Middle Orient

In-depth: As the path to a new Syria evolves, the Druze find themselves navigating different pressures amid local and regional power struggles. More than a week after a member of the interim government’s security forces was killed during clashes with Druze armed factions in Jaramana, tensions remain high. The incident …

In-depth: Shot while holding her cousin, Khadija Atwi, 17, was left to die in Houla as Israeli forces blocked aid. Her family mourns and demands justice. The last thing young girl Khadija Atwi said before the Israeli bullet hit her was that she wanted to visit her father’s grave. At …

Analysis: As Egypt’s Gaza reconstruction gains Arab-global backing while facing US-Israel opposition, Hamas’s role and weapons remain the biggest sticking point Egypt’s ambitious plan to rebuild Gaza, unveiled at an emergency summit in Cairo last Tuesday, is steadily gaining international traction.  It is even beginning to sway the Trump administration, …

Lebanon named a new head of the armed forces Thursday to succeed Joseph Aoun, who was appointed president earlier this year. “Brigadier General Rodolphe Haykal was named commander in chief of the armed forces,” Minister of Information Paul Morcos said after a cabinet meeting, also confirming a number of other …

Syria’s interim president on Thursday signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule while promising to protect the rights of all Syrians for five years during a transitional phase. The nation’s interim rulers have struggled to exert their authority across much of Syria since the Islamist former …

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have agreed to merge with Damascus’s new government. Alright, here’s what’s on tap for the day: The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces make a deal with Syria’s new government, Russian President Vladimir Putin says he’s open to a cease-fire in Ukraine (but there’s a catch), and …

In what some have described as a breakthrough deal, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) agreed to merge with Syria’s new government on Monday. Although the deal has generated immense media attention, questions remain over how the SDF’s integration will take shape and the sustainability of the agreement, as the …

Virtually alone within Iran’s Axis of Resistance, the Houthi movement (Ansarallah) in Yemen is threatening to resume its attacks on Israel and in the Red Sea if the Gaza ceasefire collapses, as well as if Israel continues to block aid from entering Gaza. Trump officials have publicly warned that, should …

Iran’s strategic setbacks have enabled Türkiye to expand its influence in the Middle East, aggravating tensions between Ankara and Tehran. Their rivalry has escalated even though they agree on major regional issues, such as the Gaza conflict and the broader Palestinian-Israeli dispute. Türkiye’s leaders have warned their Iranian counterparts to …

The leader of Daesh in Iraq and Syria has been killed, Iraq’s prime minister said on Friday, describing him as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.” Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rufay’i, also known as Abu Khadija, had been killed by …