World | Middle East

Bringing the U.S.-allied Kurdish militia under the umbrella of Syria’s army sends an important message about national cohesion amid heightened concerns over minority rights.

From the outset, the Trump plan for rebuilding Gaza faced fierce resistance over the relocation of its Palestinian residents. A plan that now has broad Arab world backing avoids that, and goes further, setting its sights on regional peace. Still, it faces hurdles.

On Oct. 7, Hamas forces penetrated a $1.1 billion, high-tech Israeli barrier on the Gaza border. Israel’s army and Shin Bet security force say their intelligence failed by relying on technology at the expense of humans.

Sectarian violence involving supporters of the deposed Assad regime has left hundreds dead, calling into question whether Syria’s new rulers can maintain discipline over a patchwork of armed militant groups, including hard-line jihadis.

The death toll from two days of clashes between security forces and loyalists of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 600, a war monitoring group said Saturday. Local residents said gunmen shot Alawites, the majority of them men, in the streets or at the gates of their homes.

Even as former anti-Assad rebels adjust to governing, private Syrians are trying to rebuild homes and communities shattered by civil war. Standing in their way are severe U.S. sanctions blocking equipment and investment.

The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire allowed Palestinians to return to communities in Gaza’s devastated north. But as they try to pick up the pieces of their lives, the peace framework is shaking.

The kibbutzim and other Israeli communities near Gaza still bear the marks of Oct. 7. But as hostages return home, they are shifting toward rebirth.

For centuries, Yemen’s coastal wetlands played host to each year to flocks of migrating birds. But civil war has left the ecosystem in dire straits.

It has been a pressing question regarding Syria’s new rulers. How would the Islamist group treat religious freedom in a diverse country? For Syria’s religious minorities, the answer has been encouraging, but incomplete.