A national dialogue conference held Tuesday in Damascus set out a path for the new Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad but did not receive support from Kurdish leaders, who were not invited.

Among the principles agreed to was a state monopoly on arms, which came with Syria's Kurds at odds with the new government over the future of their armed units.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a speech to attendees, said the country was at a "new historic phase" after more than a decade of civil war.

In the marbled halls of a luxury hotel, leading experts are discussing a new approach to an age-old problem: how to make it rain in the UAE, the wealthy Gulf state that lies in one of the world's biggest deserts.

Decades of work and millions of dollars have been ploughed into easing endless drought in the oil-rich UAE, whose mainly expatriate population is soaring undeterred by a dry, hostile climate and hairdryer summer heat.

Despite the United Arab Emirates' best efforts, rainfall remains rare.

Palestinian militants said on Monday that an unusual deployment of Israeli tanks in the occupied West Bank, part of a major offensive that has displaced tens of thousands, may be a step toward annexation.

The torn-up streets surrounding the Jenin refugee camp in the territory's north were empty on Monday, an AFP journalist reported, as three Israeli Merkava tanks stationed at higher vantage points overlooked the area.

Displaced camp residents occasionally entered through a back alley to retrieve belongings from their homes.

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad on Monday accused Israel of wanting to "annex the West Bank by force" after Israel deployed tanks into the occupied territory for the first time in decades.

Israel said on Sunday its troops would remain for many months in refugee camps in the northern West Bank, after tens of thousands of Palestinians living there were displaced by an intensifying, weeks-long military operation.

Israel said on Sunday its troops would remain for many months in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, after tens of thousands of Palestinians living there have been displaced by an intensifying military operation.

The military began a major raid against Palestinian militants in the West Bank's north a month ago, just after a truce went into effect in the Gaza Strip, a separate Palestinian territory.

The West Bank offensive has gradually expanded, spanning multiple refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun told a visiting Iranian delegation on Sunday that the war-scarred country was "tired" of external conflicts playing out on its territory.

The high-level delegation was in Beirut for the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of Tehran-backed Hezbollah which fought a war with Israel last year that ended in a November truce.

"Lebanon has grown tired of the wars of others on its land," Aoun told the Iranian officials, according to a statement shared by the newly appointed president, a former army chief seen as close to the West.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed "resistance" against Israel as Tehran-backed Hezbollah held a funeral Sunday in Beirut for its leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli strike last year.

"The enemy should know that resistance against usurpation, oppression and arrogance is never-ending and will continue until the desired goal is achieved," Khamenei said in a statement published on his official website.

Israel on Sunday said troops would stay in West Bank refugee camps for the coming year, announcing expanded military operations including tank deployments, after the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians.

The military one month ago began a major raid against Palestinian militants in the West Bank just after a truce began in the Gaza Strip, another Palestinian territory.

The Israeli operation in the West Bank spans multiple refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas.

Hamas on Sunday said Israel has gravely endangered a five-week-old Gaza truce by delaying the release of Palestinian prisoners under the deal because of the manner it has freed Israeli hostages.

The first phase of the truce ends early in March and details of a planned subsequent phase have not been agreed.

With tensions again hanging over the deal, which halted more than 15 months of war, Israel on Sunday announced an expansion of military operations in the occupied West Bank.

Hezbollah's leader said "resistance" was not over as hundreds of thousands mourned slain chief Hassan Nasrallah Sunday at a Beirut funeral, demonstrating continued support for the group after a devastating war with Israel.

During the funeral, women wailed as a truck carrying the coffins of Nasrallah and his chosen successor Hashem Safieddine -- both killed in Israeli strikes -- slowly moved through the crowd, topped with two black turbans and draped in Hezbollah's yellow flag.