The commander of a Kurdish-led force in Syria said Friday he was open to talks with Turkey and Islamist-led rebels, whose offensive had created a "new political and military reality".

"We want to de-escalate with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other parties and to solve our problems through dialogue" including with Turkey, Mazloum Abdi, who heads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that controls swathes of northeast Syria, told reporters. "We were surprised to see the sudden and rapid collapse of Syrian government forces on the frontlines as factions took control of large areas, imposing a new political and military reality," he added.

Syrian troops and their Iran-backed allies "suddenly" pulled out of eastern Deir Ezzor city and its surroundings Friday, a war monitor said, as a rebel offensive dealt the government a series of stunning blows.

"Syrian regime forces and commanders of Iran-backed allied groups suddenly withdrew from Deir Ezzor city and its countryside with columns of soldiers heading towards central Syria," Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, told AFP.

A Hamas official says international mediators have resumed negotiating with the militant group and Israel over a ceasefire in Gaza, and that he was hopeful a deal to end the 14-month war was within reach.

Ceasefire negotiations were halted last month when Qatar suspended talks with mediators from Egypt and the United States because of frustration over a lack of progress between Israel and Hamas. But there has been a “reactivation” of efforts in recent days to end the fighting, release hostages from Gaza and free Palestinian prisoners in Israel, according to Bassem Naim, an official in Hamas’ political bureau who spoke with The Associated Press in Turkey on Thursday.

It was one of the darkest moments in the modern history of the Arab world. More than four decades ago, Hafez Assad, then president of Syria, launched what came to be known as the Hama Massacre.

Between 10,000 to 40,000 people were killed or disappeared in the government attack on the central Syrian city. It began on Feb. 2, 1982, and lasted for nearly a month, leaving the city in ruins.

President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Middle East envoy recently visited Israel and Qatar for high-level talks on landing a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, a U.S. official said Thursday.

Steve Witkoff, who was tapped by Trump to serve as his special envoy to the region, met separately in recent weeks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the sensitive talks and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Israel’s army said Friday it had conducted air strikes on Hezbollah "weapon-smuggling routes" on the Syria-Lebanon border, just over a week into a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon.

The Israeli air force "conducted strikes on weapon-smuggling routes and terror infrastructure sites located near the Syrian regime’s crossings at the Syrian-Lebanese border", the military said in a statement that included a map identifying the crossing as Al-Arida.

The leader of an Islamist rebel alliance driving a lightning offensive in Syria has said the goal of the campaign is to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

"When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime. It is our right to use all available means to achieve that goal," Abu Mohammed al-Jolani told CNN in an interview published Friday.

Syrian insurgents entered two central towns early Friday just north of the central city of Homs, bringing them closer Syria's third largest city, an opposition war monitor and pro-government media both reported.

The break into Rastan and Talbiseh came a day after opposition gunmen captured the central city of Hama, Syria's fourth largest, after the Syrian army said it withdrew to avoid fighting inside the city and spare the lives of civilians.

Syrian rebel chief Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, whose fighters have launched a lightning offensive, on Thursday urged Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani of neighboring Iraq to keep his country distant from Syria's war.

Qatar has resumed its role as a mediator in efforts to secure a truce in the Israel-Hamas war following a brief suspension, a source with knowledge of the talks said Thursday.

The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release after nearly 14 months of war.