The city of Sweida in southern Syria became a battleground this week after a series of retaliatory attacks between Druze militiamen and Bedouin tribes escalated. President Ahmad Al Shara's government deployed general security forces to the area, ostensibly to restore order. What followed were deadly confrontations and dozens of soldiers were killed. But residents of the Druze-majority city say the government's response was brutal. Populous neighbourhoods came under heavy shelling, forcing people to flee, and civilians were killed in the crossfire. From across the border, Israel intervened with strikes on key government sites including the Ministry of Defence headquarters in Damascus. It stepped in to defend the Druze, Israeli officials said. The violence killed hundreds of people before a ceasefire was announced on Wednesday. But what is at the root of the tension between this Druze minority and the new leadership in Syria? And why is Israel imposing itself on the conflict? In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher digs deep into the many complex layers that brought bloodshed to Sweida this week. She speaks to Syria experts and academics Rahaf Aldoughli and Joshua Landis, and we also hear from a Druze fighter involved in the conflict. Jake Pace Lawrie contributed reporting to this episode. Editor’s Note: We want to hear from you! Help us improve our podcasts by taking our 2-minute listener survey. Click here.

The toll of war is often measured in figures: the number of people killed, injured or displaced. But how do we calculate the cost of ending a war? In the case of Gaza, where Israel continues to pursue a 20-month military offensive, the sacrifices will be difficult to quantify. US President Donald Trump had been confident that a ceasefire would be reached this week as Israel and Hamas negotiate through mediators in Doha. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited and left the White House without a deal being reached. It’s not the first time such talk talks have dragged on, but the collapse of the previous truce brings caution in its wake. Between the lines of any potential agreement are conditions that could be catastrophic for Gaza. What would aid distribution look like after the war ends? Will the entire population be “concentrated” into camps, as Israel's defence minister stated? Is reconstruction an option at all at this point? Will the strip be militarily occupied? Meanwhile, what impact will all this have on the West Bank? In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher discusses the painstaking efforts to end the war in Gaza and how a ceasefire could impact security, aid and governance in the enclave. She speaks to Tahani Mustafa, senior Palestine analyst at the International Crisis Group, and Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University. Editor’s Note: We want to hear from you! Help us improve our podcasts by taking our 2-minute listener survey. Click here.

During a visit to the Gulf in May, US President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement that he would revoke sanctions on Syria. This week, he kept that promise. He signed an executive order on Monday to waive or review penalties, some of which have been in place for decades. The move comes as a relief for struggling Syrians after almost 14 years of a brutal civil war that has devastated their economy. For their transitional leader Ahmad Al Shara, it’s a milestone that could give him the legitimacy that he and his Hayat Tahrir Al Sham-led government so desperately seek. But it also brings him new and complicated challenges. “President Trump wants Syria to succeed – but not at the expense of US interests,” the White House said, while establishing ties with Israel would be a priority. The question is, what pressures could this impose on the new Damascus government? In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, guest host Ban Barkawi looks at US interests in Syria and the fine line Mr Al Shara will have to walk to keep his people and the West happy. She speaks to Jihan Abdalla, The National’s senior correspondent in Washington, and Omar Dahi, director at Security in Context. Editor’s Note: We want to hear from you! Help us improve our podcasts by taking our 2-minute listener survey. Click here.

After 12 days of war between Israel and Iran, a ceasefire has brought a sense of cautious relief to the region. Even after almost 21 months of war in Gaza and its spillover into neighbouring countries, the latest escalation set a dangerous precedent that could provoke more cycles of warfare and destabilise the Middle East. The question is how did we reach this boiling point? The answer goes back decades, to a time even before the 1979 revolution in Iran when the country enjoyed a more co-operative relationship with Israel under the shah. At the same time the region was going through a transformative period against the backdrop of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and rising anti-imperialist sentiments. As events unfolded and political leaderships changed over time, so did the strategic interests that Israel shared with Iran. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher dives into the context that soured the relationship between the two countries, and the more recent events that brought about the air war. She is joined by The National's assistant foreign editor Aveen Karim, senior fellow at UCLA Burkle Centre for International Relations Dalia Dassa Kaye, and independent Israeli analyst Ori Goldberg. We want to hear from you! Help us improve our podcasts by taking our two-minute listener survey. Click here.

