Arab World News

Syria State Media Says Kurdish Force Shelling Kills One Person in Aleppo City

Arab World A view of Aleppo, Syria in February 2018. (AFP)

Syria State Media Says Kurdish Force Shelling Kills One Person in Aleppo City

Syrian state media said Kurdish force shelling in Aleppo killed one person on Monday, after clashes with government forces erupted in Kurdish-majority…

Arab World This handout photograph released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd-L) and Turkish Minister of National Defense Yasar Guler (L) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (2nd-R) and Syria's Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra (R) in Damascus on December 22, 2025. (Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Service / AFP)

Turkish Foreign Minister Urges Kurds Not to Be Obstacle to Syria’s Stability

Visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday urged Kurdish-led forces to integrate into Syria's army and not obstruct the country's stability, as…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on the Haret Saida neighborhood, Sidon, Lebanon, 27 October 2024. (EPA)

Lebanon Says 3 Killed in Israeli Strike on Vehicle Near Sidon

Lebanon said three people were killed Monday in a strike near Sidon that Israel said targeted Hezbollah operatives, days ahead of a deadline for Lebanon's army…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A Lebanese army officer and an Italian officer from the UNIFIL force during a joint mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL)

Italy Says Wants Military to Stay in Lebanon after UN Peacekeepers Leave

Italy said Monday it intends to keep a military presence in Lebanon even after the UN peacekeeping force it belongs to leaves as planned from December 31, 2026…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World This overview shows a destroyed mosque and other buildings in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 7, 2024 on the first anniversary of the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Türkiye Expects Second Phase of Gaza Ceasefire Deal to Start in Early 2026

Türkiye expects the second phase ​of a Gaza ceasefire deal to begin early in 2026, ‌Foreign Minister Hakan ‌Fidan ‌said ⁠on ​Monday, &zwnj…

Asharq Al Awsat

Arab World Israeli soldiers carrying weapons walk during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, December 20, 2025. (Reuters)

Israeli Military Says It Is Examining Killing of Palestinian Teen in West Bank 

The Israeli military said it was reviewing an incident in the occupied West Bank in which soldiers shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian who they said had thrown…

Arab World Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference, with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto (not pictured), in Caracas, Venezuela February 24, 2024. (Reuters)

High-Level Turkish Team to Visit Damascus on Monday for Talks on SDF Integration 

A high-level Turkish delegation will visit Damascus on Monday to discuss bilateral ties and the implementation of a deal for integrating the Kurdish-led Syrian…

Arab World Israeli forces gather as an excavator demolishes a building built without a permit in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Qaddum on December 22, 2025. (AFP)

Israel Demolishes Residential Building in East Jerusalem 

Israeli bulldozers tore through a four-storey residential building in east Jerusalem on Monday, displacing scores of Palestinians in what activists said was…

Arab World People walk along a street in Damascus, Syria, December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi


UNHCR Official Expects One Million Syrian Refugees to Return in 2026

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has projected that around one million Syrian refugees are expected to return to their country during…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus)
Arab World The sun sets over a residential neighborhood of Sanaa, Yemen, 20 December 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

32% of Yemenis in Houthi-controlled Areas Live in Moderate to Severe Hunger

Recent UN data has revealed a rising hunger crisis in areas under the control of the Houthi militias, who have increased their repressive measures in targeting…

Mohammed Nasser (Taiz)
Arab World Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza City, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP)

Building Collapses Pose Another Threat to People in Gaza

Residents of Gaza are taking the risk of living in damaged buildings despite their possibility of collapse, opting to live with a roof over their heads than…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Sudanese refugee girls carry water supplies near a polling station in the refugee camp of Zamzam, on the outskirts of el-Fasher, Darfur, Sudan, on April 13, 2010. (AP)

Sudan Drone Attack on Darfur Market Kills 10

A drone attack on a busy market in Sudan's North Darfur state killed 10 people over the weekend, first responders said on Sunday, without saying who was…

Arab World A Palestinian man carries the body of his 5-month-old brother, Ahmed Al-Nader, who was reportedly killed the previous day along with other family members in an Israeli shelling on a school-turned-shelter in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, ahead of his funeral on December 20, 2025. (AFP)

Foreign Press Group Welcomes Israel Court Deadline on Gaza Access

The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem on Sunday welcomed the Israeli Supreme Court's decision to set January 4 as the deadline for Israel to respond to…

Arab World Smoke rises from the site of a series of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of al-Katrani on December 18, 2025. (AFP)

One Dead in Israeli Strikes on South Lebanon

Israeli strikes in south Lebanon on Sunday killed one person and wounded another, the Lebanese health ministry said, as Israel's military said it targeted…

Arab World Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks to reporters after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend closed door meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on December 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images via AFP)

