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Syrian presidency announces agreement to integrate Kurdish institutions

The Syrian presidency has announced an agreement with the head of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate the institutions of the autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast into the national government.

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Israel says struck Syrian air defenses to thwart 'future threats'

Israel's military said on Tuesday that its warplanes struck southern Syria overnight, targeting air defense systems and other military sites in the latest attack on the neighboring country.

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Syria announces end to 'military operation' after mass killings

Syria's interim government on Monday announced the end of a days-long military operation against insurgents loyal to ousted president Bashar Assad and his family in the worst fighting since the end of the 13-year civil war in December.

The Defense Ministry's announcement comes after a surprise attack by gunmen from the Alawite community on a police patrol near the port city of Lattakia Thursday spiraled into widespread clashes across Syria's coastal region, during which monitoring groups said hundreds of civilians were killed.

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Hamas says Israel 'continues to renege' on Gaza truce deal

Palestinian militant group Hamas accused Israel on Monday of reneging on a ceasefire deal that halted the Gaza war, as Israeli negotiators were due in Qatar to discuss a potential extension.

"The (Israeli) occupation continues to renege on the agreement and refuses to commence the second phase, exposing its intentions of evasion and stalling," Hamas said in a statement, after the initial phase of the truce had expired with no agreement on subsequent stages that could secure a permanent end to the war.

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Israeli negotiators head to Qatar for Gaza truce talks

Israel is due to send a delegation to Qatar on Monday for a fresh round of talks on extending a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, after cutting off the electricity supply to ramp up pressure on Hamas.

The first phase of the deal expired at the beginning of March with no agreement on subsequent stages that should secure a lasting end to the war that erupted with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

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Syria's neighboring foreign ministers call for lifting sanctions and reconciliation

Syria's top diplomat and his counterparts from neighboring countries have called for the lifting of Western-led sanctions on Syria and post-war reconciliation.

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon made their remarks alongside Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani following a meeting in the Jordanian capital Amman.

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Between govt and Israel, Syria's Druze seek place in changing nation

Syria's Druze minority has a long history of cutting their own path to survive among the country's powerhouses. They are now trying again to navigate a new, uncertain Syria since the fall of longtime autocrat Bashar Assad.

Members of the small religious sect find themselves caught between two forces that many of them distrust: the new, Islamist-led government in Damascus and Syria's hostile neighbor, Israel, which has used the plight of the Druze as a pretext to intervene in the country.

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2 days of clashes and revenge killings in Syria leave more than 1,000 people dead

The death toll from two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 1,000, a war monitoring group said Saturday, making it one of the deadliest acts of violence since Syria's conflict began 14 years ago.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in addition to 745 civilians killed, mostly in shootings from close distance, 125 government security force members and 148 militants with armed groups affiliated with Assad were killed. It added that electricity and drinking water were cut off in large areas around the city of Latakia.

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Hamas says Israel cut to Gaza electricity 'unacceptable blackmail'

Hamas accused Israel of "cheap and unacceptable blackmail" over its decision on Sunday to halt the electricity supply to war-ravaged Gaza in an effort to pressure the Palestinian militants into releasing hostages.

"We strongly condemn the occupation's decision to cut off electricity to Gaza, after depriving it of food, medicine, and water," Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas's political bureau said in a statement, adding it was "a desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics."

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Iran rejects claims of any involvement in Syria violence

Iran's foreign ministry on Monday rejected media reports accusing the country of involvement in the latest violence in Syria, which has left hundreds killed.

"This accusation is completely ridiculous and rejected, and we think that pointing the finger of accusation at Iran and Iran's friends is wrongly addressed, a deviant trend, and a hundred percent misleading," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

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