ISTANBUL — Rebels were barreling toward the Syrian capital, but the president’s men were in no mood for the battle.
For more than a week they had watched city after town fall to the rebellion. By Saturday, the insurgents were threatening Homs, a strategic fire wall of Bashar al-Assad’s government. Iyad Ahmed, a 22-year-old soldier who said he was paid the equivalent of about $2 a month, was stationed on the city’s outskirts.
Middle East conflict
The Israel-Gaza war has gone on for over a year, and tensions have spilled into the surrounding Middle East region.
The war: On Oct. 7, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking civilian hostages. We’re tracking how many hostages remain in Gaza. Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel’s creation in 1948. In July 2024, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack Hamas has blamed on Israel.
Cease-fire: Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire deal in November 2024, bringing a tenuous halt to more than a year of hostilities. Here’s what to know about the deal’s terms and how it will be enforced.
Hezbollah: Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, a militant organization backed by Iran, have escalated over the past year, leading to an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. Israel’s airstrikes into Lebanon have grown more intense and deadly, killing over 1,400 people including Hasan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s longtime leader. The Israel-Lebanon border has a history of violence that dates back to Israel’s founding.
Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century’s most destructive wars, killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “famine-like conditions.” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave.
U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians, including President Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons, funds aid packages, and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations’ cease-fire resolutions.