Sharaa calls for full ceasefire after signing deal with Kurdish-led forces in Syria

TNA’s live coverage of the latest from the war on Gaza concludes for today. Join us again tomorrow at 0800 GMT for updates from the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Hungary has confirmed it has been invited to join the Gaza Board of Peace and has accepted the invitation, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

In a post on X, Orban announced the decision, writing: "With President Donald Trump comes peace. Another letter has arrived. Hungary’s efforts for peace are being recognised.

Orban, who has long maintained close ties with both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, added: "We have, of course, accepted this honourable invitation."

The Gaza Board of Peace will serve as an overarching oversight body for Gaza and will be chaired by Trump.

It is expected to include heads of state from across the Middle East and other regions, with leaders from several countries invited to take part.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a phone call from Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, during which the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen cooperation across various sectors, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

They also reviewed the latest regional developments and a number of issues of mutual interest.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed recent developments in Syria during a phone call with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, according to the Syrian News Agency (SANA).

Al-Sharaa emphasised Syria’s unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty during the conversation.

A senior Syrian government official told Reuters news agency a team from the energy ministry was already on the ground to assess the state of major oil fields and the Conoco gas field in Deir al-Zor, although there were no immediate results available yet.

The official said Syria's government would begin drafting development plans for those fields in coordination with energy firms who already have rights to those fields, including some who declared force majeure when Syria's conflict erupted in 2011.

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said Sunday he agreed to a deal with Damascus including a ceasefire to avoid broader war, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country's north and east.

"In order for this war not to turn into civil war... we accepted to withdraw from the Deir Ezzor and Raqa regions to Hasakeh," Abdi, head of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, said in a statement broadcast by Kurdish television channel Ronahi.

He said he would explain the deal in detail to Syria's Kurds after returning from Damascus, where he is expected to meet Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday.

Internet access was down again in Iran after a brief restoration of limited services, a monitor said on Sunday.

"As of internet shutdown hour 240, traffic levels have fallen after a brief, heavily filtered restoration of select Google and messaging services in Iran," Netblocks said on X.

"During this time, some Iranians were able to give updates detailing the severity of the crisis on the ground," it added.

It had earlier reported some internet access had been restored in Iran 238 hours after authorities imposed a shutdown on January 8 over mounting protests.

"Traffic data indicate a significant return to some online services including Google, suggesting that heavily filtered access has been enabled, corroborating user reports of partial restoration," Netblocks said earlier.

U.S. President Donald Trump has invited India to join his "Board of Peace" initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, according to a White House statement on Sunday, shared in a post on X by Washington's ambassador to New Delhi, Sergio Gor.

It was not clear whether India would join the initiative, which will initially focus on Gaza. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The invitation to India comes as ties between New Delhi and Washington are under strain due to the failure to secure a trade deal that would lower tariffs on India's exports to the U.S. that are facing a levy of 50% currently, among the highest in the world.

Trump has extended invitations to some 60 countries for the initiative, including India's neighbour Pakistan, whose government said earlier in the day that it would engage in international efforts for peace and security in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the latest developments in Syria with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa in a phone call on Sunday, Erdogan's office said.

In the call, which took place after Syria and the main Kurdish fighting force struck a wide-ranging deal to bring Kurdish civilian and military authorities under central government control, Erdogan told Sharaa that Ankara's support for Damascus, particularly in the fight against terrorism, will continue, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

Erdogan also told Sharaa that "the complete elimination of terrorism from Syrian territory is necessary for both Syria and the entire region," according to the Turkish presidency.

Israeli army troops were deployed to the Lebanon border in the Western Galilee on Sunday after a suspect was allegedly identified on the Lebanese side of the fence, according to The Times of Israel.

The military said it had been maintaining continuous surveillance on the suspect since their identification, adding that a tank and a helicopter opened fire in the area in an effort to "remove the threat".

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has cancelled a planned visit to Berlin this week, a German government spokeswoman told AFP news agency on Sunday.

The visit scheduled for Tuesday, which had been due to focus on Germany's efforts to step up the repatriation of Syrians, "was postponed by the Syrian side", the spokeswoman said.

The chief executive of Irancell, Iran's second-largest mobile phone operator, was dismissed for failing to comply with the government's decision to shut down the internet, the Fars news agency reported Sunday.

In an unprecedented move, Iran cut off all communications on January 8 without warning, as calls intensified for anti-government protests, initially sparked by the economic crisis.

Access to the internet has been virtually impossible in Iran since then, although restrictions began to ease Sunday for some foreign websites, such as Google.

"Alireza Rafiei was removed from the position of CEO of the company after about a year of activity," Fars reported.

