Middle East Experience

As soon as rebel forces seized Damascus, Syrians swarmed the notorious Saydnaya prison, desperate for news of loved ones who vanished under ousted president Bashar al-Assad's rule."I am waiting in the hope that one of my relatives will be found," said 25-year-old Youssef Matar, camped outside the feared Y-shaped prison since Sunday.He said 10 of his family members were arrested "for no reason, just because we are from Daraya", a Damascus suburb pivotal in the 2011 uprising."I'm going to stay until I know if they're dead or alive."
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Freed Syria prison sparks hope and heartbreak

Since the overthrow of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Iran has started to distance itself from their longtime alliance, instead stressing the history of friendship between the two countries.Rebels advanced from their stronghold in the northwestern city of Idlib to the capital Damascus in less than two weeks, ousting Assad on Sunday and ending 50 years of rule by his clan.Iranian officials and state media have since shifted their tone on the rebels, calling them "opposition groups" instead of "terrorists".
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iran edges away from old ally Assad after Syria rebel victory

The exchanges, which, according to the report, were intended for Syria’s national security chief, were marked as a message from “an Israeli agent named Musa.”
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israel warned Assad about Iran weapon smuggling, documents show

The motion is identical to the one brought last week, which the opposition struck down after conducting a parliamentary maneuver.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Knesset passes symbolic 'agenda proposal' seeking to remove AG

On October 7, the ‘Paga’ outpost near Kibbutz Be’eri witnessed the murders of 14 IDF soldiers.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: IAF kills Hamas Nukhba commander behind Oct. 7 outpost attack

This marks the first Israeli media visit to Syria since the 1973-1974 Yom Kippur War and armistice.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: 'Post' embeds with IDF in Syria after fall of Assad regime

Doha is looking to engage with the Islamist-led government in Syria after severing relations 13 years ago over deposed President Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Qatar to reopen embassy in Syria after 13 years

Herzog told Peña that after the painful and agonizing year that Israel has gone through, Paraguay’s friendship is very meaningful.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: ‘I’ll call you Santi, and you call me Bougie’: Israeli president meets Paraguayan president

After eight years in exile, Ibrahim Abdullah is finally going home, his belongings stuffed into the same simple sports bag he carried when he fled Syria eight years ago. Just 13 at the time, Abdullah sneaked through the barbed wire along Syria's northern frontier to seek safety in neighbouring Turkey.With the downfall of Bashar al-Assad, Abdullah is among thousands of Syrians going back. Bag in hand, he aims to find his childhood home in Aleppo, just days after an Islamist-led rebel offensive took the city and forced Assad to flee.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Syrian who fled as teen heads home on a mission to 'rebuild'

In one of the few open shops on a main street in downtown Aleppo, Syrian shopkeeper Ramadan Dali wields his feather duster with gusto, standing on tip-toes so he can reach the windows.Dali, a 70-year-old wearing a black felt hat, is ready for customers to come back, along with the hope that has returned to the streets of Syria's second largest city since it was retaken by rebels on their way to topple president Bashar al-Assad.Aleppo was once Syria's economic capital, a vibrant northern city of two million people, popular with tourists and archaeologists.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: 'Free again': Hope rises from war-scarred streets of Syria's Aleppo