The Islamist takeover of Syria has left Egypt apprehensive and cautiously calibrating future ties, years after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power by toppling the Muslim Brotherhood.
Egypt backed president Bashar al-Assad until the eleventh hour, and with the Islamists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) now in control in Syria, it worries what impact the change might have.
Israel confirmed on Saturday that negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal had resumed in Qatar, as rescuers said more than 30 people had been killed in fresh bombardment of the territory.
The civil defence agency said a dawn air strike on the home of the al-Ghoula family in Gaza City killed 11 people, seven of them children.
AFP images from the neighbourhood of Shujaiya showed residents combing through smoking rubble. Bodies including those of small children were lined up on the ground, shrouded in white sheets.
Syria said on Saturday the country's main airport in Damascus would resume international flights starting next week after such commercial trips were halted following last month's ousting of president Bashar al-Assad.
"We announce we will start receiving international flights to and from Damascus International Airport from" Tuesday, state news agency SANA said, quoting Ashhad al-Salibi, who heads the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport.
Gaza's civil defence agency said around 30 people were killed in Israeli bombardments on Friday, as Hamas said indirect negotiations for a truce in the war were set to resume in Qatar later.
The Israeli military said three rockets targeted its territory from the Gaza Strip, the latest in a flurry of launches by militants in the devastated Palestinian territory.
"Friday was a harsh day for the residents of Gaza, particularly in Gaza City, due to the continual Israeli bombardment," civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said Friday that Lebanon was working to find a solution with Syria, after two security officials said Damascus had imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens.
"Work is underway to resolve the issue of Lebanese citizens being prevented from entering Syria," Mawlawi told AFP.
He said Lebanon's General Security agency was in touch with "the Syrian side" to resolve the issue.
The French and German foreign ministers called for a peaceful, inclusive transition in Syria as they visited Damascus Friday for talks with new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
France's Jean-Noel Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock are the most senior Western diplomats to visit the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month.
Baerbock told Sharaa that the European Union stood ready to support the transition in Syria but warned that "Europe will not finance new Islamist structures".
In the winding alleys of southern Iran, artist Adel Yazdi has taken it upon himself to turn his rustic old neighbourhood into a cultural and tourist hub through vibrant paintings and carved relief faces.
Narenjestan, a neighbourhood characterised by crumbling, uninhabited houses, is nestled in Shiraz, a southern city celebrated for its historic architecture, lush gardens and revered poets.
"Most of the dilapidated walls in old Shiraz have no historical value," said Yazdi, a bushy-bearded, bespectacled 40-year-old artist who has dedicated himself to revitalising Narenjestan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorised Israeli negotiators to continue talks in Doha on a hostage release, his office said Thursday, after Israel and Hamas traded blame for their slow progress.
Indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have taken place in Doha in recent weeks, rekindling hope for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement that has so far proven elusive.
But late last month the two sides accused each other of throwing up roadblocks, again delaying a deal.
UN experts on Thursday denounced Israel's raid on an embattled hospital in northern Gaza, demanding an end to the "blatant assault" on health rights in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Reiterating charges that Israel is committing "genocide" in Gaza -- something the Israeli government strongly denies -- two independent United Nations rights experts said they were "horrified" by the raid last Friday on Kamal Adwan, northern Gaza's last functioning major hospital.
Iran held rallies in its major cities Thursday to mark the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in neighbouring Iraq.
Demonstrators in Tehran chanted "Down with America" and "Down with Israel" as they held up photographs of the slain general.
Attending the rally at the capital's Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque, President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed to "neutralise the enemy's sinister schemes to create discord among Muslims."
