Arab World News

Israel Vows to Prevent an Aid Boat Carrying Greta Thunberg, Activists from Reaching Gaza

Arab World Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

Israel Vows to Prevent an Aid Boat Carrying Greta Thunberg, Activists from Reaching Gaza

Israel’s defense minister has vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Israel…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)

Kurdistan Salary Crisis Clouds Eid Celebrations in Baghdad

The festivity of Eid al-Adha in Baghdad was overshadowed by growing political tensions, particularly over the unresolved salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region…

Hamza Mustafa (Baghdad)
Arab World FILE PHOTO: A cat stands next to a damaged telephone booth in Hamidiyeh district in the central city of Homs July 1, 2012. REUTERS/Yazen Homsy/File Photo

Israeli Military Says it Struck Hamas Member in Southern Syria

The Israeli military said on Sunday that it struck a Hamas member in southern Syria's Mazraat Beit Jin, days after Israel carried out its first airstrikes in…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Residents inspect the damage to a building following an Israeli strike on the town of Ain Qana in southern Lebanon on Thursday night into Friday (AFP)

UNIFIL Affirms Freedom of Movement Amid Tensions in South Lebanon

The United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon (UNIFIL) has reaffirmed its authority to move freely and conduct patrols with or without Lebanese army…

Nazeer Rida (Beirut)
Arab World Men gather in Tripoli's Martyrs Square on June 5, 2025 on the second day of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of sacrifice. (Photo by Mahmud Turkia / AFP)

UN Welcomes Formation of Committees to Address Libya’s Security Concerns

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya has welcomed the establishment by the Presidency Council of two committees to address security and rights concerns…

Asharq Al Awsat

Arab World Palestinians search for bodies and survivors among the rubble of a destroyed house following an Israeli airstrike on Sabra neighborhood in Gaza City, 07 June 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Israel Says it Killed Head of Mujahideen Brigades in Gaza

Israel’s military has said it killed the head of the Mujahideen Brigades, Asaad Abou Sharia, in Gaza City on Saturday. Abu Sharia was killed in a joint…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus on June 4, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Barrack Says Trump’s Vision for Syria is Hopeful and Achievable

US Special Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack has said that President Donald Trump’s vision for Syria “is not only hopeful but achievable.” “Spent the afternoon…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus)
Arab World  A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

Syrian Authorities Announce Closure of Notorious Desert Camp

A notorious desert refugee camp in Syria has closed after the last remaining families returned to their areas of origin, Syrian authorities said on Saturday. …

Arab World  Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)

Activist Aid Ship Nears Gaza After Reaching Egypt Coast

An aid ship with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, has reached the Egyptian coast and is nearing the besieged…

Arab World FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa

A British TV Art Expert Who Sold Works to a Suspected Hezbollah Financier is Sentenced to Prison

An art expert who appeared on the BBC's Bargain Hunt show was sentenced Friday to two and a half years in prison for failing to report his sale of pricey works…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World  Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP)

Israel Retrieves Body of Thai Hostage from Gaza, Airstrikes Kill 95

Israel said Saturday that it had retrieved the body of a Thai hostage abducted into the Gaza Strip during the Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, as the…

Arab World 13 December 2023: Israeli soldiers walk near the border with the Gaza Strip. (dpa)

Israel Army Announces 4 Soldiers Killed in Gaza, Thousands More Troops Needed

Israel's military announced Friday the deaths of four soldiers in Gaza, saying it needed thousands more troops to press its offensive, just as the premier's…

Arab World Syrians visit the graves of their loved ones in the Jobar suburb of Damascus on the first day of Eid al-Adha. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

In Syria's Devastated Jobar, Cemetery Comes Alive for Eid

Only the cemetery in Damascus's devastated suburb of Jobar showed signs of life on Friday as residents returned to visit and pray for Eid al-Adha, the first…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, officials and citizens perform the Eid al-Adha prayer at the presidential palace in Damascus on Friday. (SANA)

