28 injured in ‘suspected’ vehicle attack in Munich, police say
(Douglas Sacha/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Munich police said at least 28 people were injured after a “vehicle drove into a group of people” in the center of the city on Thursday morning.
“The driver was able to be secured on site and currently poses no further danger,” police said in a post in German on social media.
Police said in an update that at least two of those injured were in a serious condition and that one child required resuscitation.
Bavarian state premier Markus Söder told journalists that at least 28 people were injured. The incident is being treated as a “suspected attack,” Söder said.
Police said the suspect is believed to be a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker. Authorities have not yet suggested a motive or named the suspect.
Söder said during the press conference that the suspect was already known to police for drugs and shoplifting offenses.
Police said the incident occurred in the area of Dachauer Street and Seidle Street in the heart of Munich, close to the city’s central train station.
The incident occurred at Stilgmaierplatz, where a rally organized by the Verdi trade union was taking place from 10:30 a.m. local time, police said. The event was accompanied by police and therefore officers were already on site.
A Munich Police spokesperson told ABC News that the suspect overtook a police vehicle with his car before accelerating and plowing into the back of the demonstration. Police believe he acted alone.
Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter told reporters that “many people have been injured, including children. I am deeply shocked. My thoughts are with the injured.”
“The police have arrested the driver of the vehicle, but the exact circumstances are still unclear,” Reiter added.
Police said a “major operation” was underway, urging residents to avoid the area in order to assist emergency responders.
Images from the scene showed police and medical responders working near a damaged vehicle surrounded by belongings and debris. Police cordoned off the area of the incident as helicopters circled above. Police have not identified the suspect or the vehicle involved.
Thursday’s vehicle crash came less than two months after a car plowed through a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, killing two people and injuring nearly 70 others, local officials said at the time.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Helena Skinner, Felix Franz and Dada Jovanovic contributed to this report.
Security forces and emergency workers respond to the scene of a shooting attack that targeted a bus and other vehicles on January 6, 2025 in the Palestinian village of Al-Funduq, West Bank. Three people were reported killed and others injured, and security forces are still searching for the assailants. The site is located between the Israeli West Bank settlements of Karnei Shomron and Kdumim. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.
The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the strip around several Palestinian hospitals. A latest round of peace talks to end the 15-month-old war is set to resume in Qatar.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
Israel recovers body of hostage found in Gaza tunnel
The Israeli Defense Forces and the Shin Bet “located and returned the kidnapped body” of hostage Yosef Al-Zaydani on Tuesday “from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area,” the army said in a release Wednesday. Israel said it has also recovered another body and are working to determine whether it is Al-Zaydani’s son, Hamza.
The Israel Defense Forces said they have identified the body of one hostage, Yosef Al-Zaydani, and are examining the identify of the second body.
The IDF believes the second body is likely Hamza Al-Zaydani, but they are not certain yet, so at this time the IDF is saying they’ve identified one body and are examining the findings of a second body.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his “deep sorrow for the bitter news that the Al-Zaydani received today,” in a statement Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Ellie Kaufman
Israeli warplanes bomb West Bank
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday its fighter jets “struck a terrorist cell” in the occupied West Bank Palestinian town of Tamun.
Unconfirmed reports by local media suggested that two children were among three Palestinians killed.
On Tuesday, the IDF said its aircraft struck and killed two armed Palestinian militants in the area of Tamun after an armed cell opened fire toward Israeli security forces there.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Israeli strikes kill 51 people in Gaza, health officials say
At least 51 people were killed and 78 others were injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
In total, at least 45,936 people have been killed and another 109,274 have been injured by Israeli forces in Gaza since the ongoing war began on Oct. 7, 2023, the ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar met with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayad on Tuesday, according to a release from Saar’s office.
The Israeli Foreign Minister was invited by the UAE, the readout said, his visit coinciding with the resumption of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in Doha, Qatar.
The UAE has discussed with Israel and the U.S. the idea of participating in a provisional administration of post-war Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to take charge, Reuters reported this week.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Ellie Kaufman
Biden, Trump teams ‘very collaborative’ on Gaza push, envoy says
President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told reporters that President Joe Biden’s team has been “very collaborative” on working towards a Gaza hostage release deal, with renewed talks ongoing in Qatar.
