内容摘要：Under pressure from Western allies and amid global war fatigue, Zelenskyy saw that the days of

Under pressure from Western allies and amid global war fatigue, Zelenskyy saw that the days of

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped over 250 others. Hamas still holds about 59 hostages, with around a third believed to still be alive.Hamas released a video Saturday showing hostages Elkana Bohbot and Yosef-Haim Ohana, who appeared under duress. They were abducted during the Oct. 7 attack from a music festival where over 300 people were killed. Hamas released a video of them a month and half ago and has released several videos of Bohbot alone since then.

Protesters on Saturday night rallied once more in Tel Aviv to demand a ceasefire that would bring all hostages home.“Can you grasp this? The Israeli government is about to embark on a military operation that could and will endanger the lives of the hostages,” Michel Illouz, father of hostage Guy Illouz, told the gathering, referring to thePalestinian children scrape a pot for leftover food after all meals were distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinian children scrape a pot for leftover food after all meals were distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)Demonstrators light flares during a protest demanding a cease-fire deal and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Demonstrators light flares during a protest demanding a cease-fire deal and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Follow AP’s war coverage atFourteen years of war left large areas in ruins and, along with the sanctions, devastated the economy. An estimated

lives in poverty. Assad’s rule and the civil war also left deep fissures between the country’s Sunni minority and the Alawite minority from which Assad hailed, and which benefited from his rule. Those rifts have proven tough to heal.Al-Sharaa formed a transitional government that gave some positions to minorities but was dominated by his inner circle.

later broadened al-Sharaa’s powers and said Islamic law would remain at the heart of legislation for a five-year interim period. Al-Sharaa argued that the measures were needed to stabilize the country, while many critics viewed it as a power grab.“It appears that many of the steps taken have been rushed and performative rather than offering genuine meaningful change in Syria,” said Lara Nelson, policy director at the Syrian research and policy group Etana. “There are concerns about authoritarian consolidation.”