Food security

A boy sits outside the entrance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building complex in Gaza City, on Sept. 6, 2025.

Interview

UNRWA plans Turkey office to boost Gaza, Syria aid as pledges dip

Speaking exclusively to Al-Monitor, UNRWA’s Tamara Alrifai said the upcoming Turkey office would help the agency to expand its operations not only in Gaza but also in Syria.

Tents sheltering Palestinians from Gaza City displaced by the Israel-Hamas conflict are pitched by damaged buildings at the Qatari-built Hamad City residential complex, northwestern Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, Sept. 22, 2025.

Water 'more precious than gold': Palestinians fleeing Gaza City face perilous journey south

The Israeli ground invasion of Gaza City has caused massive waves of displacement and intensified struggles to survive with little or no water, shelter, food, or sanitation.

This picture shows pumpjacks in an oil field and smoke plumes rising in the background, following reported Turkish drone strikes near the town of al-Qahtaniyah in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province, close to the border with Turkey, on Nov. 23, 2022.

Exclusive

UK-based oil firm victim of standoff between Damascus, Syria’s Kurds

Gulfsands Managing Director John Bell outlines his company’s plans and Syria’s energy prospects in an exclusive interview.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Yemeni boys walk on a flooded road during a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa on Aug. 1, 2025.

Yemen: Flash floods injure 10+ in Aden as climate toll mounts

Yemen has experienced deadly flooding in recent years, further impacting the ongoing displacement crisis in the country.

Latest News

Culture

Meet Nadeen Ayoub, first Palestinian woman to compete for Miss Universe

Nadeen Ayoub

Sudan’s army chief meets Trump adviser amid US peace push: Reports

Sudan's army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

After Hamas ban and deadly ambush, Gazans wary of GHF aid jobs

People carry boxes of relief supplies from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as displaced Palestinians return from an aid distribution center in the central Gaza Strip on May 29, 2025.

Interview

Israel’s former Germany envoy: Arms embargo 'warning sign' of growing isolation

JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images

Jeremy Issacharoff

Jeremy Issacharoff

Former Israeli ambassador to Germany

A general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, on Feb. 20, 2022.

Egypt determined to disrupt Ethiopia's ties with Uganda

Cairo is to help Kampala achieve food security in a bid to deal a blow to the Ugandan-Ethiopian alliance, especially in the Nile dam issue.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Investment in Israeli food tech doubles

Israel is quickly becoming one of the world leaders in cultivated meat, dairy and seafood products.

An Egyptian farmer takes part in the wheat harvest in Bamha village near al-Ayyat town, Giza province, Egypt, May 17, 2022.

Egypt pins hopes on Russia-Ukraine grain agreement

Egypt, especially hit hard by the global food crisis resulting form the Russia-Ukraine war, is hoping for relief via the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Bulk carrier M/V Razoni, carrying a cargo of 26,000 tonnes of corn, leaves the Ukraine port of Odesa en route to Tripoli.

Turkey reaps rewards in international standing as first grain ship leaves Ukraine

Turkey's diplomatic mediation between Ukraine and Russia could mitigate impact of global food crisis.

Tunisia

Analysis

Far from the front, Tunisia suffers because of Ukraine war

Grain shipment deal mediated by UN and Erdogan offers a ‘beacon of hope’ in a food crisis worsened by distant conflict.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

An Egyptian farmer holds harvested wheat in Qursaya island on May 16, 2022, in Cairo, Egypt.

Egypt diversifies wheat suppliers as large international purchases resume

Cairo halted tenders after the steep rise in prices that followed the outbreak of war in Europe, but since June it has locked in new large quantities that also show which countries are filling the gap left by Ukraine.

Tel Aviv bakery

Israeli government retreats on bread-price controls

The global rise in prices of flour and other products havs affected the cost of bread in Israel, some of which has long been regulated.

People line up in front of a bakery to buy bread in Lebanon's southern city of Sidon on June 22, 2022.

War in Ukraine leaves Lebanon hungry

As wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia dwindle, Lebanese people are in danger of going hungry.

i2u2

Israel, US, India, UAE hold virtual summit on food security, clean energy

During US President Joe Biden's trip to Israel, the leaders the two countries met virtually with those of India and the United Arab Emirates to discuss food security and clean energy.

An army cadet looks through the window of a bus parked outside Sri Lanka's presidential palace in Colombo.

Flydubai suspends flights to Sri Lanka as Emirates, Etihad keep flying

Sri Lanka is experiencing mass unrest over its deteriorating economic situation.

A Syrian woman with her child walks near a Syrian-bound truck loaded with humanitarian aid.

4 million Syrians on brink of starvation as UN aid mechanism draws to close

Millions of Syrians are helplessly waiting in desperation as UN aid entry into Syria draws to an end amid expectations that Russia will veto a resolution authorizing cross-border aid into the war-torn country.

AD Ports signed a joint venture agreement with SEG, one of the largest oil and gas companies in Uzbekistan.

Emirati port operator, Uzbek oil company to open trade hub, cooperate on freight

Other Middle Eastern states are also seeking better economic relations with Central Asia.