“We’re just very collaborative together,” Witkoff said following Trump’s Tuesday Mar-a-Lago press conference. “I mean, this is a tense negotiation, so no one has pride of authorship. We are totally outcome oriented. Let’s get them home.”
Witkoff said he speaks every day with Brett McGurk, the top Biden White House official on Middle East policy.
During the press conference, Trump said “all hell will break loose” if the remaining hostages aren’t released before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
Witkoff said “there was no exaggeration or embellishment with what the president said.”
“If you get on the phone with the hostage families, it’s harrowing to listen to them,” Witkoff said. “There are people who just want the remains of their children back…it is withering to listen to this, and he [Trump] listens to them all.”
Witkoff said the incoming administration “aspirationally” hopes for a 42-day ceasefire to be enacted before the inauguration.
“President Trump’s persona is such that he’s driving the narrative on these negotiations,” Witkoff added. “He will be in office when that 42-day ceasefire is over. That’s what Hamas cares about — how we move to phase two. That’s what the Israelis care about, how President Trump will be at the end of that ceasefire.”
Witkoff said he’s seen intelligence reports about how many hostages remain alive, and said it’s “not a small amount.”
-ABC News’ Selina Wang
Israeli settlers attack West Bank Palestinian villages
There were multiple overnight attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in parts of the West Bank, following a shooting attack that killed three Israelis and injured eight others earlier on Monday.
The Palestinian Authority-run WAFA news agency reported at least two attacks by settlers on Palestinian communities in Bethlehem and Ramallah.
The Yesh Din human rights group reported as many as 100 settlers attacking Palestinian villages, some in the al-Funduq area where Monday’s attack occurred.
Israeli security forces are still searching for the suspected perpetrators of Monday’s shooting attack, which Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described as “an act of war.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Blinken hopes for Gaza ceasefire in administration’s final weeks
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Monday that the U.S. wants a ceasefire deal in Gaza and all remaining captives released within the next two weeks, before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
“We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks,” Blinken told reporters while in Seoul, South Korea.
Blinken reported “intensified engagement,” including by Hamas, on reaching a deal, though added “we are yet to see agreement on final points.”
“We need Hamas to make the final necessary decisions to complete the agreement and to fundamentally change the circumstance for the hostages, getting them out, for people in Gaza, bringing them relief, and for the region as a whole, creating an opportunity to actually move forward to something better, more secure for everyone involved,” Blinken said.
“If we don’t get it across the finish line in the next two weeks, I’m confident that it will get its completion at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later,” Blinken added.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
3 Israelis killed in West Bank shooting
Three Israelis were killed in a shooting that targeted a bus and a vehicle in the occupied West Bank on Monday morning, security and emergency officials said.
The attack occurred in the village of Al-Funduq, on one of the main east-west roads crossing the Palestinian territory, much of which is under Israeli security control.
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service confirmed the death of three victims — two women in their 60s and a man in his 40s. MDA said it provided medical treatment to seven injured people, including the bus driver who is in serious condition.
The Israel Defense Forces said it launched a manhunt for the suspected Palestinian shooters.
“Anyone who follows the path of Hamas in Gaza and sponsors the murder and harm of Jews will pay heavy prices, ” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a post on his X account, reacting to the attack.
Sending his condolences to the families of the victims, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attackers “will not get away.”
“We will find the abhorrent murderers and settle accounts with them and with all those who aided them,” his statement said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said in an extensive report Sunday that at least 838 Palestinians — including 173 children — have been killed by Israeli fire and over 6,700 have been injured in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Diaa Ostaz and Somayeh Malekian
WHO director calls for release of Kamal Adwan hospital director
Tedros Ghebreyesus, the director of the World Health Organization, said in a statement Saturday that WHO has received no updates about Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of North Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital, since he was detained by Israeli forces on Dec. 27th.
“We continue to urge Israel to release him. We repeat: attacks on hospitals and health professionals must end. People in Gaza need access to health care. Ceasefire!” he said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé
Israeli strikes kill 150 in Gaza, officials say, as peace talks resume
More than 150 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip over the past three days, according to Palestinian health authorities.
The series of airstrikes on dozens of Hamas targets came amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire in the 15-month-old war and return Israeli hostages home before President-elect Donald Trump takes office later this month.
