DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will visit Damascus on Thursday, Qatar's Al Jazeera reported, as Syria's new interim government begins a political transition after Islamist rebels ousted the Assad regime last year.

"The first Turkish Airlines passenger plane landed at Damascus International Airport after a hiatus of some 13 years, with Syrian passengers on board," Syria's official news agency SANA reported. Eksi told reporters that Turkish Airlines would operate three flights to Syria a week.

Syria's change of government last month has spurred a flurry of diplomatic activity. Turkish and Qatari delegations have visited Damascus, while al-Shibani embarked on trips to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. These efforts aim to rebuild ties with regional powers and advocate for the lifting of Western sanctions.

The Saudi state news agency SPA said the plane carried critical humanitarian assistance, including food, shelter, and medical supplies, for the Syrian people. It is the 15th plane shipment dispatched by the oil-rich kingdom to Syria since Assad’s fall last month.

Syria's change of government last month has spurred a flurry of diplomatic activity. Turkish and Qatari delegations have visited Damascus, while al-Shibani embarked on trips to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. These efforts aim to rebuild ties with regional powers and advocate for the lifting of Western sanctions. ■

Crowds of displaced Palestinians made the arduous journey back to heavily destroyed northern Gaza for a second day Tuesday, under a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Wealthy Arab nations consider bankrolling Gaza’s reconstruction, but they want assurances Palestinians will lead in the postwar period.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani said on Wednesday that the country will open its economy to foreign investment and that Damascus is also working on energy and electricity partnerships with Gulf states.

No country has as much to gain from a stable Syria as Turkey, and few have as much to lose if it implodes. Turkey is home to more than 3m Syrian refugees, and wants Syria to be safe enough for many to return.

E ven before the ceasefire in Gaza Donald Trump had begun to reshape the Middle East. He was influential in pushing Israel to a truce with Lebanon in November. The fragile deal struck between Israel and Hamas on January 15th further reduces the intensity of the fighting in the region and resets Israel’s domestic politics.

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Abazeed met with Germany’s temporary representative in Syria Bjorn Gehrmann on Wednesday, in the first such meeting of a European Union official since Islamist rebels seized power from the Assad regime last year.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister and a special envoy arrived in Damascus. Theirs was the first such visit since President Bashar al-Assad fled the country, according to Russian state news.