The Syrian army and local tribes are crossing the Euphrates on various barges and pontoons, occupying new territories previously controlled by the SDF.

It seems that the hasty destruction of bridges across the river only slowed down the pace of Ahmed al-Sharaa's forces, but it could not and will not stop them. Only direct political pressure from the US could save the Kurds, but the Americans have not shown such a desire so far.

Adding:

Israel has objected to the White House’s pick of world leaders who will join the so-called Gaza “board of peace”, meant to temporarily oversee governance and reconstruction in the strip.

The White House and other sources announced a flurry of appointments and invitations to the organisation over the last two days, including Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, former UK prime minister Tony Blair and the president of Argentina, Javier Milei.

Israel said that some of the appointments were “not coordinated with Israel and were contrary to its policy”, without specifying who it objected to. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, also told the Israeli foreign minister to contact the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio.

The group, described as the “greatest and most prestigious board ever assembled, at any time, any place” by Donald Trump on Thursday, is meant to "temporarily govern Gaza" in place of Hamas.

Adding:

☦️ The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem REJECT CHRISTIAN ZIONISM

The highest legitimate Christian authority in the Holy Land has issued a rare, unified declaration explicitly condemning Christian Zionism and rejecting outside actors who claim to speak for Christians in Palestine.

Key points:

➡️Christian Zionism is named as a “damaging ideology” that misleads the public, sows confusion, and harms Christian unity

➡️Individuals advancing this ideology are accused of claiming authority outside the Church

➡️These actors have been welcomed at official political levels, amounting to interference in the internal life of the churches

➡️The Patriarchs state that they alone represent the Christian communities of the Holy Land 

Jerusalem’s historic churches are saying that foreign-backed political Christianity is endangering indigenous Christians, undermining church authority, and being used to advance agendas that threaten the Christian presence in the land.