Syria reopened its main border crossing with Jordan on Wednesday as the two countries reaffirmed ties that were strained by a deadly retaliatory strike by Jordanian forces.

Jordan's strike -- a reprisal against a gun attack on a church -- sparked the worst crisis between the two countries since the ousting of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ahead of the opposition on Wednesday after 50 percent of votes were counted in Israel's pivotal general election, figures from the Central Elections Committee showed.

After 50.1 percent of ballots were counted, Netanyahu's bloc was projected to win 56 of the 120 seats in the parliament, compared with 49 for the opposition bloc and 15 for the Arab parties. The partial results are likely to change, and several exit polls showed the camps neck-and-neck without a majority.

Israeli voters on Tuesday gave a narrow edge to opposition parties over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, initial projections showed, after decades-high turnout in the country's first election since the trauma of the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party asked election authorities on Tuesday to extend polling hours as it sought to mobilize voters.

Syria on Tuesday condemned deadly strikes on the country's south a day earlier that Jordan said killed more than 20 jihadists as retaliation for a gun attack on a church.

Qatar on Tuesday said Iran must show good faith with its neighbors to prevent further escalation, following renewed efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war.

The Iranian army on Tuesday said an oil tanker hit mines and caught fire while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz via a route not authorized by Tehran.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to appear in public since he took office in March, has met with security chief Mohsen Rezaei to discuss regional security and the Strait of Hormuz, his office said Tuesday.

Gadi Eisenkot, the main election challenger of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urged voters on Tuesday to oust the "worst government" in Israel's history.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chaired a meeting in Riyadh Tuesday where he and his council of ministers reviewed talks held in Tehran with the Mecca alliance a day earlier, state media reported.