Arab World News

Gaza Hospital Says Child among Three Killed in Israeli Strike

Arab World Residents inspect the rubble of a building that belongs to the Palestinian family of Abu Saif and was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Gaza Hospital Says Child among Three Killed in Israeli Strike

A pre-dawn Israeli airstrike killed three members of a Palestinian family, including a one-year-old child, in central Gaza on Sunday, a hospital said. Gaza…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei (R) and Nujaba Movement leader Akram al-Kaabi in Tehran in December 2018. (Supreme leader’s website)

Iraq’s Nujaba Movement Warns against ‘US Plot’ to Integrate PMF in New Security Ministry

The Iran-aligned Nujaba Movement in Iraq warned on Saturday against an “American plot” to merge the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in state…

Fadhel al-Nashmi (Baghdad)
Arab World Syrian Kurds demonstrate to mark Kurdish Language Day, demanding constitutional recognition of the Kurdish language by the Syrian government, in Qamishli, Syria, May 14, 2026. (Reuters)

10,000 Kurds Apply for Syrian Citizenship

Damascus announced on Saturday that it has received over 10,000 applications for Syrian citizenship from Kurds in wake of a recent decree that preserves their…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus)
Arab World Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Tibnit on May 21, 2026. (Photo by Abbas FAKIH / AFP)

Lebanon Civil Defense Says Israeli Strike Destroys its Nabatieh Facility

Lebanon's civil defense agency said early on Sunday its regional facility in the southern city of Nabatieh had been destroyed by an Israeli strike. The…

Asharq Al Awsat
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 A handout picture released by Egypt's Foreign Ministry on May 3, 2026 shows Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, meeting with his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani (L), in the new administrative capital of Cairo. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry / AFP)

Syrian FM’s Visit to Egypt Aims to Revive Relations

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani was in Egypt on Monday, the first by a Syrian FM since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024. …

Mohamed Mahmoud (Cairo)
Arab World Israeli soldiers take positions during clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Israeli Raid in the West Bank Leaves 1 Palestinian Dead and 4 Wounded

One Palestinian man was killed and four others seriously wounded during an Israeli military raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A person (L) buys snacks from a mobile cart in Sanaa, Yemen, 27 April 2026.  EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

Yemen’s Workers Face Harsh Unemployment and Unrelenting Hardship

As the world marks International Workers’ Day on May 1 each year, workers in Yemen have, for years following the Houthi coup and ensuing war, faced a starkly…

Asharq Al Awsat (Sanaa)
Arab World This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, on May 3, 2026. I(Photo by AFP)

Israel Attacks Southern Lebanon after New Evacuation Warning

Israel carried out heavy airstrikes in south Lebanon on Sunday after issuing new evacuation warnings for villages beyond the area it occupies, despite a truce…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Arab World Motorcyclists pass destruction in the al-Qadam area on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, April 29, 2026 in a area that was heavily bombed by forces loyal to former Syrian president Bashar Assad during the Syrian war. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Iran-Linked Cells Accused of Exploiting Chaos in Syria

The Syrian Interior Ministry has said the assassination of a Shiite cleric, seen as close to the government, marks a “dangerous escalation,” adding it is…

Souad Jarous (Damascus)
Arab World Smoke rises following Israeli strikes, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, May 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Israeli Statements Signal Prolonged Conflict in South Lebanon

Statements made by the Israeli military on war objectives in southern Lebanon, along with battlefield developments, point to a prolonged conflict, as Israel…

Soubhi Amhaz (Beirut)
Arab World  Smoke rises after Israeli strikes, as seen from Marjeyoun, Lebanon, May 2, 2026. (Reuters)

Lebanese Army Chief and US General Meet on Lebanon Security

Lebanese armed forces commander General Rodolphe Haykal and US General Joseph Clearfield met in Beirut to discuss ‌the security ‌situation in ‌Lebanon ⁠and…

Arab World  A painting depicting people holding the Sudanese flag is seen on a wall damaged by bullets and shrapnel in Omdurman, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP)

RSF Drone Strike Kills Five in Sudan Capital

A paramilitary drone killed five civilians on Saturday when it hit a vehicle in greater Khartoum, a rights group said, the second such attack in the Sudanese…

Arab World Vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted on international waters by the Israeli Navy, sail off the city of Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece, May 1, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel Says Two Gaza Flotilla Activists Brought in for Questioning

Two activists who participated in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have been brought to Israel for questioning, the foreign ministry said Saturday, after the vessels…

Arab World Rescue personnel clear rubble from buildings destroyed in the Lebanese town of Habboush, following Israeli strikes, Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon, May 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Israel Steps up Pressure with Displacement, Strikes after Aoun Rejects Netanyahu Meeting

Israel has intensified pressure on Lebanon by expanding evacuation warnings and resuming deep airstrikes, now covering most towns in the Nabatieh and Tyre…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Oil tanker (file photo – Reuters)

