Israeli forces have taken control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces have taken control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
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The Canadian PressAmerica's closest ally in Syria is losing ground as a new order takes shape
The jihadi rebels who toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad say they want to build a unified, inclusive country. But after nearly 14 years of civil war, putting that ideal into practice will not be easy.
- Reuters
Demoralised and abandoned by allies: why Assad’s army failed to fight in Syria
Twenty-three-year-old Syrian military conscript Farhan al-Khouli was badly paid and demoralized. For years, the Islamist rebels of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) had sat behind the nearby frontline, with Syria's long civil war frozen.
- CNN
Assad exhibited little of the tackiness of Iraq’s Saddam. But his rule was just as brutal
Slender shoulders, a limp handshake and soft-spoken lisp. Those were the most vivid memories from my meeting with Bashar al Assad.
- Canadian Press Videos
Netanyahu releases video message to the Iranian people saying that the regime's allies are falling
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video message addressed to the Iranian people Thursday celebrating the weakening of the "Iranian regime's axis of terror." Speaking in English in a video with Farsi subtitles, Netanyahu said that Israeli attacks on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon had set off a "chain reaction" in the Middle East.
- BBC
Bloody siege ends Myanmar army control of western border
Insurgents seized Myanmar's border with Bangladesh in one of the bloodiest battles of the civil war.
- United Press International
Taliban refugee minister Khalil Haqqani killed in Kabul suicide bombing
Khalil Haqqani, Taliban acting minister of refugees, was killed in a blast Wednesday at the ministry's headquarters in Kabul.
- ABC News
Iran's leader blames US, Israel for Assad's fall, shifts tone toward Syrian groups
In his first reaction after rebels toppled Syria's government, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech Wednesday that the U.S. and Israel were behind the fall of former President Bashar Assad. Downplaying the effects of losing a long-term ally, he said that the resistance front -- a term for groups in Syria as well as Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq mostly funded by Iran to fight against Israel -- will still "encompass" the whole region despite Assad's fall. While sustaining his usual firm stance against the U.S. and glorifying the axis of resistance, Khamenei maintained an ambiguous tone when he addressed the Islamist group, Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which ousted Assad, and other fighting groups in Syria.
- The Canadian Press
Funeral for activist turns into call for justice for other missing Syrians
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Hundreds of Syrians marched through central Damascus in a funeral procession Thursday to honor one of the country's most prominent anti-government activists, whose body was found after the ouster of President Bashar Assad.
- The Canadian Press
UN General Assembly demands ceasefire in Gaza and backs UN agency helping Palestinian refugees
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved resolutions Wednesday demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and backing the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban.
- The Conversation
Hamas – hemmed in and isolated – finds itself with few options for the day after the Gaza war
The Palestinian militant group has engaged in talks with rival Fatah over a unity committee to govern Gaza. It reflects Hamas’ diminished prospects following more than a year of conflict.
- Reuters
Ukrainian operatives aided Syrian rebels with drones, Washington Post reports
Syrian fighters received about 150 drones as well as other covert support from Ukrainian intelligence operatives last month, weeks ahead of the rebels' advance that toppled Bashar al-Assad over the weekend, according to the Washington Post. Citing unnamed sources familiar with Ukrainian military activities, the Post late on Tuesday said Ukrainian intelligence sent about 20 drone operators and about 150 first-person-view drones about four to five weeks ago to aid Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Russia's foreign ministry had earlier said, without providing evidence, that the rebels had received drones from Ukraine and training in how to operate them, an accusation that Ukraine's foreign ministry at the time said it "categorically" rejected.
- Euronews
Fear of the unknown or unique chance? How Israel plays its cards in the Syrian crisis
Israel has moved to prevent the emergence of new threats from Syria. Lebanon, meanwhile, is worried about becoming the future battlefield of the regionView on euronews
- CNN
Battered corpses show the horrors of life and death under Syria’s Assad
The 35 or so bodies were found in a military hospital in the Syrian capital of Damascus, days after the regime fell. They are believed to be among the last victims of Assad.
- France 24
US announces first withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon under ceasefire deal
A top U.S. military officer visited Beirut on Wednesday to monitor the withdrawal of the first Israeli troops from Lebanon under a ceasefire agreement reached last month, the U.S. Central Command said. The U.S. confirmed that Israel had withdrawn its forces from the town of Al-Khiam in south Lebanon. Israeli forces completed their first withdrawal from a town in southern Lebanon, handing control to the Lebanese military under a ceasefire agreement, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wedn
- The Canadian Press
These Palestinians disappeared after encounters with Israeli troops in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Reem Ajour says she last saw her husband and then 4-year-old daughter in March, when Israeli soldiers raided a family home in northern Gaza. She is haunted by those chaotic last moments, when the soldiers ordered her to go – to leave behind Talal and Masaa, both wounded.
- The Canadian Press
Blinken faces GOP critics in Congress who say Afghanistan withdrawal 'lit the world on fire'
WASHINGTON (AP) — Under fire from congressional Republicans about one of the darkest moments of Joe Biden’s presidency, Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the administration’s handling of the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying Democrats struggled to make the best of a bad pullout deal struck by Donald Trump.
- The Canadian Press
An explosion in the Afghan capital kills the Taliban refugee minister
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A suicide bombing in the Afghan capital on Wednesday killed the Taliban refugee minister and two others, officials said, in the most brazen attack on a member of the Taliban inner circle since they returned to power three years ago.
- Cover Media
Syrian Rebel Leader Vows Justice and Reforms After Assad's Fall
Rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, pledged to shut down Bashar al-Assad's infamous prisons and pursue those involved in torture and killings, BBC News reports.
- The Canadian Press
Middle East latest: Israeli strikes in Gaza kill more than 50 people, including kids
An Israeli airstrike flattened a multistory building in central Gaza, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens more, according to Palestinian medical officials, after strikes Thursday across the Gaza Strip killed at least 28 others.
- France 24
Live: Rebel leader Golani calls on Syrians to celebrate ‘victory of the revolution’
The leader of the Islamist group at the head of the rebel forces that ousted Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad last week, known by his nom-de-guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, on Friday called on Syrians to take to the streets and “express their joy” at the fall of the dictator's regime. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments. Yesterday's key developments: Israeli air strikes targeted sites belonging to ousted president Bashar al-Assad's military in the coastal Latakia and Tartus provinces