Middle Orient

Clashes broke out this week between Syrian government forces and fighters in a camp in northern Syria’s Idlib province led by an internationally wanted French militant. The clashes come at a delicate moment, as Syria’s interim authorities are trying to decide how to handle the presence of thousands of Islamist …

Syrian forces on Wednesday launched an operation against jihadists in a camp in the northwest region near the Turkish border in a bid to capture French fighters wanted by French authorities. Foreign jihadists who travelled to Syria to fight with Islamist militias during the civil war have fallen out of …

Türkiye has been a chief geostrategic beneficiary of the setbacks to Iran and its “Axis of Resistance,” but its expanded regional influence has fueled new tensions with another regional power, Israel. Türkiye and Israel, despite some fundamental differences, recognize each other’s interests and respect their separate close relations with the …

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is calibrating relations with both Washington and Moscow to ensure they both contribute to the country’s stability and security. Sharaa’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week sought, in part, to prod Trump officials to pressure Israel to end its assaults on Syrian territory …

Militia leader Hossam al Astal tells Sky News that the groups are part of a joint project to remove Hamas from power, and that they have the backing of several Arab and Western states. Israel may have agreed to stop fighting in Gaza, but it is backing armed groups that …

The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip which began on October 10, 2025, provided Hamas with anopportunity to deploy its security forces in areas evacuated by the IDF and to demonstrategovernance, despite the severe damage they suffered during the war. The Hamas security forces focused on fighting local clans accused of …

What’s new? Israel’s far-right government is restructuring the occupation of the West Bank, shifting governing powers from military to civilian agencies in order to gradually institute permanent control. With Israeli law reaching further into the territory and space for Palestinian independence shrinking, much of the territory has, in effect, already been …

Without active and continuous deterrence, ISIS forces may look to take advantage of the deteriorating security and governance situation in areas formerly under their control. After the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, Iraq faced the challenge of rebuilding the state first and foremost, along with political, economic, and …

Key Points – Israel’s F-16I “Sufa” (Storm) multi-role fighters likely played a crucial role in “Operation Rising Lion,” the massive air assault on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure that began on June 12th. -Flying alongside F-35I and F-15I jets, the F-16Is surely launched follow-on strikes against hardened targets like the Natanz enrichment …

Hamas has recalled about 7,000 members of its security forces to reassert control over areas of Gaza recently vacated by Israeli troops, according to local sources. The Palestinian group also appointed five new governors all with military backgrounds, some of whom previously commanded brigades in its armed wing. The mobilisation …