Sara Jabakhanji

Senior Writer

Sara Jabakhanji is a Toronto-based senior writer assigned to cover news developments in the Middle East, including the war in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. She has worked in CBC bureaus in Ottawa, London and Toronto. You can reach her at [email protected].

Latest from Sara Jabakhanji

Israeli military indicts 5 reservists accused of sexual, physical abuse of Palestinian detainee

The Israeli military says its prosecutor has filed indictments against five reservists who are accused of severely abusing a Palestinian prisoner at a notorious desert military prison.

'Most dangerous time,' Committee to Protect Journalists says after 2024 marks deadliest year

A new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday that 2024 saw a record number of journalists killed around the globe — marking a sharp rise over the years in the killings of reporters and media workers in conflict zones.

If you look up Beit Hanoun in Gaza on Google Earth, a large Star of David can be seen from above

Satellite images in Beit Hanoun, a city on the northeast of the Gaza Strip, show the Star of David etched into the ground of what previously looked like vibrant green fields and farmland in the now war-torn territory.

'There is nothing that will displace us': Palestinians respond to Trump's plan to take over, rebuild Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump's pitch to take ownership of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it after permanently displacing its residents was met with unified anger and concern from Palestinians in Gaza Wednesday.

Families returning to parts of Gaza face danger of unexploded bombs underground

While fighting in the air may have stopped in Gaza, danger remains ever-present for Palestinians returning to parts of the war-torn territory due to unexploded ordnances on the ground, blending in with the mounds of rubble and destruction.

'Where are the houses?' Palestinian man says after returning to remnants of Rafah home

While some Palestinians were able to dig up miscellaneous items deep under the rubble, many felt hopeless after dreaming about the possibility of returning to their homes and repairing or rebuilding them.

He identified his nephew's remains from his shoe as search underway in Gaza to recover bodies

Rescue workers and families are searching for an estimated 10,000 bodies of loved ones believed to still be beneath the rubble in Gaza a day after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect.

Hope fades into anguish as deadly airstrikes hit Gaza after ceasefire news

Just as Palestinians in Gaza were reinvigorated with a sense of hope Wednesday after news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, deadly Israeli airstrikes continued to rain down on people just hours later, turning celebration into anguish.

Israel, Hamas agree to ceasefire deal to stop fighting and return hostages

Israel and Hamas have reached a deal to pause the fighting in Gaza, release hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and create a path to end bloodshed in the tiny enclave and diffuse tensions across the Middle East.

With overthrow of Assad regime, Syrian Canadian recalls 20 years of 'torment' inside its prisons

Nabil Hawara was 40 years old when he was finally released from Syria's infamous desert prisons after spending half his life at that point facing constant torture under the Assad family regime.