Delegations from both Israel and Hamas were dispatched to resume indirect negotiations in Doha on Friday. The talks will be brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
President Joe Biden’s administration, which is helping to broker the talks, urged Hamas to agree to a deal. Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement deal, but it remains unclear how close the two sides are.
-ABC News Nasser Atta, Bruno Nota, Diaa Ostaz, Samy Zyara and Morgan Winsor
(LONDON) — A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect on Sunday morning. Hostages held in the strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will be freed in the first phase of the deal.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. Israeli forces also remain active inside the Syrian border region as victorious rebels there build a transitional government.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
At least 21 Palestinians injured in West Bank settler violence
At least 21 Palestinians were injured, 11 severely, after dozens of Israeli civilians, some of whom were masked, arrived at the area of Al Funduq, in the West Bank, and “instigated riots, set property on fire and caused damage,” according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Three homes were burned down and five cars were torched as well, the IDF said.
The civilians hurled rocks and attacked the security forces dispatched to the scene, according to the IDF.
Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz, despite freeing settlers who committed the same types of crimes, said he condemns the violence.
Over 1,500 aid trucks entered Gaza on day 1 and 2 of ceasefire, UN says
More than 1,500 trucks with humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip in the first two days of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
That includes more than 630 trucks on Sunday and 915 trucks on Monday, according to OCHA. Of the ones that crossed into Gaza on Sunday, OCHA said at least 300 trucks went to the north, which the U.N. has warned is facing imminent famine.
OCHA cited “information received through engagement with Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement.”
“There is no time to lose,” the U.N.’s aid chief, Tom Fletcher, said in a statement Monday. “After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering.”
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
IDF says riots in the West Bank have dispersed
Israel Defense Forces and Israel Border Police Forces were dispatched to Al Funduq in the West Bank after reports of rioting in the area, the IDF said on Monday.
The alleged incident occurred shortly after Israel’s defense minister released all settlers being detained under administrative detention orders, though it cannot be certain that any of those settlers were involved in the reported riots. ABC News was able to confirm that fires had ignited in that location.
Shortly thereafter, the IDF confirmed that it had successfully dispersed rioters.
There have been no confirmed reports as to the extent of the damage or any injuries. Israeli officials are expected to conduct a formal inquiry in the area tonight.
-ABC News’ William Gretsky
Israeli forces recover body of fallen soldier in Gaza
Israeli forces recovered the body of Oron Shaul, an Israel Defense Forces soldier who was killed in 2014, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF announced Monday.
Shaul was killed during a battle in Gaza on July 30, 2014, and his body had been held by Hamas for the past 10 years, the IDF said.
“The recovery of Staff Sergeant, Oron Shaul’s body, was made possible due to a decade-long ongoing intelligence effort, which intensified during the war,” the IDF wrote in a statement about the operation on Monday.
Netanyahu spoke with Oron Shaul’s mother, Zehava Shaul, after the operation was successfully completed, a statement from his office said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Jordan Miller
Next hostage exchange expected to take place Saturday
Both Israel and Hamas have confirmed the next hostage release will take place on Saturday.
A senior Israeli official confirmed the deal must take place on Jan. 25, as outlined in the ceasefire agreement. Hamas confirmed the date, saying “the second batch of prisoner exchange will take place on the scheduled date.”
Three hostages, all Israeli women, were released on Sunday, while 90 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israel in exchange.
Houthis say attacks on Israeli shipping will continue
Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced that they will limit their attacks in the Red Sea to only Israel-affiliated ships, signaling a temporary easing of their broader assault on commercial vessels.
The decision coincided with the ceasefire and hostage-release deal agreed between Israel and Hamas that went into effect on Sunday.
The announcement was made via an email sent to shipping companies by the Houthi Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, the Associated Press reported.
Attacks on Israeli-linked vessels will end “upon the full implementation of all phases” of the ceasefire, the Houthis said, adding that attacks on U.S.- or U.K.-linked shipping may resume if the two nations continue airstrikes in Yemen.
The Houthis have targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023, significantly affecting global shipping, particularly through Egypt’s Suez Canal.
