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Arab World

Hamas Studies Ceasefire Proposal After Deadly Israeli Hospital Raid in West Bank 

29 January 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinians leave the area of Nasser Hospital and the adjacent schools in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, after the Israeli army ordered people to immediately evacuate certain parts of the city. Photo: Mohammed Talatene/dpa
29 January 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinians leave the area of Nasser Hospital and the adjacent schools in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, after the Israeli army ordered people to immediately evacuate certain parts of the city. Photo: Mohammed Talatene/dpa
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Hamas Studies Ceasefire Proposal After Deadly Israeli Hospital Raid in West Bank 

29 January 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinians leave the area of Nasser Hospital and the adjacent schools in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, after the Israeli army ordered people to immediately evacuate certain parts of the city. Photo: Mohammed Talatene/dpa
29 January 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinians leave the area of Nasser Hospital and the adjacent schools in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, after the Israeli army ordered people to immediately evacuate certain parts of the city. Photo: Mohammed Talatene/dpa

Hamas said on Tuesday it would study a new ceasefire proposal in the war with Israel in Gaza, hours after Israeli commandos killed three Palestinian militants in a raid on a hospital in the occupied West Bank. 

The raid underscored the risk of the Gaza war spreading to other fronts, while Israeli forces fought new battles with Hamas fighters in the Palestinian enclave. 

Clashes in northern Gaza forced more Palestinian residents to flee to safer areas, and southern parts of the coastal enclave were hit by Israeli air strikes. 

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the group had received a ceasefire proposal put forward after talks in Paris. He said he would study the plan and visit Cairo for discussions on it. 

The priority for the Palestinian militant group was to end the Israeli offensive and a full pull-out of Israeli forces from Gaza, he said. 

Haniyeh gave no details of the ceasefire proposal but it followed talks in Paris involving CIA Director William Burns, Qatar's prime minister, the chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence service and the head of Egyptian intelligence. 

While the West Bank - an area that Palestinians envisage as part of a hoped-for independent state - had seen increased violence even before the outbreak of the Gaza war in October, the hospital raid could fuel a more intense phase of unrest. 

CCTV footage appeared to show about a dozen troops, including three in women's garb and two dressed as Palestinian medical staff, pacing through a corridor in Ibn Sina hospital in the city of Jenin with rifles. 

Hamas said one of the dead was a member of the militant group. The allied faction "Islamic Jihad" said the other two killed were brothers who belonged to it. Ibn Sina said one of the brothers had been receiving treatment for an injury that paralyzed his legs. 

The Israeli military said one of those killed had a pistol, and that the incident showed militants were using civilian areas and hospitals as shelters and "human shields". Hamas has previously denied such allegations. 

Palestinian sources said the three were not engaged in any fighting. They said one, Basel Al-Ghazzawi, was wheelchair-bound after being wounded in his back this month, and was in the hospital for treatment. His brother Mohammad was staying there to help him, and the third man was a friend, the sources said. 

The Israeli undercover squad broke into the hospital, headed to the third floor and killed them using silenced pistols, hospital sources said. 

Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila called the incident a war crime and urged the United Nations and international rights groups to put an end to such actions. Israel has previously denied committing war crimes. 

The Israeli military identified one of the slain men as Mohammed Jalamneh, 27, from Jenin, who it said had contacts with Hamas headquarters abroad and was planning an attack inspired by the Hamas rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7. 

GAZA DEATH TOLL RISES 

Israel unleashed its assault on Gaza in response to that attack in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 253 taken hostage. More than 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza. 

Since then, 26,751 Palestinians have been killed and 65,636 wounded by Israeli actions in Gaza, the Gaza health ministry said. Some 114 Palestinians were killed and 249 injured in the past 24 hours, it said. 

Israel says its forces have killed around 9,000 Palestinian combatants in Gaza, and that 221 of its soldiers have been killed in the fighting. 

The war has created a humanitarian crisis, with wide areas of Gaza flattened, hundreds of thousands of people left destitute, and supplies of food, water and medicines almost exhausted. 

The World Health Organization said the population of Gaza was on the verge of famine. 

"It's getting worse by the day," WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told a briefing in Geneva. 

