All Middle East
Israel's goal: A rebuilt Gaza, without a rearmed HamasIsrael is allowing international aid into Gaza after an 11-day war with Hamas. It wants aid to help Gazans, not Hamas, lest it rearms to fight again.聽
As cease-fire holds in Gaza, a painful reckoning with war鈥檚 physical tollPalestinians in Gaza are still picking up the pieces after the latest Israel-Hamas war. Some family reunions are taking place at hospital beds.
As Gaza cease-fire holds, a resurgent Palestinian youth movement emergesYoung Palestinians are using social media to document their struggles under Israeli occupation and to overcome physical barriers between communities.聽
With US leaving, Taliban tales of 鈥榲ictory鈥� and jihad lure youthDespite the Taliban鈥檚 atrocities and their grim past rule in Afghanistan, why do they still exert a real gravitational pull on the nation鈥檚 youth?
First LookGaza war has ended for now, but who really won this round?Palestinians are counting the cease-fire that ended the 11-day war in Gaza as a victory. Israel claims its series of airstrikes聽killed more than 200 Hamas militants. Once again, the latest round of fighting ended inconclusively.聽
First LookIsraeli cease-fire with Hamas offers hope for calm in GazaAfter 11 days of fighting with Hamas militants, Israel has accepted a cease-fire proposal mediated by Egypt. It has been the heaviest round of fighting between the two sides since a 50-day war in 2014.
First LookTribal elders, not top officials, may be key to Afghan peaceIn a province in Eastern Afghanistan that has been hit hard by violence, tribal elders have managed to secure a cease-fire between the Taliban and the Afghan government 鈥� something international leaders have been unable to do.聽
For Hamas, the war is in Gaza, but Jerusalem is the prizeFor the Islamist movement Hamas, which rules Gaza, war with Israel offered an opportunity to claim the mantle of Palestinian defenders of Jerusalem.
First LookIsrael-Gaza: Pressure mounts on Biden to push for cease-fireThe U.N. Security Council and Muslim nations convened emergency meetings as Israeli warplanes carried out the deadliest attacks in nearly a week of Hamas rocket barrages and Israeli airstrikes.
First LookGaza fighting: US tells Israel to protect media after tower hitThe United States told Israel 鈥渢hat ensuring the safety and security of journalists and independent media is a paramount responsibility,鈥� White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
In Israel, Arabs and Jews alike recoil from mob violenceThe mob violence in Israel is prompting horrified Arabs and Jews to ask: How much hard-won progress will be undone? Will it be possible to heal?
First Look'I'll go again': Afghan girls undeterred by bombing head to schoolDays after a bomb attack on a high school in Kabul that killed dozens and injured many more, students, families, and teachers refuse to let the incident stop them from getting an education. 鈥淜eep sending your girls to school,鈥� said principal Aqilat Tavakuli.
Where US-backed diplomacy is on the march in the Middle EastDespite the Israeli-Palestinian violence, there are signs the Biden administration has accelerated a 鈥渄iplomatic spring鈥� across much of the Mideast.
First LookEscalating Israeli-Palestinian tensions evoke 2014 Gaza warEscalating violence in Israel and Gaza, which began a month ago, shows no signs of abating as protests have also erupted in mixed Jewish-Arab communities. Diplomats in Qatar, Egypt, and the U.N. are working toward a cease-fire.
Iran attacked: Is Revolutionary Guard looking the wrong way?Iran鈥檚 Revolutionary Guard seems more focused on internal dissent than external threats. Is that a failure of imagination, or a system overwhelmed?
First LookAmid US withdrawal, a spate of bombings rock AfghanistanViolence is increasing in Afghanistan as the United States and NATO withdraw the last of their troops. While a temporary end-of-Ramadan truce is set to provide a few days of calm, long-term solutions remain out of reach for now.
First LookClashes in Jerusalem: Is city on the brink of wider conflict?Hundreds 鈥� mostly Palestinians 鈥� have been injured as tensions over longstanding property issues are boiling over into violent confrontations with police at the sacred compound that is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Judaism鈥檚 holiest site.
First LookDubai offers haven from pandemic for the world's wealthyWealthy foreign buyers are flooding the luxury property market in Dubai, driving up prices. The UAE, which has fared relatively well during the pandemic, is one of the few places in the world where they can dine, shop, and do business in person.
鈥楾hey changed everything鈥�: A central tension roiling JerusalemJerusalem鈥檚 recent riots punctured a facade of calm that obscures deep fault lines over demographics and Palestinian cultural and political life.
First LookAgainst the grain: Iranian woman finds success as auto detailerIn Tehran, Maryam Roohani is breaking ground and gender stereotypes to pursue her dream of working in the male-dominated auto industry as a car polisher. Now, she is training and inspiring other women to do the same.
