Middle Orient

The Middle East has experienced an extraordinarily tumultuous year, as the ripples from Hamas’ assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, continue to fuel hostilities in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and the waters of the Gulf. The more recent intensification of conflict in Lebanon following Israel’s devastating pager and …

As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, the main question in Tehran is not so much what the incoming American president will do about Iran. Rather, it is about whether Tehran should negotiate with him. Numerous Iranian officials, including former senior diplomats, are making the case that …

Judges at the International Criminal Court have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, Reuters reported on Thursday afternoon. The move comes after the ICC prosecutor Karim …

Hamas and other unidentified Palestinian militias have formed a combined force to stop armed gangs from looting humanitarian aid, which indicates that Hamas has only limited control of the Gaza Strip.[1] It remains unclear if Hamas distributes the aid equitably after it recovers stolen aid. Reuters reported on November 19 …

Latest Developments • Kurdish-Held Northeast Syria Faces Electricity, Water Crisis: Turkish strikes in northeast Syria have left more than 1 million people in northeast Syria without access to electricity and water, the BBC reported on November 19. Between October 2019 and January 2024, Turkey carried out more than 100 strikes …

The continued looting of humanitarian aid trucks demonstrates that Hamas’ internal control remains limited and severely weakened. Armed groups looted 98 of 109 humanitarian aid trucks that entered the southern Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom border crossing on November 16.[1] It is unclear if these armed groups are affiliated …

Iran has been Hamas’ primary strategic supporter since 2014, providing military equipment and training as well as financial aid amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars for the movement’s leadership and its military wing. Senior Hamas figures have also publicly thanked Tehran for providing weapons enabling attacks deep inside Israeli …

ISIS carried out at least 12 confirmed attacks in October in the Homs, Hama, Raqqa, and Deir Ez Zor governorates. These attacks killed at least 20 pro-Assad regime soldiers and one civilian and wounded at least 24 others. There were also three high quality* attacks carried out during the month. …

Debating Israel’s Purpose and Progress There Is No Victory in GazaNoura Erakat, Josh Paul, Charles O. Blaha, and Luigi Daniele The current war in Gaza is not an isolated conflict that began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched an attack inside Israel. Framing the war this way, as …

The IDF killed the head of Hezbollah’s media office, Mohammad Afif, in central Beirut on November 17.[1] The IDF conducted a strike targeting Afif in a residential building in Ras al Nabaa, a neighborhood in central Beirut.[2] Hezbollah confirmed Afif’s death.[3] Afif was reportedly visiting a Syrian Ba’ath Party in …