Arab World News

Israel Ignores Lebanon’s Ceasefire Request as US Imposes New Sanctions

Arab World Children inside a tent at a camp for displaced people set up along Beirut’s seafront (Reuters) 

Israel Ignores Lebanon’s Ceasefire Request as US Imposes New Sanctions

Washington moved ahead of the Lebanese-Israeli security negotiations scheduled for May 29 by imposing sanctions on two officers from the Lebanese Army and…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Members of Australian families believed to be linked to the ISIS militants wait to leave Roj camp near Derik, Syria April 24, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman/File Photo

Australian Women Linked to ISIS Leave Syrian Camp

A second group of Australian women and children linked to the ISIS extremist group have departed a refugee camp in northeast Syria and may be returning to…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World (COMBO) This combination of handout satellite images taken by Planet Labs PBC shows views of the village of Yarun in southern Lebanon close to the border with Israel on (top L to R followed by bottom L to R) October 5, 2024; January 10, 2025; January 30, 2025; and on May 2, 2026. (Photo by 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)

Lebanese Accuse Israel of Wiping their Towns Off the Map

Lebanese mother-of-two Hala Farah is collecting photos and videos to preserve the memory of her hometown which, like many others along the southern border, has…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Tibnit on May 21, 2026.  (Photo by Abbas FAKIH / AFP)

Israeli Strike Kills 2 in South Lebanon

The Israeli military carried out an airstrike in south Lebanon, killing two people it said on Friday were armed and "moving in a suspicious manner" in an area…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A camp housing displaced people from southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs on the Lebanese capital’s waterfront (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Beirut Plan to Organize the Displaced Ends in Waterfront Camp

The insistence of about 500 displaced Lebanese to stay along Beirut’s waterfront has raised questions about why they chose to remain in that area despite the…

Paula Astih (Beirut)

Arab World Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on on May 19, 2026. (AFP)

Israel Military Issues Fresh Evacuation Warnings for South Lebanon

The Israeli military on Tuesday warned residents of 12 towns and villages in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate ahead of expected attacks against…

Arab World Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house that was pre-warned by the Israeli military to evacuate before the strike was carried out late on Monday, in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip May 19, 2026. (Reuters)

Palestinians in Gaza Mark Anniversary of Nakba, Say Today’s Catastrophe Is Worse

Blink and you might miss the few stone walls that are all that’s left of the village that Yusuf Abu Hamam’s family was forced to flee when he was an infant in…

Arab World  Syrian security personnel inspect the site of an explosion outside a Defense Ministry building in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP)

Syrian Soldier Killed, 18 People Wounded by Car Bomb in Damascus

One Syrian soldier was killed and at least 18 people were wounded by a car bomb that exploded on Tuesday outside a Defense ‌Ministry building in &zwnj…

Arab World FILE PHOTO: Sudanese women from community kitchens run by local volunteers prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts, in Omdurman, Sudan, June 22, 2024. REUTERS/Mazin Alrasheed/File Photo

MSF Warns Aid Used for 'Military Objectives' in S.Sudan

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders warned Tuesday that aid in South Sudan was being "instrumentalized" for military and political objectives, despite the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World RSF Brigadier General al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, known as Abu Lulu, was reportedly seen on the battlefield in Kordofan in March. (AFP file)

Report: ‘Abu Lulu’, RSF Commander Who Was Filmed Killing Civilians in Sudan, Is Back in Combat

A Sudanese paramilitary commander who was arrested late last year following global outrage over videos of him executing unarmed people in al-Fashir has been…

Arab World Boats taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aims to reach Gaza and break Israel’s naval blockade, set sail from a port in the southern Turkish resort of Marmaris, Türkiye, May 14, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli Forces Intercept 6 More Activist Flotilla Vessels Headed for Gaza

Israeli forces on Tuesday intercepted six remaining vessels from a much larger activist flotilla attempting to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. Two…

Arab World Syrians roast wheat in the town of Binnish, in the countryside of Idlib province in northwestern Syria (file photo - AFP) 

Govt's ‘Wheat Pricing’ Fuels Farmer Protests across Syrian Provinces

Hundreds of farmers staged protests for a second consecutive day across several Syrian provinces over the government’s wheat purchase price for the current…

Souad Jarous (Damascus)
Arab World Mourners attend the funeral of two Lebanese Civil Defense members killed in an Israeli strike on the city of Nabatieh on May 13, 2026. (Reuters) 

Lebanon Between Two Truces: More Than 100 Evacuation Warnings, 970 Homes Destroyed

Field data gathered since the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire took effect on April 17 shows the truce has brought little calm on the ground. Southern areas have…

Soubhi Amhaz (Beirut)
Arab World A photograph shows a fire at the site of a drone strike in Iraq's northeastern city of Sulaymaniyah in the autonomous Kurdistan region late on March 3, 2026. (AFP)

Erbil Stresses it Does Not Want to Get Involved in Conflict with Tehran

A prominent Kurdish security official denied on Monday the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) repeated claims that the Iraqi Kurdistan Region had…

