Hanna Davis

2 months ago | middleeasteye.net | Hanna Davis

On the outskirts of the southern Lebanese border village of Yaroun, residents stood atop a dirt barricade, looking down at their homes and olive groves. Below, Israeli soldiers waited, their snipers ready for anyone who dared to cross. An elderly woman, Fatima Jaafar, boldly climbed down from the barricade and was soon followed by a young man waving a Hezbollah flag. Seconds later, Israeli gunshots rang out, and the two rushed back, narrowly escaping the fire.

Jan 16, 2025 | newarab.com | Hanna Davis

The clock is quickly ticking down on the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire deal. The US-brokered accord gave 60 days for Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon and for Israeli forces to withdraw from the area, with thousands of Lebanese troops deployed to fill their positions. In a mere ten days, on 26 January, the deal is due to expire.

Jan 16, 2025 | thenewhumanitarian.org | Hanna Davis

Republish this article Over the past week, Lebanon gained both a new president and prime minister-designate, raising hopes for a recovery from years of economic collapse and reconstruction after the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah that ended in a ceasefire late last November. On 14 January, in his first speech since being asked to form a government, prime minister-designate Nawaf Salam pledged to ”rescue, reform, and rebuild” his country. But with one putting the impact of physical...

Jan 9, 2025 | newarab.com | Hanna Davis

Damascus - The scenes in Daraya, a small town on the outskirts of Damascus, are dystopian. Skeleton frames of buildings protrude from expansive fields of rubble - entire neighbourhoods devastated by the Assad regime and its bloody battles against local rebels. At the outset of the Syrian revolution in 2011, Daraya was an epicentre of non-violent resistance to the regime. Mass protests were held regularly, where crowds would wave flowers in the air as a sign of peace.

Dec 20, 2024 | middleeasteye.net | Hanna Davis

Women's underwear lay on top of a pile of clothing stacked outside a massive freezer where the bodies of dead prisoners had been stored. Not long ago, the undergarments had most likely been stripped off women prisoners killed in Syria’s notorious Sednaya prison, known as the “human slaughterhouse”. “Here, there was very brutal cruelty, in every sense,” said Khaled Mohammad al-Khan, an opposition fighter from the country’s southern governorate of Daraa.