Arab World News

Atef Najib’s Fifth Closed-Door Hearing Held Amid Public Pressure on His Lawyer

Arab World  Former security official Atef Najib is questioned during a fifth closed-door hearing on Tuesday (Syrian Justice Ministry)

Atef Najib’s Fifth Closed-Door Hearing Held Amid Public Pressure on His Lawyer

Atef Najib denied all charges against him during the fifth closed-door session of his trial before Damascus’ Fourth Criminal Court, which adjourned proceedings…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus )
Arab World Prominent Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti appears in court in Jerusalem. (AP file)

Barghouti’s Son to Asharq Al-Awsat: Father Shot, Denied Treatment as Incitement Continues

Arab Barghouti, the son of detained prominent Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, 67, said an Israeli prison guard fired a rubber bullet at his father last…

Kifah Zboun (Ramallah)
Arab World Mourners gather during the funeral of Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli strike, in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon August 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Lebanon Arrests ‘Israeli Agent’ Whose Intel Led to Assassination of Top Hezbollah Officials

Lebanese security and judicial authorities have opened a new espionage case involving Israel after arresting a Lebanese man suspected of links to Israel’s…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Arab World Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at a press conference regarding settlements expansion for the long-frozen E1 settlement, that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Israel Allocates $434 Million for 34 New West Bank Settlements

Israel's security cabinet approved ‌a budget of 1.3 billion shekels ($434 million) for establishing 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, right…

Arab World A Sudanese woman peels beans inside a shelter in the al-Rahmaniya camp for displaced people near the city of al-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 9, 2026. (AFP)

Sudan Risks Deeper Hunger Crisis Due to War, Aid Cuts and Hormuz Disruption, Says WFP

Sudan risks sliding backwards into deeper hunger as conflict, aid funding cuts and rising agricultural costs driven by disruption linked to the Iran war…


Arab World Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (AP)

Lebanon's President to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Chose Negotiation to Limit the Occupation and the Suffering of Southerners

With increasing military tension between the US and Iran in and around the Strait of Hormuz, Lebanese President General Joseph Aoun is trying to hold onto hope…

Ghassan Charbel (Beirut)
Arab World US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026. (AFP)

US to Remove Syria from Terror Blacklist

The United States said Wednesday it will delist Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, a decades-old designation that severely impeded investment, in a new…

Arab World This picture taken from a position in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel shows Israeli military vehicles driving past houses destroyed in Israeli strikes in the southern Lebanese village near the Israel-Lebanon border, on July 1, 2026. (AFP)

Amnesty Urges Investigating Israeli Attacks on Lebanon as ‘War Crimes’

Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israel of wiping out families in its strikes on Lebanon during its war with Hezbollah, calling for these attacks to…

Arab World  Jawaher Foqahaa walks past the tall metal fencing installed by the Israeli military that closed off four of the five entrances to their town and runs directly past the family home, in Sinjil, near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 26, 2026. (Reuters)

How a Palestinian Town Is Defending Itself from Israeli Settler Attacks

On a cool night in June, some 15 Palestinians from the town of Sinjil in the occupied West Bank gathered on a hilltop to watch the shadowed valleys below for…

Arab World  Egyptian and Turkish forces participating in the "Golden Eagle" exercise on Wednesday. (Egyptian Military Spokesperson on Facebook)

Drill Boosts Military Ties between Egypt and Türkiye

The joint Egyptian-Turkish military drill "Golden Eagle" kicked off on Wednesday with the participation of the Egyptian Airborne Forces, Egyptian Thunderbolt…

Waleed Abdulrahman (Cairo)
Arab World 24 June 2026, Sudan, Juba: Children gather at the Renk Returnees Camp during a Caritas press trip in Renk, Upper Nile State. Photo: Martin Hanser/APA/dpa

Study Says 93% of Sudanese Want Peace

A comprehensive Sudanese study has revealed that 93.2% of Sudanese support peace negotiations, a finding that participants described as “digital evidence…

Asharq Al Awsat (Khartoum)
Arab World According to the latest WFP-FAO Hunger Hotspots report, rates of severe food deprivation increased for the second consecutive month (UN)

Hunger Worsens in Yemen’s Houthi-Controlled Areas, Ports Lose $1.4 Billion

A recent report by the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization has said that household food consumption in Yemen continued to…

Mohammed Nasser (Aden)
Arab World US Central Command commander Admiral Brad Cooper visits Israel on Sunday at the invitation of Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to strengthen military coordination and the defense partnership between the two sides. (Israeli military/X)

Israel Tells Washington It Is Ready to Join War Against Iran Immediately

A military spokesperson in Tel Aviv said on Wednesday that the Israeli army was on high alert and ready to join the war alongside the US military against Iran…

Nazir Magally (Tel Aviv)
Arab World A still image taken from a video shows Esmail Qaani, right, believed to be at Najaf airport in Iraq. (Shafaq News)

Could Qaani’s Brief Appearance Affect Al-Zaidi’s Washington Visit?

