Hamas said in a statement on Saturday that reaching a Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel “has become closer than ever before” only if Tel Aviv refrains from imposing new conditions.

The smuggling routes to the West Bank had two routes: the first passed through Syria to Jordan; the second route began in Syria, through Lebanon, and then weapons were smuggled directly into Israel.

Geir O. Pedersen’s comments come as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham officials, Syria’s de facto leaders, work to attain international legitimacy.

Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and his years-long regime have fallen, but the country remains a battleground for an array of actors seeking to secure interests in what may emerge to be a dangerous power vacuum.

"We’re not going to leave them in power in Gaza, 30 miles from Tel Aviv. It’s not going to happen,” he said amid calls by many to accept a ceasefire-hostage release deal in the Palestinian enclave.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that a 1974 agreement between Israel and Syria to demilitarize their shared border had collapsed over the weekend, after he said Syrian government forces withdrew from their posts and ordered Israeli troops to advance into a buffer zone between the countries.

Israel is celebrating the fall of Assad because it breaks the noose that Iran had been patiently tightening around Israel’s borders in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Tehran’s pincer is now broken and rendered useless. From the point of view of Israel’s wider conflict with the Islamic Republic, the collapse of Assad’s regime is a strategic victory.

Ankara's growing military presence in Syria has led to a diplomatic clash between former allies Israel and Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has supported Hamas, even hinting at some sort of armed intervention.

DUBAI (Reuters) - 2025 will be a year of reckoning for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his country's arch foe Iran. The veteran Israeli leader is set to cement his strategic goals: tightening his military control over Gaza,

Palestinian group Hamas congratulated the Syrian people on Monday for achieving their "aspirations for freedom and justice" after toppling President Bashar al-Assad.

The veteran Israeli leader is set to cement his strategic goals: tightening his military control over Gaza, thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions and capitalising on the dismantling of Tehran's allies -- Palestinian Hamas,