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Syria’s newly installed government demanded that Israel withdraw its presence in Golan Heights, a region it occupies for decades, in a move following its ally Bashar al-Assad’s fall. The demand during negotiations with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, head of U.N.’s peacekeeping, according to Syrian state media reports. The country’s willingness to cooperate with U.N. in full, according to its representatives, during Lacroix’s …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on February 4, Netanyahu’s office has announced. It also underlined that Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader who will come to the White House in the second term of Trump. An invitation had been extended, one White House official said, adding that the timing …

The White House, in a statement dated January 26, said the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would be extended until February 18, 2025. There are also continuing negotiations with regard to Lebanese prisoners held by Israel since October 7, 2023. A United States-brokered truce in November 2024 had established the original ceasefire agreement to bring an end to the hostilities …

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have begun returning home in northern Gaza, as Israel for the first time in 15 months lifted its closure of the area. Israel and Hamas are taking new steps to wind down a protracted conflict and facilitate the release of hostages under a fragile ceasefire sealing their weekend agreement. On Monday morning, teeming masses of …

People from South Lebanon escorted by the Lebanese army attempted to return to their villages on Monday, according to official reports and AFP correspondents, one day after Israeli fire killed 24 people in the region on Sunday. Reports said at least five people were wounded by Israeli fire on Monday in the areas of Houla and Bani Hayyan. Lebanese caretaker …

The United States announced it was freezing most of its international aid programs with a policy change to exempt such recipients as military aid for stalwart allies including, amongst others, Israel and Egypt, in what the administration defined as an exercise of reorientation in America’s priorities in foreign spending towards closer compatibility with its strategic interests. This shift in policy …

In a new twist, the Trump administration has backed a temporary extension of the Israeli military sojourn in south Lebanon beyond the agreed-on 60-day withdrawal. This is in line with an earlier declaration by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his country would not be able to meet the initial deadline since Lebanon was yet to fulfill the ceasefire terms. …

Hamas has announced it will release four hostages from Israel tomorrow amid their ongoing negotiations, in a major step for the developing situation between Israel and the militant group based in the Gaza Strip. The announcement was made amidst a high-tension atmosphere in the region, along with sustained international pressure to take more humanitarian steps forward. The release is reportedly …