US aircraft carrier strike group arrives in Middle East

Following a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the countries' shared priorities, including "the opportunity that now is before us and before the Syrian people to move out from under the shackles of Bashar al-Assad to a different and better future."

He emphasized the "growing consensus" among regional partners in their continued commitment to support the Syrian people.

Blinken said he sees a "broad agreement" on what what Turkey and the United States would like to see unfold in Syria, including the actions of an "interim" government.

It would be a government "that is inclusive and nonsectarian, one that protects the rights of minorities and women, one that preserves institutions of the state and delivers services to the people, one that deals with any chemical weapons it may find to secure them and appropriately destroy them, one that rejects any alliances with extremist groups, and, of course, one that does not pose any kind of threat to any of Syria's neighbors," he said.

Following his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the secretary also said that one of their shared imperatives was "continuing efforts to keep ISIS down."

"Our countries worked very hard and gave a lot over many years to ensure the elimination of the territorial caliphate of ISIS to ensure that that threat doesn't rear its head again. And it's imperative that we keep at, keep at those efforts," he said.

Blinken provided a hopeful outlook on the hostage situation in Gaza, saying that in recent weeks, there have been "more encouraging signs" to bring the hostages home.

"We discussed Gaza and we discussed … the opportunity to finally try to complete the hostage cease fire agreement to get the hostages home, to get a cease fire in place, and what we've seen in the last couple of weeks are more encouraging signs that that is possible," he said, emphasizing the importance of reaching an agreement with Hamas.

-ABC News' Emily Chang and Lauren Minore

At least 33 people were killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza, according to a hospital director at Al-Aqsa.

Most of the injured who were transferred to the hospital were seriously injured and some of them had their limbs amputated as a result of the bombing, according to the director.

A large number of victims of the bombing in Nuseirat are still trapped under the rubble, the director said.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Israel's Mossad chief David Barnea traveled to Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday to advance a ceasefire and hostage release deal, a senior official told ABC News.

Israeli troops will remain in Syria slightly beyond a buffer zone -- created by the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement -- for "strategic reasons," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement Thursday.

"The collapse of the Syrian regime created a vacuum on Israel’s border and in the buffer zone established by the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement. Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7th style attacks," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

"That is why Israeli forces entered the buffer zone and took control of strategic sites near Israel’s border. This deployment is temporary until a force that is committed to the 1974 agreement can be established and security on our border can be guaranteed," the statement said.