PRIME MINISTER, HAMAS, DETAILS ) By George Whitten, BosNewsLife Chief Middle East Correspondent, with BosNewsLife Chief International Correspondent Stefan J. Bos JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife)-- Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, announced Saturday, January 17, a unilateral cease fire but said Israeli forces would remain in the Gaza Strip, as the militant group Hamas warned it would not end fighting yet, BosNewsLife monitored.

By George Whitten, BosNewsLife Jerusalem Bureau Chief with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (Worthy News) -- The militant group Hamas admitted Thursday, January 15, that Israel had killed one of its key ministers in a major air strike in Gaza City, while the United Nations expressed outrage that Israeli forces attacked a U.N. compound used by refugees.

By George Whitten, BosNewsLife Chief Middle East Correspondent GAZA CITY/JERUSALEM (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in the Gaza Strip faced another terrifying day Thursday, January 15, as Israeli forces pounded the Gaza Strip and Hamas militants fired rockets towards Israel, believers said.

By George Whitten, BosNewsLife Chief Middle East Correspondent reporting from Israel JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife)–- A song written by American Christians to encourage embattled Israel, entitled, "A Prayer Under Fire," has aired for the first time on Israeli radio and television, Worthy News learned Wednesday, January 14.

By George Whitten, Jerusalem Bureau Chief JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife) -- Suspected militants fired several rockets into Israel from neighboring Lebanon Wednesday, January 14, the second such attack in a week, residents and Israeli officials said.

By George Whitten, BosNewsLife Chief Middle East Correspondent reporting from Israel JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife)-- Israeli forces entered Gaza City Tuesday, January 13, battling Hamas militants and marking a new phase in Israel's 18-days offensive that Palestinian medics say left over 900 people dead and thousands more injured.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife)-- Israel continued military attacks in the Gaza Strip Monday, January 12, with troops moving further into the world's most populated region and Israeli warplanes pounding homes of Hamas fighters and smuggling tunnels near the Egyptian border.

(ADDS MORE DETAILS, HAMAS REACTION) BosNewsLife Middle East Service JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife) -- Israel is halting its military operations for three hours a day beginning Wednesday, January 7, to allow humanitarian aid to enter into Gaza, Israeli officials said.