Arab World News

Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

Arab World An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)

Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

Syrian Christians gathered at churches in the country's capital Damascus on Wednesday amid tight security measures to celebrate their first Christmas after the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Hussein Arbeeni, 41, shows how he blocked a room door by tapes where 23 people locked themselves inside it to prevent leakage of the sarin struck during a 2013 chemical weapons attack that was blamed on then President Bashar al-Assad's forces, in Zamalka neighborhood, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024. (AP)

Syrian Family Recounts the Horrors of 2013 Chemical Attack Near Damascus

A Syrian family that survived a 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people near the country’s capital, Damascus, says the ordeal they…

Arab World Smoke rises over the northern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, December 22, 2024. (Reuters)

At Least 10 Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza, Medics Say

At least 10 people were killed, including five journalists, and more than a dozen wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza early on Thursday, medics with the Gaza…

Arab World Soldiers stop a car at a checkpoint after taking control of the port of Tartous earlier this month (AFP)

More than 14 Syrian Police Killed in Ambush as Unrest Spreads

More than 14 members of the Syrian police were killed in an "ambush" by forces loyal to the ousted government in the Tartous countryside, the transitional…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanon Says Israeli Airstrike Hits Target in East

Lebanon's state media said an Israeli airstrike targeted the Baalbek region in the east of the country on Wednesday, branding it a "violation" of the fragile…

Asharq Al Awsat

Arab World Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)

Syrian Police Impose Curfew in Homs after Unrest

Syrian police have imposed an overnight curfew in the city of Homs, state media reported, after unrest there linked to demonstrations that residents said were…

Arab World The silhouettes of a military vehicle and a soldier are seen near the Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, December 16, 2024. (Reuters)

Hamas and Israel Blame Each Other for Ceasefire Delay

The Palestinian group Hamas and Israel traded blame on Wednesday over their failure to conclude a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides…

Arab World  This aerial view shows a site believed to be a mass grave near Baghdad Bridge in Adra, about 35 kilometers east of Damascus, on December 25, 2024. (AFP)

Syria Rescuers, Activist Say Site outside Damascus Believed to Be Mass Grave

A key Syrian rescue group and an activist told AFP on Wednesday a burial site outside Damascus was likely a mass grave for detainees held under former…

Arab World A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)

Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

Syria's new authorities torched a large stockpile of drugs on Wednesday, two security officials told AFP, including one million pills of captagon, whose…

Arab World A Syrian Kurd waves the flag of YPG (People's Protection Units) near Qamishli's airport in northeastern Syria on December 8, 2024, following the fall of the capital Damascus to anti-government fighters. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)

Erdogan: Kurdish Militia in Syria Will Be Buried If They Do Not Lay Down Arms

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Kurdish fighters in Syria will either lay down their weapons or "be buried", amid hostilities between…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World 01 November 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: A picture of pro-Iranian Hezbollah assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah is displayed in front of rubbles of flattened building caused by Israeli air raids on Beirut southern suburb. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Hezbollah Announces Burial Place for Nasrallah

Hezbollah party has reportedly chosen a location for the burial of its late Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Footage released by Houthi Military Media says to show a launch of missile, which the Houthis say they fired at Israel, at an unknown location in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released on December 19, 2024. HOUTHI MILITARY MEDIA/via REUTERS

Israeli Military Says It Intercepted Missile Launched from Yemen

Israel's military intercepted a missile early on Wednesday that was launched from Yemen and crossed into Israeli territory, the army said. Sirens were…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Iran's Vice President for Strategic Affairs and former Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif (Iranian Presidency)

Zarif Warns of All-Out Civil War in Syria, Proposes Initiative for Regional Dialogue

Iran's Vice President for Strategic Affairs and former Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, warned on Tuesday of an all-out civil war in Syria. His…

Asharq Al Awsat (London) Asharq Al Awsat (Tehran)
Arab World  A demonstration in Damascus to protest the burning of the Christmas tree in Hama (Reuters)

Despite Fear and Concern, Christians in Syria are Optimistic

Syria’s Christians prepared on Tuesday to celebrate their first Christmas since the overthrow of Bashar Assad amid fear and concern, particularly after armed…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus)
Arab World A girl reacts near a poster of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, at the site damaged by an Israeli airstrike that killed the Hezbollah leader, after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon December 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Rising Discontent Within Hezbollah’s Support Base over Delayed War Compensation