Fadhel al-Nashmi (Baghdad)
Arab World Yasser Abbas, newly-elected member of Fatah's central committee, poses for a picture at his office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on May 18, 2026. (AFP)

Palestinian President's Son Vows to Put 'Gaza First'

The son of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Monday said Fatah would prioritize Gaza and return it "to the fold of Palestinian legitimacy", the day after…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World People ride a vehicle driving past a digital billboard featuring Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi in Sanaa, Yemen, 14 May 2026. (EPA)

Houthis Sentence 19 to Death for Fighting for Yemen’s Legitimate Govt

A Houthi-controlled court in Yemen has sentenced 19 people to death after their conviction for fighting for the legitimate government. Sunday's verdict,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Aden)
Arab World  Judge Sarah Netburn presides as Mohammad Al-Saadi, accused of planning an attack on a synagogue, appears in federal court in Manhattan, New York, US, May 15, 2026 in this courtroom sketch. (Reuters)

Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah Denies Link to Man Charged in US

The Iran-backed Iraqi group Kataib Hezbollah, denied on Monday that a man accused of plotting attacks in the United States and Europe was a member of the group…

Arab World Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment on the village of Zibdin in the Nabatieh district in southern Lebanon on May 18, 2026. (AFP)

Lebanon Death Toll Reaches 3,000 in Fighting Between Israel and Hezbollah

The death toll in the latest round of fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has surpassed 3,000, Lebanon's health ministry said…

Arab World Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tents in the Gaza Strip, pictured in January, and conditions remain dire despite the ceasefire. Bashar Taleb / AFP/File

UN Demands Israel Prevent 'Genocide' in Gaza

The United Nations demanded Monday that Israel take measures to prevent acts of "genocide" in Gaza, and decried indications of "ethnic cleansing" in the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh - Reuters

Syria to Join G7 Finance Talks in Paris in Sign of Growing Status

Syria will take part in a closed-door session with G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in Paris on Monday, a person familiar with the matter said,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World FILE PHOTO: Guard standing near an image of Syria's Bashar al-Assad at the fourth division headquarters in Damascus, Syria, January 23, 2025 REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar/File Photo

EU Renews Restrictions on People Involved in former Syria Administration under Assad

The European Union has decided to renew restrictions on individuals and entities linked to the former Syrian administration run by Bashar al-Assad, who was…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (AP - file photo)

Lebanon President Says He Will Do the 'Impossible' to Stop War with Israel

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that he would do the "impossible" in order to stop the war with Israel, after a ceasefire and direct talks between…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Boats belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying activists and humanitarian aid, depart for Gaza from the port of Marmaris, Türkiye, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in an attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade. (AP)

Gaza Aid Flotilla Says Israeli Forces Intercepted 28 Boats, Remaining Ships Continuing

The organizers of a flotilla of aid vessels bound for Gaza said on Monday that Israeli forces had intercepted 28 of their boats in the eastern Mediterranean,…

Arab World Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tents in the Gaza Strip, pictured in January, and conditions remain dire despite the ceasefire. Bashar Taleb / AFP/File

Carrying Gaza Children's Dreams to the Top of the World

Climber Mostafa Salameh is carrying a kite scribbled with dreams of Gaza's children to the summit of Mount Everest, seeking to raise awareness of the war's…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A woman carries the body of six-month-old Mariam Fahs during her funeral after she was killed in an Israeli strike on the town of Saksakiyeh (AP) 

Is Anger at Iran Beginning to Spread Among Lebanon’s Shiites?

Growing frustration is emerging within Lebanon’s Shiite community, extending beyond the traditional political discourse of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement to…

Caroline Akoum (Beirut)
Arab World This handout photograph released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on May 16, 2026 shows Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) shaking hands with US Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack before their meeting at the People's Palace in Damascus. (SANA / AFP)

Sharaa, Barrack Discuss Syrian, Regional Developments

US Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack hailed on Sunday the “remarkable” progress that has been achieved in Syria over the past year…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Arab World  Palestinians attend the funeral of Ezzedine Al-Haddad, commander of Hamas's armed wing, and his daughter and wife in Gaza City, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP)

Israel PM Says Close to Killing All Architects of October 7 Attack

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel had almost completed a key goal of the war in Gaza -- eliminating all those responsible for…

Arab World 17 May 2026, Lebanon, Tyre: Smoke from an Israeli air raid billows from the village of Zibqin. (dpa)

Lebanon Says Israeli Strikes Kill 7 Including an ‘Islamic Jihad’ Commander

Israeli strikes killed seven people in Lebanon on Sunday, including an "Islamic Jihad commander", Lebanese authorities and state media said, despite a fragile…

Arab World Israeli soldiers attend the funeral of Capt. Maoz Israel Recanati, who was killed in a Lebanese drone attack in southern Lebanon, at Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israel’s Army Wants a ‘Political Breakthrough' for Its War in Lebanon

Israel has widened its military operations against Lebanon’s Iran-back Hezbollah group while Israeli media outlets have published leaks from the military…

Nazir Magally (Tel Aviv)