Chinese vessel seized after strategic cable severed near the island. Authorities in the island, which Beijing considers a renegade province, say they "cannot rule out" hostile interference.
"We are in the stage of rebuilding the country. The unity of arms and the state's monopoly over them are not luxuries but a necessity," Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said.
Sources familiar with the negotiations say mediators are nearing a compromise formula that includes the transfer of dead hostages without "ceremonies". The process is said to serve as a "prelude" to further deals during a "transition phase" toward the second phase of the hostage deal.
Rose Girone fled to China while eight months pregnant after Kristallnacht.
The group drew connections between the hand symbol on the pin and the deaths of the Bibas children, stating they were "strangled to death by the terrorist's bare hands."
