Interview Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable' Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Al-Monitor that Israel will only be able to defang Hezbollah if it reaches an agreement with the Lebanese government.
Interview Minister warns aid cuts to Lebanon risk empowering Hezbollah Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed warns of resurgent sectarian tensions as Israeli strikes drive mass displacement into overcrowded Beirut. Haneen Sayyed Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs
Iran war deepens Gaza crisis as prices soar, aid falters Gazans fear that Israel could exploit the wider regional war to reenter Gaza, especially as buffer zones along the border continue to expand and civilians are targeted to keep them away. By Daoud Kuttab In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics
Analysis Why Germany may struggle to meet Merz’s 80% Syria repatriation goal Germany, which hosts the EU’s largest Syrian refugee population, is pushing to repatriate Syrians, but Syria’s domestic issues and legal protections for asylum seekers complicate those efforts. By Rosaleen Carroll In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East
State Department official: There are ‘technical solutions’ to Nile River dam issue At a House hearing on Tuesday, a Republican congressman made an impassioned plea to consider Egypt’s water security regarding Ethiopia’s megadam on the Nile River. United States
Warnings increase amid fears of closing last aid lifeline in Syria International and UN organizations press for maintaining the flow of humanitarian aid to northwest Syria through Bab al-Hawa crossing, in light of fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in case the mandate for cross-border aid was not renewed. Syria
Biden administration not trading Syrian oil for aid corridors with Moscow The Biden administration said Syrian oil is for the people of Syria, not for the United States. Syria
Turkey wild card in US-Russia conflict over Syria aid The US administration might be open to a position shift on the Syrian file to secure the flow of cross-border international aid to Syria, a prospect that may spoil Turkey's calculations in Syria and particularly in Idlib. Turkey
Biden discusses imperiled Syrian aid at high-stakes Putin summit The two leaders met ahead of a looming UN Security Council deadline to renew a massive cross-border aid operation that Russia is intent on shutting down. Syria
US cranks up diplomacy with Russia to keep Syria’s last humanitarian aid corridor open The fate of millions of Syrians hangs in the balance as Russia threatens to shut a crossing vital to humanitarian aid. Syria
Russia facilitates return of displaced Syrian families Under the auspices of the Russian forces and their affiliated militias, hundreds of displaced people are returning to their villages in the Lajat region located in the countryside of Daraa governorate to find extensively destroyed houses lacking basic power and water services. Syria
A look at which countries have pledged money to Gaza Egypt and Qatar are leading the pack, each pledging to provide $500 million in aid to Gaza. Palestine
Israeli-Egyptian cooperation grows following end of Gaza conflict Israel has been quiet on its contacts with Egypt throughout the latest security crisis, but the agreement on the cease-fire with Hamas, Friday's phone call between the two foreign ministers and the reopening yesterday of two Gaza crossing points for humanitarian aid reflect growing cooperation between Jerusalem and Cairo. Israel
The heavy toll of Israel-Hamas war, by the numbers A look at the destruction wrought by more than a week of fighting between Hamas and Israel. News Brief
Israeli-Palestinian conflict forces Biden to put Mideast on agenda Egyptian and Palestinian Authority leaders are back at center stage of US regional diplomacy. Israel
Israel-Hamas conflict exposes Turkey’s irrelevance in region Turkey’s apparent exclusion from cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas shows President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s foreign policy is in tatters. Turkey
