Israeli strikes killed at least six people in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical officials said Monday, while also hitting suspected chemical and long-range weapons sites in Syria to keep them from rebels who seized Damascus.

The U.N. Security Council plans to hold emergency closed consultations on Syria later Monday at the request of Russia, which on Monday said it granted asylum to its longtime ally Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally made the decision to offer asylum to Assad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov wouldn’t comment on Assad’s specific whereabouts and said that Putin wasn’t planning to meet with him.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,500 Palestinians in the Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to local health authorities. They say most of the dead are women and children but do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250, including older adults and children. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

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Here’s the Latest:

Syrian rights organization says Israeli air forces launched more than 100 airstrikes in Syria.

DAMASCUS—The Israeli air force launched more than 100 airstrikes targeting military sites in four Syrian cities, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Associated Press reporters. The strikes killed two people and caused extensive damage to key military facilities.

The targeted military sites included research centers, weapons warehouses, airports and aircraft squadrons, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The attacks also disabled air defense systems and rendered multiple sites inoperable.

Among the targets were research centers in Hama and Damascus, including the Barzeh Scientific Research Center. The facility has previously been targeted, most notably during a 2018 U.S.-led coalition strike in response to Syria’s alleged chemical weapons program.

In Damascus, an Associated Press reporter described plumes of smoke rising from the Barzeh research facility as weapon warehouses were also struck. Heavy explosions were heard across the capital.

In the port city of Latakia, airstrikes hit an air defense facility near the coastal port, damaging Syrian naval ships and warehouses previously controlled by the former Syrian regime, the Syrian Observatory said.

In Daraa, a city in southwestern Syria, strikes targeted military positions and warehouses in the western countryside and northern areas, killing two people, the observatory said.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes in Syria.

Earlier on Monday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said it had struck suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets in Syria to prevent them from falling into the hands of hostile actors.

U.S. sends special envoy for hostage affairs to Beirut

The U.S. has sent its special envoy for hostage affairs to Beirut to seek information about the whereabouts of Austin Tice, a journalist who vanished in Syria 12 years ago, following the overthrow of Bashar Assad’s government.

Roger Carstens is talking to officials in the region to find out where Tice is and “get him home as soon as possible,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Monday.

President Joe Biden said Sunday that his administration believed Tice was alive and was committed to bringing him home. Tice, who has had his work published by The Washington Post, McClatchy newspapers and other outlets, disappeared in August 2012 at a checkpoint in a contested area west of Damascus.

A video released weeks after Tice went missing showed him blindfolded and held by armed men and saying, “Oh, Jesus.” He has not been heard from since. Syria has publicly denied that it was holding him.

Israel’s UN ambassador sends an urgent letter to UN Security Council calling Syria’s developments ‘a security threat’

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon sent an urgent letter to the U.N. Security Council Monday calling the recent developments in Syria “a security threat” and saying it has taken “limited and temporary measures to counter any further threat to its citizens.” He said Israel is committed to the framework of the 1974 disengagement agreement and “does not intervene in the ongoing conflict between Syrian armed groups.”

The Security Council is scheduled to meet shortly for closed consultations called by Russia which said it wanted the buffer zone issue discussed.

US President Joe Biden speaks to Jordan’s King Abdullah II about Syria

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden spoke by phone on Monday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II about Syria, ongoing efforts to get a ceasefire deal in Gaza, and the broader dynamics in the Middle East, according to a White House official.

The official was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to discuss the engagement between Biden and Abdullah.

The call between the leaders comes with Undersecretary of state for Political Affairs John Bass and Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf in the region now holding consultations with key partners. They are in Amman, Jordan, on Monday and Doha, Qatar, over the weekend.

More than a million Syrian refugees have flooded into neighboring Jordan since the civil war ignited in 2011, and officials in Amman are on edge as the post Basher al-Assad situation evolves.

— By Aamer Madhani

UN says Israeli forces are occupying a demilitarized buffer zone in violation of a ceasefire agreement

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations says Israeli forces are occupying a demilitarized buffer zone between Israel and Syria in violation of a 1974 ceasefire agreement following the 1973 Mideast war.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday U.N. peacekeepers confirmed that “Israeli Defense Forces have entered the area of separation and have been moving within that area where they remain in at least three locations.”

