The Syrian regime is turning to reconstruction to boost legitimacy and consolidate control, a process that also benefits its external allies.

Despite the inherent challenges of finding a long-term solution to Lebanon’s refugee crisis, its focus on short-term responses could worsen social and political cleavages and foster new forms of marginalization.

Warring parties in Syria have weaponized aid by granting or withholding humanitarian access, complicating the work of aid organizations.

Saudi Arabia’s recent moves against Hezbollah and the Lebanese government could end up weakening its own allies and further destabilizing the Lebanese political arena.

Hamas’s economic predicament drives it to maintain ties with jihadi groups in Sinai even as it seeks to crack down on jihadi cells within Gaza.

Hamas seeks to improve ties with Saudi Arabia while preserving its pre-existing regional interlocutors, including Iran.

The rise of the latest manifestation of the Salafi-jihadi camp in Gaza is politically worrying for Hamas.

The international community has heavily invested in the armed forces of Syria’s neighbors, but hard security cannot be achieved without more robust humanitarian aid.

Hamas’s small tactical gains are unlikely to translate any short-term popularity boost into long-term political capital.

A mutual desire to show strength has escalated the conflict, and although neither side wants another war, it may already be too late to pull back.