Hezbollah has been eager to assure its popular base that it would pay compensation fees for the losses incurred by the war with Israel, but delays in payments…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World  This picture taken on October 13, 2024 during a controlled embed organised by the Israeli military, shows Israeli troops patrolling in the southern Lebanon's Naqoura region near the border. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Say they Observed Israeli Army Destroying Residential Areas

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon on Monday said it has observed recent “concerning actions” by the Israeli army in southern Lebanon,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World File photo: A truck carries humanitarian aid destined for the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, November 11, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

UN Says 23 Aid Trucks Were Plundered in Central Gaza

The UN food agency reports that 23 trucks in a 66-truck convoy carrying food and other humanitarian supplies to central Gaza were plundered and lost. UN…

Asharq Al Awsat

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Arab World File photo: US airmen are shown at the Kobani Landing Zone in northern Syria, October 25, 2019. Staff Sgt. Joshua Hammock, AP

US Says it Struck ISIS Group in Syria

The Pentagon says US Central Command forces have killed two operatives for the ISIS militant group in an airstrike in Syria. The US military said the airstrike…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World This aerial view shows the area in the south of Syria's northern city of Manbij on December 21, 2024. (AFP)

Kurdish-Led Forces Push Back Turkish-Backed Syrian Opposition Faction in Tense Offensive

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Tuesday they have launched a counter-offensive against the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army to take back areas…

Arab World A Syrian boy walks past a defaced portrait of the toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in the town of Yafour near Damascus on December 23, 2024. (AFP)

Syria’s New Foreign Minister Tells Iran Not to Spread Chaos in Syria

Syria's newly appointed foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, told Iran on Tuesday not to spread chaos in Syria but to respect the Syrian people's will…

Arab World A banner for journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, hangs outside the National Press Club building in Washington, US, May 2, 2023. (Reuters)

US Journalist Missing in Syria Since 2012 Is Believed to Be Alive, Says Aid Group

American journalist Austin Tice is believed to be still alive, according to the head of an international aid group. Nizar Zakka, who runs the Hostage Aid…

Arab World Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks to the media in Damascus, Syria, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Syria Authorities Say Armed Groups Have Agreed to Disband

Syria's new leaders announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with the country's opposition groups on their dissolution and integration under the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Mourners carry bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, during their funeral in Tulkarm in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 20,2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman

Israeli Forces Kill One Palestinian in West Bank Refugee Camp

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in a dawn raid on Tuesday on a refugee camp near the city of Tulkarm in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian and…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World  A Palestinian man walks with children in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on December 24, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

Israeli Army Forces Patients Out of a North Gaza Hospital, Medics Say

Israeli troops forced the evacuation of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza and many patients, some of them on foot, arrived at another hospital miles…

Arab World FILE PHOTO: A WFP worker stands next to a truck carrying aid from Port Sudan to Sudan, November 12, 2024. WFP/Abubakar Garelnabei/Handout via REUTERS

Global Hunger Monitor: Famine in War-torn Sudan is Spreading

Famine in Sudan has expanded to five areas and will likely spread to another five by May, the global hunger monitor reported Tuesday, while warring parties…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A US soldier is seen at a military base near Mosul, Iraq. (Reuters file)

Pentagon Acknowledges There Are More than 2,500 US Troops in Iraq

The Pentagon acknowledged Monday that there are more than 2,500 US troops in Iraq, the total routinely touted publicly. It also said the number of forces in…

Arab World (FILES) Syrians living in Türkiye push a cart loaded with their furniture at the Cilvegozu border crossing gate in Reyhanli on December 12, 2024, on their way back to their country. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)

Türkiye Says Over 25,0000 Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall

More than 25,000 Syrians have returned home from Türkiye since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by HTS opposition fighters, Türkiye's interior minister said…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Houthi supporters hold up weapons during an anti-US and anti-Israel protest in Sanaa, Yemen, 20 December 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

Israel Asks Diplomats to Seek Houthis' Listing as Terrorists

Israel has instructed its diplomatic missions in Europe to try to get the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen designated as a terrorist organization. "The…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Guns and hand grenades surrendered by members of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad's army and pro-government militias, are displayed in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

US Military Says it Killed 2 ISIS Operatives in Syria Airstrike

The US military said on Monday it conducted an airstrike in Syria that killed two ISIS operatives and wounded one. ISIS operatives were moving a truckload of…