Arab World News

Syria Arrests Nine Former Assad-Era Pilots

Arab World The Internal Security Forces arrested the nine former military pilots following a series of operations in Latakia. (SANA)

Syria Arrests Nine Former Assad-Era Pilots

Syrian authorities said Thursday nine former pilots, including three generals, who are accused of having taken part in lethal bombings of towns and villages…

Arab World Mohammad al-Yazouri, also known as "Abu Al-Haitham," commander of Gaza's Khan Younis Brigade in the Qassam Brigades.

Israel Assassinates Qassam’s Commander of the Khan Younis Brigade

The Israeli army assassinated Mohammad al-Yazouri, also known as "Abu Al-Haitham," commander of Gaza's Khan Younis Brigade in the Qassam Brigades, the armed…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Vehicles of the Iraqi army at the entrance to the capital Baghdad’s suburb of Sadr City. (AFP file)

Iraq Says Dialogue over Factions’ Weapons to Continue After Sept. 30 Deadline

The Iraqi government said on Thursday that the plan to impose state monopoly over weapons will begin after the complete withdrawal of anti-ISIS coalition…

Hamza Mustafa (Baghdad)
Arab World Yemeni government forces fire a tank during clashes with Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis in a location given as near al-Hazm, Yemen, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released September 9, 2026. (Media Center of the Yemeni Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)

Yemeni Forces Reposition Themselves in Southern Mokha

Battles on the Yemeni western coast and west of Taiz entered a new phase on Thursday as government forces reorganized their deployment south of the city of…

Asharq Al Awsat (Aden)
Arab World Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa addresses the Syrian People’s Assembly in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, July 12, 2026. AP

Syrian Parliament Seeks to End Institutional Disorder

The Syrian People’s Assembly has begun coordinating with a number of executive bodies to launch a legislative phase focused on modernizing the legal framework…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus)

Arab World A new Israeli settlement near the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 24, 2026. (Reuters)

UK Govt Bans Goods from Israeli Settlements in the West Bank as it Toughens Its Stance

The United Kingdom on Tuesday banned trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where it says “settler terrorists” are carrying out “ethnic…

Arab World Palestinians inspect a family home destroyed by the Israel army following a military operation after a Palestinian man barricaded himself inside the house in the Israel-occupied West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian Man in West Bank Raid

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, while the military said it killed a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)

Iraqi Judiciary Backs Government Efforts to Bring Weapons Under State Control

Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zidan has stressed the judiciary’s support for government efforts to bring weapons under state control based on…

Fadhel al-Nashmi (Baghdad)
Arab World Armed forces celebrate their advances in al-Jawf. (X)

New Battlefronts in Yemen Leave Houthis in Disarray

The Yemeni army and the National Resistance made progress on the ground on Monday across fronts in the Taiz, al-Bayda, and al-Jawf governorates, amid…

Asharq Al Awsat (Taiz)
Arab World The logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the organization's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 6, 2023 (Reuters)

Assad-era Syrian Reactor was Configured for Nuclear Weapons, IAEA Chief Says

The Assad-era government in Syria was constructing a nuclear reactor that was configured to produce fissile material for possible use in nuclear weapons, the…

Arab World A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus, June 4, 2025. (AFP)

Syria Arrests Assad-era General Accused of Deadly Repression

Syrian authorities on Monday said they had arrested a former general accused of involvement in the bloody repression of protests in 2011 that sparked the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza under the US-backed "Board of Peace" tasked with implementing the October 2025 ceasefire plan, speaks at the Hili Forum 2026 in Abu Dhabi on September 7, 2026.  (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)

Board of Peace's Mladenov Says Gaza, West Bank Escalation Makes Two-state Solution 'Impossible'

A top official within the US-backed Board of Peace said on Monday that a failure to move forward in Gaza paired with rising violence in the West Bank are…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Palestinians carry some salvaged belongings as they leave the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip after they returned briefly to check on their homes on May 31, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Israeli Rubble-clearing in Gaza Could Erase 'Atrocity Crimes' Evidence: UN Expert

A UN expert warned Monday that large-scale rubble removal in parts of Gaza under Israeli control risked erasing traces of "atrocity crimes", and preventing the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World  Excavators operate as rescuers search for survivors following an Israeli airstrike targeting a building in the village of Kfar Rumman, southern Lebanon, 07 September 2026 EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanon Says 12 Killed in Strikes as Israel Vows to 'Remove Threats'

Israel conducted a wave of airstrikes in south Lebanon, killing 12 people including women and children according to the Lebanese health ministry on Monday, in…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Israeli soldiers with a military vehicle keep watch near the Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir, West Bank, 06 September 2026, as local Palestinian students return to school for the new academic year. (EPA)

Israel Vows War with PA in Case of Oct 7-Style Attack

Israel on Monday threatened a "full-scale war" against the Palestinian Authority if it prepared an attack against Israeli forces or settlements similar to the…

Arab World Governor of Yemen’s Hodeidah province Dr. Al-Hassan Taher in this screengrab taken from a video.

