More than 300,000 Syrian civilians died. Any attempt to rehabilitate Assad is utterly shameful
Simon Tisdall
The return to the Arab fold of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is deeply shameful, and that shame should be shared by the US and its allies
Israel and Gaza militants trade heavy fire as hopes of truce fade
Outbreak of violence – now in its fourth day – has killed dozens, all but one of them Palestinian
Gaza Strip fighting intensifies on third day despite Egypt ceasefire efforts
Clashes between Israel and militants leave 29 dead so far, with airstrikes targeting homes of Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders
April 2023
Other lives
Gareth Smyth obituary
Other lives: Political journalist who covered the Middle East for 30 years, from the UK and as the Financial Times’s chief Iran correspondent in Tehran
The Guardian documentary
Born in Damascus: the legacy of Syria’s war for two separated cousins
Laura, a Scottish-Syrian film-maker, reconnects online with her cousin Lujain after 10 years apart. Their paths were separated by war, and now Laura hopes to reconstruct the past by sharing memories and family videos
The Guardian documentary
Born in Damascus: the legacy of Syria's war for two separated cousins
Laura, a Scottish-Syrian film-maker, reconnects online with her cousin Lujain after 10 years apart. Their paths were separated by war, and now Laura hopes to reconstruct the past by sharing memories and family videos
February 2023
The Guardian view on mob violence in the West Bank: a new low
Editorial: A shocking attack by settlers in Huwara, hours after Israeli-Palestinian talks concluded, testifies to the dangers ahead
Israeli settlers rampage after Palestinian gunman kills two
One man killed and four wounded in apparent worst outburst of settler violence in northern West Bank in decades
Israeli and Palestinian officials express ‘readiness’ to work to stop violence
Jordan hosts first such high-level talks in years aimed at defusing tensions in region before Ramadan
January 2023
Israel and Palestine: what has caused violence to flare up again?
Deadly attacks in recent days raise fear of spiralling bloodshed, with support for moribund ‘peace process’ at all-time low
Senior Iranian ex-diplomats expressing open criticism of regime
Former envoys warn against policies including supply of drones to Russia and failure to revive nuclear deal
Extreme-right Israeli minister visits al-Aqsa mosque compound
Move by Itamar Ben-Gvir angers Palestinians after Hamas warned such a step was a ‘red line’
December 2022
Far-right anti-Arab party joins proposed Netanyahu coalition in Israel
Agreements with parties to support Likud in power could regularise illegal settlements in occupied territories
Israel moves sharply to right as Netanyahu forms new coalition
Weeks of negotiations conclude with what will be the most rightwing and anti-Arab government in country’s history
Israel condemns Netflix film showing murder of Palestinian family in 1948 war
Farha, debut film of Jordanian film-maker, depicts Zionist atrocities against Palestinians during Nakba conflict
November 2022
Cinema has failed Arab women and refugees. It’s time things changed
Hollywood has its gallery of stereotypes, but in her new film The Swimmers director Sally El Hosaini saw a chance to make heroes out of modern, multifaceted Arab women
October 2022
Revealed: TE Lawrence felt ‘bitter shame’ over UK’s false promises of Arab self rule
1:50
Iran protests: UN raises concern over schoolgirl reportedly killed by police at weekend – video
Palestinian ‘Game of Thrones’? What happens when Mahmoud Abbas leaves office?
Rights and freedom
‘The fire of our anger is still burning’: protesters in Iran speak out
About 5,386 results for Arab and Middle East unrest
The Guardian documentaryBorn in Damascus: the legacy of Syria’s war for two separated cousinsLaura, a Scottish-Syrian film-maker, reconnects online with her cousin Lujain after 10 years apart. Their paths were separated by war, and now Laura hopes to reconstruct the past by sharing memories and family videos
