Top diplomats from US, Arab League, Turkey discuss Syria's power transition

Collapse of Assad family's more than half-century of rule has sparked new fears of instability in a region already shaken by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah

Top diplomats from the United States, the Arab League and Turkey met in Jordan on Saturday to discuss how to assist Syria 's transition after the fall of Bashar Assad's government a week ago. No Syrian representatives attended.

The collapse of the Assad family's more than half-century of rule has sparked new fears of instability in a region already shaken by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and hostilities between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah despite a tenuous ceasefire.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said American officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian insurgent group that led the overthrow of Assad's government, but the group continues to be designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States and others.

 

The insurgent leader in an interview with Syrian TV didn't mention contact with the US, but he warned Israel about the hundreds of airstrikes it has carried out in Syria in the past week.

The US is also making a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the war has plunged more than 2 million Palestinians into a severe humanitarian crisis.

Here's the latest:  More Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill at least 11  Gaza Strip Witnesses and medical officials are reporting more Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

Four people were killed late Saturday in an airstrike on a tent in the central city of Deir al-Balah, according to an Associated Press journalist who counted the bodies at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Elsewhere, Palestinian medical officials said an airstrike killed at least seven people, including a woman and her baby, in Gaza City. The strike hit the Majda Wasilla school, which shelters many displaced families, according to Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the bodies.

Ataf Saadat, a woman sheltering in the school, said the baby killed was two days old. There were those who were burned, and those who were cut up, and the rubble was on top of them, Saadat said.

Israel's military said it struck Hamas fighters at a command center in a compound previously used as a school.

US Secretary of State Blinken wrapping up regional tour in Jordan  Jordan US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says broad consensus exists among regional partners that Syria's new government must be inclusive, must respect women and minority rights, reject terrorism and secure and destroy suspected Assad-era chemical weapons stockpiles.

Blinken is wrapping up a three-country regional tour in Aqaba after visiting Iraq, Turkey and Jordan once already this week.

Earlier Saturday in a meeting with UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson, Blinken said he expected to talk about the challenges ahead for Syria and our determination to work together to support a Syrian-led transition where the United Nations plays a critical role, particularly when it comes to the provision of assistance, to the protection of minorities.

Pederson agreed, saying: What is so critical in Syria is that we see a credible and inclusive political process that brings together all communities in Syria. And the second point is that we need to make sure that state institutions do not collapse, and that we get in humanitarian assistance as quickly as possible. And if we can achieve that, perhaps there is a new opportunity for the Syrian people.

In announcing Saturday's meetings, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the ministers would discuss ways to support a comprehensive political process led by Syrians to achieve a transitional process, which ensures the reconstruction of Syrian state institutions, and preserves Syria's unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty, security, stability, and the rights of all its citizens.