Syrians

The Palestinian Health Ministry says the death toll in Gaza has risen to 74,022, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency. The updated figure reflects the continued counting of casualties in the territory. No further details about the circumstances of the newly recorded deaths were provided in the report.

Turkey's foreign minister said Israel is facing growing international isolation and called for diplomatic solutions to the conflicts in the Middle East. Speaking to Syrian state news agency SANA, he urged dialogue over military escalation in the region. The remarks underline Ankara's effort to position itself as a mediator amid ongoing tensions involving Israel and its neighbours.

A local official in Palmyra says war damage in the ancient Syrian city is so extensive that archaeological excavation missions could wait years before permits to resume work are granted. The announcement comes as residents and tourists slowly begin returning to the city following the ouster that ended years of conflict there. The fate of the UNESCO World Heritage site, heavily damaged during the war, remains a concern for heritage experts.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has appointed a first deputy governor of the Central Bank of Syria, according to the state news agency SANA. The move fills a senior post at the institution that oversees Syria's banking system and currency, as the country works to stabilise its financial sector amid ongoing economic reconstruction efforts.

Interior Minister Anas Khattab delivered a speech at the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in Abu Dhabi. The address is being shared and discussed online, drawing attention to Syria's participation in the major UN gathering on crime prevention and criminal justice policy.

A former Syrian prison official has been sentenced in the United States for torture and immigration fraud. The sentencing follows proceedings by US immigration authorities, who charged the man with concealing his role in a Syrian prison while obtaining immigration status. The case is being highlighted by US Citizenship and Immigration Services as an example of accountability for human rights abusers who enter the country under false pretenses.

Israeli forces shot dead a suspect who approached an IDF military post in the buffer zone in Syria, according to a report by The Jerusalem Post. The incident highlights ongoing Israeli military activity in the area following the fall of the Assad regime, with Israel maintaining positions across the border. No further details about the suspect or circumstances have been released.

A United Nations envoy has called on the international community to step up support for Syria's recovery, while warning about continued Israeli incursions into Syrian territory. The envoy stressed that reconstruction and stability efforts need sustained backing, and raised concern that repeated violations risk undermining progress. The remarks come as Syria's future remains a focus of regional and international diplomacy.

Syrian and Hezbollah representatives held secret talks in Turkey, according to sources cited by Modern Diplomacy. The report offers no details on the agenda or participants' level, but any direct contact between Damascus and the Lebanese group is significant given Hezbollah's long involvement in Syria's conflict and the shifting regional dynamics following changes in Syria's leadership.

Syrian and American business representatives met in New York to discuss investment opportunities and banking relations between the two countries. The talks signal an effort to rebuild economic and financial connections after years of strained ties, with focus on restoring banking channels and encouraging U.S. investment in Syria.

The Sudanese army says it has taken control of a strategic area in North Kordofan, according to a Syrian state news agency report cited across regional outlets. The claim comes as Sudan's civil war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces continues to shift battle lines across the Darfur and Kordofan regions.

Fourteen years after the Syrian conflict began, calls are growing for accountability and dignity for Syrians who endured years of bombardment, displacement and detention. UN human rights officials stress that victims deserve truth, justice and reparations, and that accountability must remain central to Syria's future even as global attention drifts elsewhere.

A new Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI) market overview for Syria has been published, covering September 2026. The report tracks prices and market conditions relevant to humanitarian response in the country. Such overviews are closely followed by aid organisations and donors assessing needs and purchasing power across Syrian communities, though details of this edition's findings have not been widely reported yet.

On 1 October 1918, during the First World War, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force took Damascus from Ottoman forces, a decisive moment in the Sinai and Palestine campaign that helped end Ottoman rule in the region. The anniversary is being recalled alongside accounts of visiting the Syrian capital today, with reflections on the city's layered history and how a century of change has shaped it.

Israeli forces blew up a building during an incursion into the western Damascus countryside in Syria, targeting an abandoned structure on agricultural land between Beit Jinn and Mazraat Beit Jinn. The strike is being tracked amid ongoing Israeli military activity inside Syrian territory following the fall of the Assad government.

Israeli attacks in Gaza and the West Bank have left one Palestinian dead and several others injured, according to Syrian state news agency SANA. The report adds to a steady drumbeat of casualty announcements from the occupied Palestinian territories, where Israeli military operations and strikes continue on a near-daily basis amid the ongoing Gaza war and rising tensions in the West Bank.

Syrian government officials and Hezbollah held secret talks in Turkey, according to sources cited in a Reuters exclusive report. The undisclosed meetings link two of the region's most contested actors on Turkish soil, raising questions about back-channel diplomacy and what was negotiated. Details of the agenda and participants remain limited, and neither Damascus, Hezbollah nor Ankara has publicly commented on the talks.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa addressed the United Nations, describing Syria's recovery from the destruction of years of civil war and arguing that responsibility for securing a lasting peace in the region rests with Israel. His speech frames post-war Syria as reopening to the international community while keeping pressure on Israel over the region's unresolved conflicts.

Explosions have been reported near a military airport in Syria's Idlib province, according to Al Jazeera. Details on casualties, the cause, or who may be responsible were not immediately available. Idlib remains one of the most sensitive areas in Syria, hosting both Syrian army positions and tensions among armed groups, so any blast near a military airfield draws immediate attention from regional watchers.

Two members of Syria's Defense Ministry were injured when a landmine exploded in Deir Ezzor province, according to Enab Baladi. The incident underscores the continued danger of leftover mines and unexploded ordnance in eastern Syria, an area heavily affected by years of conflict and littered with explosive remnants. No further details on the victims' condition or the exact location have been reported.

Syrian security forces have arrested a three-person cell allegedly linked to Hezbollah that was plotting attacks, according to the Jerusalem Post. The reported arrests come as Syria's new authorities move against armed factions and foreign-linked networks operating in the country. Details about the cell's targets or timeline were not given in the report.

Syria's government has rejected reports that its officials held secret talks with Hezbollah in Turkiye. The denial follows a Reuters report citing six sources from Syria, the US and Lebanon who said such meetings had taken place. The episode has drawn attention because it touches on Syria's relations with the Lebanese armed group and its ties to Turkiye and Western governments, all sensitive matters for the new authorities in Damascus.

The United States has removed Syria from its arms export ban list, a step taken as the Trump administration moves closer to Syria's new government. The change signals a significant shift in US policy toward Damascus and opens the door to expanded defense-related trade and cooperation between the two countries.

Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed its support for Sudan's stability and sovereignty, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency. The statement signals Riyadh's continued diplomatic backing for Khartoum as Sudan remains gripped by conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. Details of how the support will be delivered were not given.

Israeli forces shelled agricultural lands near the Al-Mantara Dam in the Quneitra countryside of southern Syria, according to reports citing the area's farmland. No casualties or extent of damage were given in the initial report. Cross-border shelling between Israel and Syrian territory has recurred repeatedly, and observers continue to track strikes in the contested Golan region.

A delegation from Syria's Central Bank is in New York to discuss plans for rehabilitating the country's banking sector. According to the state news agency SANA, the talks focus on rebuilding financial institutions damaged by years of conflict and sanctions. Observers see the visit as a sign that Damascus is seeking to reintegrate Syria's financial system with international banking circles.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, is in Damascus, with coverage framing her visit as a marker of how far relations between Syria and Europe have moved in the two years since dramatic political change in the country. The trip signals the EU's renewed engagement with Syria's new authorities and a possible turn toward restoring diplomatic and economic ties after years of isolation.