Commercial Plane from Türkiye Lands in Damascus for 1st Time in 13 Years

A Turkish Airlines aircraft carrying a diplomatic delegation from Ankara and an aid shipment provided by the Turkish Red Crescent, lands at the Damascus International Airport in the Syrian capital on January 23, 2025. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
A Turkish Airlines aircraft carrying a diplomatic delegation from Ankara and an aid shipment provided by the Turkish Red Crescent, lands at the Damascus International Airport in the Syrian capital on January 23, 2025. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
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Commercial Plane from Türkiye Lands in Damascus for 1st Time in 13 Years

A Turkish Airlines aircraft carrying a diplomatic delegation from Ankara and an aid shipment provided by the Turkish Red Crescent, lands at the Damascus International Airport in the Syrian capital on January 23, 2025. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
A Turkish Airlines aircraft carrying a diplomatic delegation from Ankara and an aid shipment provided by the Turkish Red Crescent, lands at the Damascus International Airport in the Syrian capital on January 23, 2025. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)

A commercial plane from Türkiye landed in Damascus for the first time in 13 years on Thursday, Syrian state media said.
The Turkish Airlines plane flew from Istanbul to the Syrian capital, SANA reported, two weeks after the first international commercial flight landed, from Qatar, since former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s fall.
Ankara backed opposition groups in northwestern Syria that fought against Assad and his allies during the uprising-turned-conflict and never restored ties, even when most Mideast countries did in 2023.
Now Türkiye, a key ally of the new authorities under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has expressed its intention to invest in Syria’s economy and help its ailing electricity and energy sectors.



Egypt Plans to Offer ‘Comprehensive Proposal’ to Rebuild Gaza While Palestinians Remain in Strip 

Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
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Egypt Plans to Offer ‘Comprehensive Proposal’ to Rebuild Gaza While Palestinians Remain in Strip 

Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)

Egypt said on Tuesday it plans to offer a "comprehensive proposal" to rebuild Gaza while ensuring Palestinians remain on their land, according to a foreign ministry statement.

It said it is looking forward to cooperating with US President Donald Trump to reach comprehensive and just peace in the region.

The statement comes as Trump continues to press for his plan to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its population to neighboring Egypt and Jordan despite vehement rejection from Arab states.

Egypt rejected any proposal to allocate land to Gaza residents, the state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV reported on Tuesday, citing Egyptian sources.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told state-owned al-Mamlaka TV on Tuesday that there is an Egyptian-led Arab plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its people.

Trump said earlier on the same day that he believed there would be a parcel of land in Jordan, Egypt and someplace else where Palestinians can be resettled.

Trump has infuriated the Arab world by saying that Palestinians would not be able to return to their homes under his proposal to redevelop the enclave, which has been devastated by an Israeli offensive.

"We're going to take it. We're going to hold it, we're going to cherish it. We're going to get it going eventually, where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East," Trump said in the Oval Office during a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, saying his plan would "bring peace" to the region.

King Abdullah said later that he reiterated to Trump Jordan’s "steadfast position" against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as in the occupied West Bank that borders his country.