Syria - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palmyra

Syria

July 8, 2026

Damascus 6:00 am

22°C

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shakes hands with France's President Emmanuel Macron following a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

Explainer

French energy, shipping giants explore Syria deals during Macron visit

The two countries signed preliminary pacts spanning transport, healthcare, banking, infrastructure and development on Tuesday, even as twin explosions in the capital underscored the fragile investment environment.

Ludovic MARIN / AFP via Getty Images

Macron's Syria visit eyes to boost France's economic role: What to know

The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and various regional developments during the first visit by a Western head of state to Syria since the civil war ended.

Security personnel and first responders prepare to cordon off an area near the Four Seasons Hotel following two blasts nearby in Damascus on July 7, 2026. Syrian authorities said 18 people were wounded by two blasts in central Damascus on July 7 near the hotel where France's president spent the night, with the Elysee Palace saying his visit is ongoing. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Two explosions hit Damascus as Macron visits Syria

Two explosions hit Damascus on Tuesday morning as French President Emmanuel Macron made the first visit to Syria by a Western leader.

Latest News

Analysis

How Syria’s wheat fields turned into first battleground over reconstruction

Farmers roast harvested wheat using fire in a field on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, on May 18, 2026.

Haddon Barth

By Haddon Barth

Analysis

Can a UAE-backed Syria-Iraq corridor become Gulf's next trade route?

An aerial view shows port of the western Syrian port city of Latakia, on Dec. 18, 2024.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Clashes between Druze fighters, Syrian forces raise fears of renewed violence

Volunteers of the Druze-led National Guard manage traffic at a checkpoint, Suwayda, Syria, Jan. 22, 2026.

Syria launches gas project with Saudi firm in latest Gulf energy partnership

Oil drilling near Dakhiliyah in the desert region of Hasakah, Syria, Jan. 25, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) speaks with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Sde Boker, Israel on March 28, 2022. - Blinken and the top diplomats of Israel and four Arab states held a landmark meeting to discuss issues from the Iran nuclear negotiations to the global shockwaves of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE's Abdullah bin Zayed visits US, days after meeting Assad

Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed will meet with US Secretary of State Blinken at the State Department on Tuesday.

Nurse anaesthetist Abdelbaset Khalil (2nd L) stands with others on the rubble of his house following a deadly earthquake, near the hospital in the town of Harim, in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province at the border with Turkey, on February 11, 2023. - Following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria on February 6, toppling hundreds of buildings and leaving a death toll of at least 3,581 in Syria, supplies have been slow to arrive in the war-torn country where years of conflict have

Did US pressure force Turkey to let Syrian-Kurdish earthquake aid into rebel-held northwest?

Ankara relents, allowing the first humanitarian aid and disaster relief to enter devastated northwest Syria from the country's Kurdish-run northeast.

Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, visits the affected neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo on February 13, 2023 following a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Arab states, militias pour aid into Syria as earthquake death toll exceeds 5,000

The Lebanese group Hezbollah and Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces are among the militias that delivered aid to Syria.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

US pushes UN vote on aid routes into earthquake-ravaged Syria

Six days after Syria's earthquake, the United States called on the UN Security Council to greenlight the use of additional aid corridors through a new resolution.

Syria In Crisis

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Syria to allow cross-border aid into areas outside government control

Delivering assistance to Syria after the deadly earthquakes is complicated by the government's diplomatic isolation and tight control over aid access.

The photo was taken Feb. 9, 2023, after the earthquake in the town of Jindires in the countryside of Afrin, in the north of Aleppo, Syria. - Khaled al-Khateb

'We are forced to dig our mass graves': Syrians fend for themselves after earthquake

Al-Monitor has toured devastated towns in Syria, following the deadly earthquake that has killed over 3,000 Syrians. International humanitarian aid has yet to reach the area.

Assad earthquake

Analysis

Can Syria's Assad leverage earthquake to come in from the cold?

Aid for disaster recovery could provide an excuse for some countries in the region to resume normal relations with the Syrian regime.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A Palestinian relief team poses for a picture before their departure to Syria and Turkey.

Palestinians join earthquake rescue efforts in Syria, Turkey

The Palestinian Authority joins more than 60 countries sending rescue teams to Turkey and Syria in response to the earthquake.

Turkey earthquake

The Takeaway: Syria's neglected northwest pleads for earthquake aid

Plus, a roundup of Al-Monitor's on-the-ground coverage of the devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey.

Syrians, displaced as a result of the deadly earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria two days ago, arrive to an open area on the outskirts of the rebel-held town of Jindayris on February 8, 2023. - A leading United Nations official called for the facilitation of aid access to rebel-held areas in Syria's northwest, warning that relief stocks will soon be depleted. Rebel-held areas near Turkey's border -- hard hit by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck on Monday -- cannot receive aid from government-held pa

Earthquake death toll nears 20,000 as Turkey, Syria seek help

Hundreds of thousands more are injured or displaced as rescue workers race against time to free those who are trapped.

A photograph taken on February 8, 2023 shows tents at a camp set up by the government in the southeastern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, two days after a strong earthquake struck the region.

Earthquake deaths pass 11,000 in Turkey, Syria as anger, desperation mount: Live Updates

Desperation is growing in the aftermath of the massive earthquakes that rocked Turkey, Syria and beyond as international rescue efforts pour into the region.

Residents and rescuers search for victims and survivors amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Rescuers pour into Turkey, but aid slow to arrive in earthquake-hit Syria

The disaster response in northern Syria is stymied by supply chain issues, logistical hurdles and diplomatic disputes over accessing the country's rebel-held territory.