MELANIE LIDMAN

Reporter

Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel.
FILE -Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, Latin parish priest of Gaza Strip, left, prays during the midnight Christmas Eve mass at Deir Al Latin Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Dec. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)
Israeli strike hits Gaza church, killing 3 and wounding priest who was close to Pope Francis
An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials.
 
Boxes and bags of humanitarian aid delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization approved by Israel, are seen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)
A crowd surge at an aid site in Gaza run by an Israeli-backed group kills 20 Palestinians
An American aid organization says 20 Palestinians were killed at a distribution site in Gaza. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it believed 19 died from trampling Wednesday at its food distribution center and one was stabbed.
 
The Gaboa family, Bedouins living in Al-Furaa village in southern Israel, gather around the makeshift bomb shelter they made from two gravel trucks buried in dirt to protect them from incoming Iranian fire, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Israel’s Bedouin Arabs turn to DIY solutions for lack of bomb shelters
When the sirens wail in the southern Israeli desert to herald an incoming missile, Ahmad Abu Ganima’s family scrambles outside.
 
Sara Al-Nouri mourns over the body of her 13-year-old sister, Sama, who was among 10 people, including two women and five children, killed in an Israeli strike while they were waiting to receive nutritional supplements at a Project Hope-run medical clinic in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Europe unveils a deal for more food and fuel for Gaza. Israeli strike kills 14 outside a clinic
Europe and Israel have reached a new deal to allow more food and fuel into Gaza. The European Union’s foreign policy chief says the plan could result in “more crossings open, aid and food trucks entering Gaza, repair of vital infrastructure and protection of aid workers.”
 
The mother of Anas Al-Basyouni mourns his loss shortly after he was killed while on his way to an aid distribution center, during his funeral at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Thursday, July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Strikes kill 94 Palestinians in Gaza, including 45 people waiting for aid, authorities say
Israeli airstrikes and shootings have killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza, including 45 who were attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid.
 
A man carries a child, who was wounded in an Israeli strike, after being treated in the Shifa Hospital, Gaza City, Monday, June 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
74 killed in Gaza as Israeli forces strike a cafe and fire on people seeking food
Witnesses and medics in Gaza say an Israeli airstrike on a seaside cafe has killed at least 30 people in Gaza City.
 
Mourners carry the bodies of three Palestinians who were killed on Wednesday when Jewish settlers stormed the West Bank village of Kafr Malik, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Israeli settlers rampage at a military base in the West Bank
Israeli settlers have attacked a military base in the occupied West Bank, setting fires, vandalizing vehicles and clashing with soldiers.
 
Liran Berman, brother of twins Ziv and Gali Berman, who were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, 2023, and held in the Gaza Strip, poses for a portrait at home with his family dog, Barbie, in Or Akiva, Israel, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The fighting has stopped between Israel and Iran. Families of hostages now hope for a deal in Gaza
The families of hostages held in Gaza have faced a 20-month-long nightmare. As they try to advocate for their loved ones’ fates, they have been confronted with the whims of Israeli and Hamas leaders and the other crises that have engulfed the Middle East.
 
A general view shows Tehran skyline, Iran Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to hold as Trump vents frustration with both sides
A fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding after initially faltering. U.S. President Donald Trump expressed frustration with both sides Tuesday, saying they had fought “for so long and so hard” that they do not know what they are doing.
 
A smoke trail from the Israeli Iron Dome air defense system streaks across the sky as it intercepts missiles launched during an Iranian attack, as seen from Haifa, Israel, early Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Iranian missile barrage strikes Israel after deadline Trump announced for ceasefire passes
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a “complete and total ceasefire” soon after Iran launched a limited missile attack Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites.
 
Israeli soldiers inspect the site struck by a direct missile strike launched from Iran in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Iranian missile fired after US strikes causes heavy damage but few injuries in Tel Aviv
Hours after the U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear sites, Iran launched more than 40 missiles toward Israel on Sunday morning, injuring 23 people and destroying apartment buildings and homes in three cities across Israel.
 
People shelter in an underground metro station as air raid sirens warn of incoming strikes by Iran, in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Fearful of Iranian missiles, many sleep in Israel’s underground train stations
Families with young kids, foreign workers, and young professionals are seeking shelter in underground train stations in Israel.
 
Ukrainian makeup artist Tetiana Kurakova, 40, sits in a hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 17, 2025, that was turned into a shelter for evacuees from Bat Yam, which was hit by an Iranian strike. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A Ukrainian fled to Israel. An Iranian missile shattered her new life
Ukrainians who fled the war in their country for Israel are facing a new conflict. When an Iranian missile tore through an apartment building in a city south of Tel Aviv, nine people were killed, including five Ukrainians who had recently come to Israel.
 