She said one convoy tried to reach the Nasser Hospital on Tuesday morning, but people helped themselves to supplies before they could be distributed. 

TANKS IN ACTION 

Israel mounted a new push in northern Gaza after earlier reporting successes against Palestinian militants there. The militants' presence in the area suggests Israel's campaign to eradicate Hamas is not going to plan. 

Hamas appears to have been able to regroup in Gaza City as the war drags on and international concern over the plight of civilians mounts. 

Much of Tuesday's action in Gaza was focused on the Beach refugee camp and near the Al Shifa hospital, residents said. Israeli tanks broke into one shelter site and soldiers rounded up dozens of men. 

Residents and health officials also said an Israeli tank opened fire against dozens of Palestinians near Al-Kuwaiti Square on the southern edge of Gaza City where aid trucks unload their shipments, killing two people and wounding others. 

The fighting caused more people to flee within Gaza City and to the south towards Deir Al-Balah in the center. Heavy bombing also hit western and southern suburbs of Gaza. 

In the south, Israeli forces kept up pressure in Khan Younis, maintaining their encirclement of the city's two main hospitals. 

Palestinian health officials said at least 10 Palestinians were killed in two separate Israeli air strikes in Khan Younis and in Deir Al-Balah. 

The Israeli military said in a summary of overnight operations that action continued in the western part of Khan Younis, where militants were killed and many arms seized. In northern and central Gaza, soldiers killed "numerous" militants, including a rocket-propelled grenade squad. 

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Arab World

Jordan Steps up Security with Overnight Raids as Terrorism Threat Resurfaces

Jordanian police stand guard in front of the Sri Lankan Embassy, background, after an assailant killed a security officer at a guard booth outside the compound in Amman, Jordan, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)
Jordanian police stand guard in front of the Sri Lankan Embassy, background, after an assailant killed a security officer at a guard booth outside the compound in Amman, Jordan, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)
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Jordan Steps up Security with Overnight Raids as Terrorism Threat Resurfaces

Jordanian police stand guard in front of the Sri Lankan Embassy, background, after an assailant killed a security officer at a guard booth outside the compound in Amman, Jordan, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)
Jordanian police stand guard in front of the Sri Lankan Embassy, background, after an assailant killed a security officer at a guard booth outside the compound in Amman, Jordan, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

Just days after the deadly attack on Saint George Church in Hamoud village in southern Jordan and retaliatory airstrikes against ISIS in southern Syria, another attack struck the capital, Amman, on Thursday, killing one security officer and wounding another.

The assailant, described as a “terrorist,” had recently been released from prison after serving a sentence in a 2020 terrorism case involving plans to carry out attacks.

Attacks on security personnel guarding ministries, embassies and government institutions are not new. But Thursday’s assault has revived concerns about the threat posed by lone-wolf attackers and their possible links to ISIS.

Observers say the attack may have appeared isolated, but that does not rule out instructions being delivered through online accounts linked to the militant group.

ISIS makes no secret of its hostility toward Jordan. Communications between the group and the cell behind the Hamoud Church attack revealed a list of potential targets.

Civilians and members of the security forces stand outside the Sri Lankan embassy after a stabbing attack that killed one Jordanian security officer and wounded another, in Amman, Jordan, November 5, 2026. REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak

Retired security experts warn that bladed weapons are easy to conceal and use, particularly when attackers strike without warning. The threat is compounded by the nature of police work, which requires Public Security Directorate personnel to maintain close, direct contact with civilians.

Jordanian security under attack on multiple fronts

Jordan's efforts to combat terrorism and extremism have made it a target for militant groups.

A string of attacks in recent years has claimed the lives of civilians and security personnel and struck sovereign state institutions, raising questions about the methods used to monitor and pursue militants at home and abroad.

ISIS's targets extend well beyond security forces.

Civilians and members of the security forces stand outside the Sri Lankan embassy after a stabbing attack that killed one Jordanian security officer and wounded another, in Amman, Jordan, November 5, 2026. REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak

The Hamoud Church attack in Karak killed nine people and wounded 40. More troubling, however, was what appeared to be an attempt to sow sectarian discord between Muslims and Christians in a governorate widely regarded by Jordanians as a symbol of religious coexistence.

The challenge for security agencies lies partly in the unpredictable nature of lone-wolf attacks.

