President Joe Biden says he will not supply offensive weapons that Israel can use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah — the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza — over concern for the well-being of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there
Video obtained by Reuters showed people entering the Al-Rawda Presidential Palace, as children ran through the grand, formal rooms and men slid a large trunk across the ornate patterned floor. Video of another palace, the older-style Muhajreen Palace, verified by Reuters, showed groups of men and women walking across a white marble floor and through sets of tall wooden doors. The scenes were reminiscent of the fall of Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime in Iraq two decades ago.
BEIRUT (AP) — The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government Sunday brought to a dramatic close his nearly 14-year struggle to hold onto power as his country fragmented amid a brutal civil war that became a proxy battlefield for regional and international powers.
Syria's new rebel leaders are facing the daunting task of healing a divided nation - and the toppling of the Assad regime has not put an end to fighting in the country.
Israeli leaders are watching events across the border in Syria with trepidation, as 50 years of detente were upended in a matter of hours.
BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian government fell early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a sudden rebel offensive sprinted across government-held territory and entered the capital in 10 days.
PM Netanyahu said the 1974 disengagement agreement had "collapsed" with the rebel takeover of Syria.
An Israeli strike targeted an air defence installation near Syria's Mediterranean Latakia port, Syrian security sources said on Monday. Israel conducted three airstrikes in the Syrian capital a day earlier, against a security complex and a government research centre which it has said in the past was used by Iran to develop missiles, two regional security sources told Reuters on Sunday.
Israel is now more optimistic about a possible hostage deal in Gaza, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday, amid reports that Hamas had asked for lists of all hostages still held by militant groups in the Palestinian enclave. He said indirect negotiations were under way about the return of about 100 hostages and that, while it was still too early to be sure, prospects had improved.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The dramatic downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad presents possible danger, and an opening, for neighboring Israel.
The lightning quick collapse of Bashar al-Assad's has left the world taking stock on a new-look Middle East.
ANKARA (Reuters) -The United States and Turkey reached an agreement to ensure the safe withdrawal of U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian forces (SDF) from the northern city of Manbij after an advance by Turkey-backed rebels, a Syrian opposition source said on Monday. The Turkey-backed Syrian opposition groups had earlier taken control of Manbij from the SDF, a Turkish security source said, a day after rebels in the southern capital of Damascus declared Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ouster.
Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has evolved from an al-Qaida affiliate leader to a rebranded figure promoting pluralism as Syria’s insurgency topples Assad. Despite his attempts at moderation, doubts remain about his democratic intentions.View on euronews
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — For Iran’s theocratic government, it keeps getting worse.
One department within the Ukrainian intelligence service is trying to get North Korean soldiers to desert with the help of leaflets and online videos.View on euronews
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is set to take the stand on Tuesday for the first time in his long-running corruption trial under a court order that is likely to force him to juggle between the courtroom and war room for weeks. Israel has been waging war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza for more than a year, during which Netanyahu had been granted a delay for the start of his court appearances. Charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, Netanyahu will testify three times a week, the court said, despite the Gaza war and possible new threats posed by wider turmoil in the Middle East, including in neighbouring Syria.
Four Israeli soldiers who were killed in southern Lebanon were likely killed in an accidental detonation of explosives as they demolished a Hezbollah tunnel laden with weapons, Israel's Army Radio reported on Monday. The Israeli military said that four soldiers fell in combat, without providing further details. Army Radio said that the incident happened on Sunday and that an initial review found that the detonation set off secondary explosions, leading to the collapse of the tunnel while the soldiers were in it.
Syria's Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow as Islamist-led rebels captured Damascus Sunday, ending five decades of Baath party rule. Celebrations erupted nationwide. Assad's luxurious home was overrun as the government collapsed 11 days into a surprise rebel offensive, over 13 years after Syria's civil war began.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's foreign minister says it has struck suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets in Syria in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of hostile actors.
The red, white, green and black Free Syrian Army flag flew over Damascus on Sunday as thousands of residents lined the main square in bursts of defiant jubilation – after President Bashar al-Assad relinquished his grip on power.
ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey-backed Syrian rebels entered the northern Syrian city of Manbij after taking control of most of the surrounding area from U.S.-allied Kurdish forces there, a Turkish security source said on Sunday. Syrian rebels in the south declared President Bashar al-Assad's ouster on Sunday after seizing control of Damascus. The Turkey-backed rebels in the north are aligned with the rebels in the south, sharing the same goal of defeating Assad.