US Senator Accuses Hamas and Hezbollah of Rearming

US Senator Lindsey Graham accused Hamas and Hezbollah of rearming during a visit to Israel on Sunday, and charged that the Palestinian group was also…

Arab World  A helicopter flies over the Israeli settlement of Shilo in the occupied West Bank on December 14, 2025. (AFP)

Israel’s Security Cabinet Approves 19 New Settlements in West Bank

Israel's security cabinet approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move the country's far-right finance minister said on…

Arab World Cars drive through central Baghdad as a thick fog blankets the Iraqi capital on December 11, 2025. (AFP)

Iraq Top Judge Says Armed Factions to Cooperate on Weapons

The head of Iraq's highest judicial body said Saturday that the leaders of armed factions have agreed to cooperate on the sensitive issue of the state's…

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Arab World A Palestinian flag flutters in front of Israeli soldiers standing near their military vehicle parked at the entrance of the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp, in the Israeli-occupied northern West Bank on December 15, 2025. (AFP)

Israeli Military Says Killed Two Palestinians in West Bank

Israel's military said it killed two Palestinians in the north of the occupied West Bank Saturday, accusing one of throwing "a block" and the other an…

Arab World US Secretary of State Marco Rubio whispers in the ear of President Donald Trump during a roundtable about Antifa in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 8, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) / AFP PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2025

Rubio Says Immediate US Goal on Sudan is Cessation of Hostilities into New Year

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said Washington's immediate goal on Sudan is a cessation of hostilities going into the new year that allows…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Armed Hamas members are seen in Gaza. (Reuters file)

Armed Groups Opposed to Hamas in Gaza Seen with New Weapons

Images circulated on social media of armed groups opposed to Hamas in Gaza brandishing new weapons. The factions have been presenting themselves as…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Members of the Popular Mobilization Forces during the funeral of comrades killed in a US strike (AFP). 

Two Warnings, Arab and Western, ‘Tip the Balance’ in Iraq

In an unusual development, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Iraqi government and influential political actors received two extraordinary warning…

Ali Saray (London)
Arab World Members of the Palestinian Civil Defense remove the rubble of a destroyed home as they search for the bodies of Palestinians killed during the conflict in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 20 December 2025. (EPA)

US, Qatar, Egypt, Türkiye, Urge Restraint in Gaza

The United States was joined Saturday by Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye in urging parties in the Gaza ceasefire to uphold their obligations and exercise restraint,…

Arab World Smoke rises from the site of a series of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of al-Katrani on December 18, 2025. (AFP)

Lebanese Deputy PM to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Political Negotiations with Israel

Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri denied on Saturday that the appointment of civilian negotiators between Lebanon and Israel means that political…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Arab World Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and ambassador Simon Karam meet on Saturday. (PM's office)

Lebanese PM to Asharq Al-Awsat: 2nd Phase of Disarmament to Begin Soon Covering Regions between Litani, Awali

Lebanon would have completed the first phase of the army’s plan to impose state monopoly over arms, or the disarmament of Hezbollah, by the end of the year. …

Thaer Abbas (Beirut)
Arab World FILE PHOTO: Israeli military vehicles manoeuvre along the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, November 24, 2025. REUTERS/Shir Torem/File Photo

Israeli Military Says Detained Suspected ISIS Militant in Syria

The Israeli military said on Saturday its forces had arrested a suspected ISIS militant in Syria earlier this week and taken him back to Israel. In a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World (COMBO) This combination of satellite images released by Planet Labs PBC on December 19, 2025, shows from top left to bottom right:- the graves near the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) headquarters in El-Fasher, taken on the following dates: on October 8, 2025, on October 27, 2025, on January 15, 2025, and on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Handout / Planet Labs / AFP)

Report: Colombian Mercenaries in Sudan ‘Recruited by UK-registered Firms’

An exclusive investigation by UK’s The Guardian has found companies hiring hundreds of Colombian fighters for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces. A one-bedroom…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Arab World In this photo, provided by Egypt's presidency media office, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, front right, greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, before their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)

Egyptian President Urges UN Security Council Reforms for Africa's Larger Role

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi on Saturday reiterated calls for structural changes in the UN Security Council to grant Africa a larger role in shaping…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Arab World Destroyed buildings, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip November 18, 2025. (Reuters)

Türkiye, Hamas Discuss Reaching 2nd Phase of Gaza Peace Plan

Türkiye's MIT intelligence agency chief met Hamas' ​negotiating team head Khalil Al-Hayya on Saturday and discussed necessary measures to be taken for…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A Lebanese Army vehicle near a destroyed position in the town of Naqoura in South Lebanon (AFP)

Lebanon: 1st Phase of Plan to Confiscate Weapons South of Litani River to End Within Days

The first phase ​of the plan to confiscate weapons south of the Litani ‌River ‌will ‌end ⁠in ​a "few days," ‌Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in a …

Asharq Al Awsat