Despite of all guarantees received from Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, as well as direct confirmations from the United States that the Gaza war was effectively over, humanitarian conditions inside the Gaza Strip remain unchanged, with no significant change since the ceasefire went into effect on October 10.
There is a widespread belief among those following the Syrian situation that the upcoming US-sponsored Israeli-Syrian meeting scheduled for late September this year will mark a turning point in the history of the Israeli-Syrian conflict.
When the Assad regime fell on January 8, 2024, it seemed as if the regime, with its institutions, apparatus, and individuals, was merely a melting lump of salt that had dissolved, leaving no trace of its former existence and reach.
For decades, observers have said that changes in the Middle East are slow. But this assumption is no longer true. Just look at the dramatic transformations witnessed in Lebanon, Syria, and Iran in recent weeks and months.
The Kurdish issue is one of the most complex political issues in the Middle East, as it intersects with highly sensitive internal and external equations, including issues of national sovereignty, identity, the fight against terrorism, and the geopolitical interests of regional and international powers.
Five months have passed since the unanticipated fall of the Syrian regime. This fall came as a great surprise to many observers, regardless of their position on the regime—opposition, support, or acceptance—due to the speed and form it took.
The painful events in southern Syria remind us of the fragility of the Syrian transitional phase, given the international community's continued reluctance to extend an open hand to rescue Syria from the dire economic situation in which Syrians find themselves after more than half a century of an authoritarian regime that has destroyed Syria and its capabilities.
The war between Lebanon and Israel has resurfaced, after the ceasefire declared on November 27, 2024, expired and extended until February 18. This ceasefire was marked by approximately 1,500 Israeli violations, and the Israeli Defence Minister announced that the occupied Lebanese areas would be transformed into a security buffer zone.
The United Nations warned recently that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is "likely the worst" since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, taking into consideration the Jewish state's ban of humanitarian aid from entering the Strip.
The recent political transformations in the Middle East represent unprecedented turning points, and some consider them a "fundamental phase" for the coming era, similar to what occurred during previous major events in the twentieth century, such as the Balfour Declaration, the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the 1948 Naqba, the 1967 War, and other significant historical events that left their impact on the region for decades to come.
The ramifications of various events since the fall of the Assad regime in Syria have brought back to the forefront the very old question of Syria's identity, a question that has persisted since its declaration of independence at the beginning of the last century.
It is clear that Lebanon has entered a gloomy and dark phase, and it is not clear how it will emerge from it and at what cost and losses, especially with the Israeli attacks entering their second month, and it seems likely to continue for additional weeks, awaiting the completion of the moment of the American transition after an unprecedented presidential election in terms of polarization, results and political expectations.
The US elections ended with a landslide victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump, who became the 47th President of the United States, receiving 312 electoral college votes compared to 226 votes for his Democratic competitor, Kamala Harris.
شكلت العوامل التي شهدتها الأراضي السورية، هاجسًا أرق أبناء منطقة رأس العين الواقعة في شمال غرب محافظة الحسكة على الحدود التركية السورية، حيث أسهمت ظروف الحرب وظهور ميلشييات مسلحة من الأحزاب الانفصالية وميلشييات أخرى تابعة لإيران ونظام الأسد وتضارب للقوى المسيطرة على المنطقة، تحكم بقوة السلاح، في إفراغ المنطقة من سكانها ومنهم الطائفة المسيحية على وجه الخصوص، بحيث تعددت الأهداف من وراء ذلك.
Israel has retreated from its goals in Gaza, without officially announcing it, after taking the complete control of the Northern Strip and “cleansing” it of its residents, expelling them towards the south and making a security buffer zone that prevents “surprises” that threaten Israeli security, as happened on October 7 of last year. But the retreat in Gaza is accompanied by an escalation and expansion of the war on the Lebanese northern front, to completely get rid of the growing danger posed by Hezbollah, within the framework of the increasing confrontation with Iran.