"Irancell disobeyed the orders of the decision-making institutions in implementing the announced policies regarding the restriction of internet access in crisis situations," the agency said.

"The relevant institutions decided to dismiss the CEO of Irancell, citing 'failure to comply with the announced rules in crisis situations'," Fars added.

Iranian authorities have announced they are planning to restore internet access "gradually".

The reasons for the limited connectivity were not immediately clear.

Access to Google was restored on Sunday "via all mobile phone lines and internet service providers", according to state television.

Irancell was founded in 2005 and claims 70 million subscribers.

Limited internet access has returned in Iran, a monitor said Sunday, 10 days after authorities imposed a communications blackout that rights groups have said was aimed at masking a violent protest crackdown that killed thousands.

Iran's president warned that an attack on the country's supreme leader would be a declaration of war -- an apparent response to US counterpart Donald Trump saying it was time to look for new leadership in Iran.

Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years.

The rallies subsided after the crackdown that rights groups have called a "massacre" carried out by security forces under the cover of a communications blackout that started on January 8 as the protests grew in size and intensity.

Iranian officials have said the demonstrations were peaceful before turning into "riots" and blamed foreign influence from Iran's arch-foes the United States and Israel.

Trump, who backed and joined Israel's 12-day war against Iran in June, had repeatedly threatened new military action against Tehran if protesters were killed.

While Washington appeared to have stepped back, Trump hit out at supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- in power for 37 years -- in an interview with Politico on Saturday, saying it was "time to look for new leadership in Iran".

"The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people," Trump said. "His country is the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday in an X post: "An attack on the great leader of our country is tantamount to a full-scale war with the Iranian nation."

As leaders in Washington and Tehran have exchanged barbs, Iranian officials have said calm has been restored in the streets.

Security forces with armoured vehicles and motorcycles were seen in central Tehran, according to AFP news agency.

One new banner in central Tehran showed a set of dominoes with images including the former shah of Iran, ousted Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein and Trump with the caption, "dominoes falling".

Schools reopened on Sunday -- Iran's weekend falling on Thursday and Friday -- after a week of closure and authorities said "internet access would also be gradually restored", Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

US envoy Tom Barrack welcomed a deal including a truce announced Sunday between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi after government forces advanced in Kurdish-held areas of the country's north and east.

"This agreement and ceasefire represent a pivotal inflection point, where former adversaries embrace partnership over division," Barrack said on X. The envoy met Sharaa in Damascus on Sunday and Abdi a day earlier in Iraq's Erbil.

The deal between Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces will see the Syrian government take responsibility for Islamic State group prisoners and their families, who are kept in camps under Kurdish control, Syrian state media said Sunday.

India has received an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to join his "Board of Peace" initiative that is aimed at resolving global conflicts, beginning with Gaza, a senior Indian government official said on Sunday.

It was not clear whether India would join the initiative. Its foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signed a new deal with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces after weeks of fighting, privately owned Syria TV reported on Sunday.

#عاجل | أبرز بنود الاتفاق بين الحكومة السورية وقسد:
📌 دمج جميع المؤسسات المدنية في الحسكة ضمن الدولة السورية
📌 تسلم الحكومة السورية لكامل حقول النفط
📌 دمج جميع عناصر قسد ضمن هيكلية وزارة الدفاع السورية بشكل فردي بعد التدقيق الأمني اللازم وضمان خصوصية المناطق الكردية
📌 إصدار… pic.twitter.com/1TlhzXGTsg

— تلفزيون سوريا (@syr_television) January 18, 2026

Any attack on Iran's supreme leader will cause an all-out war, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday.

The warning comes as tensions flare between Tehran, and the United States and Israel. Iran has repeatedly warned against targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

"If the people of Iran face hardship and difficulties in their lives, one of the main reasons for it is the longstanding enmity and inhumane sanctions imposed by the United States government and its allies," Pezeshkian wrote on X.

"Any aggression against the Supreme Leader of our country is tantamount to all-out war against the Iranian nation."

President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with US envoy Tom Barrack on Sunday and insisted on Syria's sovereignty across the country, a statement said, as his forces advance against withdrawing Kurdish fighters in the north and east.

Sharaa "affirmed Syria's unity and sovereignty over all its territory, the importance of dialogue at the current stage and to rebuild Syria with the participation of all Syrians", a presidency statement said, adding that Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also attended the meeting.

Israeli settlers rampaged through a Palestinian village in the West Bank, setting fire to a series of structures, according to security camera footage obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday.

In the video, time-stamped at around 10 p.m. Saturday, several structures in the village go up in flames as the sound of gunfire, screaming and barking echoes in the background. At one point in the video, the fires grow so large that they illuminate the bands of settlers, dressed in black, pacing freely through the village.

