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 Members of the Hamas police force in Gaza. (Reuters file)

New Gaza Police Force Faces Uncertainty over Composition, Representation

The issue of allowing the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza into the enclave to begin its work remains unresolved. Israel continues to refuse…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World A woman walks past a billboard depicting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and sentence reading in Arabic 'The decision is up to Lebanon' EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanese President Meets Delegation Chief ahead of Direct Israel Talks

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday met with veteran diplomat Simon Karam, the head of the delegation headed to Washington for planned talks with Israel…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Popular Mobilization Forces brigades patrol. (PMF media office)

Three-Member Committee Negotiates With Washington on Disarming Iraqi Factions

Asharq Al-Awsat has learned that an Iraqi committee comprising three senior figures is close to finalizing an “executive plan” to disarm armed factions, ahead…

Ali Saray (London)
Arab World A view of the Shuaiba oil refinery southwest of Basra, Iraq. (Reuters/File Photo)

Iraq Denies US Claims Deputy Oil Minister Helped Iran Evade Sanctions

Iraq's oil ministry has denied US accusations against its deputy minister, who the United States hit with sanctions over alleged support to Iran as Washington…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Reuters file photo of Libya's Sharara oilfield

Libya Launches ‘Large-Scale’ Crackdown on Crime in Major Oil City

Authorities in western Libya's city of Zawiya, which houses a major oil terminal and a large refinery, said on Friday they had launched a "large-scale…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib arrives for a meeting of the College of European Commissioners in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman

More than Half of Lebanon Population Depends on Aid, Says EU Official

More than half of Lebanon's population depends on humanitarian aid, a European Union official said on Friday, as Israel continues its attacks on the country…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs, a day after the attack that took place on the evening of Wednesday, May 7, 2026 (AP). 

Who Are the Radwan Commanders Israel Has Killed in Lebanon?

Israel’s announcement that it had killed Ahmad Ghaleb Ballout in a strike targeting the Haret Hreik area of Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday renewed…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Arab World File Photo: Algeria has suspended its 20-year-old treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation with Spain. (AFP)

France Says Sending Envoy Back to Algeria to Ease Relations

Paris will return its ambassador to Algeria and send a senior envoy to ceremonies marking a colonial-era massacre in its former colony to improve frayed…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon as seen from a position across the border in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel on May 7, 2026. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

Hezbollah Says Launched Missiles at Military Base in North Israel

Hezbollah launched missiles at a military base in Israel on Friday in response to Israeli attacks that killed a top commander, while Lebanese authorities…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World President Joseph Aoun meets with Lebanese chief negotiator Ambassador Simon Karam (File photo: Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanon, Israel to Hold First Direct Talks Next Week

Lebanon and Israel are set to hold their first round of direct talks in Washington next week aimed at establishing a framework for bilateral negotiations,…

Nazeer Rida (Beirut)
Arab World Massad Boulos during his participation in the Munich Security Conference in mid-February, from his account on X

Trump Senior Adviser to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Military Solution in Sudan

Despite the complexity of the situation on the ground in Sudan, Washington still believes the de-escalation effort has a chance of succeeding. Massad…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
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, in Gaza City May 7, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas Considers Temporarily Suspending Ceasefire Negotiations

Two Hamas sources told Asharq Al-Awsat the group’s leadership is weighing a temporary suspension of negotiations, citing what one source called “Israel’s lack…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World A bulldozer clears the rubble of a partially damaged building targeted by an Israeli strike in the Haret Hreik neighborhood, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, 07 May 2026. EPA/STRINGER

Israel Strikes across Southern Lebanon despite Truce

Israel pummeled southern Lebanon on Thursday, state media and AFP correspondents said, a day after it targeted a Hezbollah commander in its first strike on…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World FILE PHOTO: Hamas officials, Khalil Al-Hayya and Osama Hamdan, attend a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo

Israeli Attack Kills Son of Hamas’ Khalil Al-Hayya

Azzam Al-Hayya, the son of Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas' exiled Gaza chief who had been leading indirect talks with Israel over the Palestinian enclave's future,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World South Sudan's President Salva Kiir (archive - Reuters)

South Sudan's President Kiir Sacks Army Chief, Finance Minister in Latest Reshuffle

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has dismissed the country's military chief and a finance minister who had been in post for less than three months, state…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri meets with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. NNA

Lebanese President Stresses National Unity, PM Says No Normalization with Israel

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has stressed the importance of “national unity” as Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said it was premature to talk of any high-level…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Arab World Syrian security forces in Aleppo on May 27 (Reuters)

Syrian Forces Detain Uzbek Fighters in Security Sweep

Syrian forces have arrested Uzbek fighters during a security sweep in the northwest, after a dispute involving one of them escalated into protests outside a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Egypt Steps Up Regional De-escalation Contacts

Egypt Steps Up Regional De-escalation Contacts

Egyptian contacts with regional leaders and officials continue as part of de-escalation efforts to calm tensions between Washington and Tehran and positive…

Mohamed Mahmoud (Cairo)
Arab World A photo released by the Iraqi presidency on April 27, 2026, shows President Nizar Amedi, center, shaking hands with Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, right, in Baghdad

Iraqi PM-Designate Offers Baghdad’s Mediation Between Iran, US

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi has affirmed Baghdad’s readiness to mediate between Iran and the United States during contacts with Iranian…

Hamza Mustafa (Baghdad)
Arab World The scene following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, Beirut, Lebanon, 06 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Senior Hezbollah Commander Reportedly Killed by Israel in Beirut Suburbs Strike

A senior commander from Hezbollah's elite force was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday, the first on the area in nearly a…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Arab World  Brazilian Activist Thiago Avila, who was detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, appears at a court in Beersheba, southern Israel May 6, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli Court Rejects Flotilla Activists’ Appeal Challenging Detention

An Israeli court on Wednesday rejected an appeal contesting the detention of two foreign activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, with…

Arab World  Palestinians carry the body of Naseem al-Kalazani, who was killed in an Israeli strike, during his funeral at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP)

Israeli Airstrike Kills Colonel in Hamas-Led Gaza Police Force, Medics Say

An Israeli ‌airstrike killed a senior officer in the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip, health officials and Hamas sources said on Wednesday. …

Arab World This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun shows smoke as it rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the village of Arnoun on May 6, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli Strikes on Lebanon Kill 4 Despite Ceasefire

An Israeli strike in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa valley killed four people on Wednesday, while the Israeli army said it struck Hezbollah targets in the south,…

Arab World Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli strike in the south of Lebanon, as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 06 May 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. (EPA)

Lebanese PM Says Premature to Talk of Any High-Level Meeting with Israel

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said it is premature to talk of any high-level meeting between Lebanon and Israel, comments underlining the dim chances of…