The Houthis have also attacked American and allied military shipping in the region, plus launched drone and ballistic missile strikes into Israel.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
10,000 bodies may be under Gaza rubble, Civil Defense says
The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza said there could be as many as 10,000 bodies buried under rubble all across the strip, as many displaced Gazans try to return to their homes under a nascent ceasefire agreement.
The Civil Defense said in a post to Telegram that 10,000 missing people are believed to be “under the rubble of destroyed homes, buildings and facilities.” They are not counted in the 38,300 fatalities listed by the Civil Defense since Oct. 7, 2023.
The Gaza Ministry of Health — which has separately tracked deaths during the conflict — said on Sunday that 46,913 people had been killed in the Hamas-run territory during the war with Israel.
The Civil Defense said Israeli forces prevented its crews from accessing large areas of the strip during the fighting, “where there are hundreds of bodies” that have not yet been recovered.
The Civil Defense called for the entry of foreign rescue workers “to support us in carrying out our duty to deal with the catastrophic reality left behind by the war, which exceeds the capacity of the civil defense apparatus in the Gaza Strip.”
The organization called on Gazans to assist rescuers “with all necessary capabilities, including rescue, firefighting, and ambulance vehicles and equipment, as well as heavy machinery and equipment that will help us retrieve the bodies of martyrs from under the rubble of thousands of destroyed buildings and homes.”
Freed hostage is ‘happiest girl in the world,’ mother says Mandy Damari, the mother of Emily Damari — who was among the three Israeli captives freed from Gaza on Sunday — released a statement thanking all those involved in her daughter’s release “from the bottom of my heart.”
“Yesterday, I was finally able to give Emily the hug that I have been dreaming of,” Mandy said in a statement shared by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
“I am relieved to report that after her release, Emily is doing much better than any of us could ever have anticipated,” she added.
“In Emily’s own words, she is the happiest girl in the world; she has her life back,” Mandy said.
“In this incredibly happy moment for our family, we must also remember that 94 other hostages still remain,” she added. “The ceasefire must continue and every last hostage must be returned to their families.”
-ABC News’ Anna Burd
Red Cross details ‘complex’ hostage release operation
The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that Sunday’s operation to collect three freed Israeli hostages from Gaza “was complex, requiring rigorous security measures to minimize the risks to those involved.”
“Navigating large crowds and heightened emotions posed challenges during the transfers and in Gaza, ICRC teams had to manage the dangers posed by unexploded ordnances and destroyed infrastructure,” the ICRC said in a Monday statement.
“More families are waiting anxiously for their loved ones to come home,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said. “We call on all parties to continue to adhere to their commitments to ensure the next operations can take place safely.”
The ICRC also stressed that “urgently needed humanitarian assistance must enter Gaza, where civilians have struggled for months to access food, drinkable water and shelter.”
Released Palestinian prisoners arrive in the West Bank amid high tensions
Tensions were high as people waited in Beitunia, in the West Bank, for the arrival of the 90 Palestinian prisoners who were released from Israeli custody just after 1 a.m. local time.
Israeli forces used cars and tear gas to attempt to clear the roads, ABC News reporters on the scene said.
ABC News’ team saw flash bangs where people were gathered waiting for the prisoners’ release.
Israeli Police did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the matter.
The prisoners were released from Ofer Prison in Ramallah, West Bank, as a part of the hostage exchange and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
People were seen on top of the buses waving flags and chanting as the prisoners arrived in Beitunia at approximately 1:42 a.m.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, as well as Tom Soufi Burridge and Hugo Leenhardt in the West Bank
Photos show 3 Israeli former hostages reunited with their mothers
Photos were released by Israeli officials on Sunday showing the three released hostages hugging their mothers as they were reunited.
The images showed former hostages Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28; and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, all sharing emotional embraces with their mothers.
(DAMASCUS, SYRIA) — Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides.
US has unseen evidence of Assad atrocities, State Department says
In response to a question about the suspected mass graves being uncovered in Syria, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday that the U.S. has evidence of other atrocities that occurred under toppled President Bashar Assad’s regime that is not currently available to the public.
“When you look at the evidence that is coming out of Syria in the now 10 days since the Assad regime fell, it continues to shock the conscience,” he said.
“And I’m referring not just to the mass graves that have been uncovered, but information that we have been gathering inside the United States government, including information that’s not yet publicly known,” Miller added.