Up until last week, it seemed unthinkable for a UN member state to strike a nuclear site. But Israel did just that when it launched its attack on Iran, hitting military and atomic sites, and killing key figures of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It also seemed unthinkable for missiles to penetrate Israel’s Iron Dome and destroy infrastructure in cities such as Haifa and Tel Aviv. Yet again, civilians are paying the heaviest price. More than 240 people have been killed in Iran so far. In Israel, at least 24 people have been killed in retaliatory strikes. One week on, the war shows no signs of abating, with the US hinting it might get involved, too. A sense of unease has gripped the region, with neighbouring states fearing further escalation. A group of 20 countries including Gulf states, Jordan and Egypt has called for an end to hostilities. In a worst-case scenario, the repercussions could be catastrophic for them, too. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at the consequences of the war on the Middle East and asks what will happen to the region if Tehran were to fall? She speaks to Hasan AlHasan, senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and Thomas Juneau, Middle East researcher and a professor at University of Ottawa, Canada. Editor’s Note: We want to hear from you! Help us improve our podcasts by taking our 2-minute listener survey. Click here.

Canada, urging de-escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel, but US President Donald Trump has already left, having warned that residents of Tehran "should immediately evacuate". Iran's reaction is one of the key issues on the agenda today. In this special episode of Beyond the Headlines, Geo-Economics Editor Manus Cranny asks Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief, and Mohamad Ali Harisi, Foreign Editor, for the inside view.

In unusual public statement last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted “activating” Palestinian militias in Gaza. Acting on the advice of security officials, he said, it was a way to weaken Hamas and protect Israeli soldiers. The admission came after Israeli media reported that Mr Netanyahu had authorised the arming of a militia, known as the Abu Shabab Popular Forces, in the southern Gaza Strip. The group is named after its leader, Yasser Abu Shabab. Now, Hamas has a new rival amid its battle with Israel. Hamas fighters have retaliated at the gang and claimed to have killed dozens from its small-but-growing ranks. It is believed that there are only 300 men serving Abu Shabab but sources told The National they are armed with assault rifles and are equipped with walkie-talkies and night-vision goggles. Among them are men with criminal records and links to ISIS. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to experts about the origins of Abu Shabab, why the group is surfacing now and how Israel is backing it. She is joined by Muhammad Shehada, a visiting fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relation’s Mena programme, and Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Centre for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University. Editor’s Note: We want to hear from you! Help us improve our podcasts by taking our 2-minute listener survey. Click here.

Too little, too late. This was the sentiment echoed among critics in the international community after Europe started taking a new, critical stance on Israel’s war in Gaza in recent weeks. For Palestinians actually in the strip, it is certainly too late, with the death toll from 19 months of war at more than 54,200. But what of the new stance itself? In late May, the EU announced it would launch a review of its relations with Israel. The move was backed by 17 of 27 states and could lead to a suspension in whole or in part of the EU-Israel agreement, the legal framework that governs their bilateral economic co-operation. In Germany, new Chancellor Friedrich Merz questioned the future of arms sales to Israel; in France, President Emmanuel Macron has been rallying global support to recognise Palestinian statehood; and in the UK, the government issued sanctions against several illegal Israeli settlers and paused trade negotiations. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at the motives and timing of Europe’s shifting position on Gaza and asks whether these measures will make any difference to the war. We hear from former German ambassador Heinrich Kreft and Hugh Lovatt, senior Mena policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Editor’s note: We want to hear from you! Help us improve our podcasts by taking our two-minute listener survey. Click here.

Chaotic scenes unfolded in Gaza this week as large crowds gathered at aid hubs set up by a US and Israeli-backed organisation, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. After three months of an Israeli-imposed blockade on the enclave, hungry, desperate Palestinians stood behind fences, waiting to receive their share. Reports and videos quickly emerged showing people overrunning a hub in Rafah, the southernmost part of Gaza. At least four people died on the first day and dozens were injured, mostly by Israeli gunfire. The Israeli army said it fired warning shots in the area outside the compound. Within two days, the foundation had temporarily paused its operations. The organisation has been heavily criticised by the UN and other humanitarian agencies for what they say is a weaponisation of aid that breaches their principles of neutrality and impartiality. Israel says the new mechanism will stop the looting of supplies by Hamas, but critics fear it will be used discriminately to deny aid to certain people. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at the efficacy and ethics of aid distribution by a party to the conflict and asks, what happens if this is the only option for Palestinians in Gaza? She speaks to UNRWA’s external relations and communications director Tamara Alrifai, international human rights lawyer Saul Takahashi and Knesset member Ofer Cassif.Editor’s Note: We want to hear from you! Help us improve our podcasts by taking our 2-minute listener survey. Click here.

