Beyond the Headlines

Israel has been attacking parts of Syria since the fall of the Assad regime and carrying out incursions into the country’s south under the pretext of targeting weapons of the former government.

But its attack last week on the Abu Al Duhur military airfield in the northern governorate of Idlib was different, apparently directed at Turkey as tensions rise between the two countries.

Israeli officials accused Turkey of stationing troops at the airbase, an allegation both Syria and Turkey dismissed.

US special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Ankara Tom Barrack called the strikes unnecessary and deeply concerning. The escalation comes at a time when President Ahmad Al Shara’s government is seeking stability with its neighbours, with Washington’s support.

Stalled talks between Israel and Syria picked up again in Jordan this week as the US pushed to defuse tension. But with Turkey and Israel seeking to secure their influence in a post-Assad Syria, challenges remain.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher discusses the motives driving this showdown between two major regional powers. She speaks to Noah Bonsey, senior adviser on Syria at the International Crisis Group, and Danny Citrinowicz, senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, Mercy Corps CEO Tjada McKenna joins host Nada AlTaher in conversation about the challenges facing humanitarian assistance across the Middle East and beyond.

The impact of the Strait of Hormuz blockade has trickled down into the aid sector. Rising fuel costs, shortages of essential goods and delays in the delivery of materials such as fertilisers have all taken a toll on vulnerable communities that rely on operational supply chains.

Humanitarian organisations are forced to adapt to the growing needs on the ground in places such as Gaza and Sudan, where mass displacement and conflict have brought life to a standstill, and in Syria, where rebuilding after 14 years of civil war remains complicated.

Meanwhile, funding is dwindling. The Trump administration’s decision to shut down USAID projects last year has had tangible consequences in countries in the Middle East, where aid and economic empowerment programmes once provided a vital lifeline for millions.

Now, many donors are choosing to invest in emergency life-saving efforts instead of in longer-term development projects. Ms McKenna discusses the importance of helping people to be more resilient to crises instead of simply responding to disasters after they happen.

The US-Iran war has highlighted how rapidly modern warfare is changing, with drones and other relatively inexpensive technology playing an increasingly prominent role alongside sophisticated missile and air-defence systems.

US Central Command this month announced a multinational attack drone task force that will be operated by US military support staff and partners in the region. Last month the US carried out its first one-way sea drone strike on an Iranian target.

As the US expands its drone capabilities to adapt to Iranian tactics, its stockpiles are reportedly shrinking. But Iran, too, has suffered heavy losses. As both sides try to replenish their arsenals, the question is whether conventional weapons can keep pace with cheaper systems that can be produced and deployed at scale.

The war is also influencing how states assess and deter hostile threats, driving them to seek expertise and technology from countries that are not traditional major weapons manufacturers.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher examines what the conflict reveals about the changing nature and cost of warfare. She speaks to Thomas Harding, security and policy editor at The National.

The Houthis had mostly stayed out of the Iran war. But in recent weeks they have started attacking ships in the Red Sea, as well as Saudi-linked targets inside Yemen and across the border.

On Tuesday, a double-tap strike on a cargo ship in the Bab Al Mandeb strait killed four crew members and two rescue workers. They have also targeted Yemeni government forces in Marib, Hadhramaut and Hodeidah, and hit the port city of Mokha. Beyond the border, they have launched strikes on Saudi oil sites.

Analysts say the timing of the Houthis’ intervention in the conflict is not a coincidence. With the Strait of Hormuz mostly closed, they can increase pressure on global shipping and try to establish a more influential role in the region.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher examines the motives that prompted the Houthis to act now, and what they expect to gain from pressuring Saudi Arabia and by extension, the US-Iran negotiations. She speaks to Nadwa Al-Dawsari, associate fellow at the Middle East Institute, and Abdulghani Al-Iryani, senior researcher at the Sanaa Centre.

Since October 2023, entire industries in Gaza have been wiped out and poverty has increased. In the occupied West Bank, businesses are struggling amid settler violence and increasing restrictions on movement.

After the Gaza war began, Israel suspended most work permits for Palestinians in the country. It also withheld billions of dollars in tax revenue collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, leaving public sector workers to receive only a fraction of their salaries.

The Israeli government has also repeatedly threatened to sever the banking arrangement that connects Palestinian financial institutions to the global economy.

But the war has only accelerated decades of policies that left the Palestinian economy deeply dependent on Israel.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher examines how the Palestinian economy became so intertwined with Israel's financial system – and left it vulnerable to collapse.

We hear from Palestinian economist Raja Khalidi and Jalal Abukhater, policy manager at digital rights group 7amleh. We also talk to Bethlehem tour guide Kamal Mukarker about what it means for Palestinians to survive in an economy that many say is being systematically strangled.

