Balint Szlanko

The United States and Britain have struck Iran-backed armed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, while Israel presses ahead with its offensive against Hamas in Gaza. U.S. troops maintain a presence in the area to fight the Islamic State group. They returned to Iraq in 2014 after the extremists overran much of the country’s north and started a genocidal campaign against the Yazidis, a religious minority. U.S. forces are also present in Syria, where they work with Kurdish-led fighters to keep pressure…

Violence has continued this week in the Gaza Strip as well as across the broader Middle East. The U.S. administration has been pushing for a prolonged cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but so far has not succeeded. These are things you need to know happened in the region this week.

As cease-fire talks have floundered, Israel has vowed to press ahead with its offensive in the southern Gaza Strip despite warnings from the U.S. to work harder to protect civilians. Violence spiked across the volatile Israel-Lebanon border. This is what happened in the Middle East this week.