In-depth daily coverage of armed conflicts, military operations, and security developments across the MENA region including Israel-Gaza, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and North Africa.
On February 22nd, the MENA region remained on the precipice of a major US-Iran confrontation as the largest American military buildup since 2003 reached operational capacity, with the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group transiting the Mediterranean toward a dual-carrier posture. ISIS declared a "new phase" of operations against Syria's transitional government, killing three Ministry of Defense members in twin attacks in Deir Ezzor and Raqqa provinces. Israeli forces killed a woman in Beit Lahia and a Palestinian teenager died from gunshot wounds near Nablus, while settlers declared a new settlement inside Hebron. Mass student protests erupted across at least eight Iranian universities for a second consecutive day. Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi appeared on CBS defending enrichment rights and warning of retaliation if attacked. Fourteen Arab and Muslim nations issued a rare joint condemnation of US Ambassador Mike Huckabee's remarks endorsing Israeli control of the broader Middle East. In Sudan, an RSF drone targeted tribal leader Musa Hilal in North Darfur, who survived the assassination attempt.
Israeli forces shot and killed 27-year-old Basma Aram Banat in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on February 22. She died approximately two hours after sustaining critical wounds. The Gaza Ministry of Health's 24-hour report for the period ending February 22 recorded two killed and three injured, bringing cumulative casualties since October 7, 2023 to 72,072 killed and 171,741 injured. Medical teams warned the actual toll was higher, with victims still trapped beneath collapsed structures or lying in areas inaccessible to ambulance crews. Separately, a child named Nidal Abu Rabee' died after Israeli authorities repeatedly denied medical evacuation permits despite full documentation being submitted.
Israeli quadcopter drones dropped gas canisters on homes near Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City, reportedly to force remaining families to move southward. Israeli naval forces fired on Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza City coast, driving them back to shore. Israeli bulldozers conducted limited incursions east of Khan Younis, damaging agricultural land and infrastructure. In a separate incident, an infant and his mother were rushed to Al-Shifa after their tent caught fire while she was heating water with wood, both sustaining burns. The death toll since the October 11, 2025 ceasefire now stands at 614 Palestinians killed and over 1,640 wounded.
On the institutional front, Brig. Gen. Liron Betito formally assumed command of the IDF's Gaza Division from Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram. The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza posted a job listing for a new Palestinian police force, drawing 2,000 applications within hours. Phase 2 of the Board of Peace's 20-point Gaza plan, announced January 14, remained in early implementation. Nine nations had pledged $7 billion for reconstruction alongside a US commitment of $10 billion, though the fundamental impasse persisted: Hamas refused to disarm while Israel occupied over 53% of the strip.
Mohammad Wahbi Abdel Aziz Hanani, 17, died in the early hours of February 22 from a gunshot wound to the head sustained during an Israeli military incursion into Beit Furik, east of Nablus, the previous evening. The Palestinian Red Crescent transported the teenager to Rafidia Government Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Palestinian sources reported that Israeli forces opened fire during a raid that followed an attack by settlers on the town. A 14-year-old and a 16-year-old were also shot with live ammunition, and a 20-year-old was hospitalized in serious condition with a head wound. The IDF stated soldiers "identified two terrorists approaching them holding an explosive" and fired in response.
The incident came three days after 19-year-old Palestinian-American Nasrallah Abu Siyam was killed by Israeli settler gunfire in Mukhmas on February 19, the first settler killing of a Palestinian in 2026. In Hebron, settlers from the Harchivi Mekom Ohalech association continued to consolidate their seizure of five Palestinian-owned buildings in the Jabal Jalles neighborhood, declaring a new settlement near the Tomb of the Patriarchs. IDF soldiers had conducted raids arresting dozens of local Palestinians in advance of the settlers' entry. Peace Now called for immediate eviction, stating the settlement was "illegal in every way" regardless of purchase claims.
Across the West Bank, Israeli forces conducted raids in Bal'a, Anabta, and Deir al-Ghusun in the Tulkarm area with intensive drone reconnaissance. Settlers stormed Al-Mazra'a Al-Sharqiya near Ramallah, banging on doors and raising an Israeli flag. A Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance crew was detained in Masafer Yatta. At least 1,117 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank since October 7, 2023.
