Arab World News

Former Syrian Regime Officer Arrested

Arab World Syrian Ministry of Interior in Damascus (Official Website)

Former Syrian Regime Officer Arrested

Syria's Interior Ministry announced on Saturday the arrest of a former officer in Bashar al-Assad's regime holding the rank of major general and accused of…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus )
Arab World Displaced residents wave Hezbollah flags, including one bearing a picture of its leader, Naim Qassem, as they pass rubble of destroyed buildings in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Hezbollah Says Message from Iran Shows it 'Will Not Give up' on Group

Hezbollah said Saturday that a message from Tehran showed that Iran would not abandon the Lebanese militant group and that the Islamic republic's latest…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Volunteers from the Lebanese Red Cross rescue a woman in the city of Nabatieh in South Lebanon (AFP)

South Lebanon Hospital Damaged in Israeli Strikes

Israel kept up strikes on Lebanon on Saturday, hours after overnight raids on the country's south and east, including one that damaged a hospital, its chief…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike at al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli Strike Kills Five Gaza Police Officers

An Israeli strike killed five police officers in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, said a hospital and the Palestinian territory's police force, which…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World This picture taken on May 21, 2026 shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Mayfadoun. (Photo by AFP)

Israel Warns of Imminent Strikes on 10 Lebanese Villages

Israel warned the residents of 10 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately to avoid planned air strikes against alleged Hezbollah…

Asharq Al Awsat

Arab World  An Iraqi farmer drives his combine harvester through the wheat field in the Iraqi town of Al-Mishkhab south of Najaf. Iraq, Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP)

Baghdad Remains Silent about Makeshift Israeli Base that Operated against Iran from Iraq

The revelations about a clandestine makeshift military base that Israel had set up in Iraq during the US-Israeli war on Iran has caused uproar in Iraq. With…

Fadhel al-Nashmi (Baghdad) Asharq Al Awsat (Baghdad)
Arab World Students stand on the toppled statue of late president Hafez al-Assad during a rally near the campus of the Damascus University in the Syrian capital on December 15, 2024. Omar Haj Kadour, AFP

Eyeing Migrant Returns, EU Pushes to Revive Syria Ties

The European Union is to push Monday for a revival of ties with Syria as it looks to bolster the war-ravaged country -- with an eye on prospects for Syrian…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A photograph taken from the southern area of Marjeyoun shows trails of smoke during Israeli shelling on the outskirts of the village of Yohmor on May 10, 2026. (AFP)

Lebanon Says Two Paramedics Affiliated with Hezbollah Killed by Israeli Strikes in South

Lebanon's health ministry said two paramedics from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee were killed and five others wounded on Sunday in two…

Arab World  Former head of political security in south Syria's Daraa province, Atef Najib attends the first trial session at the Palace of Justice, in Damascus last month. (AFP)

Syria Court Charges Former Security Official with Acts Amounting to ‘War Crimes’

Syria's judiciary brought charges on Sunday against former security official Atef Najib for acts "amounting to war crimes" in 2011 against peaceful protesters…

Arab World A picture taken from the seaside promenade of the northern Lebanese coastal town of Dbayeh shows the skyline of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 17, 2020. (AFP)

Lebanese Army Arrests Iraqi Man for Impersonating a Security Official

The Lebanese army said on Sunday that it had arrested an Iraqi national for impersonating an Iraqi security official in Lebanon, the second alleged high-level…

Arab World Sisi welcomed Macron and the two discussed regional developments. (Egyptian Presidency)

Sisi, Macron Hold Strategic Talks amid Escalating Regional Crises

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron held wide-range talks in Alexandria on Saturday focused on bilateral ties and…

Fathiya al-Dakhakhni (Cairo)
Arab World Palestinians inspect a vehicle struck by an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP)

Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill Three, Medics Say, Testing Fragile Ceasefire

Israeli strikes killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, including two members of the Hamas-run police force, health officials said, in violence…

Arab World Mourners attend the funeral of Azzam al-Hayya, the son of Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas' chief negotiator in US-mediated talks over Gaza's future, after Azzam succumbed to his injuries on Thursday after being struck in an Israeli attack on Wednesday, in Gaza City May 7, 2026. (Reuters)

Report: Efforts Underway to Bring Gaza Administration Committee into Strip Before Eid al-Adha

A well-informed Egyptian source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that mediators are working to bring members of the National Committee for the Administration…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Arab World Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Directorate in Daraa during Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad's rule, who is accused of committing war crimes, attends a trial session at the Palace of Justice, in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026. (Reuters)

Syria: Trial of ‘Daraa Criminal’ Atef Najib Resumes on Sunday

The trial of former Syrian security official Atef Najib, accused by residents of Daraa of overseeing brutal repression at the start of the 2011 uprising, is…

Muwafaq Mohammed (Damascus)
Arab World A F-35 fighter jet flies during a graduation ceremony for Israeli Air Force pilots at Hatzerim Airbase, in southern Israel, June 29, 2023. (Reuters)

