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Syria and DP World Ink $800 Million Deal for Port Development

A person holds up the flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people celebrate after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in the Damascus old city, Syria, December 13, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A person holds up the flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people celebrate after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in the Damascus old city, Syria, December 13, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Syria and DP World Ink $800 Million Deal for Port Development

A person holds up the flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people celebrate after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in the Damascus old city, Syria, December 13, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A person holds up the flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people celebrate after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in the Damascus old city, Syria, December 13, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The Syrian government and DP World signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth $800 million to develop Syria's port of Tartous, Syrian state news agency SANA said on Friday, after the lifting of US sanctions cleared the way for the deal.

The deal to develop, manage and operate a multi-purpose terminal at Tartous includes cooperation in establishing industrial and free trade zones. DP World is a subsidiary of United Arab Emirates investment company Dubai World.

Syria is seeking to attract foreign investments to boost its struggling economy, and the deal was signed in the same week that US President Donald Trump announced plans to lift of sanctions on Syria during a visit to Riyadh, Reuters said.

Trump said he made the decision to lift sanctions after discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, whose governments have both strongly urged the lifting of sanctions.

Trump had also met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa ahead of the GCC summit in Riyadh on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Trump intends to issue waivers under the "Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act", through which Washington imposed stiff sanctions on former President Bashar al-Assad's government and secondary sanctions on outside companies or governments that worked with it.

Removing US sanctions that cut Syria off from the global financial system will also clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organizations working in Syria, easing foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds.

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Arab World

Army Chief: Israel to 'Advance Targeted Ground Operations' in Lebanon

People inspect a crater following an Israeli airstrike that hit the Qasmiyeh Bridge near the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)
People inspect a crater following an Israeli airstrike that hit the Qasmiyeh Bridge near the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)
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Army Chief: Israel to 'Advance Targeted Ground Operations' in Lebanon

People inspect a crater following an Israeli airstrike that hit the Qasmiyeh Bridge near the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)
People inspect a crater following an Israeli airstrike that hit the Qasmiyeh Bridge near the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Israel's military will expand its ground operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, its army chief said Sunday, warning that the offensive against the group was still in its early stages.

"The operation against the Hezbollah terrorist organization has only begun... This is a prolonged operation," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a statement.

"We are now preparing to advance the targeted ground operations and strikes according to an organized plan," he added.

Zamir's comments came as Israel struck more targets in south Lebanon on Sunday, including a key bridge, triggering a warning from the Lebanese president that it could be launching a full ground invasion.

Destroying bridges further isolates residents from the rest of Lebanon.

The destruction of bridges and homes marks a significant escalation in Israel's military campaign in Lebanon, which was pulled into the regional war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired into Israeli territory.

Sunday's strike damaged a crossing on Lebanon's coastal highway that runs through farmland and is one of the main routes linking southern and central Lebanon.

An Israeli military spokesperson had ‌announced the army would ‌strike the Qasmiyeh bridge earlier on Sunday.

Smoke and flames rise after an Israeli strike targeting the Qasmiyeh Bridge near Tyre, in southern Lebanon, 22 March 2026. EPA/STRINGER

Israel has sent troops into Lebanon and carried out extensive airstrikes, while Hezbollah has launched rocket barrages.

"In recent weeks, we have achieved significant accomplishments: we have struck more than 2,000 targets, dozens of weapons storage facilities, and struck and eliminated hundreds of terrorists," Zamir said.

"We will not stop until the threat is pushed away from the border and long term security is ensured for the residents of northern Israel," he added.

Lebanese authorities say Israel's strikes have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than 1 million.

Arab World

Israel Probing if Own Forces Killed Civilian on Lebanon Border

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Marjayoun, Lebanon, March 22, 2026. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Marjayoun, Lebanon, March 22, 2026. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
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Israel Probing if Own Forces Killed Civilian on Lebanon Border

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Marjayoun, Lebanon, March 22, 2026. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Marjayoun, Lebanon, March 22, 2026. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher

Israel's military said it was investigating whether its own fire killed an Israeli civilian near the Lebanese border on Sunday, after Hezbollah claimed an attack in the same area.

Israeli emergency workers said earlier Sunday that a man was killed in a "direct hit" on his car by a rocket from Lebanon, making him the first fatality in the country's north since the latest round of fighting with Hezbollah broke out.

The Iran-backed militant group said after the incident that its fighters had attacked Israeli soldiers in the same area.

But the Israeli army later announced it was "conducting a comprehensive investigation" into the death, AFP reported.

"The possibility that the incident involved fire originating from IDF soldiers is being examined," the military said in a statement.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Israeli-US attacks.

Israel has sent troops into Lebanon and carried out extensive airstrikes in the country, while Hezbollah continues to fire rocket barrages across the border.

Arab World

Israeli Airstrikes Kill Four in Gaza

UN vehicles escort ambulances and a bus carrying Palestinian patients in Khan Younis as they travel to the Rafah crossing to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment abroad, Thursday, Mar, 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
UN vehicles escort ambulances and a bus carrying Palestinian patients in Khan Younis as they travel to the Rafah crossing to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment abroad, Thursday, Mar, 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Israeli Airstrikes Kill Four in Gaza

UN vehicles escort ambulances and a bus carrying Palestinian patients in Khan Younis as they travel to the Rafah crossing to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment abroad, Thursday, Mar, 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
UN vehicles escort ambulances and a bus carrying Palestinian patients in Khan Younis as they travel to the Rafah crossing to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment abroad, Thursday, Mar, 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

An Israeli airstrike on a police vehicle on Sunday killed three people in the middle of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, health officials said, hours after another person was killed in a strike on northern Gaza.

According to Reuters, medics and police sources said the three men killed in Nuseirat were members of the Hamas-led police force.

Ten people were also wounded in the attack, medics said.

Earlier on Sunday ⁠a separate airstrike ⁠killed one person - identified as a leader of one of Fatah's armed groups - and injured an unknown number of others in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military said it was checking on ⁠the two incidents.

While Israeli attacks in Gaza declined in the days after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, according to residents, medics and analysts, they have since begun to rise again. Israeli fire has killed dozens of Palestinians since the outbreak of the Iran war, Gaza health officials say.

In Gaza there have been regular outbreaks of ⁠violence ⁠since a ceasefire went into effect in October following two years of devastating war triggered by Hamas-led attacks in Israel in October 2023.

The territory's health ministry says that at least 680 people have been killed by Israeli fire since the October ceasefire. Israel said four soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza in the same period.

Israel and Hamas have traded blame for truce violations.