In a statement, the Palestinian Authority's Jerusalem governate, which monitors Palestinian affairs in the area, said that eight homes and at least two cars were burned in the attack.

תיעוד: מתנחלים תקפו את היישוב הבדואי מוחמאס שמדרום־מזרח לרמאללה והציתו רכוש

השימוש נעשה בהתאם לסעיף 27א' לחוק זכויות יוצרים pic.twitter.com/G2cZ3zQq08

— הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsvid) January 17, 2026

Some internet access has been restored in Iran 238 hours after authorities imposed a shutdown on January 8 over mounting protests, a monitor said on Sunday, noting ordinary connectivity remained "disrupted".

"Traffic data indicate a significant return to some online services including Google, suggesting that heavily filtered access has been enabled, corroborating user reports of partial restoration," Netblocks said in a social media post.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sunday he had agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza in principle although details are still being worked out.

Carney said Trump raised the idea with him a few weeks ago and Carney said Canada will do what it can to relieve suffering in Gaza.

"We haven't gone through all the details of the structure, how it's going to work, what financing is for, et cetera," Carney told reporters in Doha. "We will work through those in the coming days."

Syrian state media said two civilians were killed by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern city of Al-Raqqa on Sunday, as a monitor reported clashes there.

State news agency SANA said "two civilians were killed by SDF gunfire" in the city, which has been under SDF control since the US-backed force pushed out Islamic State group jihadists in 2017.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said clashes between the SDF "and local Arab tribal fighters" were taking place in some neighbourhoods.

The U.S. should intervene more forcefully to end a Syrian offensive that has gained key territory from Kurdish fighters in recent days, the head of the main Kurdish forces told Reuters.

People's Protection Units (YPG) commander Sipan Hamo said a Saturday meeting between U.S. envoy Tom Barrack and Kurdish officials produced no roadmap to a ceasefire. He denied Syria's Kurds wanted to secede or create an independent state and said their future was in Syria.

"Our greatest hope is that there will be a tangible outcome, especially from the coalition and the United States, meaning that they will intervene more forcefully in the existing problems than what they are currently doing," Hamo said.

Hamo said Kurdish authorities recognised that Washington now had to balance its years-long alliance with Kurdish forces with its newfound support for President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government.

But given Kurdish "concerns about the changes taking place," the U.S. should offer assurances of protection to them.

On Sunday, Egypt renewed its call for the deployment of an international stabilisation force in the Gaza Strip and for Israel’s withdrawal from the territory.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty made the remarks during a meeting in Cairo with his Greek counterpart, Giorgos Gerapetritis, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

The ministry said in a statement that the two sides held "a political consultation session to explore ways to strengthen strategic relations between the two countries."

The meeting also included "an exchange of views and assessments on a number of regional and international issues, foremost among them the situation in the Gaza Strip."

France's President Emmanuel Macron in telephone talks with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday urged a "permanent ceasefire" after fighting between Damascus troops and Kurdish forces.

"I conveyed to him our concern about the escalation in Syria and the continuation of the offensive carried out by the Syrian authorities," Macron said on X.

"A permanent ceasefire is necessary, and an agreement must be reached on integrating the (Kurdish-led) Syrian Democratic Forces into the Syrian state," he said.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has received U.S. President Donald Trump's invitation to join the Board of Peace for Gaza, a spokesperson for Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement.

"Pakistan will remain engaged with international efforts for peace and security in Gaza, leading to a lasting solution to the Palestine issue in accordance with United Nations resolutions," the statement added.

A draft charter sent to about 60 countries by the U.S. administration calls for members to contribute $1 billion in cash if they want their membership to last more than three years, according to the document seen by Reuters.

"Each Member State shall serve a term of no more than three years from this Charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the Chairman," the document, first reported by Bloomberg News, shows.

"The three-year membership term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force."

The Israeli army carried out an explosion on Sunday in the border village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon, and detonated homes overnight there and in a neighbouring town.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that "the Israeli army carried out an explosion minutes ago in the town of Kfar Kila, the sound of which was heard across the south," without specifying the nature of the target that was blown up.

In a related development, NNA said the Israeli army detonated three homes overnight Saturday-Sunday, two in the village of Adaisseh and a third in neighbouring Kfar Kila.

The incident comes amid continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire in effect since late November 2024.

Qatar announced on Sunday the appointment of Ali Al-Dhawadi, adviser to the prime minister for strategic affairs, as its representative on the Executive Board for the Gaza Strip.

The White House announced this week the setting up of a "Gaza Executive Board," which would operate under a broader "Board of Peace" that will oversee post-war Gaza.