The Israeli military informed the peacekeeping force, known as UNDOF, that it would enter the area as “a temporary defensive measure” to prevent it from being occupied “by non-state armed groups” and reserved the right to take action against any threat against Israel, Dujarric said.

“For our part, the peacekeepers at UNDOF informed the Israeli counterparts that these actions would constitute a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement, that there should be no military forces or activities in the area of separation, and Israel and Syria must continue to uphold the terms of that 1974 agreement,” the U.N. spokesman said.

Dujarric underscored that following the rebel overthrow of president Bashar Assad “the U.N. remains committed to helping Syrians build a country where reconciliation, where justice, and where freedom and prosperity are shared realities for all.”

UN secretary-general speaks to Turkey and Qatar leaders about rebuilding Syria’s institutions

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to Turkey’s foreign minister and Qatar’s prime minister Monday morning about rebuilding Syria’s institutions so that they are inclusive, protect minority rights, and restore Syria’s territorial integrity, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Guterres and his senior advisors, including U.N. special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, will continue to press this issue with other key leaders and parties, he said.

On the humanitarian front, Dujarric said more than 16 million Syrians need assistance and there is an urgent need for more shelter materials, food and sanitation facilities.

According to the U.N.’s partners, he said, some one million people, mostly women and children, were displaced between Nov. 28 and Sunday, particularly from Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Idlib governorates.

Hundreds of Syrian refugees gather at border crossings in southern Turkey, eager to return to Syria

Hundreds of Syrian refugees gathered at two border crossings in southern Turkey on Monday, eagerly anticipating their return home following the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government.

Many arrived at the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar border gates at daybreak, draped in blankets and coats. Some camped by the barriers of the border crossing, warming themselves with makeshift fires or resting on the cold ground. The crossings correspond to the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salameh gates on the Syrian side of the border.

Hundreds of displaced Syrians are also returning from Lebanon, with dozens of cars lining up to enter. Turkish officials have not said how many Syrians have returned since Assad’s downfall. The country hosts 3 million refugees.

Turkey’s president welcomes capture of two Kurdish-held cities in northern Syria

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s president on Monday welcomed the capture of two Kurdish-held cities in northern Syria by a Turkey-backed opposition force and said Turkey would not allow militant groups to threaten its security from across its borders.

The Turkish proxy force, known as the Syrian National Army, took control of the city of Manbij on Monday days after it also took over the city of Tal Rifaat, expelling Syrian Kurdish militias.

In a televised address, Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintained that Kurdish groups in Syria were attempting to “turn the chaos into an opportunity.”

“We will not tolerate the emergence of new terrorist outbreaks beyond our borders,” Erdogan said.

The Turkish leader again hailed the fall of Syrian President Bashir Assad and vowed to stand by the Syrian people.

“As of yesterday, dark era has ended in Syria, bright days have begun,” Erdogan said. “While Aleppo, Hama, Homs and finally Damascus passed under the control of (Syria’s) real owners, the Baath dictatorship which had survived through blood, cruelty, oppression and tyranny for 61 years, has completely collapsed.”

Erdogan added that Turkey wanted all of Syria’s ethnic and religious groups to live in peace.

As hundreds of refugees began to return to Syria, Erdogan announced plans to reopen a third border crossing to prevent “congestions and ease the (refugee) flows.”

“As Syria gains more stability, God willing, voluntary, safe and honorable returns will increase,” Erdogan said

Syria’s opposition meets for the first time with the prime minister

BEIRUT — The leader of Syria’s opposition met for the first time with the country’s prime minister to discuss Syria’s political transition following the fall of the Syrian regime. He emphasized that the new leadership cannot entirely abandon the practices of the previous government.

In a video of the meeting shared on the rebels’ “Military Operations” Telegram channel, opposition leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, widely known as Abu Mohammad al-Golani, told Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali, “The men have a high level of experience,” referring to the rebels.

