Saudi Arabia's foreign minister visits Lebanon on Thursday in the first trip to Beirut by Riyadh's top diplomat in 15 years, seeking a commitment to reform as the Gulf state reasserts sway in a country where Iranian influence is waning.

It already appears evident that the days of Russia serving as its leading arms supplier have come to an ignominious end.

As the new year begins, Israel stands at a critical crossroads, facing a complex web of challenges that include security, economic stability, and social cohesion. While Israel has demonstrated resilience in navigating past crises, the intersection of these challenges requires immediate attention and long-term strategic planning by its leadership.

A few days after the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled into exile, in December, an elderly woman sat on the sidewalk outside a morgue in Damascus. Her head wrapped in a scarf, she rocked back and forth and clasped her hands, wailing about what she had lost to Assad’s regime. “Help me,” she called. “They took my sons. Where are they?”

Palestinians began arriving in northern Gaza, months after Israel ordered them to flee. The Israel-Hamas truce was holding after it appeared to falter over the weekend.

But such research was conducted while Assad was still in power, and it has only been several weeks since Assad fell. As a result, it’s unclear how many Syrians will decide to go back. After all, the current government is transitional, and the country is not fully unified.

MAYS AL-JABAL, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 22 and injuring 124, Lebanese health officials reported.

Israel says Hamas list shows 8 of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire are dead.

At least five people were killed and 31 injured in an LPG tanker truck blast in Pakistan's Multan region, Geo news reported on Monday.

A protest depicted in a video on social media happened last year, in response to US and UK airstrikes on Yemen after Houthi militants attacked shipping lanes. The demonstration itself was not bombed.

Mass graves are being discovered in Syria, testament to the horrors committed under the now ousted leader Bashar al Assad. The story of one man forced to help dig some of those graves.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will continue supporting Lebanon and is optimistic about the country's future after a ceasefire brought an end to a war between Israel and the militant Iran-aligned Hezbollah group, the kingdom's foreign minister said from Beirut.