The quadrennial tournament is being held in the Holy Land for the first time ever, and teams say their initial fears about taking part have proved unfounded

Death occurs during demonstration outside office of a paramilitary group in Basra

Absurdly, the fate of over a million Syrian refugees in Lebanon depends on coalition talks in Beirut; in the meantime, Hezbollah must carefully maneuver among political rivals to ensure its existence

Backed by a Russian air campaign, Assad army has been pushing into the edges of Quneitra province following an offensive last month that routed rebels in adjoining Deraa province

Staff Sgt. Aviv Levy, who was shot Friday, is the first Israeli soldier to be killed on the Gaza front since 2014 war

Israel is expected to announce the easing of the flow of goods through the Kerem Shalom crossing and the extension of the fishing zone off the Strip

Norway, Britain and Italy will have 40 F-35s by the end of 2018, with the first U.S. jets in 2021; Israel is already operating several of the game-changing jets