Sherwan Hindreen Ali is a Middle East Research Manager at ACLED. He has been with ACLED since February 2021, first as an Iraq Researcher and then as Assistant Research Manager for the ACLED-Religion project. Sherwan earned a MA in Islamic Studies from McGill University, and his research background is in Islamist politics and Middle Eastern history. He speaks Arabic, Kurdish, English, French, and Persian, and is based in Montreal, Canada.
The ceasefire in Gaza held in October as low-level violence continued, while the ceasefire in Lebanon approached one year under strain, and settler violence against olive harvesters in the West Bank reached a record high.
Military pressure in Gaza City escalated as a ceasefire outline emerged, renewed confrontations broke out between government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces in northern Syria, and an uptick of Houthi attacks in Israel prompted Israel’s deadly retaliation this past month
Israeli activity in Gaza declined amid daily pauses, Iraq saw the most serious intra-Kurdish confrontation since 2003 ahead of elections, protests in Israel failed to shift war policy, and Israeli strikes killed the Houthi prime minister in Yemen.
In July, aid-related violence surged in Gaza, Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province saw a spike in political violence, drones disrupted oil production in Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria’s al-Suwayda faced mounting sectarian violence, and the Houthis resumed attacks in the Red Sea.
Analysis of conflicts in Gaza, Iran-Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and the West Bank with a focus on aid-related violence and military actions.
In May 2025, Israel intensified operations in Gaza, the PKK disbanded as Turkish airstrikes declined, and settler violence in the West Bank surged following a rare Hamas attack.
In April 2025, violence intensified in Gaza amid an expanding Israeli buffer zone, sectarian tensions rose between the Syrian government and Druze militias, and US airstrikes skyrocketed amid continued Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Overview of recent conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen with detailed analyses and data.