Even suspects under surveillance may develop plans suddenly, driven by revenge or extremist religious edicts urging the killing of security personnel.

Experts argue that surveillance alone cannot contain the threat. They say rehabilitation must become a priority, particularly through open dialogue between terrorism convicts and moderate religious leaders.

One figure involved in such efforts is Bassam al-Amoush, a former Muslim Brotherhood leader and former member of the Islamic Action Front who is now affiliated with the Umma Party.

Al-Amoush won parliamentary seats on the Islamic Action Front ticket in several elections before leaving the party over internal disagreements. He has since engaged imprisoned ISIS members in discussions aimed at exposing the religious violations committed by terrorist and takfiri groups.

The concern is not theoretical.

Several perpetrators of terrorist attacks in Jordan had previously been convicted of terrorism offenses, served their sentences and returned to civilian life.

Image taken from a video of militants during their attack on the church in the Jordanian village of Hamoud

Human rights reports indicate that terrorism convicts are held in shared prison wards, while years behind bars have failed to dislodge the extremist beliefs that underpin their ideology.

Those beliefs remain deeply rooted among militants, whether they operate in organized cells or as lone wolves living within their communities.

The latest attack has brought those concerns into sharper focus.

The assailant who targeted a security guard outside the Sri Lankan Embassy on a major road in western Amman had previously pledged allegiance to the ISIS leader in 2019.

He was arrested in 2020 and sentenced to nine years in prison in 2022, raising questions about the gap between his sentence and the time he actually served.

A similar pattern emerged among those involved in the Hamoud Church attack in Karak, with former terrorism convicts featuring prominently among perpetrators of attacks in Jordan.

The threat has also been fueled by years of cross-border recruitment.

Since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict, terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq have used social media to recruit young Jordanians, while militant cells spread along Jordan's northern border.

Some of those areas remain outside the control of Syria's new government, providing potential bases for threats to Jordanian national security.

Sleeper cells and fears of coordinated attacks

Security experts say the pattern points to possible links between militants inside Jordan and organizations abroad, as well as the presence of sleeper cells within the kingdom.

After years of relative dormancy, ISIS has reassessed its operations, plans and the distribution of its cells among communities in southern Syria, exploiting weak security and vast areas beyond effective state control.

Security assessments suggest the group has adapted its deployment and methods to changing conditions, taking advantage of Jordanian security forces' focus on countering Iranian attacks against Jordan and Gulf states since late February.

A bloodstain at Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Church, where gunmen opened fire during a funeral the previous day, in the village of Hamoud, Karak, Jordan, October 24, 2026. REUTERS/Alaa Al Sukhni

The threats come from more than one direction.

ISIS remains active to Jordan's north, while Tehran-backed Shiite militias operate along its eastern border with Iraq.

Despite their differences, the groups share an interest in targeting Jordanian security.

Such threats also have roots in areas once supported by Syria's former government, including territory that housed drug-manufacturing facilities and cross-border smuggling networks used to threaten Jordan through various means.

Informed sources say Jordanian security officials are increasingly concerned about renewed, intensive communications between sleeper cells inside the kingdom and terrorist organizations abroad.

The concern has fueled calls to widen surveillance using databases of Jordanians affiliated with terrorist groups, including those still in prison and those who have been released.

The priority, according to the sources, is to close potential security gaps before militant groups can exploit them.

One question remains particularly pressing.

Some perpetrators of the Hamoud Church attack had been released from prison only shortly before the assault. The attacker behind Thursday's operation had also recently completed his sentence.

Could they have received instructions from convicted militants with whom they had shared prison cells?

Fears that security gaps could complicate intelligence gathering and investigations prompted Jordanian security agencies to launch a sweeping series of raids across the kingdom as the case unfolded.

The operations began Thursday night and continued into early Friday, reaching northern, central and southern Jordan.

Security forces raided areas including Southern Mazar in Karak governorate and Irbid in the north, as well as Marka, Al-Rajm al-Shami and Jubeiha in and around northern Amman.

The raids also extended to Russeifa in Zarqa governorate.

