He explored how Iran used the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to turn the tide of war in favor of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, and investigated the smugglers, businessmen and profiteers who facilitated the great migration of Syrians and other refugees across the Mediterranean to Greece on flimsy rubber boats.Įlsewhere in the region, Ben reported how Israel had fired artillery shells that struck a United Nations school, killing dozens who had sought shelter there. He reconstructed the raids that resulted in the deaths of Islamic State leaders like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was tracked down by identifying his DNA on a pair of stolen boxer shorts. He has reported doggedly on Syria and its catastrophic war for us ever since, including the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons against civilians.
He joined The Times in 2013 after working at The Associated Press, where he led a team of reporters who were finalists for a Pulitzer Prize for their Syria coverage. So, with Carlotta Gall now focusing on the war in Ukraine, Ben will soon lead our coverage in Turkey.īen is already a veteran of the International desk, having reported from Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Yemen, to name just a few. Turkey has long positioned itself as a bridge between east and west, with a complicated network of relations with Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and a wide array of contentious domestic issues of its own. Now, Ben Hubbard is leaving the Middle East to take up a new and equally vital post: Istanbul bureau chief. He uncovered the plight of scores of minors locked in prison, delved into Syria’s rise as a narcostate and unpacked the ruthless politics of the Saudi royal family.
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