Last week’s announcement by President Donald Trump on lifting US sanctions on Syria seemed to have a refreshing effect for a country that has been reeling from political divisions and economic turmoil. This week, the European Union followed, lifting all economic restrictions in a major diplomatic shift aimed at supporting Syria’s reconstruction and fragile peace. The news has been accompanied by more breakthroughs: the World Bank cleared Syria’s $15.5 million debt, paid off by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. On the ground, the interim government led by President Ahmed Al Shara, a former HTS leader, is scrambling to unify rebel factions, “eradicate” remnants of ISIS, and bring the country under one flag. The challenges are far from over. Sectarian violence continues to plague minority communities, some Kurdish groups are demanding autonomy, and Israeli airstrikes persist along the southern border. Al Shara, once designated a terrorist by the West, is now lobbying for international legitimacy. So what does the lifting of sanctions really mean? And can Syria be unified? In this week’s Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at the significance of the US and European decisions and the challenges faced by the Syrian leader in his efforts to unite the country.

US President Donald Trump has returned to Washington after sealing hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of investments on his first visit to the Gulf since returning to office. His stops in Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi were marked by the announcements of huge deals encompassing everything from defence and aviation to chips and energy. But it wasn’t all business. Mr Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria and meet interim president Ahmad Al Shara in Riyadh came as a surprise. The US leader also re-emphasised his desire to secure a nuclear deal with Iran and acknowledged the support of Gulf states. Still, much was left to the imagination. How quickly could a nuclear agreement materialise? Are mediators any closer to a Gaza ceasefire? And what has become of the push for Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalise relations? In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to analysts about the significance of Mr Trump's Gulf tour, the regional partnerships and influential role of Gulf states when it comes to American foreign policy. 

Israel’s security cabinet has approved an expanded military offensive in Gaza that would push the entire population into a small pocket in the south of the strip. Shortly after the decision, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a bold message: the troops will be there to stay. Sources have told The National the plan will pave the way for Israel to seize the Gaza Strip and take control of aid in zones run by private security firms. The goal, Israel says, is to pressure the majority of Gazans to be pushed out of the enclave entirely. Governments around the world, including some western allies of Israel, have opposed the plan, saying it would breach humanitarian law. UN agencies and aid groups have also strongly rejected the scheme, saying they will refuse to comply. Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza fear they will be forced to flee their homes again, or worse. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher explores what makes this offensive especially alarming, even in the context of a brutal 19-month war. She looks at the impact it could have on humanitarian aid systems and why it may breach international law. She speaks to Ahmed Bayram, communications adviser for NRC Middle East, and international lawyer Saul Takahashi.

During the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s administration, he has signed more executive orders than any other president in the same time span. They are part of his mandate to put "America first". But many of his foreign policy orders have also had a direct and immediate impact on the Middle East. He has frozen foreign aid, hitting countries like Egypt and Jordan that rely on US assistance. He has disrupted the admission of refugees into the US. He has imposed major tariffs on trading partners, with additional levies on Syria, Israel, Iraq and other Middle East countries. At the same time, we've seen efforts by the Trump administration and Arab countries, including Gulf states, to pursue new economic partnerships. Negotiations for a nuclear deal with Iran are also bringing a glimmer of hope. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks back at Mr Trump’s first 100 days in office to understand where his priorities lie in the Middle East and how his policies will shape the region. She speaks to Steven A Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and to Mohamad Bazzi, director of the Hagop Kevorkian Centre for Near Eastern Studies at New York University.

In his last public address on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis called for an end to the violence in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation there "dramatic and deplorable”. His message came only a day before his death. People all over the world mourned the death of the beloved Pontiff, but perhaps no place more than in Gaza, where Palestinian Christians fear they have lost a protector of their community. Already a dwindling minority, Christians in the strip have also been killed, injured and displaced in the war. Only about half of the 1000 or so Christians remain, with many forced to flee. Members of the community say they are now concerned that Gaza’s Christians are at risk of disappearing. The same fear is echoed in the West Bank and Jerusalem where followers of the faith have faced increasingly aggressive attacks and restrictions, including this past Easter. Members of the community have reported a rise in settler attacks against clergy and say Israeli policies are taking a toll on the rapidly shrinking Christian minority of Palestinians. Host Nada AlTaher speaks to Mitri Raheb, a Palestinian pastor and founder of Dar Al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, and to Palestinian political analyst, Khalil Sayegh, himself a Christian from Gaza.