“They started the work from nothing. Idlib is small and has few resources, but thank God, we were able to achieve something big through it,” he added. “You will see there are skills, and despite this, we cannot dispense of the old practices.”

Earlier today, Jalali said most cabinet members who are in Damascus are performing their duties from their offices to guarantee security in the country.

Britain suspends decisions on accepting Syrian refugees

LONDON — Britain has followed Germany and several other European countries by suspending decisions about whether to accept Syrian refugees in the wake of the Assad government’s fall.

The Home Office said in a statement on Monday that it “has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst we assess the current situation.”

British prime minister says the UK will not soon remove Syrian militant group HTS from its list of terror groups

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the U.K. will not soon remove Syrian militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from its list of terror groups, after one of his Cabinet ministers said it would be considered “quite quickly.”

Speaking on a visit to Saudi Arabia, Starmer said “no decision is pending at all on this.”

Starmer said “it is far too early” to make that decision, and “at the moment the focus has to be on talking to our allies, making sure that this is an opportunity for Syria and therefore we have to work to make sure that this is a peaceful opportunity.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said HTS’ past links with al-Qaida “should rightly make us cautious” and “we will judge HTS by their actions.”

Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden said earlier that the group’s removal from the terrorist list “will have to be considered quite quickly.”

U.S. deputy ambassador to the UN outlines its priorities ahead of emergency Security Council meeting

UNITED NATIONS – The United States has three primary interests in Syria: protecting U.S. soldiers and personnel, ensuring U.S. allies are safe, and preventing a humanitarian catastrophe, the U.S. deputy ambassador said ahead of an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on the fast-evolving events in the country.

The United States will work to try and ensure that “all of those things happen,” Robert Wood told reporters ahead of Monday afternoon’s closed council meeting called by Russia.

He said another “high, high priority” for the U.S. is to locate and free missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared 12 years ago near the Syrian capital. “We have reasons to believe that he still is (alive), but we have to see,” he said.

Wood called the situation in Syria “dynamic” following the rebel overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The U.S. will judge the insurgent force now in control of Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS on “what actions they take.” HTS is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, which impacts U.S. efforts to communicate directly with the rebels. But he said there are various channels to talk to different factions “and we’re going to do that in order to try to best protect our interests in Syria right now.”

As for Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance, Wood said Tehran and its allies Hezbollah and Hamas are clearly weakened while Israel has been strengthened.

“We just want to make sure that nefarious players are not going to be able to take advantage of the situation in Syria right now, because everything is fragile and fast-moving,” Wood said.

Rebel forces in Syria announce a general amnesty for all conscripted soldiers

BEIRUT— Rebel forces in Syria announced Monday a general amnesty for all conscripted soldiers serving under mandatory service in the now-ousted Syrian regime.

“The Military Operations Directorate announces a general amnesty for all conscripted soldiers serving under mandatory service. Their safety is guaranteed, and any harm or assault against them is strictly prohibited,” the opposition said in a message on their Telegram channel.

The announcement followed the ousting of Bashar Assad and the fall of his regime, which had ruled Syria for over 50 years. The opposition faced little resistance from the Syrian army as it moved south, swiftly capturing one city after another.

Global chemical arms watchdog warns Syria about unaccounted weapons

THE HAGUE — The global chemical weapons watchdog on Monday reminded Syria of its obligations to comply with rules to safeguard certain toxic chemicals, after rebels entered the capital Damascus over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement it has been “monitoring closely the recent developments in Syria, with special attention to the status of its chemical weapons related sites and other locations of interest.”

Syria’s Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said Monday that most cabinet ministers are still working from offices in Damascus but the status of a stockpile of chemical weapons that Assad has been accused of using against civilians is unclear.

Assad’s government has denied using chemical weapons but the OPCW has found evidence indicating their repeated use by Syria in the country’s grinding civil war.

US weighs whether to delist Syrian insurgents as a terror organization

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has indicated it is looking to be pragmatic about the realities on the ground in Syria as it weighs whether to delist the Syrian jihadi insurgent group that toppled President Bashar Assad as a terror organization, according to two senior administration officials.

