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Arab Nations Say Israel-Hamas Truce Should Be Extended, Aid Ramped Up

Palestinians bury bodies in a mass grave in Khan Yunis cemetery, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
Palestinians bury bodies in a mass grave in Khan Yunis cemetery, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
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Arab Nations Say Israel-Hamas Truce Should Be Extended, Aid Ramped Up

Palestinians bury bodies in a mass grave in Khan Yunis cemetery, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
Palestinians bury bodies in a mass grave in Khan Yunis cemetery, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)

Arab foreign ministers welcomed an agreement for a temporary truce between Israel and Gaza militant group Hamas on Wednesday but said it should be extended and become a first step toward a full cessation of hostilities.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan told a media briefing in London that the agreement, which includes hostage releases and stepped-up aid into the devastated Gaza Strip, should also ultimately lead to a resumption of talks for a two-state solution.

Under Wednesday's temporary ceasefire deal, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day pause in fighting to allow the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah said the humanitarian aid should be sustained and expanded, and it should not later become contingent on further hostage releases.

"Whatever humanitarian access now increases as a result of this hostage deal must remain in place and must be built upon," he said.

"There must at no point be a reduction in this access based on progress for further release of hostages ... Punishing the civilian population of Gaza for the holding of those hostages is absolutely not acceptable."

The conflict began on Oct. 7 when Hamas gunmen and other militants burst across the border into Israel, killing 1,200 civilians and Israeli soldiers, and taking about 240 hostages.

Israel responded with a heavy bombardment and then invasion of the Gaza Strip, killing more than 13,000 Palestinians, including at least 5,600 children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run government.

The Arab foreign ministers are leading a so-called contact group of mostly Muslim countries which are lobbying Israel's major allies and the UN Security Council to bring about an end to the Gaza war and move towards a permanent solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

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Arab World

Lebanon President Says Israeli Withdrawal 'Non-negotiable'

FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
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Lebanon President Says Israeli Withdrawal 'Non-negotiable'

FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said Israel's withdrawal from the country's south was a "non-negotiable" demand that authorities would pursue through negotiations, days ahead of a new round of talks in Washington.

In a statement commemorating Israel's previous withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000 after some two decades of occupation, Aoun said that "this year, the anniversary of the liberation comes as Lebanon is weighed down by a painful reality."

"Israeli attacks have not stopped and our dear southern villages are still suffering under a renewed occupation," he said.

Israeli troops who invaded Lebanon during the latest war with Hezbollah began on March 2 are operating inside a self-declared "yellow line" running around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside Lebanese territory.

Israel's military has also been conducting heavy strikes well beyond that area despite a ceasefire supposed to be in force since April 17.

"Lebanon will not accept this reality," Aoun said.

"The path to a full Israeli withdrawal will remain an uncompromised, constant national demand that the Lebanese state works to achieve through the option of negotiations," he added.

Lebanon and Israel began landmark US-brokered talks last month and are preparing for a fourth round in early June, preceded by a meeting between military delegations at the Pentagon on May 29.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Sunday reiterated his opposition to the direct talks with Israel and his group's refusal to disarm, as it keeps up attacks on Israeli targets in south Lebanon and across the border.

"If this government is incapable of guaranteeing sovereignty, it should go," Qassem said, adding: "Where is the sovereignty if America runs the cogs of the Lebanese state?"

Aoun said that negotiations were "neither a concession nor a surrender".

"The liberation of the south is a duty borne by the state with the support of its people," the president added.

Lebanese authorities have committed to disarming Hezbollah and they prohibited its military activities after it drew Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel, in retaliation for strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned what he called Hezbollah's "reckless call to overthrow Lebanon's democratically elected government", accusing it of "actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction."

Qassem had said that "the people have the right to go down onto the streets and to bring down the government" in response to Israeli attacks and US sanctions on the Hezbollah-linked Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial institution, which Washington wants Beirut to shut down.