“We just continue to see more and more evidence pile up of how brutal they were in mistreating their own people, in murdering and torturing their own people,” Miller said.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
US in ‘intense’ talks to prevent escalating conflict in north Syria
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Tuesday that “fairly intense diplomatic discussions” aimed at staving off renewed fighting between Turkey plus its allied militias and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northern Syria were ongoing.
“We continue to engage with Turkey about the situation in northern Syria,” Miller said. “As you know, we worked out a ceasefire for the area around Manbij. That ceasefire has been holding. It had expired. It has been extended until the end of this week, and we continue to engage with the SDF, with Turkey about a path forward,” he said.
Although the U.S. is allied with the SDF, Miller described Turkey’s concern about the terror threat posed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party — a U.S.-designated terror group which Turkey claims is directly linked to the SDF — as “very legitimate.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
38 Palestinians killed in Gaza strikes, officials say
At least 38 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 injured in the past 24 hours of Israeli strikes in Gaza, according to Palestinian Civil Defence authorities in the Hamas-run territory.
The Israel Defense Forces also issued a new evacuation order for Palestinians residing in the Bureij area in the center of the strip.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Joe Simonetti
IDF removes alleged Israeli settlers from south Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces told ABC News on Wednesday it “removed from the area” a group of alleged Israeli settlers that crossed into Lebanese territory.
“The preliminary investigation indicates that the civilians indeed crossed the blue line by a few meters and after being identified by IDF forces, they were removed from the area,” the IDF said in a statemen.
“This is a serious incident that is being investigated,” the IDF added. “Any attempt to approach or cross the border into Lebanese territory without coordination poses a life-threatening risk and interferes with the IDF’s ability to operate in the area and carry out its mission.”
The south of Lebanon remains under IDF evacuation orders following Israel’s recent ground offensive there. Israeli forces have committed to withdrawing from all Lebanese territory within 60 days of a ceasefire that came into force on Nov. 27.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd and Joe Simonetti
64 patients at Kamal Adwan Hospital still facing relentless bombing
The Kamal Adwan Hospital has been facing relentless and continuous bombing injuring more people in the building.
“The third floor was set on fire, and the water tank was destroyed. The intensive care unit was also targeted while the patients were inside. There were terrifying sounds in the hospital courtyard, and we saw a military vehicle advancing towards the hospital. Barrels were placed, and three of them exploded, causing panic and terror in the hospital,” Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of the hospital, told ABC News.
“Drones are constantly dropping bombs on the hospital. Anyone moving in the hospital risks being injured or killed. So far, there is no electricity, water or oxygen at all,” the director said.
Israel will occupy Gaza Strip, defense minister says
Israel will have security control over the Gaza Strip, effectively occupying it, Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X Tuesday.
“After we defeat Hamas’ military and governmental power in Gaza, Israel will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action, just as in Judea and Samaria,” Katz said.
“We will not allow any terrorist organization against Israeli communities and Israeli citizens from Gaza. We will not allow a return to the reality of before October 7th,” Katz said.
Katz’s predecessor, Yoav Gallant, repeatedly insisted that Israel wanted to avoid the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip.
Ceasefire deal ‘possible’ if Israel does not add new conditions, Hamas says
Amid reports that a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel may be edging closer, Hamas said a “prisoner exchange is possible if the occupation stops putting new conditions.”
More than 45,000 people were killed and over 100,000 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry
Over 90% of Gaza’s 2.1 million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham head Ahmed al-Sharaa — also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani — told The Times in a new interview that the transitional government in Damascus does “not want any conflict, whether with Israel or anyone else.”
Israel is continuing airstrikes across Syria and has occupied parts of a buffer zone — demilitarized in a 1974 bilateral deal — running between the two nations. Israeli leaders say their military operations are intended to prevent “extremists” from launching attacks into Israel.
But Sharaa said the new administration “will not let Syria be used as a launchpad for attacks.”
“The Syrian people need a break, and the strikes must end and Israel has to pull back to its previous positions,” he added.
Sharaa has asked the international community to pressure Israel to stop its strikes, withdraw from the buffer zone and respect the 1974 agreement.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Joe Simonetti
‘Massive’ Damascus graves could hold 100,000 bodies, NGO says
Mouaz Moustafa, the head of the U.S.-based Syrian advocacy organization, the Syrian Emergency Task Force, told ABC News there are believed to be well over 100,000 bodies in a “massive” burial site discovered 25 miles north of Damascus.
