Arab World News

Yemen Welcomes EU Terror Designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

Arab World Iran’s Revolutionary Guards control the military activities of all Houthi units (EPA) 

Yemen Welcomes EU Terror Designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

The Yemeni government welcomed a European Union decision to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, saying the move marked a long…

Asharq Al Awsat (Aden)
Arab World Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets Armed Forces Commander General Rodolphe Haykal ahead of his departure for Washington (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire Panel to Stay, French Role Remains Military

A statement by the US embassy in Beirut has cut through weeks of Lebanese speculation over the fate of the committee monitoring the cessation of hostilities…

Caroline Akoum (Beirut)
Arab World Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar. (NNA)

Lebanon Enforces Funds Checks Despite Hezbollah Objections

A circular issued by Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar, now in force, has placed notaries public on the front line of the country’s fight against money…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Arab World A young girl carries a bag on her back as she walks along a road in the Nuseirat Palestinian refugee camp north of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. (AFP)

Iran War Fears Cast Shadow Over Gaza Ceasefire

As momentum builds around efforts to advance the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, the risk of a broader confrontation between the United States…

Mohamed Mahmoud (Cairo)
Arab World People walk along a street at sunset in Sanaa, Yemen, 21 January 2026. (EPA)

UN Says Yemen’s Houthis Removed Its Assets, Equipment in Latest Restrictions

Houthi militants in Yemen removed UN equipment and assets and took them to an undisclosed location without explanation, the world body said Friday, the latest…


Arab World  A woman looks out from a tent at Roj camp, one of the detention facilities holding thousands of ISIS group members and their families, in the al-Malikiyah area of northeastern Syria, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP)

Report: US Slows Transfers of ISIS Detainees to Iraq

Transfers of ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq by the US military have slowed this week, seven sources familiar with the matter said, following calls by…

Arab World A forensic expert examines one of the bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel the previous day, as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, in a morgue at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on January 30, 2026. (AFP)

Israel Denies Accepting Gaza Health Ministry War Toll

Israel's military denied on Friday having accepted the Palestinian health ministry's death toll for the war in Gaza of 71,000 killed since October 2023, as was…

Arab World Syrian internal security forces stand guard along the fence of Al-Hol camp in the desert region of Syria's Hasakeh province on January 21, 2026. (AFP)

Syrian Army Declares ISIS-Linked Camp ‘Closed Security Zone’

Syria's army announced Friday that a camp housing suspected relatives of ISIS group fighters was closed to the public, a measure a military source said was…

Arab World A pickup truck of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), stands in front of a market stall for solar energy equipment, in the city of Tine, eastern Chad, November 25, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

MSF Says it Will Not Share Staff Details Demanded by Israel to Access Gaza

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Friday it will not submit lists of staff demanded by Israel to maintain access to Gaza and the West Bank,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) queue to settle their status with Syrian government in Raqqa, Syria January 27, 2026. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri

France to Back Implementation of Ceasefire Deal in Syria, Says Macron

France's President Emmanuel Macron on Friday welcomed a deal that paves the way for a ceasefire between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces, adding…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A Red Cross vehicle, as part of a convoy believed to be carrying hostages abducted by Hamas armed men during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, arrives at the Rafah border, amid a hostages swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in the southern Gaza Strip, Nov. 24, 2023. (Reuters)

World Must Tackle 'Dire' Conditions in Gaza, Says Red Cross

The world must scale up efforts to alleviate the human suffering in Gaza, building on the momentum from the ceasefire's first phase, the head of the Red Cross…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A truck enters the Egyptian gate of the Rafah crossing, heading for inspection by Israeli authorities before entering the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)

Israel Reopening Gaza’s Border Crossing with Egypt on Sunday after Long Closure

Israel said Friday that it will reopen the pedestrian border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in both directions over the weekend, marking an…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World SDF forces have completed their withdrawal to the Hasakah region, northeastern Syria (Reuters)

Kurdish-led Force and Syrian Government Reach New Agreement to Stabilize Ceasefire

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced a new agreement Friday with the country's central government intended to stabilize a ceasefire that ended…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Sudan has the world’s largest internal displacement crisis (Reuters) 

UNICEF: Sudan Faces World’s Largest Internal Displacement Crisis

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Thursday that Sudan has become the world’s largest internal displacement crisis, with an estimated 9.5 million people…

Ahmed Younes (Kampala) Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Arab World A Syrian member of the military operations looks on as he stands at an inspection checkpoint for incoming vehicles before a Russian flag and Russian soldiers behind manning the entrance of the Russian-leased Syrian military base of Hmeimim in Latakia province in western Syria on December 29, 2024. (AFP) 