Arab World

Talks Underway to Avert Split into Rival Administrations in Iraqi Kurdistan

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani announced his party’s withdrawal from the regional government in protest against a parliamentary session held without its lawmakers (AFP)
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani announced his party’s withdrawal from the regional government in protest against a parliamentary session held without its lawmakers (AFP)
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Talks Underway to Avert Split into Rival Administrations in Iraqi Kurdistan

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani announced his party’s withdrawal from the regional government in protest against a parliamentary session held without its lawmakers (AFP)
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani announced his party’s withdrawal from the regional government in protest against a parliamentary session held without its lawmakers (AFP)

Iraqi Kurdistan's deepening political crisis has revived the prospect of rival administrations, with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) announcing its withdrawal from the regional government even as its longtime rival, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), says talks are underway to resolve the standoff.

A senior KDP official said the party, led by Masoud Barzani, was in contact with the PUK, headed by Bafel Talabani, and representatives of other political groups in a bid to break the deadlock.

The threat of a return to separate administrations has grown since the Kurdistan Regional Parliament convened last Wednesday for the first time since elections nearly two years ago, electing its leadership without the PUK, which denounced the move as unilateral and rejected it.

The KDP won 39 seats in the October 2024 elections, ahead of the PUK's 23. The PUK later joined forces with the New Generation Movement, which secured 15 seats, to strengthen its hand in negotiations to form a government with its historic rival.

On Thursday evening, Talabani declared that the PUK would not recognize the parliamentary session and would withdraw from the government.

The KDP, however, defended the session as "neither a victory for one side nor a defeat for another, but a victory for the people of Kurdistan as a whole."

The PUK, New Generation Movement, Kurdistan Islamic Union, National Stance Movement and Kurdistan Justice Group had all previously announced they would boycott the session.

In a televised address, Talabani raised the prospect of a separate administration in Sulaymaniyah, warning that his party would match any move by its rivals to form a government.

"If they appoint a prime minister, we will appoint a prime minister here. If they choose a minister, we will choose a minister here," he said.

"They started this ... and I will be the one to end it."

KDP leader Masoud Barzani, meanwhile, urged the parties that boycotted the session to return to parliament, attend future meetings and work together to serve the people of Kurdistan, support the political process and advance its next steps.

Vala Fareed, the newly elected speaker of the Kurdistan parliament, told local media that reviving the legislature was essential to protecting the region's constitutional status and was not directed against any political party.

The new Kurdish parliament speaker Vala Fareed (L) addresses a press conference after the session of Kurdistan's regional parliament, in Erbil on November 4, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)

PUK moves to quit government offices

The PUK is pressing ahead with its withdrawal.

Senior party official Mahmoud Khoshnaw told Asharq Al-Awsat that PUK representatives would begin vacating their government offices on Sunday, the first working day of the week.

He warned that the parliamentary session could have "negative repercussions," saying its outcome could give outside powers grounds to intervene.

Khoshnaw said the PUK could go further, potentially seeking administrative independence for Sulaymaniyah from Erbil.

The KDP rejected suggestions that the parliamentary session was unlawful.

Senior party official Dijwar Faiq said the legislature had convened nearly two years after the elections with 52 lawmakers from different blocs, parties and communities present, meeting the required legal quorum.

Faiq told Asharq Al-Awsat that the KDP, as the largest party in parliament, had wanted the PUK and other groups to take part and had spent nearly two years trying to bring them on board.

Despite repeated meetings and negotiations, he said, the PUK and other parties refused to participate.

He said parliament would meet again on Monday to elect its legal committee and open nominations for the Kurdistan region's presidency.

Rival parties clash over parliamentary quorum

At the heart of the dispute is a question that has quietly divided the two parties for nearly two years: who could secure the parliamentary quorum first?

Khoshnaw said the PUK could have rallied its allies to convene parliament but chose not to, preferring a negotiated settlement that included all parties.

"The Kurdistan region cannot be governed solely by the arithmetic of parliamentary seats," he said, arguing that governance must also rest on principles that ensure all influential forces representing the Kurdish people have a role.

Faiq challenged that account, saying the PUK had spent two years trying, unsuccessfully, to secure a quorum with New Generation to convene parliament and form a government.

"If they had been able to secure a quorum, they would not have hesitated to convene parliament and form a government that excluded the KDP," he said.