Smokes rises from a building of the Soroka hospital complex after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran in Beersheba, Israel, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Trump says he’ll decide whether US will directly attack Iran within 2 weeks
U.S. President Donald Trump says he will decide within two weeks on whether the U.S. military will get directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran.
 
The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Intense Israeli strikes hit Tehran after Trump demands ‘unconditional surrender’
Intense Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran’s capital early Wednesday after it issued a warning about a new area it could target, a day after U.S.
 
Smoke billows after an Iranian missile struck an oil refinery in Haifa, northern Israel, early Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israel warns 300,000 people in Tehran to evacuate as Trump issues ominous message
Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate the middle of Iran’s capital as Israel’s air campaign on Tehran appeared to broaden on the fourth day of an intensifying conflict.
 
People spend the day on the Mediterranean Sea beachfront in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Israelis are uneasy as they prepare for more Iranian missiles
A palpable tension settled over an eerily quiet Tel Aviv as residents anticipated another round of missiles to be fired from Iran, which is under intense attack from the Israeli military.
 
A man looks at flames rising from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been struck by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Israel targets Iran’s Defense Ministry headquarters as Tehran unleashes deadly missile strike
Israel launched an expanded assault on Iran on Sunday while Tehran unleashed a fresh barrage of missiles.
 
Firefighters work the scene of an explosion at a residence compound in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Israel’s attack on Iran was years in the making. How did they get here?
Israel’s massive strike on Iran on Friday morning came after decades of mutual hostility and a long-running shadow war of covert strikes and sabotage.
 
Damage is seen to an apartment building after Israeli attacks in Tehran, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Israel strikes Iran’s nuclear sites and kills top generals. Iran retaliates with missile barrages
Israel has launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran’s nuclear and military structure, deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists — a barrage it said was necessary before its adversary got any closer to bu
 
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a welcome message during a visit by Argentina's President Javier Milei to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Netanyahu’s government survives vote to dissolve Israel’s parliament
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has survived an attempt to dissolve parliament.
 
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block a highway during a protest against army recruitment in Bnei Brak, Israel, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Netanyahu’s government faces possible collapse as the opposition seeks to dissolve parliament
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government faces a major test after the opposition submitted a bill Wednesday to dissolve parliament.
 
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man shouts during a protest against army recruitment in Bnei Brak, Israel, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Netanyahu’s government could collapse over Israel’s ultra-Orthodox military draft law
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a vote to dissolve parliament and key coalition partners have threatened to bring down his government.
 
People take part in a protest demanding the end of the war and immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israel says it has recovered the bodies of 2 Israeli-American hostages from the Gaza Strip
Israel has recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war in Gaza.
 
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks to journalists attending a weeklong seminar at the agency in Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
UN, Iran and Egypt meet to discuss Iran’s nuclear program as enrichment continues
Iranian, Egyptian and U.N. leaders have met to discuss Iran’s nuclear program after the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Iran is increasing its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
 
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks to journalists attending a weeklong seminar at the agency in Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
After report about Iran’s increasing uranium stockpiles, Iranian FM stresses Iran’s cooperation
The Iranian Foreign Minister says he has spoken by phone with the director of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency after a report from the agency said Iran is further increasing its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
 
In this Sept., 2018 selfie image provided by Emma Tsurkov, right, she and her sister Elizabeth Tsurkov are shown in Santa Clara Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Tucker, File)
Why a Princeton graduate student kidnapped in Iraq still isn’t free 800 days later
With the world’s attention fixed on efforts to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, talks are quietly continuing to liberate a Princeton scholar and Israeli hostage held in Iraq by a different Iranian-backed militant group.
 
In this photo taken by a person not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, a university student attends a protest inside Tehran University after a smoke grenade was thrown by anti-riot Iranian police, in Tehran, Iran, Dec. 30, 2017. (AP Photo, File)
Truckers’ protests in Iran grow and win support from prominent dissidents
Truck drivers in Iran have blocked roads and ports as part of their strike protesting low salaries, high insurance rates, and a possible hike in fuel prices.
 
Palestinians storming a U.N. World Food Program warehouse and carry bags of flour in Zawaida, Central Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Four Palestinians die in storming of UN food warehouse a day after gunfire at new Gaza aid site
Hundreds of Palestinians stormed a United Nations food warehouse in Gaza in a desperate attempt to get something to eat.
 
Director Jafar Panahi, winner of the Palme d'Or for the film 'It Was Just an Accident', poses for photographers at the awards ceremony photo call at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Iran summons French diplomat over praise of Palme d’Or-winning film
Iran has summoned France’s representative in protest after the French foreign minister praised a prize-winning Iranian film as “a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime’s oppression.”
 
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