Trump on situation in Syria: 'Let's not get involved' | Live coverage of regional events

“We are monitoring developments to ensure that regional fronts are not heading our way,” said Israeli army chief of staff Herzi Halevi, during a tour of the border with Syria reported by Avichay Adraee on X.

“We are not interfering in events in Syria and are working to eliminate threats in the region. We have prepared action plans with all the different possibilities present,” General Halevi added.

The previously reported Israeli attack on Beit Lif, in southern Lebanon, killed four people and wounded six others, reports our correspondent. The house targeted is believed to belong to a civilian family.

The Syrian army says it is stepping up its deployment around Damascus and in the south of the country, reports AFP.

Syria's interior minister said military and security forces had set up a “very solid” cordon around Damascus, while rebel fighters said they had begun to encircle the capital, reports AFP.

“There is a very solid military and security cordon on the far outskirts of Damascus and its countryside, and no one (...) can penetrate this line of defense that we, the armed forces, are erecting,” Interior Minister Mohammed al-Rahmoun told state television.

The Israeli air force carried out an attack on a house near Beit Lif, in the Bint Jbeil district in southern Lebanon, reports our correspondent. Casualties have been reported.

One of Syria's rebel commanders, Hassan Abdul Ghani, claimed that rebel forces had taken control of an army camp and a series of villages around the city of Homs.

Radical Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTC) has said it “has a duty to protect government, international and U.N. offices in Syria,” Reuters reports.

The U.N.'s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has called for calm in the country following a lightning rebel advance in recent days.

“I reiterate my call for de-escalation, calm, the avoidance of a bloodbath and the protection of civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law,” Pedersen told the Doha Forum, calling for ”the launch of a process that leads to the realization of the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.”

⚡ The Israeli army says it is helping U.N. forces “repel an attack” launched by “armed individuals” against a U.N. post in the Hader region of the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

“The Israeli army is deployed with reinforcements in the Golan Heights and will continue to operate,” it added on its X account.

The armed wing of Hamas has released a new video of one of the hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023 during the Palestinian movement's attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, reports AFP.

The video, which lasts around three minutes and 30 seconds and whose recording date cannot be verified, shows a young man speaking in Hebrew and calling for pressure on the Israeli government to secure his release.

⚡U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. should not “meddle” in the situation in Syria, as rebel groups began to encircle the capital Damascus.

“Syria is a mess, but it's not our friend, and the U.S. shouldn't have anything to do with it. It's not our fight. Let [the situation] develop. Let's not get involved!” wrote the future American president, minutes before his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace in Paris.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he “hopes” that Syria, where rebels are seeking to overthrow Bashar al-Assad's regime, will “find the peace it has been dreaming of for 13 years” and the start of the bloodily crushed uprising, reports AFP.

“Our wish is for our neighbor, Syria, to find the peace and tranquility it has been dreaming of for 13 years,” said the Turkish head of state, adding that Syria is "tired of war, blood and tears." “Our Syrian brothers and sisters deserve freedom, security and peace in their homeland,” said Erdogan, adding that he hoped "to see a Syria where different identities live together peacefully."

“We hope to see such a Syria in the very near future,” he said in a speech delivered in the southeastern city of Gaziantep, where several hundred thousand Syrian refugees have sought refuge since the start of the civil war in 2011. “There is now a new political and diplomatic reality in Syria,” he added, accusing Damascus of failing to grasp "the hand extended by Turkey," which in recent months had sought a rapprochement with the Syrian regime, in particular to allow the return of some of the three million Syrian refugees on Turkish soil.

The Israeli drones did not leave the airspace over Bint Jbeil and the surrounding area, as well as over several villages in southern Lebanon, according to our correspondent.

The caretaker Environment Minister and coordinator of the governmental emergency committee, Nasser Yassine, held a series of meetings on the sidelines of his participation in the Doha Forum.

