Arab World News

New Hamas Security Measures amid Fears of Overseas Assassinations

Arab World The building damaged in the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha last September (Reuters)

New Hamas Security Measures amid Fears of Overseas Assassinations

Hamas is increasingly bracing for what it sees as a looming Israeli assassination attempt against senior figures operating outside Palestinian territory. …

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Yasser Abu Shabab (Social Media)

Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Tribal Clashes Behind Killing of Yasser Abu Shabab

Sources in Gaza said the killing of Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of an armed militia opposed to Hamas, unfolded against the backdrop of a tribal confrontation…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of al-Mjadel on December 4, 2025. (Photo by KAWANT HAJU / AFP)

Israel Strikes South Lebanon Towns

Israel's military said it struck targets in two southern Lebanese towns on Thursday after ordering the evacuation of two buildings it alleged were being used…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Arab World A person holds a flag with an image of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, as people wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV, during his first apostolic journey, in Beirut, Lebanon, November 30, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

Iraq to Correct Asset-freeze List that Included Hezbollah and Houthis, Citing Publication Error

Iraq will correct a list of groups whose funding it has frozen, the state news agency reported on Thursday, after Iran-backed Hezbollah and the Houthis were…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A circulated photo shows part of the destruction caused by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drones in the city of El-Obeid in the Kordofan region. 

After Oil-Rich Babanusa, What Will the Rapid Support Forces Target Next?

After more than two years of intense fighting, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Monday that they had seized full control of the Sudanese Army’s 22nd…

Mohammad Amin Yassin (Nairobi)

Arab World A Sudanese refugee father from al-Fashir rides on a motorized cart with his wife and their daughters as they flee ongoing clashes between the RSF and the Sudanese army, arriving at the entrance city of Tine in eastern Chad, November 22, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Sudan Army Denies RSF Took Control of Strategic West Kordofan Town

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Monday that it seized full control of Babanusa, a transport junction in the country's oil-producing south, though…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World 28 November 2025, Palestinian Territories, Hebron: Israeli forces block Palestinian farmers trying to access to their agricultural fields in the town of Tarqumiyah. Photo: Mamoun Wazwaz/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Israeli Fire Kills 4 Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank

Israeli forces on Tuesday killed a journalist and a man near a refugee camp in Gaza, health workers said, and shot dead two suspected Palestinian assailants in…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Raghad al-Fara, 15 (L), Argwan al-Fara, 11 (C), and Shadia al-Fara, 44 (R), Palestinians who now live in Athens, pose for a portrait on November 24, 2025.  (Photo by Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP)

Palestinians Evacuated from Gaza Face Tough Adjustment in Greece

Raghad al-Fara is struggling to rebuild her teenage life in Athens, not least because she now moves around with crutches because of injuries suffered in the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Food security situation in Yemen remains critical (UN) 

UN Emergency Plan to Strengthen Food Security in Yemen

At a time when 80% of Yemen's population lacks reliable access to adequate food and clean water, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has developed a…

Mohammed Nasser (Taiz )
Arab World Crowds gather while security personnel stand guard, as Pope Leo XIV visits the country during his first apostolic journey, in Jal el-Dib, Lebanon December 2, 2025. REUTERS/Raghed Waked

Pope to End First Overseas Trip by Praying with 100,000 Lebanese

Pope Leo ends a three-day visit to Lebanon on Tuesday, wrapping up his first overseas trip as Catholic leader, during which he pleaded for peace in the Middle…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One en-route to Washington, DC on November 30, 2025. (Getty Images via AFP)

Trump Warns Israel Not to ‘Interfere’ in Syria

US President Donald Trump warned Israel on Monday against destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, days after a deadly operation by Israeli forces in the…

Arab World An image of Syrian President Bashar Assad, riddled with bullets, is seen on the facade of the provincial government office in the aftermath of the opposition’s takeover of Hama, Syria, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Syria Launches First Official Print Newspaper Since Fall of Assad

Syria published the first print issue of the official Al Thawra Al Souriya newspaper Monday, the latest government-owned media outlet to launch since the fall…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World 01 December 2025, Lebanon, Beirut: Pope Leo XIV (C) poses for a picture with various Lebanese religious leaders during an interfaith and ecumenical meeting at the Martyrs' Square in Beirut, on the second day of his apostolic visit to Lebanon. (dpa)

Pope Leo, in Crisis-Hit Lebanon, Urges Faith Leaders to Unite for Peace

Pope Leo gathered leaders of Lebanon's religious communities next to the old frontline of the country's sectarian civil war on Monday and urged peaceful…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense, White Helmets, Syrian Civil Defense workers check a house that was destroyed during an Israeli forces raid in the southern Syrian village of Beit Jin, Syria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)

Washington Mediates for Calm Between Tel Aviv, Damascus

The United States is exerting efforts to reduce tension between Israel and Syria, after the recent incident in Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, according…

Asharq Al Awsat (Tel Aviv)
Arab World Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri with members of the “military council” in Sweida. (File photo)