Together, the PUK and New Generation hold 38 of the Kurdistan parliament's 100 seats. Their alliance demanded half the positions in the regional government, a proposal the KDP rejected.

The KDP argues that support from other parties would tip the balance in its favor, though it says it remains willing to share power with its historic rival on fair and balanced terms.

Faiq urged parties seeking a place in government to participate according to their parliamentary strength and legal and electoral entitlements, and to help draft the government's program.

Those unwilling to govern could choose the opposition, he said, but they must still attend parliamentary sessions.

"Otherwise, what was the point of their participation in the elections in the first place?" he asked.

Arab World

Hezbollah Bristles at ‘Friends of Lebanon’ Statement

Rubble from buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during a press tour organized by the Hezbollah media office in the Ruwais neighborhood, southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 06 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Rubble from buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during a press tour organized by the Hezbollah media office in the Ruwais neighborhood, southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 06 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Hezbollah Bristles at ‘Friends of Lebanon’ Statement

Rubble from buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during a press tour organized by the Hezbollah media office in the Ruwais neighborhood, southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 06 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Rubble from buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during a press tour organized by the Hezbollah media office in the Ruwais neighborhood, southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 06 May 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Hezbollah lashed out at a statement by the embassies of five “Friends of Lebanon” countries — Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and Japan — demanding that the state hold exclusive control over weapons and decisions on war and peace.

The statement called for a public commitment from all lawmakers and political parties to uphold those principles. It also addressed the Dahr al-Baidar explosives case, urging a swift, independent judicial process, free from political interference, to ensure full accountability.

A diplomatic source told Asharq Al-Awsat the statement sought to “reaffirm our support for the government's efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and establish its exclusive control over weapons.”

Lebanese authorities had not been informed of the statement in advance, an official Lebanese source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The source said the statement nevertheless fully aligned with recent positions taken by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam against dragging Lebanon into regional conflicts.

It also came amid mounting fears that Hezbollah could join a possible future war involving Iran.

Hezbollah denounces 'brazen interference'

The statement drew a furious response from Hezbollah.

Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar called it “the height of vulgarity and insolence,” accusing the five countries of blatant interference in Lebanon's internal affairs.

Ammar said the statement trampled on Lebanon's sovereignty, judicial independence, diplomatic norms and the dignity of its people, going so far as to dictate national choices and impose political positions.

He also condemned Lebanese authorities for repeatedly turning a blind eye to such interference and treating it as routine.

Ammar said the countries, which he accused of falsely presenting themselves as Lebanon's friends, should instead have condemned Israel's continued occupation of Lebanese territory, daily attacks on Lebanese sovereignty, killings, destruction, displacement and repeated violations of international agreements and resolutions.

Rather than fueling divisions, stirring discord and defending Lebanon's enemies, he said, the countries should have called for dialogue and national consensus among the Lebanese.

Pressure mounts on Lebanese authorities

Lawmaker Michel Douaihy said the statement was a direct message to Lebanese authorities to act on the weapons issue and translate decisions already taken into concrete measures.

“Lebanon has not yet missed the train. It can still catch up through concrete steps by the authorities and a change in their current approach,” Douaihy told Asharq Al-Awsat.

On the Dahr al-Baidar explosives case, Douaihy said the matter could no longer be swept under the rug, particularly after a Hezbollah lawmaker claimed the explosives belonged to the group and demanded their return.

He called for judicial action, arrests and trials, saying accountability must extend beyond those caught transporting the explosives.

US-French divide over Hezbollah's weapons

The absence of France and Germany — both closely involved in Lebanese affairs — from the five-nation statement stood out.

Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, said all five signatories were aligned with Washington in demanding concrete action on Hezbollah's weapons and rejecting warnings that such steps could spark a civil war.

That position contrasts with the approach previously championed by France, which maintained that the Lebanese state could not push the army further into confronting Hezbollah without risking internal upheaval.

“The American approach is fundamentally opposed to this position,” Nader told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Washington believes Lebanese authorities must take at least some action on Hezbollah's weapons and no longer accepts the government's justifications for holding back, viewing them instead as cover for the group, he said.

Nader added that even France was beginning to retreat from its earlier position under diplomatic pressure, losing ground and influence in Lebanon to other countries.