Middle Orient

In an unprecedented display of both capacity and terror, Gaza-based group Hamas mounted a mass-scale terrorist attack against Israel, using land, air, and sea raids, killing hundreds of Israeli citizens, and fracturing the state’s “aura of invincibility”. It is also known that Hamas has taken dozens of people hostage. The …

No country can survive without its sole land connection to markets, trade, and connectivity corridors, but the US will see Beirut collapse before allowing Damascus back in. As only one of two Levantine states flanking the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon’s geographic location is of great interest to the various road, rail, …

In many ways Hamas’s attack on Israel sums up the essence of terrorism. The group’s mass incursions have seen its operatives storming Israeli towns, killing and kidnapping hundreds. This appears to have been done by the book when it comes to creating feelings of terror and escalating the situation. Yet …

Hamas, the Islamist militia that controls Gaza, will likely emerge a victor regardless of how the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting ends. Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel, described by some analysts as the Jewish state’s 9/11, changes the dynamics of Middle Eastern geopolitics. The brutal attack involved prolonged fighting with …

Shock and horror. But to and for whom? At 6.30 am on October 7, the State of Israel was certainly in shock. From the south, its citizens faced attacks by, as news reports put it, air, sea and land executed by the Islamic militant group Hamas. Within a matter of …

The US-brokered talks were making progress; that’s probably why Iran gave Hamas the green light. This column was supposed to be about the momentum and promise of the US-brokered Saudi-Israel peace initiative, including how the kingdom went big by making Israeli-Palestinian peace part of the deal. The consequences of an …

The likelihood of a fresh Turkish ground offensive in northern Syria appears to weaken after the unprecedented shooting down of a Turkish drone by the United States. A suicide attack outside of Turkey’s national security directorate headquarters has become the latest justification for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plan to create …

What happened? In the early hours of 7 October, Hamas launched what it called Operation al-Aqsa Deluge, a multi-pronged attack on Israel, including Israeli border towns ringing the Gaza Strip. Thousands of rockets rained down on areas in Israel in the first few hours. These gave cover to Hamas militants, …

Netanyahu Has Nothing but Bad Options As thousands of rockets rain down on Israel, lighting up the skyline of Tel Aviv and other cities, the country’s current priority is to defend its towns and military bases against Hamas’s sudden and devastating attacks from the Gaza Strip. Israel will try to …

On the morning of Saturday, October 7, the Palestinian group Hamas carried out a surprise attack on Israel on an unprecedented scale: firing thousands of rockets, infiltrating militants into Israeli territory, and taking an unknown number of hostages. At least 100 Israelis have died, and at least 1,400 have been …