Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing information from the Syrian pro-government "Syria TV" today.
The two met in the Kremlin on December 15 last year. At the time, Putin said that Moscow and Damascus had always been guided in their relations by the interests of the Syrian people.
"In Russia, there has never been any attitude towards Syria that was related to our political situation or any special interests. Over all these decades, we have always been guided by one – interests of the Syrian people," the Russian president said at the time.
The Lebanese Shiite movement "Hezbollah" announced last night that an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon had killed the host of the group's close-knit Al-Manar TV channel, Ali Nour al-Din, Reuters reported.
"Hezbollah" said the killing was an embodiment of "the danger of expanding Israel's actions (in Lebanon), which are already affecting the media community."
The Israeli army said that al-Din was a "Hezbollah" fighter who had recently worked to restore the group's artillery arsenal in southern Lebanon.
Israel and "Hezbollah" agreed with the mediation of the United States to a ceasefire between them in 2024. Since then, both sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, Reuters points out.
Nine Palestinian prisoners released by Israel returned to the Gaza Strip last night, Agence France-Presse reported, citing the management of the "Al-Aqsa Martyrs" hospital. in the city of Deir al-Balah, in the central part of the enclave.
This came after Israeli authorities announced that they had recovered the remains of the last Israeli hostage held in the coastal territory by the radical Palestinian group "Hamas", the agency said.
"Nine Palestinian prisoners from Gaza recently arrived at the hospital with Red Cross teams after being released by the occupier (Israel - ed.)", the "Al-Aqsa Martyrs" hospital said in a statement. The medical facility did not provide further details, AFP noted.
"The Israeli government has fulfilled its moral and ethical mission to return all hostages – "living and dead," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset (Israeli parliament) earlier today.
Qatar will provide Lebanon with financial assistance of about $434 million, most of which will be directed at the country's struggling energy sector, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the Qatar Development Fund.
Doha is providing the Lebanese army with grants for fuel and salaries, the world agency notes.
Lebanon needs foreign funds to cover the huge costs of reconstruction after the 2024 war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite movement "Hezbollah", in which Israeli air strikes inflicted serious defeats on large parts of the country.
Even before the conflict, Lebanon had been struggling for years with an acute shortage of imported fuel and poor infrastructure.
A statement from the Qatar Fund for Development said that around $400 million will be provided to support the energy sector, 10 percent of which will be provided as a grant. The financial support will also be directed towards strengthening the capacity of the Lebanese army and other important sectors in Lebanon.