Sam Dagher

  • The leader of Syria’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that headed a lightning rebel offensive snatching Damascus from government control, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, address a crowd at the capital’s landmark Umayyad Mosque on December 8, 2024. Jolani, now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, gave a speech as the crowd chanted “Allahu akbar (God is greatest),” a video shared by the rebels on their Telegram channel showed. (Photo by Aref TAMMAWI / AFP) (Photo by AREF TAMMAWI/AFP via Getty Images)Politics

    Who is Al-Jolani, the Syrian rebel who ended Assad’s rule?

    By Selcan Hacaoglu, Sam Dagher, and others
  • TOPSHOT – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gestures during an exclusive interview with AFP in the capital Damascus on February 11, 2016. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)Politics

    Syria’s Assad is under siege and is making overtures to US

    By Sam Dagher, Henry Meyer, and others
  • A Palestinian girl rides a bicycle past debris of buildings destroyed during Israeli strikes in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on February 26, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)Finance

    Saudi-led alliance pushes Palestinian statehood plan as war rages between Israel and Hamas

    By Sam Dagher and Bloomberg
  • KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA – OCTOBER 14: Palestinians injured during Israeli raids at Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip on October 14, 2023 in Gaza City, Gaza. Citizens of Gaza have fled to the south following warnings from the Israeli government to do so. Israel has sealed off Gaza and launched sustained retaliatory air strikes, which have killed at least 1,400 people with more than 300,000 displaced, after a large-scale attack by Hamas. On October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel from Gaza by land, sea, and air, killing over 1,300 people and wounding around 2,800. Israeli soldiers and civilians have also been taken hostage by Hamas and moved into Gaza. The attack prompted a declaration of war by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the announcement of an emergency wartime government. (Photo by Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images)Finance

    Gaza ‘is fast becoming a hell hole’ and a million residents have nowhere to hide from coming Israeli troops

    By Sam Dagher, Kateryna Kadabashy, and others
  • AUXERRE, FRANCE – MAY 21: Lionel Messi of PSG, left Gideon Mensah of Auxerre during the Ligue 1 Uber Eats match between AJ Auxerre (AJA) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at Stade de l’Abbe Deschamps on May 21, 2023 in Auxerre, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)Lifestyle

    Saudi Arabia wants to pay soccer star Lionel Messi a reported $400m a year as part of soft power push into sports, art and music

    By Sam Dagher, Ben Bartenstein, and others