U.S.-based firms Baker Hughes , Hunt Energy and Argent LNG will develop a masterplan for Syria's oil, gas and power sector, Argent LNG CEO Jonathan Bass said on Friday, in a partnership aimed at rebuilding energy infrastructure shattered by 14 years of civil war.

Leaders of Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemn Israeli strikes and oppose foreign interference - Anadolu Ajansı

Israel launched rare strikes in Damascus on Wednesday in a campaign it said was aimed at defending the Druze community after days of clashes in the southern city of Sweida.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said the clashes started after members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida province set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the tribes and Druze armed groups.

"If Israel feels that a certain leader...is an evident threat to its national security, it will operate," a former Israeli envoy told Newsweek.

Israeli leaders said they launched attacks on Syria this week to protect members of the Druze religious group in the country’s south, amid clashes in the area.

Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has called the Druze an "integral part" of the country and denounced Israeli strikes on Damascus.

Israeli experts, including a former government official, have questioned the rationale of the country's latest military intervention in Syria, warning it achieved little, risks a wider sectarian war and damages hopes of stability in Damascus. Israel’s ...