Kyiv says Russian ICBM strikes Ukraine, but US official says it was ‘experimental medium-range ballistic missile’
Emergency responders are dispatched to the scene after a Russian attack that killed at least 13 people in Glukhiv, Sumy Oblast. The number of victims increased to 13, including 3 children. Search and rescue efforts continue for those trapped under the rubble of the partially destroyed dormitory building. (Photo by Ukraine State Emergency Service / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON and KYIV) — Russia on Thursday launched an intercontinental ballistic missile toward southeastern Ukraine, officials in Kyiv said, but a U.S. official told ABC News that Russia launched “an experimental medium-range ballistic missile against Ukraine” near Dnipro.
The official said the United States briefed Ukraine and other close allies and partners in recent days on Russia’s possible use of this weapon in order to help them prepare. According to the official, Russia likely only possesses “a handful” of these experimental missiles.
Two U.S. officials previously told ABC News it was not an ICBM but instead an intermediate-range ballistic missile, or IRBM.
Ukraine’s military was “95% sure” the strike was with an ICBM, a Ukrainian official told ABC News, but added that they were still examining the missile parts on the ground and had not yet reached a final conclusion.
“Today it was a new Russian missile. All the parameters: speed, altitude — match those of an intercontinental ballistic missile,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media. “All expert evaluations are underway.”
Moscow did not immediately confirm the launch, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declining to comment, saying questions about it should instead be directed to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in remarks Thursday following the missile launch, said Russia has the right to use its weapons against the military facilities of countries employing their weapons against Russia.
The Ukrainian Air Force announced Thursday morning it had tracked the launch of the ICBM, along with six additional missiles, all of which were targeting the Dnipro region. The ICBM appeared to have been launched from the Astrahan region, in Russia’s southwest, Ukrainian military officials said.
All of the missiles were launched in about two hours, beginning at about 5 a.m. local time, Ukraine said.
All were targeted at businesses and critical infrastructure, but only the missile that Ukraine identified as an ICBM struck the city, Ukraine said. The six other missiles were shot down. There were no reports of casualties or significant damage, officials said.
The U.S. officials said the assessment of the launch, the type of missile and warhead, and the damage in Dnipro was continuing. The distance from what Ukraine said was the launch point to the strike location in Dnipro is about 600 miles, a distance shorter than what an ICBM would be expected to travel.
Two experts told ABC News the projectile, seen in video circulating online, looks likely to be “a ballistic missile with MIRV-ed capabilities.”
The launch of an ICBM, if confirmed as such, would arrive amid concerns that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could further escalate. This week, Ukraine’s military for the first time launched U.S.-made ATACMS missiles toward targets within Russia, days after U.S. President Joe Biden allowed for such use of the long-range weapons.
Kyiv on Tuesday launched six of the ATACMS at targets within Russian territory, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Zelenskyy said he would not confirm if Ukraine had used ATACMS to conduct a strike on an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region of Russia, but said Ukraine has ATACMS and “will use all of these” against Russia.
Within hours of Russia announcing it had struck down five of the ATACMS on Tuesday, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had updated the country’s nuclear doctrine, a move that lowered the bar for Russia to respond with nuclear weapons. Russian ICBMs are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, although it appeared the missile fired on Thursday was not equipped with one.
Following that warning, Ukraine on Wednesday fired long-range British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia for the first time, a Ukrainian military unit involved in the operation told ABC News. At least 10 of those missiles hit an estate in the village of Marino, the unit said.
They were targeting a command post where North Korean army generals and officers were present, the unit said. More than 10,000 North Korean troops are said to be operating alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region.
Ukraine’s 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion, which helped provide fire control for the strikes, told ABC News that there was intelligence showing high-ranking North Koreans were present.
Zelenskyy cast the Russian strike on Thursday as a result of Russia and its leader being “terrified.”
“Obviously, Putin is terrified when normal life simply exists next to him. When people simply have dignity. When a country simply wants to be and has the right to be independent,” Zelenskyy said. “Putin is doing whatever it takes to prevent his neighbor from breaking free of his grasp.”
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Lauren Minore, Yulia Drozd and Natasha Popova contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut. The strikes form the backdrop for a fresh diplomatic push by the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.
Netanyahu’s office ‘rejects with disgust’ ICC arrest warrant
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions and charges against it,” after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of the prime minister and his former defense minister.
The arrest warrant issued Thursday morning alleges that Netanyahu and the minister, Yoav Gallant, were party to alleged war crimes in Gaza.
The statement issued by Netanyahu said the court, which is based in The Hague, was “a biased and discriminatory political body.”
“There is nothing more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, coup, after the terrorist organization Hamas launched a murderous attack against us, committing the greatest massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” his office said.
The statement pointed a finger at Karim Khan, accusing the ICC’s chief prosecutor of bias and describing him as “corrupt.”
– ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Kevin Shalvey
ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
The Hague issued the warrants for alleged war crimes in Gaza, according to a statement. The ICC said that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant committed war crimes, and added that Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction is not required
Dozens killed in massive strike in northern Gaza Dozens of people have been killed and many more are feared dead after a large strike hit a residential neighborhood in northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
The strike occurred in a neighborhood near Kamal Adwan Hospital, officials said.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Kevin Shalvey
Israel wants freedom to strike Hezbollah under any cease-fire deal, foreign minister says
Israel wants to “keep the freedom to act if there will be violations” by Hezbollah in any cease-fire agreement reached between Lebanon and Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in comments Wednesday.
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is in Beirut meeting with officials about the proposed cease-fire deal and is expected to travel to Israel Wednesday night to continue discussions.
Israeli forces kill Hezbollah commanders, strike over 100 targets in Lebanon, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said it killed Hezbollah’s anti-tank missile and operations commanders “in the coastal area” on Sunday.
Israeli forces “struck over 100 terror targets in Lebanon” in the last day, the Israeli Defense Forces said Wednesday. Israel said it is continuing “limited, localized, targeted raids in southern Lebanon.”
On Tuesday, 14 people were killed, and 87 people were wounded in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
US vetos Gaza UN Security Council cease-fire resolution
The U.S. vetoed another United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza because it did not include a hostage release.
This is the 12th time the Security Council voted on a draft resolution since the war in Gaza started 13 months ago.
At least 43,972 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
In June, the Security Council passed a U.S.-drafted cease-fire deal that President Joe Biden approved. At the time, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said “we voted for peace.”
US sanctions Hamas leaders as officials say group’s political wing has rebased in Turkey
The U.S. is rolling out sanctions against six senior Hamas leaders accused of facilitating the transfer of weapons and funds into Gaza to support the group’s terror activities as well as smuggling in construction materials to build the underground tunnels critical to its operations, according to the Biden administration.
“There is no distinction between Hamas’ so-called military wing and its political leadership,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement announcing the tranche of sanctions.
Three of the targeted individuals are based in Turkey, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Despite the denials coming from Hamas and the Turkish government, two U.S. officials say that the bulk of Hamas’ political wing has now relocated to Turkey following the group’s ouster from Qatar.
The U.S. has turned a blind eye to Hamas’ relationship with NATO ally Turkey for years, which allows the U.S. designated terror group to openly recruit, fundraise and interface with its government officials.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes to strengthen ties with the U.S. when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. However, Trump’s cabinet is expected to feature many staunchly pro-Israel voices who will object to Turkey’s tolerance of Hamas — potentially complicating Erdogan’s plans.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Hospitals in northern Gaza running out of medical supplies, requesting patient transfers as attacks continue
Kamal Adwan Hospital is running out of medical supplies, and more people with cases of malnutrition are arriving at the hospital because of the lack of food and water allowed into northern Gaza, the hospital director said in comments Tuesday.
“There are a number of cases of malnutrition that have begun to arrive, including children and the elderly,” Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan hospital said.
“The health system is working under extremely harsh conditions to the point that we have started losing numbers of infected people due to the lack of medical supplies,” Abu Safia added.
At least 50 people were killed, and 110 people were injured in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestine Red Crescent Society transferred 15 patients from Al Awda Hospital in north Gaza to Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City Sunday, the ICRC said in a statement Tuesday. The patient transfers were requested by the hospitals, the ICRC said.
The organizations also delivered medical supplies to three hospitals in Gaza City Monday, the ICRC said in a post on X.
“The delivery and medical transfer came in the wake of another large-scale attack in the Beit Lahia area of the Northern Governorate, in which dozens of people were killed and many more injured,” the ICRC said.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Sami Zyara
UN peacekeepers, buildings targeted in 3 incidents in south Lebanon
United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon and facilities were targeted in “three separate incidents in south Lebanon,” Tuesday, UNIFIL said in a post on X.
Four Ghanian peacekeepers on duty “sustained injures as a rocket … hit their base,” UNIFIL said in a post on X. Three of the injured peacekeepers were transferred to a hospital in Tyre, Lebanon for treatment, UNIFIL said.
In a different attack, a UNIFIL building was “impacted by five rockets,” UNIFIL said.
“In another incident, UNIFIL Sector West Headquarters in Shama was impacted by five rockets, which struck the maintenance workshop,” UNIFIL said. “Although it caused heavy damage to the workshop, no peacekeeper was injured. This was the second time this UNIFIL base was impacted by the ongoing clashes in the area in less than a week.”
In a third incident, a UNIFIL patrol was “passing through” a village, and “an armed person directly fired at the patrol,” UNIFIL said. No injuries were reported from this incident.
UNIFIL is investigating the incidents and has informed the Lebanese armed forces about them, UNIFIL said.