In the past few months, Syria's occurrence in Arab and foreign media has increased, with analyses, reports, articles and statements made by officials in regional and major countries, who have spoken about the conflict in and around Syria. The main reason for Syria's prominence in the media is political and field developments related to the war waged by Israel against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which has been expanded to Lebanon, against "Hezbollah. Amid the development of the Israeli war, regional repercussions of the war have emerged in Israeli-Iranian strikes, on the one hand, and in the escalation and diversity of Israeli attacks in Syria against targets belonging to Iran and its Shiite militias there, and targets belonging to the Assad regime, on the other hand.
A year has already passed since the launching of the Israeli war in Gaza. This war was included in an Israeli strategy of attrition open in time and in space, to achieve the security and military control over the Strip and the complete elimination of Hamas. But a year long war has prompted Israel to reduce its goals or envisage them in stages, without abandoning them, starting with the establishment of a completely safe zone in the north of the Strip, free of any Palestinian presence.
The assassination of the Hezbollah leader by the Israeli army in the southern suburbs of Beirut has caused a major division in the Arab arena, between those who exulted over his death recalling his brutal military intervention in Syria, and those who backed all of his positions, specifically his resistance against Israel, and considered him an untouchable political reference.
Next to the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the world is waiting to see the reaction of Tehran, the ally and founder of the Lebanese Shiite movement. What after?
In an unprecedented unanimity, the members of the Security Council expressed their deep concern at the risks of spillover and escalation of regional tensions in Syria, particularly as a result of the war in Gaza and the clashes on both sides of the border between Israel and Lebanon, which could draw the country into an even more serious conflict.
The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria has released a new report accusing the Turkish state for continuing to target civilian areas in northern and eastern Syria. These attacks may amount to war crimes, according to the UN investigators.
The announcement of a new package of Western sanctions against Moscow and Tehran coincided with the announcement for concluding a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, which is expected to be signed during the BRICS summit to be held soon in the Russian city of Kazan.
Relations have remained frosty since Ankara and Damascus severed diplomatic ties in 2011, following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. But the president Erdogan’s recent statement that he could invite Bashar Assad to Türkiye “at any time” has drawn mixed reactions from Syrians.
Conventional wisdom says that the current war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, now in its tenth month, is about to intensify significantly after Israel confirmed responsibility for the targeted killing near Beirut of Fouad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah military commander.
What happened to Hamas as it provides remarkable flexibility in the recent negotiations taking place in Doha? And, what is new in Israel's position, which made several parties express their optimism about the possibility of stopping the war?
Participants in the recent eighth ministerial conference organized by the European Union in Brussels to support the future of Syria unanimously warned against the consequences of “forgetting Syria” and its millions of internally displaced people and refugees to neighboring countries. Moreover, EU pledged more than two billion euro ($2.17 billion) to support Syrian refugees in the region, and rejected any talk about the possible return of refugees to their homeland, as the conditions for voluntary and safe return are not prepared.
Faced with a swarm of economic, security and authoritarian challenges in neighboring countries, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who fled the civil war have returned home, despite the grim security and safety situation that awaits them.
Regional security in the Middle East is a real dilemma that has been searching for a solution since 1967 until today, and it requires a serious discussion because the scale of a crisis that has reached the point of danger, especially after the war waged by Israel against the people of Gaza.
Since the Syrian army and its allies defeated rebel groups and regained control of more than two-thirds of the territory, Israel has carried out hundreds of air raids in an attempt to prevent or slow-down deliveries of Iranian weapons to Lebanese Hezbollah.
The millions of civilians in need of humanitarian aid in Syria are affected because the declining of the international help this year, after the World Food Program (WFP) has ended its mandate for the country as of 2024.
Since the Syrian People's Assembly approved the general budget for the year 2024, at the end of last December, the government has been subjected to a flood of sharp criticism, while it proceeds with its decisions aimed, as it says, at reducing the deficit, which this year reached an unprecedented amount.
The war is currently raging in Gaza between the Israeli army and the Hamas movement places the region before the following alternative: either the ongoing negotiations in Qatar and Oman succeed in defusing the crisis, or they fail and, in this case, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu risks precipitating the entire region into a total war.
