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August 24, 2026

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Analysis

Netanyahu yields to Trump on Gaza, betting Hamas won’t disarm

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to advance the US administration's Gaza plan in a meeting with envoy Jared Kushner despite his skepticism about Hamas' commitment.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

diamonds

Explainer

Qatar launches diamond exchange as Hormuz crisis chokes LNG exports

Qatar's new diamond exchange is an effort to diversify from the country's main exports, LNG and petroleum products, which have been severely cut as a result of the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

Latest News

Interview

Why Strait of Hormuz no longer rattles oil markets as much: IMF

A ship sails off the coast of Ajman on July 10, 2026.

Jihad Azour

Jihad Azour

Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Reve Chaaban

In Doha reporting on culture

This picture taken on September 27, 2019 shows an Airbus A350 of Qatar Airways company after taking off from the Toulouse-Blagnac airport, near Toulouse. (Photo by PASCAL PAVANI / AFP) (Photo by PASCAL PAVANI/AFP via Getty Images)

UN high court sides with Qatar in aviation dispute

The aviation row centers on a years-long air boycott imposed by Qatar's regional rivals.

Men, wearing protective masks, walk on a plastic pier at Katara beach in the Qatari capital Doha on July 1, 2020 as the country moves into the second phase of its four-step plan to lift COVID-19 lockdown. - People in Qatar cautiously returned to beaches as the Gulf nation, which has one of the world's highest total per capita coronavirus infection rates, continued to reopen society.
Sun-lovers and jetski enthusiasts braved temperatures of 39 degrees celsius (102 Fahrenheit) at Doha's Katara Cultural Village

Qatar coronavirus cases top 100,000 as restrictions ease

The Gulf state announced 546 new cases and five more deaths from the virus on Monday.

TOPSHOT - A trader walks by beneath a stock display board at the Dubai Stock Exchange in the United Arab Emirates, on March 8, 2020. - Saudi's stock exchange fell 6.5 percent and other Gulf markets tumbled to multi-year lows at the start of trading after OPEC and its allies failed to clinch a deal over oil production cuts. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

IMF official: Gulf economies to contract by 7.6% in 2020

The International Monetary Fund official's predictions are worse than earlier ones as the Gulf deals with oil price drops and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Israel OK's transfer of Qatari financial aid to Gaza

Israel approved the transfer of $50 million to the Gaza Strip, apparently in exchange for Hamas keeping calm and refraining from resuming incendiary balloon terrorism.

An ATM is seen outside the building of Qatar National Bank in Doha, Qatar January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer - RC15CADB0E00

Qatar National Bank hit with lawsuit over Americans killed by Hamas in Israel

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed in New York by dozens of relatives of 10 Americans killed or wounded by Hamas attacks in Israel and the West Bank.

Workers are seen at the Al Janoub Stadium built for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer championship during a stadium tour in Al Wakrah, Qatar, December 16, 2019. REUTERS/Corinna Kern - RC2EWD9VPND9

COVID-19 crisis returns spotlight to Gulf migrant communities

Contract migration schemes make citizenship acquisition nearly impossible for migrant workers in the Gulf, and recent economic and health crises make any imminent changes further unlikely.

A man looks as the world's biggest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanker DUHAIL as she crosses through the Suez Canal April 1, 2008. The Qatari tanker, which was built to transfer LNG from Qatar to Europe and the U.S., is on her first trip ever from Qatar to Spain. REUTERS/Stringer (EGYPT) - GM1E44200C701

Qatar makes massive LNG ship order

The purchase by Qatar Petroleum from three South Korean companies comes as oil prices continue to rise from the lows earlier in the year.

A merchant counts Turkish lira banknotes at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1DD8429180

Qatar triples swap line with Turkey

Qatar has offered support to Turkey’s central bank, expanding a currency-swap agreement to $15 billion as Ankara seeks to mitigate economic shocks from the coronavirus pandemic.

Residents hang their laundry off the railing on their balconies at their apartment building, to disinfect them under sunlight, in the city of Dubai on May 17, 2020, during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf countries increase virus-related restrictions after new cases

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar registered more than 2,000 coronavirus cases between the two of them on Monday alone.

An Airbus A350-1000 aircraft of Qatar Airways is pictured after a delivery ceremony at the French headquarters of aircraft company Airbus in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RC1B38E43750

Qatar Airways mandates full-body protective gear for flight attendants

Passengers will also be required to wear masks per the Gulf carrier's new onboard safety measures as it looks to expand flights amid the crisis.

Qatar to dole out $55,000 fines, jail time for not wearing face masks

Masks are mandatory for all Qataris who leave their homes, except when driving alone.

Gulf’s megaprojects face delays, reassessment

Saudi Arabia has cut capital expenditure for a number of Vision 2030 projects amid a drop in oil prices and Chinese investment. Will other Gulf states follow suit?