Syrian insurgents have entered the central towns of Rastan and Talbiseh, just north of the central city of Homs, bringing them closer to Syria’s third largest city. A day earlier, jihadi-led opposition fighters captured the central city of Hama, Syria’s fourth largest.

Lebanon said it is closing all land border crossings with Syria except for a main one that links Beirut with the Syrian capital Damascus

Palestinian officials say at least 29 people were killed, including four medical staff, when Israeli strikes pummeled the area around one of the last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza. The situation in and around the Kamal Adwan hospital is “catastrophic,