In a statement, Qatar’s International Media Office said Doha continues to play an active role in regional peace efforts, including mediating between Hamas and Israel.

The statement noted that the appointment of Al-Dhawadi reflects Qatar’s contribution to supporting international efforts aimed at strengthening effective governance, enhancing peace and stability, and achieving long-term sustainable prosperity for Gaza’s population.

The office said that Al-Dhawadi has played a "prominent and influential role in Qatar’s mediation efforts, by facilitating ongoing dialogue with Hamas, Israel, and mediation partners," referring to Turkey and Egypt.

Israeli army forces wounded a Palestinian child and detained 14 others on Sunday during a series of military raids across various parts of the occupied West Bank.

According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli troops shot the child with live ammunition in the Kafr Saba neighbourhood of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank. The agency described the injury as minor, and said soldiers also fired stun grenades and tear gas toward nearby homes, causing several residents to suffer from gas inhalation.

In separate operations, Israeli forces arrested former prisoners Aseel Munir Al-Tayti and Mohammad Bashir Barakat in Nablus following raids on their homes. Four additional Palestinians were detained in the town of Sayda near Tulkarem, and eight others were taken into custody in the villages of Khalayel Al-Loz and Al-Rashayda,southeast of Bethlehem.

Operations will resume at the Aleppo Airport in northern Syria on Tuesday, following weeks of clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces, the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority announced on Sunday.

In a statement, the authority said: "Air traffic at Aleppo International Airport will resume as of Tuesday, after the completion of the necessary technical and security assessments, and in coordination with the relevant authorities, in a manner that ensures the safety of passengers and crews."

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein arrived in the Iranian capital on Sunday on an official visit of undisclosed duration, during which he is set to meet President Masoud Pezeshkian and other officials to discuss "bilateral relations" between the two countries.

A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein arrived today (Sunday) in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on an official visit," without specifying its duration.

It added that during the visit, Hussein will meet with "Iranian President Pezeshkian, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, as well as a number of other Iranian officials."

The visit comes amid tensions between Tehran, and the United States and Israel, after weeks of nationwide protests in Iran that saw a violent government crackdown kill thousands.

An Iranian official in the region said on Sunday the authorities had verified at least 5,000 people had been killed in protests in Iran, including about 500 security personnel, blaming "terrorists and armed rioters" for killing "innocent Iranians".

The official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, also told Reuters some of the heaviest clashes and highest number of deaths were in the Iranian Kurdish areas in northwest Iran, a region where Kurdish separatists have been active and where flare-ups have been among the most violent in past periods of unrest.

The U.S.-based HRANA rights group said on Saturday the death toll had reached 3,308, with another 4,382 cases under review. The group said it had confirmed more than 24,000 arrests.

The Iranian Kurdish rights group Hengaw, based in Norway, has said some of the heaviest clashes during protests that erupted in late December were in Kurdish areas in the northwest.

The Israeli army announced on Sunday that forces from its Multidimensional Unit have completed their mission in southern Lebanon after two months of operating there.

"The Multidimensional Unit’s forces operated under the command of the 91st Division to prevent Hezbollah from establishing a presence in southern Lebanon," the army said in a statement.

The Multidimensional Unit, also known as Unit 888 or the "Refaim" Unit, is an Israeli military Special Operations task force operating under the Ground Forces.

Recent deadly clashes in Syria between government forces and Kurdish fighters seek to "sabotage" the peace process between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the jailed leader of the Kurdish militant group said.

Abdullah Ocalan, who has led the unfolding Turkish peace process from prison, "sees this situation (in Syria) as an attempt to sabotage the peace process" in Turkey, a delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM party said after visiting him in jail on Saturday.

The delegation that visited him at Imrali prison island near Istanbul, where he has been held in solitary confinement since 1999, said he had "reaffirmed his commitment to the process of peace and democratic society" and called to "take the necessary steps to move forward".

The PKK made a similar warning earlier this month, saying the Syria clashes "call into question the ceasefire between our movement and Turkey".

Kurdish-led forces withdrew on Sunday from Syria's largest oil field in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, a monitor said, as their fighters clashed with government soldiers who have extended their grip on Kurdish-run areas in recent days.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) "withdrew at dawn on Sunday from all areas under its control in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, including the Al-Omar and Tanak oil fields", the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP.

Jordan's foreign ministry said on Sunday that King Abdullah received an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to join the so-called "Board of Peace" for Gaza.

The foreign ministry said it was currently reviewing related documents within the country's internal legal procedures.

The board is set to supervise the temporary governance of Gaza, which has been under a shaky ceasefire since October.