Syria rebels progress toward Homs, Israeli forces conduct an operation at a northern Gaza hospital. Thousands of individuals departed the central Syrian city of Homs overnight and into Friday morning, according to a conflict monitoring organization and local inhabitants, as insurgent groups aimed to advance their swift offensive against governmental troops further south.
"Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and affiliated groups have arrived five kilometers from the outskirts of Homs city after taking control of the towns of Rastan and Talbisseh," stated the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding that seizing Homs would enable the insurgents to "block the primary route leading to the Syrian coastline," the bastion of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority.
Insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) "entered the towns of Rastan and Talbisseh" along the principal route from the strategic central city of Hama to Homs, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, noting "the complete absence of regime forces" in those regions.
In northern Gaza, Israeli forces conducted a raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, apprehending numerous patients and compelling medical personnel and patients to exit.
This occurs amid Israel's persistent bombardment of northern Gaza, resulting in numerous casualties.