Report: Israel Built and Defended a Secret Base in Iraq for Iran War

Israel set up ‌a clandestine military outpost in the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign against Iran and launched airstrikes against Iraqi troops…

Arab World This handout photo provided by Syria's SANA news agency's Telegram channel on May 9, 2026, shows Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meeting with the Lebanese Prime Minister (unseen) at the People's Palace in Damascus. (SANA / AFP)

Syria Sets First Cabinet Reshuffle Since Assad Ouster, State Media Reports

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a series of government changes in late-night presidential decrees published by state news agency SANA. …

Arab World This combination of file pictures created on May 9, 2026 shows Spanish activist Saif Abu Keshek (L) and Brazil's activist Thiago Avila arriving in court, in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon on May 5, 2026. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)

Israel Has Deported Two Gaza Flotilla Activists

Israel has deported two foreign activists taken off a Gaza-bound flotilla, the foreign ministry said on Sunday. Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World People ride a scooter past a destroyed car that was targeted by an Israeli strike, in Saadiyat, Lebanon, May 9, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Israeli Drone Strikes Near Beirut Kill 4 and Southern Airstrikes Kill at Least 13

Three Israeli drone strikes on vehicles just south of Beirut on Saturday killed four people while a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 13…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Arab World This handout photo provided by Syria's SANA news agency's Telegram channel on May 9, 2026, shows Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shakes hands with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the People's Palace in Damascus. (SANA / AFP)

Syria President Discusses Security with Visiting Lebanon PM

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Damascus on Saturday on a visit tackling issues including security, transport and…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Israeli settlement structuers being installed in Sanur near Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 9, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Settlers Force Re-burial of Palestinian Man in West Bank, Family Says 

Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank forced Palestinians to exhume the body of their father from his freshly dug village grave, his family said, near a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Global Sumud Flotilla Steering Committee members Susan Abdallah, Muhammad Nadir Al-Nuri, Suemeyra Akdeniz Ordu, Maimon Herawati, Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek, Eva Saldana, Greenpeace Spain; Maria Serra, GSF Catalunya and Oscar Camps, Open Arms attend a press conference as humanitarian flotilla prepares to depart for Gaza, from Barcelona, Spain, April 12, 2026. REUTERS/Albert Gea

Gaza Flotilla Activists to Be Released from Israel Detention and Deported

Two activists arrested last month when Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza-bound flotilla they were travelling on are expected to be deported in the coming…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Israeli troops maneuver on the Lebanese side of the border, as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 08 May 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.  EPA/ATEF SAFADI

EU Official Urges Increased Humanitarian Access in South Lebanon

European Union crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib on Saturday urged increased humanitarian access in south Lebanon, where Israel has kept up strikes and…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Leader of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea - AFP

Geagea: Negotiations Must Deliver Lasting Stability on Border, Not Temporary Calm

The leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, said Lebanon “is facing an extremely complex dilemma, to the extent that merely observing developments is no…

Thaer Abbas (Beirut)
Arab World 09 May 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows from an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa

Israel Carries Out Air Strikes in South Lebanon after Evacuation Warning

Lebanese state media reported Israeli strikes on the country's south on Saturday after Israel's army issued an evacuation warning to several villages, as well…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Arab World People gather as prisoners from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive after being released under an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government, in Hasakah, Syria, April 11, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Syria Says Arabic Remains Sole Official Language after Hasakah Unrest

Syrian authorities released a new group of SDF-linked detainees on Friday, in a sign that the government is pressing ahead with a prisoner release clause under…

Muwafaq Mohammed (Damascus)
Arab World Damage to Sudan’s forests caused by the war and indiscriminate tree cutting (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sudan’s War Fuels Silent Disaster for Forests

As war tears through Sudan, the environment has been buried beneath the smoke of battle, mass displacement and hunger. Yet it is one of the sectors suffering…

Asharq Al Awsat (Khartoum)
Arab World Houthi supporters rally in Sanaa in solidarity with Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah (AFP)

Yemen’s Economy Pays Heavy Price of Houthi War

Yemeni government data has revealed the scale of the unprecedented economic and humanitarian deterioration the country has suffered because of a war that has…

Mohammed Nasser (Aden)
Arab World In August 2013, the army under Assad's rule was accused of using chemical weapons to target areas then under opposition control, killing more than 1,400 men, women and children, according to US intelligence and rights groups. (Reuters file)

Syria Says Arrested Assad-Era General Over Chemical Attack

Syria's interior ministry on Friday announced the arrest of a general from ousted president Bashar al-Assad's era, accusing him of involvement in a 2013…

Arab World This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency's press office shows European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib (L) being received by Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on May 8, 2026. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office / AFP)

US Aims to Consolidate Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire Before Negotiations

A Lebanese official source told Asharq Al-Awsat there were “serious US efforts” to secure the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel before the launch of direct…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)