The Syrian military rushed reinforcements to the northwest and launched airstrikes Sunday in an attempt to push back insurgents who seized the country's largest city of Aleppo, as Iran pledged to help the government counter the surprise offensive.

Iran has been a key political and military ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad in his country's civil war, but it was unclear how Tehran would support Damascus in the latest flareup. Insurgents led by jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched a two-pronged attack on Aleppo and the countryside around Idlib on Wednesday, before moving toward neighboring Hama province.

U.S. Navy destroyers shot down seven missiles and drones fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels at the warships and three American merchant vessels they were escorting through the Gulf of Aden. No damage or injuries were reported.

U.S. Central Command said late Sunday that the destroyers USS Stockdale and USS O'Kane shot down and destroyed three anti-ship ballistic missiles, three drones and one anti-ship cruise missile. The merchant ships were not identified.

Israel's former defense minister Moshe Yaalon on Saturday accused the Israeli army of "ethnic cleansing" in the Gaza Strip, sparking an outcry in the country.

Hamas is open to discussing "all ideas and proposals," a senior official of the Palestinian militant group told AFP, as representatives arrived in Cairo Saturday for talks on a possible ceasefire in Gaza.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday that his country's security was key to the stability of the whole region.

Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said Sunday he will leave Tehran for Damascus to deliver a message of support for Syria's government and armed forces, state media said, after a lighting advance by rebels.

Thousands of Syrian insurgents took over most of Aleppo on Saturday, establishing positions in the country's largest city and controlling its airport before expanding their shock offensive to a nearby province. They faced little to no resistance from government troops, according to fighters and activists.

A war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized control of Aleppo International airport, the first international airport to be controlled by insurgents. The fighters claimed they seized the airport and posted pictures from there.

Syrian government troops battled insurgents inside the country's largest city Aleppo for the first time since 2016, while warplanes targeted rebel supply lines on the city's edge, state media reported Saturday.

Turkey Friday demanded an end to "attacks" on the rebel enclave of Idlib in Syria, where Syrian and Russian warplanes reportedly launched airstrikes.

"We have emphasized that these attacks must come to an end," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a message on X. "The recent clashes have resulted in an undesirable escalation of tensions in the region."

Two children and a 50-year-old woman were crushed to death Friday as a crowd of Palestinians pushed to get bread at a bakery in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, medical officials said.

The flow of food allowed into Gaza by Israel has fallen to nearly its lowest level of the almost 14-month-old war for the past two months, according to Israeli official figures. U.N. and aid officials say hunger and desperation are growing among Gaza’s population, almost all of which relies on humanitarian aid to survive.