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Samia Nakhoul
For Samia Nakhoul's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Smoke rises during an Israeli ground operation in Khan Younis, as seen from a tent camp sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2024
Hamas issues cease-fire proposal detailing exchange of hostages and prisoners
Hamas said the initial release of Israelis would include women, children, elderly, and ill hostages.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) fist bumps U.S. President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Al Salman Palace, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 15, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 8, 2024
Saudi Arabia pushes for U.S. defense pact ahead of presidential election
Such a major regional deal would face numerous political and diplomatic obstacles, not least the uncertainty over how the Gaza conflict will unfold.
Palestinian's mourn relatives killed in an Israeli strike at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis on the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 29, 2023
Devastating Israel-Hamas war looks set to continue into 2024
The war has more U.S. military forces to the region and fears of spillover are high, with little hope of reviving peace moves as Washington had hoped.
Smoke rises from damaged buildings in the Gaza Strip on Friday. Washington has appealed to Jordan, Egypt and Gulf states to persuade Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to pursue institutional reforms with urgency to prepare for post-war Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023
U.S. wants overhauled Palestinian Authority to run Gaza after Hamas
Washington considers the Mahmoud Abbas-led administration as the the only realistic post-war solution despite its unpopularity.
Damaged houses following the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas gunmen in southern Israel.
WORLD
Dec 2, 2023
Israel's most wanted: The three Hamas leaders it aims to kill
Sources familiar with Israel's thinking have said that the offensive in Gaza was unlikely to stop until three top Hamas commanders are dead or captured.
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip on Friday, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel.
WORLD
Dec 2, 2023
Israel tells Arab states it wants buffer zone in postwar Gaza, sources say
Israel detailed its plans to its neighbors Egypt and Jordan, along with the United Arab Emirates, which normalized ties with Israel in 2020.
Smoke rises from Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war on Saturday.
WORLD
Nov 18, 2023
Forever war? Israel risks a long, bloody insurgency in Gaza
None of the ideas floated so far by Israel, the United States and Arab nations for the postwar administration of Gaza have managed to gain traction.
Palestinian Hamas militants take part in a rally marking the 31st anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City, in the Gaza Strip, in December 2018.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 4, 2023
How Hamas aims to trap Israel in Gaza quagmire
The militant group has prepared for a drawn-out war and believes it can hold up Israel's advance to force its archenemy to agree to a cease-fire.
Smoke billows over the northern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 19, 2023
Israel's endgame? No sign of postwar plan for Gaza
Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, but it has no clear plan for how to govern the ravaged Palestinian enclave even if it triumphs on the battlefield.
A Palestinian fighter from the armed wing of Hamas takes part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, in July.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 14, 2023
How Hamas secretly built a 'mini-army' to fight Israel
The group has a military academy training a range of specializations and boasts a naval commando unit among its 40,000-strong military wing.
The remains of a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel lies on a road where it fell in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Oct 11, 2023
Who is the secretive Hamas commander behind the attack on Israel?
Mohammed Deif has topped Israel's most wanted list for decades, held responsible for deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.
A rocket is fired from Gaza toward Israel on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Oct 9, 2023
How Israel was duped as Hamas planned devastating assault
While Israel was led to believe it was containing war-weary forces, Hamas fighters were being trained and drilled, often in plain sight.
A man stands in front of a damaged shop in Tel Aviv after it was hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 8, 2023
In attack, Hamas strikes Israel and regional security realignment
Saturday's assault coincides with U.S.-backed moves to push Saudi Arabia toward normalizing ties with Israel.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
May 12, 2023
Turkey's Erdogan, master campaigner, faces toughest contest yet
Uncertainty, anxiety and tension over what the results might hold for Europe's second-biggest country of 85 million people can be felt on the streets.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 27, 2020
The blast that blew away Lebanon's faith in itself
The lack of answers over the catastrophe is making it difficult for an already crippled nation to rise from the ashes again.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 17, 2015
Saddam's former elite underpins Islamic State success
A year after declaring his caliphate, it is clear that the secret of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's success is the army and state he has built from the remnants of Saddam Hussein's military, and the allegiance he has won or coerced from alienated Sunni Muslims in Iraq, Syria, and beyond.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on