An official said Trump would host the first-ever visit by a Syrian president to the White House

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump will host Ahmed al-Sharaa for talks, the first-ever visit by a Syrian president to the White House, an administration official said Saturday.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the engagement that has not yet been officially announced, said the meeting is expected to be held on November 10.

Trump met with Sharaa in Saudi Arabia last May, in the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries in 25 years. Syria is still struggling to emerge from decades of international isolation.

He watches: Al-Sharaa promises a new Syria free of its “miserable past”

The meeting, which was held on the sidelines of Trump’s meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders, was considered a major turn of events for Syria, which is still adjusting to life after the Assad family’s rule that lasted more than 50 years.

Al-Sharaa had allocated an American bounty of $10 million for his head.

Under the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Julani, al-Sharaa had ties to al-Qaeda and joined the rebels fighting US forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian war. He was even imprisoned by American forces there for several years.

The official added that Al-Sharaa is expected to sign an agreement during his visit on joining the US-led coalition against ISIS.

In the May meeting, Al-Sharaa became the first Syrian leader to meet an American president since Hafez al-Assad met with Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000.

The visit comes as Trump urges Middle East allies to seize the opportunity to build lasting peace in the volatile region after Israel and Hamas earlier this month began implementing a ceasefire and hostage agreement. This agreement aims to put a permanent end to the brutal two-year war in Gaza.

The fragile ceasefire and hostage agreement are still holding, but the situation remains precarious.

Health authorities in the Strip said that Israeli raids on Gaza earlier this week killed 104 people, including dozens of women and children.

These strikes, the deadliest since the start of the ceasefire on October 10, represent the most serious challenge to the fragile truce so far.

The raids on Tuesday night came after Israel accused Hamas of killing a soldier and planning to discover a dead hostage.

Axios was the first to publish news of the scheduled meeting between Trump and Shara.