Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, met Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Damascus on Saturday in a bid to improve long-fraught ties, with the pair focusing on strengthening their shared border. The trip was the first by a head of government to Syria since Bashar al-Assad was toppled by a sweeping rebel … Read more
The European Union is considering easing sanctions on Syria to facilitate humanitarian aid and recovery efforts, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Wednesday. For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org Speaking to France Inter radio, Barrot suggested that sanctions obstructing aid delivery and the country’s rebuilding could be lifted swiftly, though … Read more
Defense Minister Israel Katz convened a special security meeting regarding Turkey on Wednesday evening, two Israeli officials told The Jerusalem Post. The meeting suggests how much importance Israeli officials ascribe to and possibly even fear the possibility that Turkey’s influence in the region will grow following the downfall of the Assad regime in Syria … Read more
The US is set to imminently announce an easing of restrictions on providing humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria while still keeping its strict sanctions regime in place, according to people briefed on the matter. The decision by the outgoing Biden administration will send a signal of goodwill to … Read more
Rabbi Binyamin Hamra, son of the late Rabbi Avraham Hamra, a renowned leader of Syria’s Jewish community, has made an appeal to Syria’s new leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani. According to a report by KAN, Hamra sent a letter in three languages—Arabic, English, and Hebrew—urging al-Julani to preserve the heritage of Syria’s Jewish community. In … Read more
Syria’s Alawites are living in fear following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, according to the Washington Post this week. During his rule, Assad recruited many Alawites as military allies, and therefore many have been targeted by those angry at the previous regime, the Washington Post reported. According to the report, the new Sunni … Read more
Syria’s de facto ruler Abu Muhammad al-Julani held talks on Monday with a senior Ukrainian delegation led by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the Syrian state news agency (SANA) reported, as Kyiv moves to build ties with the new leadership in Damascus. SANA provided no immediate details about their talks, held in Damascus, but Ukrainian … Read more
The remaining Syrian Jews are now able to visit the Jobar synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in the world, after the fall of Bashar Assad, according to a report by the Washington Post, citing the Associated Press on Monday. The synagogue, which is located in the Jobar suburb of Damascus, was partially destroyed during … Read more
Lebanon expelled around 70 Syrian officers and soldiers on Saturday, returning them to Syria after they crossed into the country illegally via informal routes, a Lebanese security official said. Many senior Syrian officials and people close to the former ruling family of Bashar al-Assad fled the country to neighboring Lebanon after Assad’s regime was … Read more
On the evening of December 10, I received a stunning notification. The IDF was offering me and a small number of other military journalists the opportunity to visit Syrian territory. More specifically, the invitation was to visit Tel Kudne, a Syrian military army base the IDF had fought an intense battle over during the … Read more
