Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan preempted discussions with a Syrian government delegation in Ankara by announcing that the talks would focus on supporting Syria and reconstruction efforts. Addressing parliament on Wednesday,

The Israeli government approved a ceasefire deal that could bring an end to the 15 months of war in Gaza. It's slated to go into effect Sunday morning.

Fighting between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army has been ongoing since December.

Major airlines are planning to reinstate flights to the Middle East following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Over the last 15 months of conflict, several Western carriers pulled out of flights to Israel, Jordan and Lebanon as missile attacks closed skies over Iraq and Iran in unpredictable airspace.

The Middle East is witnessing widespread celebrations after the Gaza ceasefire announcement. In Iran, crowds filled Tehran and Tabriz, chanting for Gaza's resistance. Jordan's streets came alive with car parades and Palestinian flags.

The Israeli security cabinet had earlier recommended to the government that it allow the Qatar, Egypt and US-mediated truce to go into effect on Sunday.

The article explores why Syria, despite its early independence, was unable to establish a democracy, instead evolving into a mukhabarat state

"Everyone agrees that the Israeli advance in Syria is a mistake, and that we need to return to previous arrangements," Ahmed al-Sharaa said

Students at the University of Aleppo sang in celebration after news broke of a ceasefire and hostage-release deal brokered between Israel and Hamas. Footage from Obada Jbara shows young men waving Palestinian flags and singing outside the faculty of medicine.

Which direction do we want Syria to go? Host to a 10-sided gunfight? A return to a repressive regime? Proxies and promoters of mischief making? Or, a peaceful, neutral hub that respects its people

In 1982 an uprising in the city of Hama by the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist group originating in Egypt, challenged Assad’s rule. Tens of thousands of people were killed by the government’s bombardment of the city. The chilling message stuck with Syrians for decades.

But as a new government takes shape in Damascus, Syrians and foreign observers alike worry about how inclusive, representative, and Islamist it may be. The country’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Shara, is a former al Qaeda militant,