“UNIFIL once again reminds all actors involved in the ongoing hostilities to respect the inviolability of United Nations peacekeepers and premises,” UNIFIL said in a post on X.
5 killed, 31 injured after Israeli strike on central Beirut
At least five people were killed, 31 were injured and at least two people remain missing after an Israeli airstrike in the Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhood of central Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.
The Israeli Defense Forces did not issue a warning before conducting this airstrike on central Beirut Monday.
At least 28 people were killed and 107 were wounded across Lebanon from Israeli attacks Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.
Overall, 3,544 people have been killed, and 15,036 have been injured since Israel’s increased attacks on the country began in mid-September, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein met with Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut Tuesday, according to Lebanese state media.
After meeting with Hochstein for two hours, Berri said the cease-fire negotiations were “good in principle,” but warned Israel could change its minds about the proposal as it has done before.
Berri said the U.S. is managing guarantees about Israel’s position on the proposal, according to Lebanese state media.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Israel kills 5 in central Beirut strike, officials say
At least five people were killed and 31 wounded by an Israeli strike in the Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhood of central Beirut on Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. Two other people are missing.
The Israel Defense Forces did not appear to issue any public evacuation order prior to the strike. ABC News has reached out to the IDF for comment on the target of the strike.
The attack made Monday the second consecutive day of Israeli strikes within central Beirut. To date, the vast majority of airstrikes on the capital have hit the southern Dahiya suburb, known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
Israel has intensified its bombardment in and around Beirut over the past week, while Hezbollah has continued missile fire into Israel. Fresh discussions are ongoing as to a potential cease-fire to end the fighting.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Israel demands ‘immediate’ action against pro-Iran militias in Iraq
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday published a letter sent to the president of the United Nations Security Council in which he called for “immediate action regarding the activity of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, whose territory is being used to attack Israel.”
“The Iraqi government is responsible for everything that happens on its territory,” Saar wrote, noting Israel’s right to self-defense.
“I called on the Security Council to act urgently to make sure that the Iraqi government meets its obligations under international law and to make these attacks on Israel stop,” Saar said.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias have been launching drone attacks into Israel from the east in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, with whom Israeli forces have been engaged since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Nearly 100 aid trucks looted: UNRWA
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Monday their aid convoy was “violently” looted over the weekend, one of the largest such cases of looting since the war began.
The 109-truck U.N. convoy was carrying food supplies to people in Gaza when it was looted on Saturday, UNRWA said.
“The vast majority of the trucks, 97 in total, were lost and drivers were forced at gunpoint to unload aid,” UNRWA said in a statement.
UNRWA said the Israel Defense Forces made the convoy leave a day earlier than planned.
The IDF has not yet commented on this incident.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Israel’s October attack damaged some of Iran’s nuclear program: Netanyahu
Israel damaged some of Iran’s nuclear program in its October attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.
Iran’s air defense, ballistic missile production and ability to produce “solid fuel” were impacted, Netanyahu said during remarks to Israel’s parliament.
“There is a certain element of their nuclear program that was damaged in this attack,” he said, though added that its ability to operate “has not yet been thwarted.”
Netanyahu said Iran’s nuclear threat must be dealt with.
“If we don’t deal with the nuclear program, then all the other problems will come back and resurface, both in the axis, and in armaments, and in other things,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also said Israel is “currently talking about possible negotiations for a settlement” to be reached between Israel and Lebanon, but added, “Even if there is a cease-fire, no one says it will last.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
US envoy en route to Lebanon for cease-fire talks, official says
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is on his way to Lebanon for talks on a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, an official familiar with the plans confirmed to ABC News.
Hochstein left from the U.S. for Lebanon on Monday, the official said.
Israel is getting close to being ready to agree to the U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal, which is very similar to the proposal that was floated by the U.S. at the end of September. The U.S. needs to see how Hezbollah feels about this proposal, which is what Hochstein aims to do during his trip, according to the official.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
4 killed in Israeli attack in Beirut: Health ministry
Four people were killed and at least 18 injured in an Israeli attack in Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Monday.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
1 killed, 10 injured in strike on residential building in Israel: Officials
A woman was killed and 10 people injured after a Hezbollah rocket directly hit a residential building in northern Israel, Israeli emergency services said Monday.
Dozens of projectiles were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel Monday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces said. Not all of the projectiles were intercepted, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
US sanctions entity, 3 individuals tied to West Bank violence
The State Department said Monday it is sanctioning three individuals and one entity for allegedly undermining “peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.”
The department accuses the entity, Eyal Hari Yehuda Company LTD, of having supported Yinon Levi, an Israeli settler who was sanctioned by the Biden administration over accusations of attacks and harassment against Palestinians earlier this year.
