Senior official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, Abdulaziz al-Minawi, and Hamas Arab relations chief Khalil al-Hayya (R) hold a press conference during a visit to the Syrian capital Damascus on October 19, 2022 for the first time since the Palestinian Islamist group severed ties with Syria a decade ago. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, was one of Assad's closest allies but left Syria in 2012 after condemning his government's brutal suppression of peaceful protests in March 2011, which triggered the country's descent into civil war. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)