One of the officials noted that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, is “saying the right things so far and they’re doing the right things so far” but also noted that it is just one of several groups that are looking to be part of the post-Assad transition in Syria.

Still, the official stressed that HTS will be an “important component” in what transpires in Syria and that the U.S. needs to “engage with them, appropriately, and with U.S. interests in mind.”

The second official said that the administration remains in a “wait and see” mode on whether to remove the HTS designation and has not set a timeline on whether to take action.

Both officials requested anonymity to discuss the ongoing internal deliberations by the administration.

The Syrian group is led by Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who has renounced longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicted himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance.

— By Aamer Madhani

Ceasefire implementation committee holds its first meeting in Lebanon

BEIRUT — Representatives from a five-member committee tasked with enforcing a ceasefire that stopped the war between Hezbollah and Israel on Monday held their first meeting in Naqoura, southern Lebanon.

The group, comprising the United States, France, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon known as UNIFIL, the Lebanese army and the Israeli army met to coordinate efforts supporting the Nov. 27 ceasefire, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said.

Hosted by UNIFIL and chaired by the U.S. with France assisting, the meeting focused on advancing the implementation of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which aims to maintain stability along the Lebanon-Israel border, the embassy said.

“This mechanism will meet regularly and coordinate closely to advance implementation of the ceasefire agreement and UNSCR 1701,” the U.S. Embassy said.

The U.S. military announced in late November that Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers and envoy Amos Hochstein would co-chair the committee temporarily, with Hochstein serving until a permanent civilian co-chair is appointed.

Lebanon’s security forces face influx of Syrians at border crossings

BEIRUT— Lebanese General Security said Monday that there has been a surge of Syrian people attempting to cross into Lebanon, facilitated by the absence of Syrian authorities at the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing.

Following the ousting of former Syria’s President Bashar Assad, thousands of Syrians have returned to their homeland, many for the first time in years. However, many are also attempting to leave Syria, driven by growing uncertainty about how the political situation will unfold.

The Lebanese General Security said in a statement that some Syrians had tried to bypass legal entry requirements and make their way into Lebanon at the Masnaa border crossing in eastern Lebanon.

That prompted a joint response by Lebanese security forces.

“In cooperation with the army and internal security forces, the General Security regulated the situation and returned (Syrians) to Syrian territory, allowing only those meeting legal entry criteria to proceed,” the statement added.

Hamas congratulates Syrians after overthrow of Assad regime

CAIRO — Hamas has congratulated the Syrian people after the toppling of President Bashar Assad’s government.

The Palestinian militant group said in a statement Monday that it hopes Syria can “continue its historic and central role in supporting the Palestinian people and its resistance.” The statement did not mention Assad by name.

Hamas’ ties with Assad frayed at the start of the Syrian uprising when the militant group sided with the rebels, leading Syria to kick out top Hamas leaders who had been based there. But they later mended ties in an effort facilitated by Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Hamas and Hezbollah are part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance,” an alliance of militant groups across the region that are opposed to Israel.

Assad’s government was also part of that alliance and played a key role as a conduit between Iran and Hezbollah. It provided crucial support to Assad throughout the Syrian civil war but seemed to have abandoned him as the rebels made a lightning advance across the country.

Germany suspends Syria asylum decisions after rebels seize power

BERLIN — Germany’s migration authority is suspending decisions on pending asylum applications from Syrian nationals because of the unclear situation following the fall of Bashar Assad.

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said Monday that more than 47,000 applications are currently pending, German news agency dpa reported.

Interior Ministry spokesperson Sonja Kock noted that asylum decisions take account of the circumstances of each individual case, and that involves assessing the situation in the applicant’s country. She said the migration authority has the option of prioritizing cases from other places if a situation is unclear, as it currently is in Syria.

More broadly, German officials said it’s too early to speculate on what the fall of Assad will ultimately mean for the many Syrians who sought refuge in Germany in recent years, particularly in the mid-2010s. They noted that the situation in Syria remains unclear and complex.

The Interior Ministry said that, as of Oct. 31, there were 974,136 Syrian nationals in the country, the majority of whom had some kind of refugee or other protected status.