It has been five months since the US and Israel launched their war with Iran, and the conflict has never really been contained. Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Jordan have all been hit by Iranian missiles and drones, Hezbollah drew Lebanon into a fight that is still going on, and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, with neither talks nor military action producing a lasting reopening.

Right now, though, no front is moving faster than the one closing in on Saudi Arabia, and it is coming from two directions at once.

In Yemen, a strike on Sanaa airport and Houthi accusations against Riyadh in July reignited a conflict that had been largely dormant, leading within days to attacks on Saudi shipping, a Saudi strike on Hodeidah port, and a Houthi claim to have hit oil facilities in Jizan and Yanbu, potentially the first direct strike on Saudi oil infrastructure since 2022.

In Iraq, months of accusations that Iran-backed militias were launching drones from Iraqi soil culminated this week in Saudi Arabia joining the US in direct, public strikes for the first time, a move Riyadh justified as an exercise of its right to self-defence under the UN Charter.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher is joined by Douglas Silliman, former US Ambassador to Iraq and now President of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and Elizabeth Dent, senior fellow at the Washington Institute, to look at how Saudi Arabia's escalation fits into the broader trajectory of the US-Iran war.

US President Donald Trump pledged his support for Lebanon this week during a visit to the White House by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

A four-decade ban on US airlines flying to the country will be overturned, Mr Trump said, who also told of concrete plans to support the Lebanese Armed Forces.

This comes at a time when the government in Beirut is under pressure to prove it can deliver on an agreement it signed with Israel and the US in June.

The trilateral framework states that Lebanese forces must disarm Hezbollah and reassert control in areas dominated by the group, before Israel “redeploys” its troops from areas it occupies in Lebanon. Critics say the deal imposes the heavier obligations on Lebanon.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people remain forcibly displaced from their homes in southern towns and villages, where Israeli attacks have caused mass destruction.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at the opportunities and challenges the country faces as it tries to bridge the gap between dialogue and the reality on the ground. She speaks to Nada Homsi, The National’s correspondent in Lebanon, and Paul Salem, senior associate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The interim agreement aimed at ending the war between the US and Iran has fallen apart barely three weeks after it was signed.

Iran has resumed attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, claiming it has control over the entire waterway and any vessels crossing it must co-ordinate with its forces.

The US, seeing this as a breach of the ceasefire agreement signed on June 17, has responded by launching a series of strikes against Iranian military targets. Tehran has been firing drones and missiles towards Gulf neighbours as well as Jordan, saying it is aiming at US military assets in those countries.

Now, retaliatory naval blockades have been reinstated. US President Donald Trump has said the strait is open for all except Iranian ships, but the UN’s maritime agency has issued a warning that the waterway is not safe. Meanwhile, seafarers continue to suffer in limbo, with some already killed or injured in Iranian attacks.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, guest host Ban Barkawi looks at the circumstances that led to the latest military escalation and asks whether there’s still a chance to come back to an agreement. She speaks to Gregory Brew, senior Iran and energy analyst at Eurasia Group.

On the sidelines of an eventful Nato summit in Ankara, US President Donald Trump was sitting next to his Syrian counterpart Ahmad Al Shara when he announced his intention to lift Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The move would bring massive relief for the country as it attempts to rebuild in a post-Assad era. But Mr Al Shara’s presence at the summit also reflects Syria’s increasingly important security role in the region.

With Iran’s weakened influence, other powers are seeking to capitalise on the void in Syria and across the border in Lebanon. Mr Trump suggested last month that Damascus could handle Hezbollah, with which Israel has been at war.

Meanwhile, Nato host Turkey, which sees Israel as a threat, has been strengthening its relationship with the new Syrian government.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher unpacks the battle between foreign powers to hold sway over Syria and examines how Mr Al Shara will handle it. We hear from The National’s Turkey correspondent Lizzie Porter and Noah Bonsey, senior adviser on Syria at the International Crisis Group.

The Middle East has been grappling with one conflict after another, leading to countless rounds of negotiations to end fighting.

But even when ceasefires are agreed to, the violence seems to continue, prompting many to question what a ceasefire even means.

The US signed two agreements in the span of about 10 days, the first being an understanding with Iran to end the war and the other a trilateral framework with Israel and Lebanon to stop the fighting involving Hezbollah.

In the weeks before these agreements, there had already been temporary ceasefires on both fronts. Still, parts of Lebanon remained under Israeli fire, and Iran attacked Arabian Gulf countries again over disputed shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile in Gaza, despite a ceasefire being in place since October, Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people and the military has taken control of almost 70 per cent of the strip.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at the discrepancy between the words on paper and the continued violence on the ground. She speaks to Daniel Levy, president of the US Middle East Project, and Jinan Bastaki, associate professor of legal studies at New York University Abu Dhabi.