Arab World News

Syria Starts Evacuating ISIS-linked Al-Hol Camp

Arab World TOPSHOT - Members of Syrian security forces march through the entrance of the Al-Hol camp in the desert region of Hasakeh province on January 21, 2026. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

Syria Starts Evacuating ISIS-linked Al-Hol Camp

Syrian authorities began evacuating remaining residents of the ISIS group-linked Al-Hol camp in the country's northeast on Tuesday, as they empty the formerly…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Taxi drivers, foreground, block a main highway with their cars during a protest against the increased taxes and gasoline prices issued by the Lebanese Cabinet on Monday, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Protesters Block Beirut Roads after Cabinet Approves New Taxes that Raise Fuel Prices

Protesters blocked main roads in and around Beirut on Tuesday after Lebanon’s Cabinet approved new taxes that raise fuel prices and other products to fund…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A group of women wait for news as Palestinian civil defense teams work to recover the remains of 67 members of the Abu Nasr family from beneath the rubble of their home after it was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahiya, north of Gaza City, 15 February 2026. (EPA)

Under Israeli Cover, Gaza Gangs Kill and Abduct Palestinians in Hamas-Controlled Areas 

Amid heavy Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, armed gangs carried out kidnappings and executions of Palestinians on Monday in areas controlled by Hamas, west of…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Part of previous consultative meetings for Yemeni lawyers in Sanaa (Facebook)

Lawyers in Sanaa Under Houthi Repression

In areas controlled by the Houthi group in Yemen, there is an increasing number of violations targeting lawyers, raising widespread concerns about the future…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stands outside the entrance to his office at Parliament House in Canberra on February 11, 2026. (AFP)

Australia Won’t Repatriate 34 Women and Children from Syria 

The Australian government will not repatriate from Syria a group of 34 women and children with alleged ties to the ISIS group, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese…


Arab World Israeli forces are due to allow the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza to reopen on Sunday - AFP

Egypt Urges All Parties to Show Restraint before Gaza's Rafah Crossing Reopens

Egypt condemned Israel's latest strikes in Gaza on Saturday and urged all parties to respect a fragile US-brokered ceasefire ahead of the long-awaited…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Members of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive in Kobane on January 23, 2026, after withdrawing from areas in eastern Syria. © AFP

NGOs: Türkiye Blocks Aid Convoy to Syria's Kobane

Turkish authorities have blocked a convoy carrying aid to Kobane, a predominantly Kurdish town in northern Syria encircled by the Syrian army, NGOs and a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World The main Homs prison was emptied when Assad fell in December 2024. But a year on, its wards are among those in Syria's prisons and lockups that are filling again with security detainees. REUTERS/John Davison

Lebanon's Government Approves a Deal to Transfer Syrian Prisoners Back to Syria

Lebanon’s Cabinet approved an agreement to transfer Syrian prisoners serving their sentences in Lebanon back to their home country. The issue of prisoners has…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World An aerial view shows the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria’s Hasakeh province, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Supplies Running Out at Syria's al-Hol Camp as Clashes Block Aid Deliveries

An international humanitarian organization has warned that supplies are running out at a camp in northeast Syria housing thousands of people linked to the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A truck carrying food aid at the Rafah crossing, Jan. 28, 2026 (EPA)

Gaza Awaits Arrival of Technocratic Committee

Gaza residents are waiting for the arrival of a technocratic committee tasked with administering the territory, after Israel announced a partial reopening of…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Syrian Democratic Forces fighters in Hasakah (AFP)

Syria, Kurdish-led Forces Agree on Military Division with Three SDF Brigades

The Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday they had reached a “comprehensive” agreement to halt fighting across…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus)
Arab World 
Nearly 70 United Nations staff remain detained by the Houthi group on alleged espionage charges (AFP)

UN Official: Houthis Seized Office Assets, Blocked Flights

The United Nations said on Friday that the Houthi group in Sanaa has taken unilateral steps that undermine its humanitarian operations in Yemen, seizing UN…

Asharq Al Awsat (Aden)
Arab World Palestinians survey the damage to an apartment building after an Israeli military strike killed several people in Gaza City Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill and Injure Scores of Palestinians, Including Children

Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 27 Palestinians Saturday, one of the highest tolls since the October ceasefire aimed at stopping the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Iran’s Revolutionary Guards control the military activities of all Houthi units (EPA) 

Yemen Welcomes EU Terror Designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

The Yemeni government welcomed a European Union decision to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, saying the move marked a long…

