Day: February 2, 2026
A small group of security forces from Syria’s interior ministry entered the city of al-Hassakeh on Monday as part of an agreement between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which control the city.
The SDF announced the new agreement with the central government on Friday, aiming to stabilise a ceasefire in the country that ended weeks of fighting, in which the Kurdish-led force lost most of the territory it previously held in northeastern Syria, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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It lays out steps toward integrating the force into the army and police forces, and integrating civilian institutions in SDF-controlled areas into the central government.
Under the deal, government military forces will not enter Kurdish-majority areas, but small contingents of security forces reporting to the interior ministry will enter the cities of al-Hassakeh and Qamishli to secure state-affiliated institutions such as the civil registry, passport offices and the airport, and to restart work at those institutions.
Local Kurdish police forces will continue to patrol both cities and will eventually be integrated into the interior ministry as well.
The entry of government forces into al-Hassakeh went forward as planned without any outbreaks of violence.
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The Israeli military recently presented a report to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlining how the Hamas terror group is gaining strength in the Gaza Strip and rebuilding its capabilities since the ceasefire that took effect in October.
The network cites the three-page report as saying that “approximately three months after the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, it is evident that Hamas, despite the difficulties, continues to deepen its governance, looking ahead to the next phase of the agreement. An increase can be identified across all indicators of Hamas’s governance,” News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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The document appears to refer to the second phase of the ceasefire, which is currently underway and which aims to set up longer-term frameworks for governance and security in the Strip. Hamas is meant to disarm in phase two, though the terror group has rejected that demand and there is widespread skepticism in Israel that it will do so.
“Hamas is taking steps on the ground intended to preserve its influence and grip on the Gaza Strip from below. This is being done by integrating its operatives into government ministries and the security mechanisms,” Channel 13 cites the document as saying.
“Looking ahead: In the absence of Hamas’s disarmament, and under the auspices of the technocratic committee, Hamas will, in our assessment, succeed in maintaining influence and control in the Gaza Strip,” the document adds, according to Channel 13.
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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to visit Kyiv and will address the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) on February 3.
The 15th session of the Verkhovna Rada will open on Tuesday 3 February. The agenda includes, among other things, an address by Rutte, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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“Tomorrow, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will speak in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,” Ukrainian MP Oleksii Honcharenko wrote.
“There will be the opening, an address by the NATO secretary general and a number of procedural matters,” Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak noted.
There has been no official announcement that Rutte will visit the Ukrainian capital.
On 26 January, Rutte urged the EU to move away from the “buy European” rule in arms procurement for Ukraine.
He also called on EU countries that “are sitting on large piles of interceptors” to transfer these missiles to Ukraine.
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