Mena Today

France has strongly condemned the recent sectarian killings in Syria, where over 2,000 Alawite civilians were reportedly killed in just three days.

Israel and Hamas signaled on Saturday their readiness to enter the next phase of ceasefire negotiations, as mediators intensified efforts to extend the fragile 42-day truce that has been in place since January.

The National Salvation Front of Syria (NSFS), led by Fahad Al-Masri, has strongly condemned Iran’s escalating interference in Syria, accusing Tehran of fueling instability through terrorist activities and military support to armed groups.

The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, and Britain announced on Saturday their support for an Arab-backed plan to rebuild Gaza, which would cost $53 billion and ensure that Palestinians remain in the enclave without displacement.

More than 700 people, including women and children from the Alawite minority, have been killed in Syria’s coastal region since Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asserted on Saturday that Tehran will not succumb to pressure to engage in negotiations, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump revealed he had sent a letter proposing talks to reach a new nuclear agreement.

An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, medical sources said, as mediators pushed ahead with talks to extend a shaky 42-day ceasefire agreed in January between Israel and Hamas.

High-level delegations from Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Iraq will meet in Amman on Sunday to discuss security cooperation and regional developments, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Saturday.

Myanmar's military government will hold a general election in December 2025 or January 2026, state media said on Saturday, citing the junta chief, who provided the first specific time frame for the long-promised polls in the war-torn nation.

At least 11 people were killed and 30 wounded, including five children, in Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's eastern city of Dobropillia overnight, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

Since December, Syria has been under the control of Islamist factions, with Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Islamic State operative, appointed as the country’s leader. 

The leader of Yemen's Houthis said on Friday the group would resume its naval operations against Israel if Israel did not lift a blockage of aid into Gaza within four days, signaling a possible escalation from the Houthis after their assaults tailed off in January following a ceasefire in the enclave.