Moustafa told ABC News from the Syrian capital that the site in al-Qutayfah consists of “massive graves” where “lines or trenches were 6 to 7 meters deep, 3 to 4 meters wide and 50 to 150 meters long.”
“In my conversation with the gravediggers, they told me that four tractor trailer trucks each carrying over 150 bodies came twice a week from 2012 until 2018,” Moustafa said.
“The bulldozer excavator driver described how intelligence officers forced workers to use the bulldozer to flatten and compress the bodies to make them fit and easier to bury before digging the next line or trench,” he added.
The mass grave contained men, women, children and the elderly “tortured to death” by former President Bashar Assad’s regime, Moustafa said.
The overthrown president was in power from 2000 to his ousting on Dec. 8. In his first statement since fleeing Syria, Assad on Monday blamed a “terrorist onslaught” for his defeat. His toppling marked the end of a 14-year conflict between Damascus and a collection of rebel groups.
Opposition groups and rescue workers are still uncovering evidence of the regime’s human rights abuses. SETF believes it has identified three other mass graves so far, as well as two “smaller ones,” Moustafa said.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Israel to have ‘full freedom of action’ in Gaza after war, minister says
Israel “will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action” after the fighting in the devastated Palestinian territory ends, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a post to X on Tuesday.
Katz added that Israeli access to the strip will be comparable to its access to the occupied West Bank, which is nominally controlled by the Palestinian Authority but in coordination with Israel.
“We will not allow any terrorist organization against Israeli communities and Israeli citizens from Gaza,” Katz wrote. “We will not allow a return to the reality of before Oct. 7.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has faced domestic and international criticism for its failure to present a clear vision for post-war Gaza beyond the destruction of Hamas as a ruling force.
President Joe Biden is among the world leaders that have warned Israel against any post-war occupation of Gaza or permanent displacement of Palestinians.
State Department: Search for Tice still possible without team on the ground
The State Department’s lack of boots on the ground in Syria isn’t interfering in its efforts to track down missing American journalist Austin Tice, spokesperson Matthew Miller contended on Monday.
The department has had “more than one communication” with rebel group HTS “over the past week,” he told reporters. It was also in touch with other groups, like the White Helmets, that were helping with the search, he said.
“We feel that right now we are able to get good information,” he said.
Tice, an American freelance journalist and Marine Corps veteran, was kidnapped while reporting in Syria more than a decade ago.
In a recent letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu obtained by ABC News, Tice’s family “urgently” asked the Israelis to pause their strikes in a neighborhood in Damascus where they believe he may be held prisoner and to deploy assets to the area to help search for him.
“I’m going to be looking for help anywhere I can, and what I’ve learned in 12 years and four months is go to the top first,” Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, told reporters on Monday when asked about the outreach.
“I think it would be polite to say the least, that perhaps they’re not bombing as people are trying to clear the prison. That would be my first suggestion,” she added.
ABC News has reached out to the prime minister’s office for comment.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Will Gretsky
Israeli defense minister expresses optimism for ceasefire deal
Israeli officials are expressing optimism about the prospects of a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
“We are closer to a deal than in any other point since the previous deal, the matter is top priority,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said while addressing the Knesset on Monday, according to the spokesperson of the foreign affairs and security committee.
The remarks come after Mossad chief David Barnea traveled to Doha, Qatar, last week for ceasefire negotiations.
Assad says he fled Syria after drones attacked Russian air base
Former Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday released his first statement since the collapse of his regime, posting a statement to the presidency’s official Telegram channel.
“My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur in the final hours of the battles,” Assad said. “As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations.”
“Upon arrival at the Khmeimim air base that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen,” the statement continued.
“As the field situation in the area continued to deteriorate, the Russian military base itself came under intensified attack by drone strikes.”
“With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia,” Assad wrote.
