Syria’s military entered a stronghold for the Druze minority in the country’s south on Tuesday to “pursue outlaw groups,” the government said, prompting Israel to launch strikes against the forces dispatched by Damascus.

This matters because if ISIS is on the rise in parts of Syria, then it will require coordination between Damascus and the SDF. The SDF controls a third of Syria.

Druse militiamen have been fighting with Bedouins in the Sweida Province, and Syrian government forces and the Israeli military are getting involved.

The Syrian Catholic archbishop of Homs in Syria, Jacques Mourad, has issued an urgent appeal for the future of the Christian presence in that country.

The development of Syria’s energy sector is crucial for the Syrian government as it is witnessing a major transformation in light of international diplomatic and economic openness that has resulted in various agreements, with the aim of modernizing the infrastructure and achieving energy security.