Syria - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palmyra

Syria

November 8, 2026

Damascus 9:54 pm

13°C

Bakr ALkasem / AFP via Getty Images

Syria foils Hezbollah-linked plot to attack Homs refinery: What to know

Syrian authorities have intensified a crackdown against Hezbollah’s alleged plans to launch attacks inside Syrian territory as well as smuggling attempts.

BING GUAN/AFP via Getty Images

Lawmakers urge Commerce Dept to ease Syria investment restrictions

Syria may be off the terrorism blacklist, but the Commerce Department’s export controls have yet to catch up.

Muzna Al-Atrash

Explainer

Meet Muzna al-Atrash, Syria's new Druze adviser for peace affairs

Atrash, from the Suwayda province and a member of the Druze community, will advise Damascus on peace affairs as it looks to assert authority in the south.

People inspect the damage at a site targeted by airstrikes

Analysis

How Syria is balancing public anger, regional stability after Jordan's strikes

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Middle East, reporting on regional politics

Latest News

Analysis

Gaza progress, Syria pullback: What Turkey wants from Israel’s next government

Demonstrators hold a banner reading "Free Gaza, free world"

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Syria flash floods kill at least 5, force hundreds of families from camps

Mohammed Mir / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Interview

US oil firm HKN aims to double output in Syria's formerly Kurdish-run fields

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on Feb. 15, 2026.

Matthew Zais

Matthew Zais

HKN vice president for government affairs

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

An Israeli Air Force F-15I jet is seen in the background as Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon (3rd R) speaks to reporters while standing next to Israel's armed forces chief Major-General Benny Gantz (R) and commander of Israel's Air Force Major-General Amir Eshel (4th R) during a presentation at Hatzerim air base in southern Israel April 30, 2013. Israel on Tuesday launched its first targeted attack on a militant in Gaza since a war in November, killing a Palestinian jihadist in an air strike that put f

Israel Says It Can 'Manage' Chaos in Syria

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon predicts fighting in Syria will go on for a long time, but suggests that may not be a problem for Israel.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) tour a technology expo at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem March 21, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) - RTR3F9EE

US Needs to Link Peace Process, Syria

For Washington to successfully form a Western-Arab coalition against Syria, it must increase pressure on Israel to avoid accusations of having double standards.

Life in Homs a Mixture Of Fear, Danger

A first-hand account from Homs reveals a city divided and under siege by the Syrian war.

Austrian United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping soldiers and a dog stand at attention after they arrived at the Vienna International airport in Schwechat June 12, 2013. Austria has begun withdrawing peacekeepers from the Golan Heights, winding down a four-decade mission due to spillover fighting from the Syrian civil war, the defence ministry said. The Austrians have patrolled the buffer zone between Israel and Syria as part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, known as UNDOF, since it was set up

UN Warns of Israel-Syria Escalation

The UN secretary-general warned today that the cease-fire between Israel and Syria is in jeopardy as Austrian forces have withdrawn from the UN Disengagement Observer Force.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (R) welcomes Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili (C) at the headquarters of the foreign ministry in Baghdad, August 8, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR36FB9

Iran Focused on Elections, Syria, Not Iraq

Baghdad has some breathing room as Iran has been preoccupied with elections and the war in Syria.

A Syrian refugee, who fled the violence in Syria, is seen at the Domiz refugee camp in the northern Iraqi of province Dohuk July 25, 2012. The number of refugees that have fled to Iraq's Kurdistan region is in excess of 11,000 refugees, and they are settled in the region's three provinces: Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniya. As for the Domiz refugee camp, the number of refugee families reached 696 families, equivalent to 2,800 people, but on the other side of the camp, where young refugees are, the number of refu

Iraqi Kurdistan Region Struggles To Cope With Syrian Refugees

Syrian refugees have been flowing into the Iraqi Kurdistan region, making the need for international assistance more pressing than ever.

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad carry the national flag as they ride on motorcycles in Qusair, after the Syrian army took control from rebel fighters, June 5, 2013. Syrian government forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies seized control of the border town of Qusair on Wednesday, dealing a major defeat to rebel fighters battling to overthrow Assad. REUTERS/Mohammed Azakir (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT MILITARY POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10CO4

Assad's Days Numbered? Think Again

Too many analysts and journalists have based their pronouncements of Assad's "numbered days" on wishful thinking.

Arab-Americans Discover Forefathers in Little Syria

Since the uprisings, more Syrians are arriving in the United States and finding that they have a long and rich history in New York City.

Lebanese and Syrian supporters of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, celebrate in Qusair June 9, 2013, after the Syrian army and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters took control of the town from rebel fighters in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTE

Whether Qusair Will Tip The Balance Remains to Be Seen

The defeat of Syrian opposition forces in Qusair may be a turning point toward a deepening of the conflict or a catalyst for a peace conference.

United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping soldiers from Austria stand on an observation tower near the Quneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights June 10, 2013. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, may prevail in the more than two-year-old uprising against him, Israel's intelligence minister said on Monday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS) - RTX10ISS

UN Forces in the Golan Perpetuate Israeli Occupation

The withdrawal of the Austrian UNDOF forces from the Golan Heights should remind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the UN is not in charge of Israel's security in an occupied territory.

A picture taken on June 8, 2013 shows Syrian army soldiers gathering ammunition from a tunnel in the village of Buweida, north of Qusayr, in Syria's central Homs province. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have now seized all of the Qusayr area in central Syria, state television reported, as troops overran the last rebel bastion in the area. AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

Syria’s War of Tunnels

An exclusive report from Qusair.

A Free Syrian Army fighter sits at his checkpoint as civilians walk along a passageway separating Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr, which is under the rebels' control and Al-Masharqa neighborhood, an area controlled by the regime, June 5, 2013. Picture taken June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Aref Hretani (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10DHX

Syrian Rebels Clash With Kurdish Militias

Fights erupted between Kurdish militias and groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in northern Syria after allegations the Kurds did not support an embargo on two Shiite villages in Aleppo.