“This took place a day after the fall of Damascus, following the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all state institutions,” he added.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian, Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti
Gaza death toll passes 45,000, officials say
A series of Israeli airstrikes across Gaza over the weekend and into Monday morning pushed the total death toll in the strip since Oct. 7, 2023, to more than 45,000 people, according to data from the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Per ministry figures, more than 2% of Gaza’s total pre-war residents of 2.23 million people have been killed in 14 months of conflict with Israel.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israel has ‘no interest’ in Syria conflict, Netanyahu says as strikes continue
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his nation has no interest in conflict with the incoming Syrian government, though indicated that Israeli airstrikes and occupation of Syrian territory will continue.
“We have no interest in a conflict with Syria,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will determine Israeli policy regarding Syria according to the reality on the ground.”
“I recall that for decades Syria was an active enemy state toward Israel,” he said. “It has attacked us repeatedly.”
Speaking of former President Bashar Assad’s close ties with Iran and its proxies, Netanyahu continued, “It allowed others to attack us from its territory. It allowed Iran to arm Hezbollah through its territory.”
The prime minister issued the statement after another night of heavy airstrikes across Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday there have been around 473 Israeli airstrikes on the country since Assad’s fall on Dec. 8.
“Over the course of several days, we have destroyed the capabilities that the Assad regime took decades to build,” Netanyahu said. “We have also struck the weapons supply routes through Syria to Hezbollah.”
Netanyahu said he and Defense Minister Israel Katz had instructed the Israel Defense Forces “to thwart the potential threats from Syria and prevent terrorist elements from taking control close to our border,” a reference to Israeli occupation of a buffer zone between the two nations established in a 1974 peace deal.
“We are committed to preventing the rearming of Hezbollah,” Netanyahu said. “This is a prolonged test for Israel, which we must meet, and which we will meet. I unequivocally declare to Hezbollah and to Iran: In order to prevent you from attacking us, we will continue to take action against you as necessary, in every arena and at all times.”
Over the weekend, Netanyahu’s government also approved a plan to double the territory of the Golan Heights, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967 but is still recognized as Syrian territory by the vast majority of the international community.
“We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom and settle in it,” Netanyahu said.
Israel unilaterally annexed the strategic area — which overlooks Damascus from the southwest — in 1981. The U.S. recognized Israeli sovereignty over the region in 2019.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
US embassy tells Americans to leave ‘volatile’ Syria
The U.S. Embassy in Damascus — which suspended operations in 2012 — said in a Monday post to X that the “security situation in Syria continues to be volatile and unpredictable with armed conflict and terrorism throughout the country.”
U.S. citizens, it said, “should depart Syria if possible. U.S. citizens who are unable to depart should prepare contingency plans for emergency situations and be prepared to shelter in place for extended periods.”
U.S. officials have said they are in touch with the most prominent rebel groups now building a transition government after toppling former president Bashar Assad’s regime, but the eventual shape of U.S.-Syrian relations remains unclear.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — the most prominent of the rebel groupings — has roots in al-Qaeda and is still listed as a terrorist organization in the U.S. and European Union. Its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, is still the subject of a $10 million U.S. bounty.
The U.S. government “is unable to provide any routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Syria,” the embassy said. “U.S. citizens in Syria who are in need of emergency assistance to depart should contact the U.S. Embassy in the country they plan to enter.”
The embassy urged citizens in Syria to be “prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate” and to ensure access to all required travel documents.
Netanyahu says he spoke with Trump on Syria
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday night released a video in Hebrew addressing Israel’s actions in Syria. He says he discussed this with President-Elect Trump “last night.” He called it a “very friendly, very warm and very important conversation,” and said they spoke about “the need to complete Israel’s victory,” as well as freeing the hostages in Gaza.
On Syria, Netanyahu said he has instructed the Israel Defense Forces “to thwart potential threats from Syria, and to prevent terrorist elements from taking over near our border.” He also said the IDF’s airstrikes in Syria have destroyed “capabilities that the Assad regime had built over decades,” as well as the “arms supply routes from Syria to Hezbollah.”
Netanyahu said Israel has “no interest in confronting Syria” but also said Israel will continue to act to stop Hezbollah from rearming “as much as necessary, in every arena and at any time.”
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota
US aircraft carrier strike group enters Middle East
The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier strike group has arrived in the Middle East, according to U.S. Central Command.
On Dec. 14, the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG) consisting of the flagship USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75); Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 with nine embarked aviation squadrons; Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 28; the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, USS Gettysburg… pic.twitter.com/mtfsiBvCyh
