After Abu Mohammed al-Julani was named interim president of Syria, dissolved the parliment, and suspended Syria's constitution, Katz announced that Israel will remain in Syrian territory.

No country has as much to gain from a stable Syria as Turkey, and few have as much to lose if it implodes. Turkey is home to more than 3m Syrian refugees, and wants Syria to be safe enough for many to return.

Turkey has emerged as one of the most influential power brokers in Syria after rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad last month, ending his family's brutal five-decade rule.

Turkey and Syria have agreed to reevaluate customs tariffs for certain products and they discussed economic and trade relations during meetings in Damascus, the Turkish trade ministry said on Friday.

More than 50,000 Syrian refugees have left Turkey to return home since Bashar al-Assad's ouster. But for many others living in the country, the thought raises a host of worrying questions. In Altindag,

Syria 's de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa revealed on Thursday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had congratulated him on his victory last month during a phone call following the collapse of former president Bashar al-Assad's government. This marks the first time Sharaa has acknowledged directly engaging with a head of state.

Commercial flights between Turkey and Syria have resumed after 13 years with a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Damascus.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said discussions with a Qatari delegation in Damascus Thursday included reconstruction in the war-torn country, during the first visit by a head of state since Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

Sharaa, promised Thursday to hold a "national dialogue conference" in his first address to the nation since the fall of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.

Amid historical changes in the balance of power in the Middle East, at least one thing remains constant: the strategic importance of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Palestinian health authorities said an Israeli airstrike in the northern West Bank killed at least 10 people late Wednesday, as Israeli forces have carried out a major crackdown in the