The visits came a day after Sharaa — also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani — met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, the highest-level visit from Lebanon to Syria to date. Arab states had responded cautiously to Assad’s fall and the takeover by HTS-led Islamist rebels.

As the fighters who ousted Bashar al-Assad set out to assert control over the country, they pursued former government forces loyal to the Assad regime, resulting in deadly clashes in parts of the country.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reached an agreement with former rebel faction chiefs to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the defence ministry.

Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip overnight killed at least 20 people, Palestinian medics said Monday. One of the strikes killed eight people including two kids in a tent camp in the Muwasi

Israel’s defense minister has confirmed that Israel assassinated Hamas’ top leader last summer and is threatening to take similar action against the leadership of the Houthi rebel group in Yemen.

Five Palestinian journalists have been killed by an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry said Thursday. Israel's military said it targeted a group of militants allied with Hamas, which ignited the war with its Oct.