Arab World News

Iraq Ruling Alliance Nears Critical Constitutional Deadline

Arab World  From a Coordination Framework alliance meeting in Baghdad (INA)

Iraq Ruling Alliance Nears Critical Constitutional Deadline

Iraq’s Coordination Framework is set to meet on Friday, the final day of the constitutional deadline to name a prime minister-designate, as disputes persist…

Hamza Mustafa (Baghdad)
Arab World President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets members of the Supreme Committee for People’s Assembly elections, July 2025 (Presidency page)

Will Syria’s Parliament Meet on Sharaa’s Timeline?

Holding the first session of Syria’s parliament, the People’s Assembly, on the timeline set by Ahmed al-Sharaa in Antalya will require faster efforts to select…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus )
Arab World Children stand on a pickup truck as they pass damaged buildings after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese town of Mansouri (Reuters)

Gradual Escalation in South Lebanon Complicates Diplomatic Efforts

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in southern Lebanon are running up against a gradual escalation on the ground, as fighting expands beyond the border…

Soubhi Amhaz (Beirut)
Arab World Passersby near the United States Capitol (Reuters)

Washington Tightens Conditions on Lebanese Army, Unconditional Aid Ends

As US-brokered direct talks between Lebanon and Israel unfold in Washington, Congress is stepping up pressure of a different kind, pushing the Lebanese army to…

Rana Abtar (Washington)
Arab World  Election campaign banners showing candidates for the upcoming municipal elections hang on a building in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.  (Photo by Eyad Baba / AFP)

Israeli Fire Kills Five in Gaza and the West Bank, Medics Say

Israeli airstrikes killed at least four Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday, while soldiers shot and killed a 15-year-old child during an army raid in the Israeli…

Asharq Al Awsat

Arab World Vehicles line up as displaced people make their way to return to their homes after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Sidon, Lebanon, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Lebanon President, PM Discuss Readiness for Israel Talks

Lebanon's president and prime minister discussed on Saturday preparations for the first direct negotiations with Israel in decades, as southerners headed home…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Gunmen from Hamas and Islamic Jihad seen deployed in Gaza (file- AFP)

Strong Pressure on Hamas to Agree to Gaza Disarmament

Hamas is facing its strongest pressure yet from mediators and other parties to agree, even in principle, to the “Peace Council” document before negotiating its…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A UNIFIL convoy rides through the town, as seen through the window of a vehicle, in Tyre, south Lebanon, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

Lebanon President Vows to Prosecute Those Who Attacked French UN Peacekeepers, Hezbollah Denies Responsibility

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun vowed on Saturday to prosecute those who targeted French UN peacekeepers, killing one and wounding three. In a statement…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A Hezbollah flag is displayed from a car window, next to a dog, as displaced people make their way to return to their homes after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Sidon, Lebanon, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Hezbollah Official Says Lebanon-Israel Talks 'Do Not Concern Us'

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati said on Saturday that his group was not concerned by Lebanon's planned direct talks with Israel, labelling them a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Foreign Ministry on April 17, 2026, shows Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd R), Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud (R), Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty (L) and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (2nd L) poses family photo during the 5th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2026) in Antalya. (Photo by Turkish Foreign Ministery Press Service / TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP)

Abdelatty: Egypt Working with Pakistan on Lasting US-Iran Peace Plan

Egypt is working closely with Pakistan on a framework aimed at securing a lasting peace between the US and Iran, ⁠Foreign Minister Badr ⁠Abdelatty said on…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A gathering of Yemen’s Qaifa tribes rejecting Houthi death sentences against 11 of their members (X)

Yemen: Houthi Infighting Exposes Deepening Fractures

Rising violence within Yemen’s Houthi movement is highlighting deep internal divisions, as competition over influence and resources intensifies amid growing…

Waddah Aljaleel (Aden)
Arab World Peshmerga fighters are positioned beneath a portrait of Masoud Barzani in Kirkuk (file photo – EPA)

Barzani Denounces ‘Suspicious Deals’ over Kirkuk Governorship

Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Friday rejected a recent political agreement in Iraq’s northern Kirkuk province that led to the appointment of a new governor,…

Hamza Mustafa (Baghdad)
Arab World Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during a panel discussion at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Türkiye on Friday (Turkish media)

Sharaa: Golan is Syrian Land, Any Other Status is Invalid

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said the Golan Heights are “occupied Syrian land” and that any recognition of Israeli sovereignty there would be “null and…

Saeed Abdulrazek (Ankara)
Arab World A Palestinian woman (R) reacts as an Israeli soldier pushes a man while Palestinians are forcibly removed as they try to reach their land after Israeli settlers reportedly attacked local farmers working on their fields, spraying them with pepper spray, near the Palestinian village of Halhoul, south of the Israel-occupied West Bank city of Hebron, on April 17, 2026. October 2023. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)

