Ghassan Charbel
Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper

Hind’s Corpse and the Battle for the State 

I tried to run away from the small corpses. We have grown tired of laments. We have spent a lifetime going from one funeral to another. Anger and tears do nothing to heal the wounds. No sooner do we send off a victim than we are confronted with an uglier massacre. It is as though this terrible…

The Land of Wars, Surprises and Earthquakes 

The developments in the Middle East are not simple. Operation Al-Aqsa Flood unleashed an earthquake and the very next day, it sparked a limited war launched by Hezbollah across the Lebanese-Israeli border. A decision is in place to prevent that war from spiraling out of control. Soon after,…

The American Cook and the Poison Dosage

The new Middle East crisis went to the “Guterres Clinic” and returned with international disappointment. Russia, which is involved in the Ukrainian war, is not an effective doctor despite its military presence in Syria. Chinese medicine is not the appropriate treatment for this type of disease…

Blinken and Soleimani’s Fingerprints

This was before the outbreak of the “Arab Spring.” The meeting was neither official nor public. A number of politicians decided to reflect on the situation in the region. The discussion reviewed the conditions in the Middle East in light of the US army’s uprooting of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Then…

River of Assassinations

In the early hours of April 11, 1973, officer Ehud Barak returned home, lipstick still on his lips. Doubts plagued his wife. She feared the young officer may have betrayed his country. But the news would soon ease her concerns. He came with Palestinian blood on his hands. Hours earlier, an…

The Last Bullet

Only one bullet remains in the gun. There can be no escaping the final shot. The farewell better be fitting. It must be as hopeful and joyful as possible. You are not a businessman, whose notes you can rummage through in search of a lost opportunity or wasted deal. You are not a politician,…

A Seat on the Shore of the Red Sea

The date: October 23, 1983 The location: Beirut An explosion tore through the city at around 6 am. Ambulances raced to the scene. A suicide bomber had driven his truck into the US marines barracks in the Lebanese capital. The place was turned into rubble and scores of soldiers of the…

Abou Ammar, Al-Sinwar and Questions about the Siege 

Yehya al-Sinwar wasn’t born yet when memories of the Nakba rattled Palestinians living in Cairo, Kuwait, Qatar and other places. They carried out secret contacts to determine whether they could unite to wage a battle to reclaim all the territories, Al-Sinwar was three years old when Farah…

The Sufferings of the ‘Next Day’

The “next day” is an expression that has been haunting us for weeks. While it is still general and ambiguous, its features will most likely consist of a number of elements. Those will be determined by the questions raised by the Al-Aqsa Flood operation launched by Hamas on October 7th; by the…

Sinwar and the Explosive Belt

It was on Oct. 7th. They woke up Benjamin Netanyahu, who found a cup of poison waiting for him. He couldn’t believe it at first glance. They came by land, air and sea. Al-Qassam fighters are walking free in the settlements. They fire shells and bullets and take the hostages into the Gaza…