Lavrov: Al-Assad’s Trial Closed Long Time Ago

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Thursday that the trial of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was closed a long time ago, and that Russia…

Asharq Al Awsat (Moscow)
Arab World A Palestinian child picks flowers on Thursday from a field near destroyed buildings in the Nuseirat refugee camp, north of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza (AFP)

Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Hamas to Discuss Weapons Issue With Mediators in Coming Days

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intensifies pressure to disarm Hamas and other armed factions as part of the second phase of a ceasefire, the…

Asharq Al Awsat

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Arab World Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians who, according to medics, were killed by Israeli gunfire on Thursday, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Israeli Fire Kills Two in Gaza as Truce Deal Moves to Next Phase

Israeli fire killed at least two Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday, health officials said, in the latest violence rattling a fragile ceasefire as Hamas and…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World  A billboard on the road to Beirut International Airport promoting tourism in Lebanon. (AP) 

Lebanese Security Arrests Network Smuggling Drugs from Türkiye to Saudi Arabia

Lebanese General Security has dismantled an organized network involved in smuggling drugs from Türkiye to Saudi Arabia, as authorities reiterated that Lebanon …

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Lebanese army soldiers look toward the Israeli military position of Hanita (left) and the Labbouneh position, part of the five hills occupied by Israeli forces since last year (right), from a Lebanese military post in the village of Alma al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP) 

Political, Military Activity in Lebanon to Address Weapons, Ceasefire Mechanism Crisis

Lebanon is preparing political and military conditions to ensure the success of an upcoming visit by Army Commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal to the United States,…

Nazir Rida
Arab World Colonel Osama al-Assad said that coordination with the Saudi side is at the highest level to safeguard border security (Asharq Al-Awsat). 

Yemeni Officer: Drug-Smuggling Networks Linked to Houthi Preventive Security

Colonel Osama al-Assad, commander of Yemen’s Security and Protection Battalion at the Al-Wadiah border crossing, said that most drug-smuggling networks…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Yemen)
Arab World Kurdish fighters aboard Syrian Democratic Forces military vehicles flash victory signs in Hasakah (AP)

Erbil Mediation in Syria Hinges on Sidelining the PKK

Mediation efforts led from Iraq’s Kurdistan region are gathering pace to avert a new escalation in northeastern Syria, as Damascus presses ahead with a Turkish…

Hisham Elmayany (Erbil)
Arab World Palestinians walk on Wednesday amid the rubble of residential buildings destroyed by Israel in Gaza City (Reuters)

Hamas Gets Mediator Assurances on Rafah Reopening, Israel Seeks Delay

As Hamas says it has received firm assurances from mediators, including the US, that the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt will reopen,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Russian President Vladimir Putin receives Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Kremlin (DPA)

Putin, Sharaa Talks Focus on Strengthening Bilateral Ties

The second meeting in three months between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled an apparent rise in confidence and a…

Raed Jaber (Moscow)
Arab World  People walk through tents sheltering displaced Palestinians amid the ruins left by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP)

Hamas Says Ready to Transfer Gaza Governance to Palestinian Committee

Hamas said Wednesday it was ready to transfer the governance of Gaza to a Palestinian technocratic committee, while insisting the key Rafah border crossing be…

Arab World Israeli bulldozers demolish a UNRWA compound in east Jerusalem Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP)

UK, France, Canada and Others Condemn Israel’s Demolition of UNRWA HQ in Jerusalem

Britain and its allies, including France and Canada, on Wednesday strongly condemned the demolition last ‌week by ‌Israeli ‌authorities ⁠of the …

Arab World  Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, listens to Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa during their meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (Maxim Shipenkov/Pool Photo via AP)

Putin Hails Sharaa’s Efforts in Restoring Syria’s Territorial Integrity

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for talks in Moscow on Wednesday, as the Kremlin seeks to secure the future of military…

Arab World Buildings lie in ruins amidst the rubble in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 8, 2025. (Reuters)

Foreign Media Group Disappointed as Israel Court Postpones Gaza Ruling

An international media association expressed disappointment after Israel's supreme court again postponed ruling on a petition seeking free and independent…

Arab World A view of Sudan's Ministry of Finance building after nearly three years of devastation caused by the war, as efforts to restore the city's infrastructure resumes, in the capital Khartoum on January 17, 2025. (AFP)

Sudanese Slowly Rebuild Their War-Ravaged Capital

A jungle of weeds fills the Sudanese finance ministry's courtyard in central Khartoum, where the army-backed government says it plans a gradual return after…