Middle Orient

Six years after the collapse of the so-called Islamic State caliphate in March 2019, dramatic leadership changes in Washington, DC and Damascus open a rare window of opportunity to end the continuing, unlawful detentions of some 26,000 foreign ISIS suspects and family members in northeast Syria. The detainees, who come …

As Gaza faces one of the most severe post-war humanitarian crises in modern history, a crucial policy debate emerges: will displacement camps emerge to serve as a temporary humanitarian necessity, or become long-term internment sites potentially fuelling future radicalisation and conflict? Over twenty months into the Israel-Hamas war, the Gaza …

It has now been nearly three months since Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) came to power in Syria. After the joy over the end of the Assad era, all eyes are on HTS to see whether they can govern in a highly fragmented Syria and prevent a potential resurgence of the …

As Damascus enters the US-led coalition against ISIS, its relationship with Syria’s Kurds, America’s longstanding ally, remains fraught with distrust Syria became the 90th country to join the US-led multinational coalition against the Islamic State (IS) following interim president Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s cordial meeting with US President Donald Trump in the …

As Gaza’s misery deepens, secret flights approved by Israel offer a way out. But many fear they are laying the groundwork for a silent population transfer A bombshell report exposing a shadowy organisation’s secret charter flights transporting Palestinians out of Gaza has raised growing fears of an expanding policy of …

As Syria struggles to rebuild, Israel is using the chaos to entrench military dominance and prevent any new regional order from restraining its power It has been nearly a year since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s government in Syria. For the past nearly 12 months, Israel has continued its aggression, …

Last week, the UN Security Council endorsed President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, effectively installing American supervision over the Palestinian territory’s postwar future. The resolution, which mandated a transitional administration and an international stabilisation force, faced sharp rejection from several Palestinian factions, who warned that it would undermine the national …

An Israeli attack on Sunday killed one of Hezbollah’s top leaders, threatening to unravel a November 2024 ceasefire that has kept most of the Lebanese population out of the crossfire. Hezbollah has been rebuilding its missile and drone arsenal, but its capacity to retaliate is limited by continued military weakness …

Iran shows no signs of altering its core policies despite the damage done by Israel and the United States to Iran’s strategic architecture. A continuation of Iran’s existing policies is unlikely to bring the sanctions relief that moderate leaders such as elected President Masoud Pezeshkian deem vital to addressing economic …

The city of Suwayda (in southern Syria) is witnessing security tensions following an arrest campaign that has targeted figures opposing the spiritual leader of the Druze community, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri. Enab Baladi’s correspondent reported that National Guard forces, which are backed by Sheikh al-Hijri, carried out arrests in the province …