He stressed the importance of humanitarian aid in Lebanon, particularly in view of the considerable needs resulting from the Israeli aggression and the presence of over 100,000 families whose homes have been destroyed or severely damaged.

More than a 1,000 Syrian soldiers crossed the Iraqi border today, according to the Iraqi National Agency.

The Syrian presidency denied that Bashar al-Assad had left or travelled to any foreign destination.

“President Bashar al-Assad is still in Damascus and carrying out his duties from the capital,” it said, according to Reuters.

The South Lebanon Water Board has announced that it has put the Tasseh water spring facilities back into service after they were subjected to Israeli air strikes.

Located in Jarjouaa in the Nabatieh district, the facilities were damaged by Israeli air strikes before the cease-fire. According to the Water Board, the electricity and pumping rooms, as well as some of the pumping lines, had been hit. The pumping of water has begun and the water supply has been restored in the villages concerned, it added.

Syrian rebels enter the key northern and eastern city of Homs, Reuters reports, citing residents, army and rebels.

Demonstrators topple the statue of former president Hafez al-Assad on the outskirts of Damascus, witnesses told AFP.

The Lebanese army destroyed unexploded rockets in the fields of Taybeh, east of Baalbeck, causing a loud bang, according to our correspondent Sarah Abdallah.

Iraq has allowed in hundreds of troops from the Syrian army, some of them wounded, amid a lightning offensive by Islamist-led rebels, two Iraqi security sources told AFP on Saturday.

The soldiers from President Bashar al-Assad's forces "have fled the front lines" and entered Iraq through the al-Qaim border crossing, said one senior security official, adding that "the wounded have been hospitalized" in the area.

A second source gave a figure of 2,000 soldiers, including officers, who entered Iraq with the authorities' permission.

The Israeli army announced that it had carried out an airstrike in southern Lebanon targeting a member of Hezbollah.

The army said it carried out operations after detecting "several terrorist activities in southern Lebanon," including an air strike targeting "a Hezbollah terrorist who posed a threat to troops deployed in the south.

Four bodies were recovered from the rubble of a residential building in Beirut’s Basta al-Fawqa neighborhood on Saturday, two weeks after it was struck by an Israeli airstrike, stated Joseph Bou Chaaya, head of service and operations at the Lebanese Civil Defense.

The attack occurred at 4 a.m. on Nov. 23, when Israeli jets launched at least four missiles at an eight-story residential building on Maamoun Street, reducing it to rubble. On Nov. 24, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported that at least 29 people were killed and 67 others wounded in the attack. 

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Syrian territory could not fall under the control of "terrorists" in the wake of a lightning offensive by Islamist rebels who have seized swathes of Syria.

"It is inadmissible to allow a terrorist group to take control of territories in violation of existing agreements, starting with U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254, which firmly reaffirms the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of the Syrian Arab Republic," Lavrov said, referring to a 2015 resolution for a political settlement in Syria.

Regime opposition fighters are inside Daraya, 5 kilometers from the center of Damascus and 6.5 km from Bashar al-Assad's presidential palace, according to Charles Lister, director of the Middle East Institute's Syria program.

An Iraqi security official told AFP that "dozens" of deserted Syrian soldiers had arrived in Iraq.

Iran, a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has called for "political dialogue" between the Syrian government and the opposition, following an unprecedented rebel offensive.

"A political dialogue between the Syrian government and legitimate opposition groups must begin," Iranian diplomatic chief Abbas Araghchi told reporters after talks in Qatar with his Russian and Turkish counterparts.

The leader of the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has told fighters to prepare to take the capital Damascus.

"Damascus awaits you," Ahmed al-Shareh said in a statement to rebel fighters on Telegram, using his real name instead of his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.

 Two strategically-important Russian military facilities in Syria and Moscow's very presence in the Middle East are under serious threat from rapidly advancing insurgents, Russian war bloggers have warned.

