While the media's eyes are elsewhere, a serious escalation of violence in rebel-held northwest Syria has reportedly forced more than 70,000 people to flee their homes. Shelling and air-strikes by the Syrian government and its allies have killed dozens of civilians and hit hospitals, as well as displacement camps and mosques. Aid groups are particularly worried about this new wave of flight given the onset of winter and the fact that over half of the region's more than four million residents have already been displaced at least once. Médecins Sans Frontières says that around 19 hospitals in the region are only able to provide emergency care, and even that is difficult to do. A statement from Siham Hajaj, MSF's head of mission for northwest Syria, called specifically for "urgent action" to improve trauma and surgical capabilities in Idlib, which are now harshly limited.

On Oct. 13, Israel ordered 1.1 million people living in the north of the Gaza Strip to evacuate to the south of the enclave within 24 hours, ahead of an expected ground invasion. The order came after gunmen from Hamas, the political and militant group that governs Gaza, carried out an unprecedented incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,300 people, including many civilians, and taking between 100 and 150 hostages. The UN called on Israel to rescind its evacuation order, with a spokesperson saying it is "impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences."

Turkey launched a wave of air-strikes on Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq, hours after a suicide blast hit the Interior Ministry complex in Ankara Oct. 1. The Turkish military said 20 targets were destroyed and several fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were "neutralized." The People Defense Forces (HPG), armed wing of the PKK, released a statement via the rebel movement's Firat News Agency (ANF) saying that a "sacrificial action" against the Interior Ministry was carried out by a unit from their Immortal Brigade. The two assailants, both women, were killed in the attack—one as she detonated her payload while storming the entrance to the ministry compound, the other shot by police. Two police officers were also wounded. The HPG statement said the attack was a "warning" to the Turkish government over its ongoing military operations against Kurdish militants both in Syria and in Iraq. (BBC News, Arab News, EKurd, Al-Monitor, EuroNews)

The Free Syria flag again flew high in villages, towns and cities across the country Aug 25, as thousands filled the streets, reviving the chants of the revolution. Protests had days earlier erupted in the regime-held south of the country, first in the Druze-majority city of Sweida (Suwayda) and Dera'a—the town that saw the initial anti-regime protests of the 2011 uprising. They were triggered by the cost-of-living crisis, especially the recent increase in fuel prices as the regime has yet again cut subsidies. But protests sparked by economic demands soon escalated to renewed calls for the downfall of the Bashar Assad dictatorship. 

In his drive for "normalization" of his regime, Syran dictator Bashar Assad has been welcoming meetings with regional leaders in recent months. However, in comments to a reporter last week, he set a withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Syria as a precondition for any meeting with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Erdogan's objective in meeting me is to legitimize the Turkish occupation in Syria," Assad said. Turkey's Defense Minister Yasar Guler responded days later by saying: "It is unthinkable for us to withdraw without ensuring the security of our borders and our people."

UN Special Rapporteur for human rights Fionnuala Ní Aoláin released a statement July 22 urging the cessation of "indefinite mass detention without legal process," particularly of children, in northeastern Syria detention centers. After arriving in Damascus, Ní Aoláin visited prisons and detention sites at various places around the country and witnessed "major humanitarian challenges," including inadequate access to water and electricity and issues with health services.

The Security Council has failed to renew the resolution allowing the UN to deliver aid across the border from Turkey to northwest Syria, throwing into question the future of a relief effort that is crucial for millions of people. The resolution, which has allowed the UN cross into rebel-held territories without the permission of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, expired on July 10. The following day, Russia vetoed a new resolution that would have allowed access through one border crossing into the region, Bab al-Hawa, for nine months.

At least 13 people, nine of them civilians, were killed in Russian air-strikes within the so-called "de-escalation zone" in northern Syria's Idlib province June 25. The raid struck the village of Basbat, west of Jisr al-Shughur, according to the White Helmets rescue group and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). At least 30 people were also injured in the strike, with the death toll likely to rise. The three Russian warplanes took off from Khmeimim air base in Latakia province. Some of the strikes hit a crowded vegetable market.