Middle East latest: Israeli strikes hit Gaza and also target suspected weapons sites in Syria

Israeli strikes killed at least six people in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical officials said Monday, while also hitting suspected chemical and long-range weapons sites in Syria to keep them from rebels who seized Damascus. The U.N. Security Council plans to hold emergency...

As Israel advances on a Syrian buffer zone, it sees peril and opportunity

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The dramatic downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad presents possible danger, and an opening, for neighboring Israel. After fighting wars on multiple fronts for months, Israel is now concerned that unrest in Syria could spill over into its territory....

Analysis: Collapse of Syria's Assad is a blow to Iran's 'Axis of Resistance'

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — For Iran’s theocratic government, it keeps getting worse. Its decadeslong strategy of building an “Axis of Resistance” supporting militant groups and proxies around the region is falling apart. First came the crushing Israeli campaign in Gaza triggered...

Ousted Syrian leader Assad flees to Moscow after fall of Damascus, Russian state media say

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally, Russian media said Sunday, hours after a stunning rebel advance seized control of Damascus and ended his family’s 50 years of iron rule. Thousands of Syrians poured...

Global reaction to Assad's sudden ouster from Syria ranges from jubilation to alarm

Across the Middle East and beyond, the fall of Syria’s authoritarian government at the hands of jihadi militants set off waves of jubilation, trepidation and alarm. Expatriate Syrians and many residents across the Middle East exulted at the overthrow of a leader who led his country...

Syria latest: Syrians celebrate in the streets as Russian media says Assad has arrived in Moscow

Syrians poured into streets in celebration on Sunday after a stunning rebel advance reached the capital, ending the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule. Russian state news agencies were reporting that President Bashar Assad and his family had arrived in Moscow and were given asylum. Russia said...

Syria latest: Syrians celebrate Bashar Assad's fall as his whereabouts remain unknown

Crowds gathered in Syria's Damascus on Sunday to celebrate the fall of Bashar Assad’s government with chants, prayers and the occasional gunfire after opposition fighters entered the capital following a stunning advance. Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,...

Prime Minister Netanyahu says Israeli forces have seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights following Syrian unrest

Trump's return may be a boon for Netanyahu, but challenges abound in a changed Middle East

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Shortly after Donald Trump’s win in last month’s U.S. election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to congratulate the president-elect: “History’s greatest comeback!” he gushed. If Trump’s staunchly pro-Israel first term and his...

Analysis: At dueling Mideast forums, officials ask what will happen when Donald Trump takes office

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — At glittering ballrooms in the Mideast this weekend, discussions of the wars and chaos gripping the region gave way to one central question: What's going to happen when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month? Summits in both Bahrain and...