Oil Tanker Hijacked off Yemen, Diverted Towards Somalia

An oil tanker was hijacked on Saturday off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden and taken toward Somalia, the Yemeni coast guard said. According to the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A poster depicting the portrait of Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun that reads "The decision-maker, the protector of Lebanon, Lebanon first...The State always. We are with you" hangs at the entrance of a tunnel on a street in Beirut (Photo by Joseph EID / AFP)

Lebanese Divisions over Approach to US Pressure for Aoun–Netanyahu Meeting

Lebanese political forces are split between those supporting direct negotiations with Israel to end the ongoing war in the south and those opposing them,…

Paul Astih (Beirut)
Arab World Palestinians take part in a protest against the limited access to medical spare parts and batteries for deaf and hearing-impaired individuals in the Gaza Strip, as they gather in Gaza City, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Asharq Al-Awsat Reveals Contents of Hamas and Factions’ Response to Mediators’ Amendments and Mladenov

Hamas and Palestinian factions submitted their response at dawn on Saturday to the mediators and the High Representative for Gaza at the Peace Council,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Mourners attend the funeral of members of the Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah who were killed in an airstrike that targeted a PMF headquarters on the Syrian border, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Suda

Conflicting Reports on Two Iraqi Factions Giving Up Their Weapons

Reports have diverged over whether the faction Asaib Ahl al-Haq, led by Qais al-Khazali, and Kataib al-Imam Ali, affiliated with Shibl al-Zaidi, have handed…

Fadhel al-Nashmi (Baghdad)
Arab World Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Mayfadoun in the Nabatieh district on May 2, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli Airstrikes on Southern Lebanon Kill 7 Amid Fragile Ceasefire

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon kill at least seven people and wounded others on Saturday as hostilities continue between Israel and Hezbollah despite a…

Arab World New Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, uses a phone at his office in Baghdad, Iraq, April 28, 2026. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Media Office/Handout via Reuters).

Why Does Trump Favor Iraq’s Al-Zaidi?

Iraq’s ruling Coordination Framework has been on an intriguingjourney that started with the United States’ adamant rejection of former Prime Minister Nouri al…

Ali Saray (London)
Arab World A displaced Palestinian child play inside a car destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on May 1, 2026. (AFP)

Hamas, Israel Exchange Views over Latest Gaza Roadmap

Contacts and meetings between the Hamas movement, other Palestinian factions, head of the Board of Peace Nickolay Mladenov and mediators are ongoing in Cairo…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Relief agencies said 200,000 people have been affected by the rainfall. (Local media)

Seasonal Rainfall Deepens Yemenis’ Humanitarian Plight

Yemen is reeling from floods caused by seasonal rainfall that have swept vast swathes of the country in recent weeks, claiming dozens of lives and causing…

Mohammed Nasser (Aden)
Arab World United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) armored vehicle drives at the entrance of the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on April 30, 2026. (AFP)

China Says UN Should Revisit Lebanon Peacekeeping Mission Decision

China's ambassador to the United Nations said on Friday that there was a need to revisit the UN Security Council's decision to end the mandate of a long…

Arab World A man sits watching as Lebanese first responders search for human remains amongst the rubble the day after a house was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, on May 1, 2026. (AFP)

Lebanon Says 13 Killed in Israeli Strikes in South

Lebanon's health ministry said 13 people were killed on Friday in Israeli strikes in the south, including in a town where Israel's army had issued an…

Arab World Iraq’s prime minister-designate Ali Al-Zaidi attends a Coordination Framework meeting in Baghdad on April 27 (AP)

US Backing for Al-Zaidi Rattles Baghdad's Calculations

The US administration went beyond its embassy’s congratulatory post in Baghdad for Iraq’s prime minister-designate, Ali Al-Zaidi, and a phone call by its envoy…

Hamza Mustafa (Baghdad)
Arab World Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony in Jerusalem, April 14, 2026 (AP)

Israelis No Longer See Netanyahu as Best PM Choice

A new opinion poll shows that Israelis, for the first time since he became their leader, no longer view Benjamin Netanyahu as the most suitable figure for…

Nazir Magally (Tel Aviv)
Arab World A billboard depicting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and sentence reading in Arabic "The decision is up to Lebanon" is seen in the predominantly Christian Ashrafieh neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon, 01 May 2026. (EPA)

Aoun Insists on Ceasefire Before Lebanon-Israel Talks

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is pushing to lock in a ceasefire and halt Israeli strikes on civilians before Lebanese and Israeli representatives resume…

Nazeer Rida (Beirut)
Arab World Fifty-three-year-old Syrian Aicha al-Safadi, holds the a picture of her son Hassane Mohammed al-Safadi, with details of when he was detained by Israel as she sits in her house in the southern Syrian village of Beit Jinn, near the Israeli-annexed Syrian Golan Heights and at the foot Mount Hermon, known in Arabic as Jabal al-Sheikh on April 29, 2026. (AFP)

In South Syria, Families Fear for Relatives Seized by Israel

Whenever Fatima al-Safadi hears a knock at the door, she imagines it might be her sons -- among dozens of people Israel has seized from southern Syria and…