According to a statement of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Operations (OCHA), the United Nations estimate the humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank at $1.2 billion until the end of 2023.
Since the attack on Israeli civilians carried out by Hamas during a music festival, Israel has expanded its military operations more and more into Gaza, raising concerns regarding both the impact on Palestinians and the impact it will have internationally.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, is militarily present in Syria, where since 2015 it has been intervening alongside the forces of Bashar al-Assad's regime and has been able to test its armament and tactics.
Agroup of Non-Governmental Organizations and local humanitarian organizations, in cooperation with the service authorities in the opposition-held areas in northwestern Syria, have begun implementing a number of service projects, and a large-scale renovate campaign for roads, drinking water networks, and sewage channels, with the aim to improve the services and facilitate the lives of more than 6 million people, with the beginning of this summer season.
The World Food Program said in a recent statement that the "unprecedented funding crisis in Syria" forced it to reduce its aid to about 2.5 million people in Idlib camps, after it was providing it to about 5.5 million people who depend on the assistance provided by the UN agency for their basic food needs.
The civil war in Syria continues to worsen, with the opening of a new front in the north-west of the country, which opposes not the rebels to the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, but the armed groups of opposition. According to a Syrian NGO, recent fights opposed rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to the jihadists from Al-Qaeda who were trying to get their weapons.
The recent collapse of the exchange rate of the Turkish lira against the dollar has put Syrians in the areas of Turkish influence and the Syrian opposition, northwestern Syria, in a new economic and living dilemma, in direct confrontation with the high and fluctuating prices of medicines, food, industrial commodities and fuel, with a significant decline in the purchasing and labor movement.
At a time when the Iraqi security services are still pursuing ISIS members and cells in places where they are suspected to be present, the government has begun to develop a plan to restore stability to the Tarmiya and Diyala districts, north of Baghdad.
In a recent statement, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria announced the launch of an initiative that aims to find a "peaceful and democratic" solution to the Syrian crisis. The Autonomous Administration affirmed its readiness to meet with the Syrian governme
A UN press release dated February 9, 2023 reminds that the threat posed by Daesh in the world has not diminished. Furthermore, officials the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), also told a United Nations Security Council session that this terrorist group "continues to exploit local fragilities and inter-community tensions, notably in Iraq, Syria and parts of the African continent, notably in the recruitment of terrorists”.
The war that began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine was supported by the US and UK with arms shipments and a continued US and British presence in Kiev alongside Volodimyr Zelensky. The EU has given up on Russian gas and oil, plus Nord Stream 2, sanctioned Russia and sent weapons to Kiev.
The scenarios of the future relationship between AQ and ISIS after Ayman Al-Zawahiri have become of concern to many experts, in light of the usual competition between the two terrorist organizations over the past years.
During the last three months, an internationalization of the conflict in Ukraine has deepened. Some of its main manifestations are the deployment of Russian forces in Belarus and the growing threat to destabilize the entire Baltic Sea region and the rest of Europe.
The scenario created by the 2011 revolutions in North Africa and the Arab Levant forced Moscow to rethink its role in the region. In May 2012, with Putin's return to the presidency of the Federation, Russia fully returned to Middle Eastern affairs.
In recent weeks, an Arab official asked Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the secret of the unique cooperation between President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to an exclusive Arab News poll, the majority of people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region don't seem to care much about the war in Ukraine. The survey was conducted among 7,835 people in 14 countries in the MENA region.
It is very difficult to say with certainty how long the Ukrainian war could last. NATO Secretary-General, US President Joe Biden, and European heads of state have already realized that a Ukrainian victory was unlikely.
The Ukrainian crisis changed the post Cold War status quo in Europe. Russia, considering the support of Western partners for regime change in Kiev as a betrayal, defended its vital interests, while the West saw this as pure and simple aggression by a superpower.
The recent Moscow's announcement about its intention to expand the list of Russian airports that will be linked to Syrian airports raised questions about the implications of the move in light of the repercussions of the Western blockade imposed on Russia...