Arab World

Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: New Syrian Parliament to Convene on June 8

People walk past the parliament building in Damascus on October 1, 2025. (AFP)
People walk past the parliament building in Damascus on October 1, 2025. (AFP)
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Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: New Syrian Parliament to Convene on June 8

People walk past the parliament building in Damascus on October 1, 2025. (AFP)
People walk past the parliament building in Damascus on October 1, 2025. (AFP)

Syria’s new parliament will hold its first session on the preliminary date of June 8 after the approval of President Ahmed al-Sharaa's final share of seats in the legislature, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The president boasts 70 seats in the 210-member parliament.

The sources said the final list of the share is being finalized with some amendments expected if some of the lawmakers, who won in recent elections, are unable to assume their duties.

The list includes figures from across Syrian segments. Efforts were made to “fill gaps” that were a result of the elections to raise the level of representation of major cities that have high populations.

Efforts were also sought to increase the number of females in parliament.

The statements mean that the president’s share was subject to negotiations with the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). They revealed that the government agreed to “appeasing” the Kurdish forces by raising the level of parliamentary representation of the eastern region.

They spoke of the possibility of raising to more than ten representatives of eastern regions that used to be held by the SDF. Representation could also be increased in Manbij east of Aleppo through a presidential appointment. The same could apply for the two Ghouta regions in the Damascus countryside and for Druze and Christian segments.

Asharq Al-Awsat also learned that some members of the parliament may propose changing the official name of the legislature, known as the “People’s Assembly” that is associated with the ousted Assad regime, to “Syrian parliament”.

Such a change requires the approval of the majority of MPs, which is already available, said the sources.

Arab World

Israel Seeks to Exclude its Occupation of South Lebanon from US–Iran Agreement

Israeli military vehicles drive on a Lebanese road towards the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
Israeli military vehicles drive on a Lebanese road towards the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
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Israel Seeks to Exclude its Occupation of South Lebanon from US–Iran Agreement

Israeli military vehicles drive on a Lebanese road towards the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
Israeli military vehicles drive on a Lebanese road towards the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon

Israel reportedly is trying to separate its occupation of parts of southern Lebanon from the anticipated agreement between the United States and Iran.

An Israeli source said on Sunday that the preliminary US-Iran agreement, which would also stipulate a ceasefire in Lebanon, grants Israel “the right to defend itself against attacks by Hezbollah.” To that end, the Israeli army would remain in the 600 square kilometers areas it occupied in southern Lebanon over the past year, extending 10 to 15 kilometers beyond the border between the two countries.

According to Israel’s Kan11 broadcaster, PM Benjamin Netanyahu had expressed concern during talks with US President Donald Trump on Saturday over “linking a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon with the agreement in Iran”. But Trump had reportedly "appeased" Netanyahu saying the US is directly monitoring the direct talks between the Lebanese and Israeli governments, assuring his keenness on preserving Israeli interests.

The channel quoted “a source familiar with the details” as saying that “Israel received a green light not only to remain on Lebanese territory, but also to retain 25 military positions until the negotiations are successfully concluded and the objective of disarming Hezbollah is achieved.”

Israeli media outlets quoted a political official on Sunday as saying that Netanyahu had stressed during his talks with Trump that “Israel will preserve its freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including Lebanon,” claiming that Trump “reiterated his support for this principle.”

For his part, Trump had stressed that he would “stand firm” in the negotiations regarding the disarmament of Hezbollah and “Israel’s right to respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire in Lebanon”, according to the source.

The official said Netanyahu will brief the cabinet and security chiefs on Israel’s position, stressing that Israel will remain in Lebanese territory and continue its operations against Hezbollah as long as negotiations are ongoing.

He added that Israel is committed to the ceasefire and does not strike all Hezbollah-linked locations, such as Beirut, but, backed fully by the United States, it targets Hezbollah cells and drones preparing attacks through so-called “preemptive strikes”.

Since October 2024, Israel continues its military operations and occupation of parts of south Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024.

Hezbollah launched six drones toward the Galilee, which Israel used as a pretext to escalate its incursion and expand its occupation, destroying villages, displacing 1.2 million Lebanese, and killing over 3,000 people.

Hezbollah’s operations displaced tens of thousands of Israelis in the north and killed 30, including 22 soldiers.