Hodeidah Governor to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Are Determined to Fully Liberate Yemen's West Coast

Governor of Yemen’s Hodeidah province Dr. Al-Hassan Taher said that government forces were advancing on all military fronts, especially the west coast and Taiz…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Riyadh)
Arab World  A number of wanted people arrested during the security campaign in Aleppo (security sources) 

Asharq Al-Awsat Follows Sweeping Security Campaign Against Former Regime Remnants in Aleppo

For a third consecutive day, Syrian security forces continued a sweeping campaign in Aleppo in the north, led by Internal Security forces and the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Aleppo)
Arab World The State Administration Coalition meets on Saturday. (INA)

Iraq’s Governing Coalition Sidesteps Arms Issue, Warns of Fallout from Iran Sanctions

Iraq’s State Administration Coalition, which brings together Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish forces, sidestepped the issue of bringing weapons under state control…

Hamza Mustafa (Baghdad)
Arab World An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amidst the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Rumman in southern Lebanon on September 7, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli ‘Gray Line’ Plan Would See Withdrawal from Most Occupied Lebanese Territory

An Israeli plan has emerged for a withdrawal from most occupied Lebanese territory, with troops remaining two to four kilometers inside Lebanon along what has…

Nazir Magally (Tel Aviv)
Arab World Houthi drones downed by government forces. (Saba)

Yemen Army Pursues Houthis Southeast of Hodeidah

The escalation by the Houthi group on Yemen’s west coast and Taiz entered its fourth day on Sunday, as government forces shifted from containing the attack to…

Asharq Al Awsat (Aden)
Arab World An overview of the court during a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) filed by Nicaragua against Germany over the financial and military aid that the European country provides to Israel and the lifting of subsidies to the aid organization UNRWA, in the Hague on April 8, 2024.  Robin Van Lonkhuijsen, AFP

Germany Seeks to Quash Gaza Genocide Case at Top UN Court

Germany will Monday ask the top United Nations court to toss out a case brought against it by Nicaragua, which has accused Berlin of "facilitating genocide"…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amidst the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Rumman in southern Lebanon on September 7, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli Airstrikes on a Village in Southern Lebanon Kill 9 People, Wound 13

Israel’s air force carried out two airstrikes early Monday on a southern Lebanese village, killing at least nine people and wounding others, including women…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, votes in Likud party primary elections ahead of Israel’s general election in October, in Jerusalem, Monday, August. 17, 2026.   Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Netanyahu Orders Evacuation of Some West Bank Settler Outposts

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the evacuation of some West Bank settlements deemed illegal under Israeli law, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli air strike on a vehicle, in Gaza City, September 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Israeli Strike Kills Two People in Gaza

An Israeli strike killed at least two Palestinians, including a child, in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, health officials said. Mohamed Abu Selmia, head of the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A scene of congestion at a gas station in Baghdad (Iraqi News Agency)

Iraq: Fuel Crisis Exacerbates the Country’s Problems, Citizens’ Burdens

Many Iraqi provinces, including the capital Baghdad, are facing a severe fuel shortage, forcing motorists in some cases to wait for hours to get gasoline. This…

Fadhel al-Nashmi (Baghdad)
Arab World Yemeni government forces launch counteroffensive in Taiz, Hodeidah — military media

Houthi Escalation Backfires in Taiz, on Yemen’s Western Coast

A large-scale Houthi ground offensive launched on Thursday across Yemen’s western coast, southern Hodeidah, and western Taiz was faltering on Saturday as…

Asharq Al Awsat (Aden)
Arab World Iraqi police manage a queue of vehicles outside a fuel station in Baghdad, Sept. 5, 2026. (AFP)

Iraq’s Coordination Framework, Armed Factions Hit Deadlock in Talks

Iraq’s Shiite Coordination Framework has hit a deadlock with armed factions refusing to surrender their weapons as the Sept. 30 deadline for the final US…

Hamza Mustafa (Baghdad)
Arab World TOPSHOT - Residents inspect the destruction the morning after a night airstrike by the Israeli military that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Mayfadoun on September 5, 2026. (Photo by ammar ammar / AFP)

Hezbollah Throws Blame on Lebanese State for Israeli Escalation

Lebanon’s Hezbollah party continues to throw the blame on Lebanese authorities for Israel’s military escalations in the South, as a ministerial source…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Britain's Foreign Minister Ed Miliband arrives to attend an informal meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers at Druids Glen in Wicklow, south of Dublin, Ireland, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Paul Faith / AFP)

US Envoy Accuses UK of Antisemitism over Gaza Criticism

The US ambassador to Israel on Saturday accused ally Britain's government of antisemitism after its top diplomat described the situation in Gaza as "horrific"…

Asharq Al Awsat