Activists, local humanitarian organizations and camp managers for the displaced people in northwestern Syria have warned that the mechanism for bringing humanitarian aid to Syrians through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing point with Turkey, under pressure from Russia, has stopped.
ven before the start of Russian military operations in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the international community, and in particular European countries, heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies, were anxious by the major impact that this crisis could have on deliveries and hydrocarbon prices.
Recently, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) warned that ISIS is trying, after 3 years of eliminating its established areas, to reorganize its ranks. Moreover, they drew attention to the repercussions of the international community's "failure" to provide the necessary support to prevent this.
After the recent step taken by the Libyan Chamber of Deputies in Tobruk to install a new government chaired by Fathi Bachagha, and the refusal of Abdelhamid Dbeibeh, head of the Tripoli Union Government to step down, the country faces the multidimensional, political, geographic and economic split, or a third civil war.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has revived deep divisions in the Middle East. As American influence has declined, Moscow has made powerful friends, from Shiite militias in Iraq to the Hezbollah group in Lebanon to the Houthis in Yemen.
The Iranian media analysts are oscillating between mistrust and certainty about the Russian position and the repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis on Vienna's path to revive the nuclear agreement on the Iranian program, while the negotiation process is approaching the moment of crossing the finish line.
Turkey and Russia have proved to be the main external kingmakers in Libya and their presence has provoked major divisions among Western states. Moscow will take advantage of these divisions as Russia continues its “return” to African countries that were once under strong Soviet influence, including Libya.
Since the early 1990s, Iraq’s Kurdish region has been ruled by a power-sharing consensus between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), both of which command Peshmergah military forces loyal to them. In recent years, however, the PUK has been losing ground to KDP and newly emerged parties, which has undermined this arrangement. In fact, the October election twisted even further the balance of power in KDP’s advantage.
On Wednesday, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, chief of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), has temporarily retired himself from his military functions, for launching his candidacy in expected presidential elections, due to take place next December.
By the end of December, all United States military involved in operations in Iraq (which were officially terminated on December 9) will be pulled out. Whatever forces do stay behind will be charged exclusively with safeguarding American key objectives, such as the US Embassy in Baghdad, or with the training of local security forces.
Lately, Iraqi National Electoral Commission confirmed the victory of Moqtada Sadr Movement on the expenses of the pro-Iranian Fatah Alliance which have continuously claimed the fraud and asked justice to cancel the ballot. With a participation rate of 44%, the Sadrist party won 73 seats in the incoming parliament of the country, namely a quarter of the Parliament's seats. On the other side, Fatah Alliance got only 17 seats against 48 in the previous parliament.
After a recent signing of a memorandum of understanding between Israel and Morocco, the two countries will cooperate with intelligence and common exercises on sensitive security issues. Israel does not share many of the threats facing Morocco whose main challenge has come from separatist Polissario Front movement seeking to establish an independent state in Western Sahara, which Rabat claims as its own, and from neighbouring Algeria, which supports PF.
Recently, king Mohammed VI of Morocco asserted that, after normalising relations with Israel, the kingdom is ready to use its special ties with all parties involved in Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in order to favour the resumption of peace process.
A new meeting of Afghanistan's neighbours (Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Russia) has been recently organised in Teheran by Iranian Foreign Ministry, to discuss the current situation in the war-ravaged country.
In Syria, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), who has gradually broken with both ISIS and Al Qaeda, has been carefully watching the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, from its stronghold in the north-western Syrian province of Idlib.
Outside Afghanistan, there is temptation to regard the Taliban as a single solid entity or organization moving forward with a common purpose. But in fact it is made up of different factions who could even plunge back Afghanistan into war.
After days of low-intensity shelling and rocket fire between Israel and Gaza, Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Sissi met and focused on de-escalating tensions between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza Strip.
Libya's presidential election, meant to help unify the nation after a decade of civil war, is supposed to take place in just over a week, but calls are mounting for a delay. The vote, scheduled for December 24, is to choose Libya's first president since the ouster and killing of dictator Moammar Gaddafi, more than a decade ago.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