The Cabinet meeting, exceptionally scheduled at the Benedict Barakat barracks in Sour, approved the plan to redeploy the army in southern Lebanon, which was presented by its Commander-in-Chief, General Joseph Aoun, and the head of the South Lebanon region.

Iran, Russia and Turkey began their meeting on Syria in Doha

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Syria rebels said they have begun "encircling the capital Damascus," while the Syrian army claimed that it did not withdraw from areas near Damascus, reported AFP 

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the rebel factions are now 10 kilometers from Damascus.

Syrian government forces are withdrawing from localities around 10 kilometers from Damascus, reported AFP.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein said the situation in Syria was creating a new weakness for Lebanese group Hezbollah because it was making it more difficult for Iran to get weapons in, as it seemed that Iran was pulling out of Syria, reported Reuters. His statements came during the Doha Forum on Saturday.

"We don't think we've eliminated Hezbollah or taken it out. It may not be strong enough to attack Israel or support Assad, but it's not eliminated," he added. 

He also stated that the U.S. should "up its game" in supporting the Lebanese Army and "so does everyone else."

The Syrian Defense Ministry announced that Syrian army troops are in and around the city of Homs, and are "combat-ready," reported Lebanese channel MTV.

Gaza's health ministry announced that 44,664 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war with Israel 14 months ago. 

At least 52 people have been killed in the last 24 hours, it said in a statement, adding that 105,976 people had been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.

Islamist-led Syrian rebel factions are now within 20 kilometers of the capital Damascus, having taken control of Deraa province in southern Syria, both a rebel commander and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said today. 

Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), told AFP that local rebel fighters now control the entire province of Deraa.

"We are now less than 20 kilometers from the southern entrance to the capital Damascus," said Hassan Abdel Ghani, a rebel commander.

Seven Syrian civilians were killed near Homs in Russian and Syrian strikes, AFP reported, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 

Syrian government forces reportedly withdrew from the province of Quneitra, near the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, stated the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

 Source close to Hezbollah says group sent 2,000 fighters to Syria, reported AFP

A person was killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a motorcycle in the village of Deir Seriane in southern Lebanon's Marjayoun district, reported our correspondent in the region. 

Islamist-led Syrian rebels claimed to have taken the town of Quneitra in the Syrian Golan, near the border with Israel, two rebels and a Syrian officer told Reuters, confirming their withdrawal.

The rebels also claim to have seized the town of Sanamayn and are advancing to within 20 kilometers of Damascus, Reuters reported, citing a rebel coalition commander.

A new round of truce negotiations in Gaza could be "very likely" to begin in Cairo in the coming week, a source close to the Palestinian Hamas delegation told AFP today.

Qatar's prime minister said on Saturday he had seen "new momentum" for truce negotiations and the release of hostages held in Gaza following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump.

"We felt, after the election, that momentum was returning," Mohammed ben Abdelrahman al-Thani told the Doha Forum, a conference for international political dialogue, reporting "a lot of encouragement from the new administration to reach an agreement, even before the president takes office."

A commander of the Islamist-led rebel coalition said he wanted to "reassure" religious communities and minorities in Syria, after taking control of several key towns in the country.

"We invite all faiths to be reassured and support the movements of the revolutionaries, because the era of sectarianism and tyranny is over forever," Hassan Abdel Ghani said on Telegram.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad failed to engage with his people and address issues like the return of refugees during a period of calm in the country's war, Qatar's prime minister said Saturday.

"Assad didn't seize these opportunities to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people, and we didn't see any serious movement, whether it's on the return of the refugees or on reconciling with his own people," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said at the Doha Forum for political dialogue.

Qatar — which gave early support to the rebels after Assad's government crushed the 2011 uprising, leading to the civil war — remains a fierce critic of the Syrian leader but is calling for a negotiated end to the fighting.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has denied reports of the evacuation of its embassy in Damascus.

"These reports are unfounded. The embassy is continuing its usual work," Iranian diplomacy said in a statement.

Earlier today, The New York Times reported that Iran began evacuating its military commanders and personnel from Syria yesterday.