The political and military fallout from Friday's Israeli strikes on Lebanon dominated February 22. The strikes on three Hezbollah command centers in Riyaq in the Bekaa Valley killed at least 10 people including eight Hezbollah operatives, among them senior field commander Hussein Mohammed Yaghi along with Ali al-Moussawi and Mohammed al-Moussawi. A separate drone strike on Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near Sidon killed two Hamas members. Two non-Lebanese civilians were also killed, with eight foreign nationals wounded.
Mahmoud Qamati, deputy head of Hezbollah's political council, addressed a protest in Beirut: "What happened yesterday in the Beqaa is a new massacre... What option do we have other than resistance?" Hezbollah MP Rami Abu Hamdan called on the Lebanese government to suspend meetings of the US-led multinational ceasefire monitoring committee. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the strikes as "a blatant act of aggression." Israeli intelligence assessments reported on February 22 indicated IRGC officers had been personally briefing Hezbollah's missile unit personnel at the bombed site, fueling concerns that Iran was pressuring Hezbollah to fight alongside it in the event of a broader conflict.
The November 2024 ceasefire remained technically in force but had been extensively violated, with UNIFIL documenting over 10,000 violations. Israel claimed to have killed over 400 Hezbollah operatives since the ceasefire. The Lebanese army had completed Phase 1 of Hezbollah disarmament south of the Litani River, with Phase 2 underway between the Litani and Awali Rivers. UNIFIL had reduced its force to approximately 7,500 peacekeepers, with Blue Line patrols suspended since February 1. Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam stated an international force would be needed after UNIFIL's mandate ends at year's end.
ISIS escalated operations in Syria on February 22, claiming responsibility for two attacks that killed three members of the Syrian Ministry of Defense. In al-Mayadin, Deir Ezzor province, an ISIS operative shot and killed a Syrian army member with a pistol. In al-Wasata, northern Raqqa countryside, gunmen armed with machine guns killed two others. The Syrian Ministry of Defense confirmed both attacks.
The attacks followed a 35-minute audio message released Friday by ISIS spokesperson Abu Hudhayfah al-Ansari, the first such recording in two years, declaring a "new phase" of operations. The audio branded Ahmad al-Sharaa's administration as "secular" and described Syria as having "moved from Iranian occupation to Turkish-American occupation." ISIS had claimed 136 attacks in Syria throughout 2025 and the escalation signaled a deliberate pivot toward the post-Assad government. CENTCOM had conducted 10 strikes against more than 30 ISIS targets between February 3 and 19 as part of "Operation Hawkeye Strike," though the US military withdrawal from Syria continued.
Syria's transitional government achieved a separate milestone on February 22 as the Interior Ministry's Directorate of Airport and Border Security assumed full control of Qamishli International Airport in Hasakah province. The handover, part of the January 30 Damascus-SDF agreement, marked the first time the central government controlled the airport in over a decade. Civil Aviation Authority head Omar al-Husari called it "an important institutional step in unifying airport management under state authority." The US was reportedly evacuating the nearby Qasrak base, its largest facility in Syria, transferring personnel and equipment to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Anti-government student protests swept at least eight universities across Tehran and Mashhad on February 22 for a second consecutive day, coinciding with 40-day mourning ceremonies for those killed in the January crackdown. Iran's state news agency IRNA confirmed protests at the University of Tehran, Sharif University of Technology, Amirkabir University, Shahid Beheshti University, Khajeh Nasir University, and Ferdowsi University in Mashhad. Slogans included "Death to the dictator" and "Woman, life, freedom." AFP-verified footage showed clashes between anti-government protesters and pro-government Basij paramilitary forces at Amirkabir University. The human rights organization HRANA estimated at least 7,015 people had been killed in the January crackdown; the government's figure was 3,117.
