Syria

Lebanon Rehabilitates Border Crossings Damaged in Israeli Strikes

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport announced on Friday the commencement of rehabilitation efforts on three key border crossings with Syria that were damaged in recent Israeli airstrikes in the Akkar Governorate. The affected crossings include al-Arida, Sabaa Qmar (Kobayat-Wadi Khaled) and al-Aboudiyeh. According to the ministry, ...

America's Middle East Dilemma and Opportunity

Whatever you think about events since October 2023, a fundamental shift in the balance of power has occurred in the Middle East. The dilemma for Washington and its regional partners is what to do now to bring lasting security for all those who in the past were compelled to live in the shadow of threats and violence by Iran and its Arab proxies. ...

Can Hezbollah Still Claim Resistance With Its Arsenal Depleted?

Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Naim Qassem, warned on July 30 that any withdrawal of the group’s forces from south of the Litani River would be “a gain for Israel,” insisting that the party’s weapons remained “a domestic Lebanese matter.” Speaking at a memorial ceremony marking the first anniversary of the death of senior Hezbollah ...

Renewed Sectarian Clashes in South Syria Kill Four

Renewed sectarian clashes in southern Syria's Druze-majority Sweida province killed at least four people on Sunday, a war monitor said, in the first deadly incident since a ceasefire last month. The province witnessed deadly clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouins in July that drew the intervention of government forces and tribal ...

Israel Says Ground Troops Conducted Raids in Syria

Israel's military said Sunday ground troops had operated in southern Syria, seizing weapons and questioning individuals suspected of arms trafficking, in the latest cross-border raid since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December. A military statement said that troops had completed overnight "a mission involving on-site questioning of several ...

Syria Forms Committee to Investigate Violence in Druze Heartland

Syria's justice ministry announced on Thursday the formation of a committee to investigate deadly violence in the southern Druze-majority province of Sweida. The week-long clashes which began on July 13 killed more than 1,400 people, many of them Druze civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. In a decree issued ...

From Sweida to Hasbaya: The Druze Soul Under Strain

While Syria’s Sweida province remains on edge following July’s deadly clashes, the reverberations are deeply felt across the border in Hasbaya. In this part of southern Lebanon—as elsewhere in the Druze world—identity transcends borders. The people of Hasbaya have lived this tragedy as their own, with Druze Sheikh al-Aql, Sami Abi ...

Syrian, Israeli Ministers to Hold Meeting in Baku on Thursday: Diplomat

A Syrian-Israeli ministerial meeting is set to take place Thursday in Baku to discuss security matters in southern Syria, a diplomat told AFP. The meeting between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer follows a similar meeting between the two ministers in Paris last week. It will take ...

Turkey to Begin Supplying Azeri Gas to Syria from Saturday

Turkey will start exporting natural gas from Azerbaijan to Syria from Saturday, the energy minister said on Wednesday. Syria's authorities, who toppled Bashar al-Assad in December, are seeking to rebuild the country's infrastructure and economy after almost 14 years of civil war. The conflict badly damaged Syria's power infrastructure, leading ...

Lebanon Launches First Phase of Syrian Refugee Returns

The Lebanese government officially launched the first phase of its “self-organized voluntary return” program for Syrian refugees on Tuesday, with 71 individuals from 14 families returning to Syria. The group was transported via three buses and two trucks across the Lebanese-Syrian border, under the supervision of Lebanese authorities and in ...

Lebanon Launches First Phase of Displaced Syrians Return Plan

The Lebanese government has launched the first phase of its plan for the return of displaced Syrians, in coordination with the General Directorate of General Security and the Syrian authorities. Initially, the return will take place through the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa region. To organize the convoys heading to Syria, a gathering point ...