The Israeli army announced today that it has decided to send additional reinforcements to the northern occupied Golan Heights, near the Syrian border, for defense missions, Haaretz reported.

Jordan urged its citizens to leave Syria "as soon as possible," as Islamist-led rebels pressed an offensive against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, reported AFP.

In a statement issued late Friday, the Jordanian foreign ministry said that "in light of the developments taking place in Syria," it "calls on Jordanian citizens residing and present there to leave Syrian territory as soon as possible." Amman on Friday also closed its border crossing with Syria.

In a message to the Lebanese people, the Syrian armed factions expressed their hopes for "a new future built on mutual diplomatic relations that promote the prosperity and development of both countries."

"The crisis is nearing its end, the clouds are lifting, and the time is approaching for refugees to return home with honor and dignity," they added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said yesterday that "there are different scenarios for Syria's future: civil war, partition or total control by terrorist groups."

"All these scenarios are dangerous for the future of the region and for Syria's neighbors," he warned. In an interview with al-Charqiya News, he stressed that it was "impossible to predict the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad." Many expected him to fall in 2011, but that didn't happen, he added.

He also told reporters in Baghdad: "If Syria becomes a safe place for terrorists with the return of ISIS and other terrorist groups, it will create a great threat to the region," reported AFP.

Iran began evacuating its military commanders and personnel from Syria yesterday, according to regional sources and three Iranian officials cited by The New York Times.

Among those evacuated to Iraq and Lebanon were senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' al-Quds Force, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Revolutionary Guards personnel, Iranian diplomats, their families and Iranian civilians were also among those evacuated, according to Iranian and regional officials, including two members of the Revolutionary Guards.

The evacuations reportedly began Friday morning, ordered from the Iranian embassy in Damascus and Revolutionary Guard bases. Some embassy staff have already left, with evacuees traveling to Tehran by air or to Lebanon, Iraq and the Syrian port of Latakia via land routes.

In southern Lebanon: 

- Precarious calm prevailed this morning, reported our correspondent in the region. 

- Israeli artillery fire targeted the al-Mari valley in the Hasbaya district. 

- At midnight, the Israeli army shelled houses in Khiam, Marjayoun, causing three loud explosions to echo in the village. 

- Yesterday evening, after 10 p.m., the Israeli army carried out detonations in Rob al-Thalathine and Markaba, in the Marjayoun district, causing explosions that were heard as far away as Nabatieh and the eastern sector. 

In Gaza, the Civil Defense reported last night that an Israeli strike on a house killed 17 people in the Nusseirat refugee camp, in the center of the war-torn enclave. 

The strike, which occurred shortly after nightfall, also injured at least 39 others, according to Mahmoud Bassal, a Civil Defense spokesperson, reported AFP.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday called for the protection of civilians and minorities in Syria, as rebel groups continued to seize swathes of territory from the control of President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

During a phone conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, "Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of protecting civilians, including members of minority groups, across Syria. The secretary discussed the need for a political solution to the conflict," said U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

The Syrian government, grappling with a swift advance by Turkish-backed rebels who have declared their intent to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, lost control of the city of Deraa yesterday. Deraa, known as the cradle of the 2011 uprising, fell to local forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Following Russia's lead, the United States has also urged its citizens to evacuate.

The Syrian army announced it was redeploying in two southern provinces of Deraa and Sweida today after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the government had lost control of most of Deraa and several positions in Sweida. 

"Our forces operating in Daraa and Sweida are redeploying and repositioning and establishing a ... security cordon in that direction after terrorist elements attacked remote army checkpoints," the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces said in a statement carried by state media.

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Welcome to our live coverage. Today marks the 428th day of war in Gaza and the 11th day of a cease-fire in Lebanon, following 14 months of cross-border strikes between Israel and Hezbollah and over two months of Israel's deadly campaign across Lebanon.

We'll also follow the latest updates on the rebel advance in Syria.