Syria

Witkoff: Normalization Between Israel and Lebanon Is Possible

US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, recently stated that the normalization of relations between Lebanon, Syria, and Israel is no longer a distant dream, but a real and tangible possibility. In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Witkoff suggested that these countries could eventually establish formal diplomatic ties with Israel, a ...

War Monitor Says Israel Strikes Military Airport Near Palmyra, Syria

Israeli air strikes on Friday targeted the military airport near Palmyra in central Syria, a war monitor said, reporting the latest Israeli attack in the country since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. "Israeli warplanes targeted the Palmyra military airport," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Since Islamist-led rebels ...

Head of Pro-Iran Armed Faction Arrested in Syria: SOHR

Security forces in Syria's eastern city of Deir Ezzor have arrested the head of an Iran-affiliated faction that fought alongside ousted president Bashar al-Assad's forces, a war monitor said Friday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces detained Moayad Abdul Samad al-Douaihy in Deir Ezzor on Thursday. The Britain-based ...

Hezbollah-PLO: Parallel Fates

In 1982, the Israeli army launched Operation "Peace for Galilee" with the goal of driving Arafat's militias from southern Lebanon. More than mere militias, these were organized armies, and Yasser Arafat reigned as the undisputed ruler and bloodstained overlord of Lebanon. The leader of the PLO had unilaterally declared Lebanon as the launchpad for ...

Syria, Lebanon Armies Agree to Withdraw From Hosh al-Sayyed Ali

The Syrian army announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement and coordination framework with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) on securing the border town of Hosh al-Sayyed Ali,  warning that any breach of the understanding by Hezbollah would be met with a firm and direct response. In a statement published by the state-run SANA news ...

Resolution 1680: A Turning Point for Lebanese Sovereignty

On May 17, 2006, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1680, a decisive text aimed at strengthening Lebanon's independence and normalizing its relations with Syria. This resolution, lesser-known than the spotlight-stealing Resolutions 1701 and 1559, deserves our attention if we are to understand the current dynamics between these ...

Lebanon Regains Control of Hosh el-Sayed Ali: Army Deployed on the Ground

Units of the Lebanese Army and the Engineering Regiment entered, on Wednesday morning, the village of Hosh el-Sayed Ali, which has been under the control of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham fighters. The Lebanese Armed Forces' advance in the area comes after successful negotiations between the concerned parties, supported by intensive mobilization ...

Nearly 13,000 Syrians Fled to Lebanon Since Sectarian Massacre

Nearly 13,000 Syrians fled across the borders to Lebanon since sectarian massacres on the Syrian coast earlier this month, Lebanese authorities said on Tuesday. A report from Lebanon's Disaster Risk Management Unit (DRM) obtained by AFP said 12,798 Syrians had arrived and settled in 23 different villages and towns in Lebanon's northern Akkar ...

Israel Army Says Struck Artillery in South Syria Near Ceasefire Line

Israel's military said it targeted two pieces of artillery on Tuesday in an air strike in southern Syria near a boundary established by a 1974 ceasefire. "A short while ago, two cannons in southern Syria that constituted a threat to the State of Israel were struck by the [Israeli military] in the area of Khan Arnabeh in southern Syria," a ...

Iran Challenges Trump with Losing Cards in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen

Last week, UAE Diplomatic Adviser Anwar Gargash delivered a message from President Donald Trump to Iran’s leadership, proposing a revival of nuclear negotiations that his administration suspended in 2015. Trump’s message stated, “A deal with Iran is preferable to military action, as I do not seek to harm it.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali ...

Israel Says 'Striking Military Targets' in Southern Syria

Israel's military said on Monday it was striking military sites in southern Syria, as Syrian state media reported two killed in an Israeli strike near the southern city of Daraa. "The [Israeli military] is currently striking military targets in southern Syria, including command centers and military sites containing weapons and military ...