First Eid Adha Prayer Performed in Post-Assad Damascus

Syria celebrated Eid al-Adha on Friday for the first time since the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus)
Arab World Internally displaced Palestinians walk in the streets during Eid al-Adha in Gaza City, 06 June 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

'No Eid' for West Bank Palestinians Who Lost Sons in Israeli Raids

Abeer Ghazzawi had little time to visit her two sons' graves for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha before Israeli soldiers cleared the cemetery near the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World  France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)

France Cools Expectations of Swift Palestinian State Recognition

France on Friday dampened expectations Paris could rapidly recognize a Palestinian state, with the French foreign minister saying while it was "determined" to…

Arab World King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center distributes food aid in the city of Umm Rawaba, North Kordofan State, Sudan (SPA)

UNHCR Praises Saudi Support Amid Dire Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan

A senior United Nations official has described the ongoing crisis in Sudan as one of the world’s largest humanitarian emergencies, yet also among the least…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)

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Arab World The rubble of a collapsed building is pictured through a broken window at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike in the Kafaat neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs on June 6, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Lebanese Army Warns Israeli Airstrikes Might Force it to Freeze Cooperation with Ceasefire Committee

The Lebanese army condemned Friday Israel’s airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, warning that it might eventually suspend cooperation with the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Arab World Türkiye insists on the dissolution of the SDF, the departure of foreign fighters from Syria, and the integration of remaining members into the new army (Reuters)

Türkiye Denies Direct Talks with SDF, Demands Full Disarmament

Türkiye has denied holding any direct negotiations with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), asserting that no dialogue is possible unless the group dissolves…

Saeed Abdulrazek (Ankara)
Arab World Displaced Palestinians walk along a road to receive humanitarian aid packages from a US-backed foundation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

US-Backed Gaza Aid Group Says All Aid Distribution Sites Are Closed

A US- and Israeli-backed group handing out aid in Gaza said on Friday all its distribution sites were closed until further notice, urging residents to stay…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Displaced Palestinians receive aid from the US-backed “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” in Rafah, on Thursday (AFP)

Netanyahu’s Admission of Arming Gaza Militias Sparks Political Uproar in Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that his government has supplied weapons to armed groups in Gaza opposed to Hamas, a revelation that…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World The rubble of a collapsed building hit by an overnight Israeli airstrike is pictured in the Qaem neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs on June 6, 2025. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)

Israel’s Katz Warns of More Lebanon Strikes if Hezbollah Not Disarmed

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Friday that Israel will keep striking Lebanon until it disarms Hezbollah, a day after Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut's…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Displaced Palestinians walk along a road to receive humanitarian aid packages from a US-backed foundation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Without Meat, Families in Gaza Struggle to Celebrate Eid Al-Adha Holiday

With the Gaza Strip devastated by war and siege, Palestinians struggled Thursday to celebrate one of the most important Islamic holidays. To mark Eid al-Adha …

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Armed men stand on the beach as the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, is anchored off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Red Sea Marine Traffic Up 60% after Houthis Narrowed Targets

Red Sea marine traffic has increased by 60% to 36-37 ships a day since August 2024, but is still short of volumes seen before Yemen's Houthis began attacking…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Israel Strikes Beirut's Suburbs to Target What It Says is Hezbollah Drone Production

The Israeli military struck several sites in Beirut’s southern suburbs that it said held underground facilities used by Hezbollah for drone production Thursday…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP)

Brazil's President Accuses Israel of 'Premeditated Genocide' in Gaza

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday during a trip to Paris accused Israel of carrying out "premeditated genocide" in the Palestinian…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica arrives to attend a College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)

EU Official: 175 Mn Euro Syria Recovery Package 'Clear Message' of Support

Visiting EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica said Thursday that a 175 million euro package for war-torn Syria was a "clear message" of support…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Palestinian children wait with others for food at a distribution point in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, June 2, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

American Group Distributing Aid in Gaza Delays Reopening Sites

A controversial private company distributing aid in Gaza, backed by the US and Israel, had yet to reopen its distribution sites in the enclave by mid-morning…

Asharq Al Awsat