All Middle East
‘Cold is death.’ For Gazans in flimsy tents, a winter of sorrow and loss.For Palestinian families forced from their homes by 15 months of war, the temporary shelters they have constructed are no match for Gaza’s winter. Infants are especially vulnerable.
Israel has a Houthi missile problem. It’s stuck finding a solution.For more than a year, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched long-distance missile and drone attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping. After Israel largely subdued its Iran-allied enemies closer at hand, it is struggling to deter the Houthis on its own.
First LookIn Syria, small Jewish community can again visit synagogue built 720 years before ChristIn a Damascus suburb, remaining Jews can again visit one of the world’s oldest synagogues where people throughout the region once came to pray.
Can Syria heal? For many, Step 1 is learning the difficult truth.As Syrians seek to recover from decades of a brutal dictatorship, they want to learn what happened to missing loved ones. For many, the first stop is a notorious prison.
In Syria, what remains of Iran’s regional ‘Axis’ is rubble and resentmentFirst Hamas, then Hezbollah, now Syria. As key components of Iran’s anti-Israel/anti-U.S. “Axis of Resistance” are sidelined or incapacitated, what is left of Tehran’s regional strategy?
Is Syrian upheaval the first step to a stabler Middle East?The end of the Assad dictatorship opens the way, perhaps, to a more peaceful and stable Middle East. Will regional leaders take that opportunity?
With Iran on the decline, a new axis rises in Mideast. Syria is still key.For years Turkey and Qatar backed what had been written off as the losing side in Syria’s civil war. With the Assad regime’s fall, they are geopolitical winners. The Mideast axis of power is shifting, but it still runs through Syria.
As a post-Assad Syria reopens, Syrians ask: Can we go home?As the barriers to movement into and inside Syria have come down, Syrians are racing to reunite with loved ones and visit their former homes, or what is left of them. It is an emotional time, and the destruction they are finding is often vast.
Waves of joy flood Damascus. But an undercurrent of distrust lingers.The magnitude of the emotions sweeping Damascus cannot be overstated, as our correspondents are witnessing. Unbridled joy is replacing years of terror and unspeakable loss. But the task of restoring order, and faith in a peaceful future, is enormous.
First LookIran is having rolling blackouts. Some electric companies blame bitcoin mining.Bitcoin mining could be behind rolling blackouts in Iran’s capital and nearby areas. Iranian media reports daily police raids of these illegal operations, which are often set up in apartments and use virtual private networks to evade authorities.
Assad’s fall has rewards for Israel. It’s focused on the risks.Invoking its security, Israel moved quickly to seize border positions and smash Syrian military equipment after the fall of the Assad regime. But can it translate its strategic advantage into diplomatic achievements?
With Assad’s ouster, Russia’s Mideast influence collapses. What will Moscow do now?Russia kept Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in power over the last decade. Now he’s gone. But setbacks in the Mideast are familiar to the Kremlin.
Cover Story‘We are looking for a good future’: Lebanese life amid the rubbleAmid Israeli airstrikes, tens of thousands of Lebanon’s Shiites fled their homes. After ceasefire, residents express support and anger for Hezbollah.
Time to go home? Hezbollah ceasefire offers northern Israelis hope.Northern Israel offered residents a relaxed refuge away from the country’s crowded center. Now a ceasefire with Hezbollah, bolstered by the fall of Syria’s government, offers northerners displaced by war hope that they can return home.
For Syrians, Assad is in the past: ‘The thing we all have now is hope’After decades of repression, the pace of political change in Syria over the weekend was stunning. But resetting the country’s institutions and reassuring the public will be painstakingly slow.
What next for leaderless Syria, once the Mideast’s hub?The civil war in Syria flared into sudden action last week, toppling Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship in a matter of days. What comes next?
First LookNetanyahu’s corruption trial started four years ago. Why is he taking the stand now?Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial for accusations of fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes. In a trial that first began in 2020, he will become the country’s first prime minister to take the witness stand as a defendant on Dec. 10.
First LookOusted Syrian President reportedly in Moscow after rebel takeoverSyrian President Bashar Assad has reportedly arrived in Moscow with his family, granted asylum by Russia after rebel advances. Russian state media says Assad fled Syria following negotiations with rebels, sparking celebrations nationwide.
First LookInsurgents advance in Syria: Army Withdraws, Assad Denies FleeingSyrian insurgents advance near Damascus as the army retreats, seizing key areas. sparking rumors of Assad's flight. Rumors of President Bashar Assad fleeing the country circulate amid largest opposition gains in years.
As Syrian rebels advance, what can Iran and its tired allies do for Assad?What can Iran do to help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad defeat newly energized rebel forces? Its anti-Israel “Axis of Resistance” has been overworked and diminished. Yet even as Iran searches for solutions, there are some suggestions it is not panicking.