Asharq Al Awsat (Aden)
Arab World Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets Armed Forces Commander General Rodolphe Haykal ahead of his departure for Washington (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire Panel to Stay, French Role Remains Military

A statement by the US embassy in Beirut has cut through weeks of Lebanese speculation over the fate of the committee monitoring the cessation of hostilities…

Caroline Akoum (Beirut)
Arab World Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar. (NNA)

Lebanon Enforces Funds Checks Despite Hezbollah Objections

A circular issued by Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar, now in force, has placed notaries public on the front line of the country’s fight against money…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Arab World A young girl carries a bag on her back as she walks along a road in the Nuseirat Palestinian refugee camp north of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. (AFP)

Iran War Fears Cast Shadow Over Gaza Ceasefire

As momentum builds around efforts to advance the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, the risk of a broader confrontation between the United States…

Mohamed Mahmoud (Cairo)
Arab World People walk along a street at sunset in Sanaa, Yemen, 21 January 2026. (EPA)

UN Says Yemen’s Houthis Removed Its Assets, Equipment in Latest Restrictions

Houthi militants in Yemen removed UN equipment and assets and took them to an undisclosed location without explanation, the world body said Friday, the latest…

Arab World  A woman looks out from a tent at Roj camp, one of the detention facilities holding thousands of ISIS group members and their families, in the al-Malikiyah area of northeastern Syria, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP)

Report: US Slows Transfers of ISIS Detainees to Iraq

Transfers of ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq by the US military have slowed this week, seven sources familiar with the matter said, following calls by…

Arab World A forensic expert examines one of the bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel the previous day, as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, in a morgue at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on January 30, 2026. (AFP)

Israel Denies Accepting Gaza Health Ministry War Toll

Israel's military denied on Friday having accepted the Palestinian health ministry's death toll for the war in Gaza of 71,000 killed since October 2023, as was…

Arab World Syrian internal security forces stand guard along the fence of Al-Hol camp in the desert region of Syria's Hasakeh province on January 21, 2026. (AFP)

Syrian Army Declares ISIS-Linked Camp ‘Closed Security Zone’

Syria's army announced Friday that a camp housing suspected relatives of ISIS group fighters was closed to the public, a measure a military source said was…

Arab World A pickup truck of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), stands in front of a market stall for solar energy equipment, in the city of Tine, eastern Chad, November 25, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

MSF Says it Will Not Share Staff Details Demanded by Israel to Access Gaza

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Friday it will not submit lists of staff demanded by Israel to maintain access to Gaza and the West Bank,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) queue to settle their status with Syrian government in Raqqa, Syria January 27, 2026. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri

France to Back Implementation of Ceasefire Deal in Syria, Says Macron

France's President Emmanuel Macron on Friday welcomed a deal that paves the way for a ceasefire between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces, adding…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A Red Cross vehicle, as part of a convoy believed to be carrying hostages abducted by Hamas armed men during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, arrives at the Rafah border, amid a hostages swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in the southern Gaza Strip, Nov. 24, 2023. (Reuters)

World Must Tackle 'Dire' Conditions in Gaza, Says Red Cross

The world must scale up efforts to alleviate the human suffering in Gaza, building on the momentum from the ceasefire's first phase, the head of the Red Cross…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A truck enters the Egyptian gate of the Rafah crossing, heading for inspection by Israeli authorities before entering the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)

Israel Reopening Gaza’s Border Crossing with Egypt on Sunday after Long Closure

Israel said Friday that it will reopen the pedestrian border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in both directions over the weekend, marking an…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World SDF forces have completed their withdrawal to the Hasakah region, northeastern Syria (Reuters)

Kurdish-led Force and Syrian Government Reach New Agreement to Stabilize Ceasefire

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced a new agreement Friday with the country's central government intended to stabilize a ceasefire that ended…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Sudan has the world’s largest internal displacement crisis (Reuters) 

UNICEF: Sudan Faces World’s Largest Internal Displacement Crisis

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Thursday that Sudan has become the world’s largest internal displacement crisis, with an estimated 9.5 million people…

Ahmed Younes (Kampala) Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Arab World A Syrian member of the military operations looks on as he stands at an inspection checkpoint for incoming vehicles before a Russian flag and Russian soldiers behind manning the entrance of the Russian-leased Syrian military base of Hmeimim in Latakia province in western Syria on December 29, 2024. (AFP) 

Lavrov: Al-Assad’s Trial Closed Long Time Ago

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Thursday that the trial of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was closed a long time ago, and that Russia…

Asharq Al Awsat (Moscow)