In western Iran, residents of Abdanan forced authorities to release political prisoner Yaghoub Mohammadi after intense street protests following his abduction by intelligence forces. On the diplomatic front, Oman's Foreign Minister confirmed a third round of US-Iran nuclear talks for Geneva on Thursday, February 26. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation," defending enrichment rights and warning that if the US attacks, "we have to hit the Americans' bases in the region." He confirmed Iran was offering a nuclear-only deal, rejecting US demands to include ballistic missiles and proxy networks.
A Reuters exclusive revealed that Iran was "seriously considering" exporting part of its highly enriched uranium stockpile, diluting enrichment purity, and establishing a regional enrichment consortium, but only in exchange for recognition of its right to peaceful enrichment. President Masoud Pezeshkian declared: "We will not bow down in the face of any of these difficulties." When US envoy Steve Witkoff said Trump was "curious as to why Iran has not yet capitulated," Araghchi responded on X: "Curious to know why we do not capitulate? Because we are Iranian." The Tehran Stock Exchange fell over 2%.
The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group was sailing through the Mediterranean on February 22 toward the eastern basin, establishing a dual-carrier posture with the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. Col. Richard Kemp, former British Army commander, described the deployment as "the biggest military buildup in the Middle East since 2003." The combined force comprised over 16 warships, 120+ combat aircraft including F-35s, F-22s, F-15s, and F-16s, plus at least 85 aerial refueling tankers. THAAD and Patriot air defense systems were deployed alongside 30,000 to 40,000 US troops across regional bases.
Reports indicated hundreds of US troops had been evacuated from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and from Bahrain as a precautionary measure. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE stated they would not participate in military operations against Iran. Axios reported the Trump administration expected Iran's draft proposal by Tuesday, with a senior official stating: "If Iran gives a draft proposal, the U.S. is ready to meet in Geneva." The administration was described as willing to consider "token enrichment" if Iran could demonstrate it blocked every path to a weapon.
In a rare display of pan-Islamic diplomatic unity, 14 countries and three regional organizations issued a joint statement on February 22 condemning remarks by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. In a podcast interview, Tucker Carlson had cited a biblical verse suggesting Israel was entitled to land between the Nile and the Euphrates; Huckabee responded: "It would be fine if they took it all." The signatories included the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, along with the OIC, Arab League, and GCC.
The joint statement called the remarks "dangerous and inflammatory" and a "flagrant violation of the principles of international law," stressing they "directly contradict the vision put forward by U.S. President Donald J. Trump." Saudi Arabia separately called the remarks "reckless" and "irresponsible." Jordan called them "an assault on the sovereignty of the countries of the region." Turkey's foreign ministry stated the remarks "go beyond ignorance and carry a threatening rhetoric targeting the sovereign territory of 15 different countries." The US Embassy said Huckabee's comments were "taken out of context."
Houthi maritime attacks remained suspended since November 11, 2025 following the Gaza ceasefire, though Suez Canal traffic stayed approximately 60% below pre-crisis levels. The Houthis were conducting large-scale troop mobilizations to Marib, Hodeidah, Saada, and al-Jawf, and their leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi had pledged military support for Iran if hostilities broke out. No CENTCOM operations against Yemen targets were reported on February 22.
In Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Forces detained five senior figures linked to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party in Kirkuk under the Baath Party Prohibition Law. Military Intelligence intercepted 136,000 narcotic pills transported via GPS-equipped balloons in the al-Anbar desert. A Ministry of Interior employee was fatally stabbed in al-Mahawil district, Babil province. No ISIS attacks or Turkish operations in northern Iraq were reported for the date.
In Sudan, an RSF drone targeted the guest house of Mahameed tribal leader Musa Hilal in Misteriya, North Darfur; he survived the assassination attempt. This came amid at least 57 civilians killed in drone strikes across four states in the preceding week, including 28 killed when an alleged SAF drone struck al-Safiya market and 26 killed in an IDP shelter in al-Sunut. MSF reported treating 167 people wounded in drone strikes in Kordofan and Darfur during the first half of February alone. Libya saw no confirmed armed conflict events, though the country remained unstable following militia clashes in Janzour on February 17. No significant security events were reported in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, or Egypt.