Negotiators in Qatar are close to a ceasefire deal that sees an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees, a six-week pause in fighting and eventual troop withdrawal from Gaza.
The basic framework, officials familiar with the talks say, is an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and a six-week ceasefire. Mediators are applying pressure on all parties.
The deal would secure release of a third of the approximately 100 hostages who remain in Gaza, including two dual U.S.-Israeli nationals. In return, Israel would release some Palestinian prisoners.
Former opposition groups — some of whom are U.S.-trained — will be knitted together into new Syrian security forces organized by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that led the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.
The World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he and colleagues "escaped death narrowly" when an Israeli airstrike targeted Yemen's main airport.
Gaza's Health Ministry said the head of Kamal Adwan Hospital was arrested along with dozens of other staff. Israel's military alleged Hamas militants were using the facility.
After Bashar al-Assad's ouster, there are questions about the fate of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the U.S.-backed Kurdish coalition that currently controls a third of Syrian territory.
"Our problem is not with Israel. We don't want to meddle in anything that will threaten Israel's security," Damascus Governor Maher Marwan tells NPR. Syria and Israel have never had diplomatic ties.
A round of Israeli airstrikes targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital and multiple ports. The head of the World Health Organization said the bombardment occurred as he prepared to board a flight.
An Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, according to the Health Ministry. The Israeli military said it had targeted a group of militants.
More than 7,000 people had taken shelter in the Rukban camp, near the border with Jordan, many of whom fled the regime and ISIS attacks almost a decade ago.
Kibbutz Be'eri was hit hard in the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023. Survivors were evacuated to a hotel, where they worked together to create programs to help their children recover from trauma.
Part of a Crusader castle crumbled. An 18th century minaret felled. Church mosaics burned. Archaeologists are assessing damage to UNESCO World Heritage Sites from Israeli strikes on Lebanon and Syria.
As the world watches Syria grapple with the aftermath of Bashar al-Assad's brutal regime and the formation of a new government, one neighbor has emerged as having great influence over the new Syria.
Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is believed to have issued his first remarks, via the Telegram app from Moscow, since opposition forces took over the capital over a week ago.