The limited appearance of Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force, during the funeral procession for Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the Iraqi city of…

Hamza Mustafa (Baghdad)
Arab World  Smoke rises in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel Army Says Troops Capture Hezbollah Fighter, Strike Kills 2 in Lebanon

The Israeli military on Wednesday said its troops had seized a Hezbollah fighter during an encounter in southern Lebanon a day earlier and transferred him to…

Arab World Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)

Arab League Chief Says Blocked by Israel from Visiting West Bank

The new secretary-general of the Arab League, Nabil Fahmy, said Wednesday Israel had blocked him from visiting Ramallah, in what would have been his first…

Arab World Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)

RSF Drone Strikes on Civilian Vehicles Kill at Least 20 in Sudan, Rights Groups Say

Drone strikes on civilian vehicles headed to social gatherings in Sudan have killed more than 20 people in recent days, rights groups said, as the use of…

Arab World  An Israeli flag hangs from a building in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Trump Says He Thinks Israel Will Withdraw Troops from Southern Lebanon

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he thought Israel would withdraw troops from southern Lebanon because it wanted to take that step, despite…

Arab World Lebanese singer Fadel Shaker (Instagram)

Lebanon Approves Release of Fadl Shaker

The Lebanese judiciary on Wednesday approved the released of Fadl Shaker months after he surrendered himself to authorities, a judicial official told AFP. The…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World US President Donald Trump receives his Syrian counterpart Ahmed Al-Sharaa at the White House (Archive - Reuters)

Trump Says He Thinks He Will Remove Syria from US Terrorism Sponsor List

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he thought he would remove Syria from the United States' list of designated state sponsors of terrorism. "I…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Palestinian casualties are transported by paramedics after arriving from Gaza at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing (File/AFP).

Gaza: Israeli Fire Kills Five People, including a Child

Israeli airstrikes killed at least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, health officials there said. Medics said an Israeli missile hit a tent…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Scenes from the war in Sudan (AFP)

Drone Strikes on Civilian Vehicles Kill at Least 20 in Sudan, Rights Groups Say

Drone strikes on civilian vehicles headed to social gatherings in Sudan have killed over 20 people in recent day, according to rights groups, as the use of…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Vehicles drive past billboards that read in Arabic, "Lebanon first". (Photo by ibrahim AMRO / AFP) /

Lebanon to Participate in Rome Talks Only if Israel Withdraws from 2 'Pilot' Zones

Lebanon demands Israel's withdrawal from two "pilot zones" in the south before participating in the next round of direct talks in Rome next week, a diplomatic…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh gives an interview with AFP at his office in the capital Beirut on December 20, 2021. (AFP)

Lebanon Postpones Ex-central Bank Governor's Hearing

Lebanon's judiciary postponed a hearing scheduled Wednesday for former central bank governor Riad Salameh, accused of embezzling more than $300 million, a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Palestinians watch a broadcast of the 2026 FIFA World Cup match between Argentina and Egypt in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 07 July 2026. (EPA)

Israeli Strike Kills World Cup Screening Organizer in Gaza Just Before Kickoff

An Israeli strike on Gaza just before the kickoff of the Egypt-Argentina World Cup match killed a top Palestinian aid official who helped organize public…

Arab World  Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in the northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 2, 2026, on the 1,000th day of war since the Hamas-led attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza. (AP)

Trump’s Board of Peace Planning Pilot ‘Humanitarian Zone’ in South Gaza, Says Official

US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace is planning a pilot "humanitarian zone" in southern Gaza which would aim to accommodate tens of thousands of vetted…

Arab World Syrian security personnel inspect a burned vehicles near the Four Seasons Hotel after two explosions rocked the area earlier while Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was meeting French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace, in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP)

Syria Says Damascus Blasts Killed One, Wounded 36

Syrian authorities said on Wednesday that the blasts that hit central Damascus during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit a day earlier killed one person…

Arab World Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during a joint press conference with the French president at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria 07 July 2026. (EPA)

Syrian President Arrives in Ankara for Talks with Trump

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Ankara on Wednesday, where he was due to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit. The…

Arab World Egypt national team coach Hossam Hassan during a press conference ahead of the match against Argentina (Reuters)

Hossam Hassan’s Messages of Support for Palestine Stir Anger in Israel

A new message from Egypt national team coach Hossam Hassan has sparked widespread debate on social media after he once again voiced support for Gaza, just days…

Mohamed Mahmoud (Cairo)