Books – War Watch

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Marwan Barghouti, ‘Palestine’s Mandela’, to publish book from prison
ByEmma Loffhagen February 3, 2026

Unbroken: In Pursuit of Freedom for Palestine is a collection of writings by the Palestinian political leader, who has been held in Israeli prisons since 2002A collection of writings by the imprisoned Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti will …

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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Donald Trump | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices

A moment that changed me: in the bombed-out ruins of an apartment block, I saw a book I’d translated
ByAmir Mehdi Haghighat January 7, 2026

The sight of my work, torn and singed but still legible, made me realise the importance of translating and protecting stories – so they remain when everything else falls awayIn the rubble of a collapsed apartment block, a single image stayed with me: a…

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Autobiography and memoir | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Culture | Donald Trump | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Jordan | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestine | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | World news

‘What other silences filled my childhood?’: Tareq Baconi on excavating his queer and Palestinian identities
ByEmma Graham-Harrison December 28, 2025

In his memoir, the author recalls the boy he loved while growing up in Jordan – and weaves the tale with his family’s history of dispossessionSeven decades after Tareq Baconi’s grandmother fled in terror from the port city of Haifa, carrying a Bible, a…

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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Culture | Donald Trump | Family | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel-Gaza war | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestine | Palestinian territories | Parents and parenting | Petrol prices | Society | Women | World news

‘For the women who gave birth in the dark’: a portrait of motherhood in Gaza
ByAseel Mousa November 8, 2025

Diana Shams wrote a book because ‘no one explains how to carry your baby through fire, hunger and fear – and still sing to her at bedtime’She used to worry about screen time. She used to fret over sugar. She used to dwell on what cartoon character migh…

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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Donald Trump | Egypt | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel-Gaza war | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestine | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | World news

‘Beating, torturing, killing’: freed Palestinian author on life in Israeli jails
ByJulian Borger November 4, 2025

Nasser Abu Srour says prisons became like ‘another front’ in Gaza war and tells of struggle to adjust to life outsideA celebrated Palestinian author who was freed last month after more than 32 years in Israeli prisons has said the use of torture increa…

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Africa | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Bashar al-Assad | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Culture | Donald Trump | Egypt | Europe | Extradition | Gaza | Human rights | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Law | Lebanon | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | Poetry | Syria | Torture | Turkey | UK criminal justice | United Arab Emirates | United Nations | World news

UN expert urged to investigate Lebanon over alleged torture of Egyptian-Turkish poet
ByWilliam Christou November 1, 2025

Abdulrahman al-Qaradawi has been imprisoned in the UAE for almost a year for criticising Emirati, Egyptian and Saudi governmentsThe UN special rapporteur on torture is being urged to investigate Lebanon’s role in the treatment of the Egyptian-Turkish p…

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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Culture | Donald Trump | Gaza | History books | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestine | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | Podcasts

‘One of the oldest urban centres on the planet’: Gaza’s rich history in ruins
ByWilliam Dalrymple October 17, 2025

The territory’s ancient heritage has too often been ignored. As we mourn incalculable human losses, learning about its past can help us better understand the presentAs a ceasefire brings a measure of peace to the Dresden-like hellscape that Gaza has be…

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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Culture | Donald Trump | Gaza | History books | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestine | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | Podcasts

‘One of the oldest urban centres on the planet’: Gaza’s rich history in ruins
ByWilliam Dalrymple October 17, 2025

The territory’s ancient heritage has too often been ignored. As we mourn incalculable human losses, learning about its past can help us better understand the presentAs a ceasefire brings a measure of peace to the Dresden-like hellscape that Gaza has be…

Read More ‘One of the oldest urban centres on the planet’: Gaza’s rich history in ruins
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Culture | Donald Trump | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestine | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | US news | World news

‘They didn’t even read the book’: Palestinian American children’s authors censored in US
ByJoseph Gedeon in Washington October 9, 2025

Authors tell of book bans, cancellations and harassment – ‘they’re trying to disconnect us from our stories’Jenan Matari had just begun promoting her debut children’s book this summer when the cancellations began. First, Chevalier’s Books in Los Angele…

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Arab and Middle East unrest | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Donald Trump | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel-Gaza war | Israel–Iran War | Lebanon | Media | Middle East and north Africa | Newspapers | Newspapers & magazines | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | The Guardian | World news

David Hirst obituary
ByVictoria Brittain September 23, 2025

The Guardian’s Middle East correspondent for four decades whose articles were key to understanding the region’s turmoilDavid Hirst, who has died aged 89 of cancer, was the Guardian’s authoritative correspondent through four decades of dramatic change a…

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