When the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last year accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant of crimes against humanity, it seemed like a watershed moment. Global anger over Israel's war in Gaza had long been at boiling point, with people demanding justice for the victims of war. But to this day, they have not been arrested. At the same time, provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice in early 2024 obliging Israel to facilitate the entry and distribution of aid in Gaza appear to have been ignored, according to humanitarian organisations. Without legal enforcement, the capabilities of the world's top court have come into question and the limitations of international law have became more evident. In recent months, civil society groups and national legal coalitions have begun to take matters into their own hands. Lawyers, activists and academics at a grassroots level are trying to prosecute and document what they allege to be Israeli war crimes. Some of them have already filed appeals to their domestic law enforcement to investigate Israeli soldiers who may have committed core international crimes in Gaza. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at the efforts and challenges of legal mechanisms in delivering justice to Palestinian victims, both on an international scale and in domestic courts. She speaks to former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, legal director and founder of the Public Interest Law Centre in the UK Paul Heron, and Israeli historian Lee Mordechai.

The Lebanese civil war that broke out in 1975 marked a dark chapter in the country’s history and would have an impact on the region for decades afterwards. The conflict lasted for 15 years, as armed militias and their political sects battled for power. Alliances shifted over time and outside forces exploited the chaos for their own interests. An estimated 150,000 people were killed in the fighting and thousands went missing. The war depleted the country's public resources and caused turmoil for years after. But even after the war ended, the same sectarianism that fuelled the violence continued to thrive. It seeped into the country’s political institutions, into every facet of society, and it decimated the economy. Corruption and clientelism became the status quo. This led to a cycle of violence, popular uprisings and government stalemates. On this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher marks the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the civil war with a look back at the events that shaped it, how it changed people’s lives and the complicated legacy that scarred the country. She speaks to experts and academics and asks, how much has really changed today?

Simmering threats between Iran and the US are nearing their boiling point, after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said this week that Tehran would retaliate if attacked. The heated tone comes after American President Donald Trump warned earlier that the US would bomb Iran and impose additional tariffs if it did not agree to a nuclear deal. Tit-for-tat warnings have sparked fears that Iran may be on the brink of weaponising its nuclear programme. Tensions have been brewing for the past several weeks as Mr Trump hawkishly tries to strike an agreement after withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action during his first term in office. But the geopolitical landscape today is drastically different to what it was back then, with Iran’s assets in the region greatly weakened. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher asks whether the outcome will be conflict or resolution. She speaks to Dr Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, and Francesco Schiavi, Middle East analyst and non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute Switzerland.

Hundreds of people have taken part in protests in Gaza this week, in a rare act of dissent towards Hamas. Demonstrators called for an end to the group's rule of the enclave and the war with Israel. In videos shared on social media, protesters held placards that read “stop the war”, “we refuse to die” and “the blood of our children is not cheap”. Frustration towards Hamas has grown after a speech by the son of a Hamas leader who said: "We don’t have a white cloth to raise a flag of surrender, but only white cloths to shroud our children." Protesters were angered by the apparent suggestion that their children are expendable. This comes after Israel shattered the ceasefire agreement on March 18, in one of the deadliest days for Palestinians. More than 400 people, including children, were killed. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher discusses the mounting pressure on Hamas and the severity of Israel’s renewed attacks. She speaks to Palestinian analyst Taghreed El-Khodary, Hisham Mhanna, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza, and retired Israeli brigadier general and defence strategist Assaf Orion.

Israel unilaterally ended the ceasefire in Gaza, with bombs raining down on the strip this week, killing more than 400 people within hours. Many children were reportedly among the dead. By Wednesday, Israeli troops resumed ground operations to retake control of a key corridor that divides northern Gaza from the south. Palestinians in the enclave were once again plunged into a bleak reality dominated by fear, death and displacement. They had hoped that their brief respite would become permanent, as mediators tried to advance a truce agreement and hostage deal into its next phase. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were only the start and future negotiations with Hamas “will take place only under fire”. The US said it had been consulted of Israel's intention to attack. The question is, why has the war started again. Will it ever end? In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher hears from Unicef’s Rosalia Bollen about the impact on Palestinians in Gaza. She also speaks to Taghreed El-Khodary, a Palestinian analyst, and Brian Katulis, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, about Hamas’s next moves, Israel's motives for resuming the war and where the US stands.

The UK's National Crime Agency has been intensifying its campaign to crack down on people smugglers operating in the Iraqi Kurdish region. Thousands of Iraqi Kurds make the risky journey each year trying to reach Europe and the UK. Many are smuggled there on crowded, ill-equipped boats across dangerous seas in search of a better life. A months-long investigation by The National traced direct links between some of the most notorious smuggler gangs operating from Kurdish towns in Iraq, and in France and the UK. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to the reporting team about what they uncovered: a teenage girl stuck in a northern French town, struggling to cross the English Channel; an infamous ringleader who has gone into hiding; and a sham car wash in Wales that pulls the strings from behind the scenes. Sunniva Rose, Aveen Karim and Tariq Tahir recount the details of their investigation and talk about the impact of recent police raids on both smugglers and migrants.