Lebanon, Syria reshape ties amid Israeli attacks and regional shifts

On May 9, Lebanon’s PM Nawaf Salam made his second official visit to the Syrian capital since the fall of the al-Assad regime in 2024. The trip came as both Lebanon and Syria suffer ongoing Israeli attacks and occupation of their territories. It also marks the continuation of a “new framework” for relations between the two countries, analysts told Al Jazeera. That followed years of Syria exerting its political and security influence over Lebanon, and the Lebanese group Hezbollah’s military support for President al-Assad during Syria’s civil war.