Israeli Military Says Suspect Neutralized in West Bank

Israel's military said Saturday that a suspected militant carrying a knife had been "neutralized" at a settlement in the occupied West Bank. "Following the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Displaced residents return to southern Lebanon (AFP)

Lebanon Bets on US Pressure to Win Israeli Concessions

US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, opening the door to direct negotiations between the two sides. Without a…

Mohamed Choucair (Beirut)
Arab World A photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency on April 17, 2026, shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun delivering a televised address to the Lebanese people from the Baabda Presidential Palace, east of the capital Beirut. (Lebanese Presidency)

Aoun Says Future Deal Will Not Cede Lebanese Territory, Country No Longer ‘Arena for Anyone’s Wars’

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Friday that any future deal reached by the government would not cede any ‌territory or ‌undermine Lebanon's…

Arab World A woman walks next to an ambulance at the site of an Israeli strike carried out before a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Hezbollah Tallies Its Dead from Israel War, Estimates Exceed 1,000

Hezbollah said its fighters would “keep their fingers on the trigger” hours after a ceasefire took effect between Lebanon and Israel, warning it would not stay…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Arab World A satellite image of Gaza port. (Reuters  file)

Secret Israeli Ministerial Talks under US Pressure Discuss Vision of ‘New Gaza’

Israeli media sources said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered two secret meetings of senior officials across several ministries, under US pressure, to…

Asharq Al Awsat (Tel Aviv)
Arab World Komala party members look towards the debris is strewn from mangled structures following drone strikes on the Iranian Kurdish opposition Komala party's Sordash camp, which resulted in the death of a female party member and the injury of two others, some 40 km northwest of the city of Sulaymaniyah in the autonomous Kurdistan region on April 15, 2026. (AFP)

Strikes Kill 3 Iranian Kurds in Northern Iraq, Says Opposition Group

Drone and rocket strikes in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region on Friday killed three Iranian Kurds, including two women fighters, an exiled opposition group…

Arab World Kosovo Security Forces parade during celebrations to mark the 18th anniversary of independence, in Pristina, Kosovo, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP)

Kosovo Lawmakers Approve Proposed Gaza Troop Deployment

Kosovo's parliament on Friday passed a law authorizing the potential deployment of a small number of troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force proposed by…

Arab World Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli strike that took place on Tuesday, according to medics, at Al-Shati camp in Gaza City, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

UN: Average of 47 Women and Girls Killed Daily During Gaza War

An average of at least 47 women and girls were killed each day during the war in Gaza, according to figures published by UN Women on Friday, and the agency…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World  An Israeli helicopter fires a projectile, as it flies over Lebanon, after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, as seen from Israel, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Lebanon Says Israeli Strike in South Kills One Despite Truce

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in the south killed one person on Friday, despite the start of a 10-day ceasefire in the Israel…

Arab World A man next to an ambulance looks at the site of an Israeli strike carried out before a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 17, 2026. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

Israel Says Military Operation Against Hezbollah 'Still Not Complete'

Israel's defense minister said on Friday that the campaign against Hezbollah was not yet complete, just hours after a 10-day ceasefire came into force in…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Beirut MPs met in the capital to support a government move declaring the city “safe and weapons-free." Asharq Al-Awsat

Beirut Conference Sees Wide Consensus Over Weapons-free Capital

Beirut MPs representing most of Lebanon’s political parties met in the capital to support a government move declaring the city “safe and weapons-free,”…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Arab World A man stands on a damaged part of the Qasmiyeh Bridge that was targeted by an Israeli airstrike near Tyre, southern Lebanon, 16 April 2026. EPA/STRINGER

A 10-day Ceasefire Agreed on By Israel and Lebanon Goes into Effect

A 10-day truce began in Lebanon on Friday that could pause fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and boost attempts to extend the ceasefire…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Libya central bank governor (left) with US assistant secretary of state (central bank)

Libya, US Hold Talks on Money Laundering, Terror Financing

Anti-money laundering measures dominated talks in Washington between governor of the Central Bank of Libya Naji Issa and US officials, as prosecutors pursue…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Arab World People mourn next to the bodies of Palestinian brothers Abdel Malek and Abdel Sattar Al-Attar, who were killed in an Israeli strike, according to medics, during their funeral, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, April 16, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Tension, Veiled Threats Mark al-Hayya’s Meeting with US Official in Cairo

Cairo is seeing renewed diplomatic momentum on Gaza, with mediators working to narrow gaps between Hamas and Israel, alongside the United States and Nickolay…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the village of Kfar Tibnit on April 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Trump Says Israel, Lebanon Agree to 10-day Ceasefire

US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire starting on Thursday. Trump said the truce followed …

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
Arab World A photo released by Syria’s state news agency SANA shows the army as it takes control of the base (SANA).

Syria Says Has Taken Control of All Bases Previously Operated by US Forces

Syria on Thursday said it had taken control of all military bases previously hosting US forces, who had long been in the country leading an international…

Asharq Al Awsat