Arrests in Syria’s Sweida Target Group Plotting ‘Coup’ against Hijri

The arrests carried out by the so-called “national guard” in Syria in the Sweida province on Saturday was aimed at thwarting a “coup” against the policies of…

Muwafaq Mohammed (Damascus)
Arab World Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and officials upon arrival at Rafic Hariri International Airport, during his first apostolic journey, in Beirut, Lebanon, November 30, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Yassin

Palestinian State 'Only' Solution to Israeli Conflict, Says Pope Leo

Pope Leo said on Sunday that the only solution in the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people must include a Palestinian state,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Arab Parliament Condemns Israeli Attacks on Syrian Territory

Arab Parliament Condemns Israeli Attacks on Syrian Territory

Arab Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Yammahi condemned the repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, including the assaults that targeted villages in…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Pope Leo XIV waves while boarding the papal plane at Ataturk Airport, as he departs from Türkiye to Lebanon during his first apostolic journey, in Istanbul, Türkiye, November 30, 2025. REUTERS/Kemal Aslan

Pope Arrives in Lebanon in a Bid to Bring Hope to a War-wracked Region

Pope Leo XIV landed in Lebanon Sunday, where he aimed to bring a message of hope to its long-suffering people and bolster a crucial Christian community in the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World FILED - 13 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Rafah: A photograph, taken during an embed with the Israeli army and reviewed by its censorship office prior to publication, shows Israeli soldiers standing by a tunnel in Rafah. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa

Israel Says Killed Four Coming Out of Gaza Tunnels

The Israeli army said on Sunday it had killed four Palestinian militants coming out of tunnels in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Dozens of Hamas fighters…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Palestinian children play table football at Nuseirat camp (AFP)

Hamas Says Mediators Failing to Pressure Israel

Hamas and other Palestinian factions involved in ongoing ceasefire talks say they have lost confidence in mediators’ ability to pressure Israel to honor the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Distribution of food aid in Sanaa (dpa)

UN Report: Level of Hunger Rising in Yemen’s Houthi-Controlled Areas

The levels of hunger and poverty are worsening in Yemen’s Houthi-held areas, amid an unprecedented economic slowdown and deterioration in the business…

Mohammed Nasser (Taiz)
Arab World Lebanese soldiers seal off the site targeted in the killing of Hezbollah commander Haitham Tabtabai in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)

Lebanon on Edge Between Papal Visit and US Ultimatum

Lebanon is bracing for tense weeks as public anxieties swell ahead of two closely watched dates: Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Beirut from November 30 to December 2,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Arab World Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Loekke Rasmussen (L) meets with Syrian Minister for Foreign Affairs Assad al-Shaibani (R) at Tishreen Palace in Damascus, Syria, 29 November 2025. EPA/MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN

Syria’s Al-Shaibani Says Israel Undermines Regional Stability

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani on Saturday condemned the Israeli attacks on his country, saying they not only threaten Syria, but also…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus)
Arab World President Al-Sharaa greets crowds marking Assad’s fall at Aleppo Citadel on Saturday (AFP)

Al-Sharaa in Aleppo Vows Full Effort to Rebuild Syria

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed on Saturday to marshal every possible effort to rebuild the country, declaring from the city of Aleppo that Syria stands…

Souad Jarous (Damascus)
Arab World Israeli troops conduct a military operation at Al Fara'a refugee camp near the West Bank city of Tubas, 28 November 2025. (EPA)

Ten Palestinians Injured in Clashes with Israeli Settlers

The Palestinian Red Crescent said that 10 Palestinians were injured on Saturday in clashes with Israeli settlers near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. …

Arab World Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa delivers a speech at the gate of Aleppo’s citadel during celebrations marking one year since an opposition alliance, led by Sharaa, entered the northern city and swiftly took control of it, on November 29, 2025. (AFP)

Syria’s Sharaa in Aleppo a Year After Fall of Second City

President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Syria's northern city of Aleppo Saturday as the country marks a year since a lightning opposition offensive that eventually…

Arab World Naim Qassem, current leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, addresses mourners through a screen in a televised address during a ceremony marking the first anniversary of Israel's assassination of the group's longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and other group leaders, in the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr near Tyre in southern Lebanon on September 27, 2025. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP)

Hezbollah Urges Pope Leo to Reject Israeli 'Aggression' during Lebanon Visit

Militant group Hezbollah on Saturday urged Pope Leo XIV to reject Israeli "injustice and aggression" against Lebanon, in a message to the pontiff who arrives…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World  Palestinians walk through the destruction left by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Gaza City, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP)

Palestinian Death Toll Has Surpassed 70,000 Since the Israel-Hamas War Began, Gaza Ministry Says

The Palestinian death toll has surpassed 70,000 since the Israel-Hamas war began, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday, while a hospital said that Israeli fire…

Arab World Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Beshara al-Rahi (Asharq Al-Awsat) 

Lebanon: Patriarch al-Rahi Urges Hezbollah to Hand Over Weapons, ‘Free Itself from Iran’

Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Beshara al-Rahi has called on the United States to pressure Israel to “end its violations of Lebanon,”…

Thaer Abbas (Beirut)