In neighboring Austria, Chancellor Karl Nehammer also tasked his interior minister with suspending decisions on current asylum applications by Syrians, the Austria Press Agency reported.

State employees in Syria stay away from work, paralyzing key services, UN official says

GENEVA — The public sector in Syria has come to an abrupt halt after rebels seized power as state employees ignore calls to return to their jobs, causing troubles in places like airports, borders and at the Foreign Ministry, and impeding the flow of humanitarian aid, a U.N. official said.

U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula suggested that armed groups could “limit the number of people who are with guns were outside roaming the streets” and “bring back the regular police and the regular law enforcement organs. That could assure the population.”

The public sector, he added, “has just come to a complete an abrupt halt, with people not knowing what their future will look like.”

“This is a country that has had one government for 53 years and then suddenly all of those who have been demonized by the public media are now in charge in the nation’s capital,” Abdelmoula told The Associated Press, alluding to insurgents who seized the capital as longtime President Bashar Assad fled.

“To see in the streets that used to be safe … being occupied by armed people, it is frightening for the population.”

He said he was told by “every interlocutor from the armed groups that I spoke to informally that they are prioritizing the restoration of law and order and basic services.”

U.N. emergency workers are trying to get into Syria, but a lack of border patrol officers or staffing at the Foreign Ministry — which issues visas — have held up entry, he said.

He said that the civil aviation employees also abandoned their jobs. “We have a shortage — acute shortage — of medical supplies, and we wanted, through WHO, to get at least one plane, cargo plane, to deliver some much needed medical supplies,” Abdelmoula said. “But again, that’s on hold for now because of the absence of civil aviation officials.”

Syrians in Egypt celebrate the end of Assad’s rule

CAIRO— Syrians in Egypt are celebrating the overthrow of President Bashar Assad after nearly 14 years of civil war.

Teachers and students danced, waved the flag of Syrian revolutionaries and chanted anti-Assad slogans at a Syrian school in a Cairo suburb on Monday.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced half of Syria’s pre-war population of 23 million, with millions having fled to other countries in the region. The United Nations estimates there are some 150,000 Syrian refugees in Egypt.

“This was the best news I have ever heard,” said Ranim Hossam, a 36-year-old teacher from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. “We have lost our properties and our families. There were many martyrs.”

Emad Tebian, a Syrian chef living in Cairo, said they have been waiting for Assad’s fall for more than a decade.

“It happened in a single day,” he said. “I swear I cannot even describe how happy I am.”

Mahmoud Adnan, a Syrian who works in a nut store in a Cairo suburb, said he lost many relatives and friends during the war. Like others, he hopes to return home.

“No one wanted to leave,” he said.

Egypt condemns Israel’s seizure of a buffer zone in the Golan Heights

CAIRO — Egypt on Monday condemned Israel’s seizure of a buffer zone in the Golan Heights that was established by a 1974 agreement with Syria.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry accused Israel of “exploiting the power vacuum … to occupy more Syrian territories and create a fait accompli in violation of international law.”

Egypt called for the United Nations Security Council to take “a firm position towards the Israeli aggression on Syria.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that the 50-year-old ceasefire agreement with Syria had collapsed. He said Syrian troops had abandoned their positions, necessitating the Israeli takeover as a “temporary defensive position.”

Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it. The entire international community, except for the United States, considers the strategic plateau to be occupied Syrian territory.

The agreement that demarcated the buffer zone was reached after the 1973 war, in which Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel. Egypt became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel in 1978.

Syrian insurgents say they won’t interfere with women’s dressing or personal freedoms

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian insurgents who toppled President Bashar Assad said they won’t impose any religious dress code on women and vowed to guarantee personal freedom for everyone.

In a statement posted on social media, the insurgents’ General Command said “it is strictly forbidden to interfere with women’s dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty.”

The command said it affirms that personal freedom is guaranteed to everyone, and that respect for the rights of individuals is the basis for building a civilized nation.

In areas that were controlled by Syrian opposition groups since the civil war erupted in 2011, the vast majority of women dressed modestly, only revealing their faces and hands.

Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader whose forces entered Damascus over the weekend, has renounced longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicted himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance.