Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat renewed on Monday his support for the Syrian revolt, rejecting however recent reports that some rebels have resorted to Israeli aid in their mission.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa news website: “We reject and condemn any Israeli intervention amid reports of security and intelligence cooperation between Israel and Syrian rebels.”

A deal between Syria's government and rebels for opposition fighters to leave the Old City of Homs will be implemented in the next 48 hours, the provincial governor said Monday.

"We will begin the application of the initiative in the coming 48 hours depending on the situation on the ground," Homs governor Talal al-Barazi told AFP.

Sitting in a cafe in downtown Beirut, Syrian novelist Khaled Khalifa's thoughts keep wandering back to his home and favorite place in the world, the northern city of Aleppo, much of which now lies in ruins, demolished by civil war.

For him, the ancient metropolis is much more than a beautiful city known for its majestic, 13th century citadel, spicy cuisine and maze-like covered bazaar. It is his inspiration, the center of his pain, the place where the seeds of rebellion against an oppressive government were formed.

An Australian mother was Monday charged with supporting terrorism after she was arrested trying to board a flight from Sydney with her four young children.

Reports said she was allegedly carrying cash and equipment -- believed to include camouflage gear -- for her husband fighting in war-torn Syria, although police would not confirm this.

Three young men who hail from Arsal were shot and wounded Sunday at the hands of gunmen operating in the outskirts of the border town.

LBCI television said the incident happened in the al-Rahweh area in the town's outskirts.

President Bashar Assad is to face two challengers in Syria's June 3 presidential election, which he is assured of winning, the constitutional court said Sunday.

"The supreme constitutional court announces... the acceptance of candidacy bids registered by... Maher Abdel Hafiz Hajjar, Hassan Abdallah al-Nouri and Bashar Hafez Assad," a court official said.

Syria's al-Qaida affiliate on Sunday set its conditions to stop battling the rival Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, despite an order by the al-Qaida chief to quit fighting.

Al-Nusra Front and ISIL have in recent months fought intense, bloody battles against each other, particularly in eastern Syria on the border with Iraq.

The U.N. refugee agency on Sunday rebuked donors for not doing enough to help millions of Syrian refugees and the countries hosting them, saying the crisis demanded "massive support."

Syria's civil war has generated the worst refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide of the mid-1990s, with half the population having fled their homes, including nearly three million refugees mainly sheltering in neighboring countries.

Syrian rebels on Sunday reached a deal with the regime for the withdrawal of rebels, civilians and wounded people from the city of Homs, where they have been under siege for two years, as the army advanced in the strategic town of Mleiha near Damascus.

"An agreement occurred between representatives of the rebels and the chiefs of security, in the presence of the Iranian ambassador, for the pullout of fighters from the Old City to the northern countryside of Homs," said Abul Hareth al-Khalidi, a rebel negotiator.

The General Security Department handed over to Syria on Sunday around 50 refugees who were arrested a day earlier in Beirut for trying to flee with forged documents.

A unit from the department accompanied the 49 Syrians and Palestinians to the Jdeidet Yabous crossing and handed them over to the Syrian authorities.