The three impacted individuals are Itamar Levi, Shabtai Koshlevsky and Zohar Sabah, the State Department said. Itamar Levi, the brother of Yinon Levi, is being designated for his role as the owner of the aforementioned company, while Koshlevsky is accused of holding a leadership position at Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli nongovernmental organization that provides material support to U.S.-designated outposts in the West Bank and was sanctioned in August of this year.
Sabah is accused of engaging “in threats and acts of violence against Palestinians, including in their homes” as well as “a pattern of destructiveness targeting the livestock, grazing lands and homes of local Palestinians to disrupt their means of support,” the State Department said in a press release.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Hamas denies that leaders relocated from Qatar to Turkey
Hamas denied reports in Israeli media that its leadership has relocated from Qatar to Turkey amid a breakdown in Doha-supported cease-fire talks earlier this month.
Hamas dismissed the news reports as “rumors” spread by Israeli authorities in a statement posted to its official website.
Qatar told Israel and Hamas earlier this month it could not continue to mediate cease-fire and hostage release talks “as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith.”
Doha is under U.S. pressure to expel Hamas leaders. A senior administration official told ABC News earlier this month that the group’s “continued presence in Doha is no longer viable or acceptable.”
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Shannon K. Kingston and Somayeh Malekian
Gaza death toll nears 44,000, health officials say
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that 43,922 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7, 2023, with nearly 104,000 more injured.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 96 people and wounded at least 60 in Gaza through the weekend, officials said. The dead included 72 people in north Gaza and more than 20 from other areas of the strip.
Most of those killed were displaced women and children sheltering in residential buildings in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.
Beit Lahiya is at the heart of the Israel Defense Forces’ recent northern offensive, which has been accompanied with sweeping evacuation orders and spiking civilian casualties.
-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti
Hezbollah positive on US cease-fire proposal, reports say
Hezbollah responded positively to the U.S.-proposed cease-fire deal between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli and Lebanese media reported Monday.
U.S. special envoy for Lebanon Amos Hochstein is expected to arrive in Beirut on Tuesday to discuss the proposal before heading to Israel to speak with leaders there.
The proposal is reportedly based on the United Nations Security Council’s resolution 1701 that sought to end the last major cross-border conflict in 2006.
That deal ordered Hezbollah to withdraw all military units and weapons north of the Litani River, which is around 18 miles north of the Israeli border. The resolution also prohibited Israeli ground and air forces from crossing into Lebanese territory.
Israeli leaders have demanded open-ended freedom to act against threats in Lebanon, a stipulation reportedly opposed by Hezbollah and Lebanese leaders.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Khamenei meets with ambassador injured in pager attacks
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with the country’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, as the latter continues his recovery from injuries sustained during Israel’s detonation of Hezbollah communication devices in September.
Khamenei’s official X account posted a short video of their interaction on Monday, in which Amani told the Iranian leader he lost around half of the vision in his right eye in the attack.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah media relations chief killed in Israeli strike
Mohammed Afif, Hezbollah’s media relations chief, was killed in an Israeli strike Sunday, Hezbollah confirmed.
The strike on central Beirut partially collapsed a building and injured three others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The Israel Defense Forces also confirmed Afif’s death. In a statement, the IDF said he joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and went on to become a “central and veteran figure in the organization who greatly influenced Hezbollah’s military activity.”
Citing one particular incident, the statement claimed that he had played a key role in the drone attack on Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea in October.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Pope calls for investigation to determine whether Israeli attacks on Gaza are ‘genocide’
Pope Francis, in an upcoming book to be released ahead of his 2025 jubilee, called for an investigation to determine whether Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, according to the Vatican.
“In the Middle East, where the open doors of nations like Jordan or Lebanon continue to be a salvation for millions of people fleeing conflicts in the region: I am thinking above all of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory,” he wrote in a passage released by the Vatican.
“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope wrote. “It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”
(LONDON) — Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani said late Monday that his forces “will not hesitate to hold accountable” alleged war criminals and torturers that operated as part of President Bashar Assad’s toppled regime.
Jolani — whose real name is Ahmed al-Sharaa — and his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forces are the most prominent of the rebel factions that defeated Assad’s government after 14 years of civil war. HTS and its ally rebel groups — operating under the umbrella Syrian Salvation Government — are now working to assert control of the wartorn nation.
Rebel forces offered a general amnesty for all conscripted Syrian military personnel. But Jolani said in a statement that the new authorities will seek “just punishment” for those accused of involvement in the regime’s alleged human rights abuses.
“We will not hesitate to hold accountable the criminals, murderers, security and army officers involved in torturing the Syrian people,” Jolani said in a statement posted to the rebels’ Military Operations Command Telegram channel.
“We will pursue war criminals and demand them from the countries to which they fled so that they may receive their just punishment,” he added.
Authorities will also prepare a wanted list “that includes the names of the most senior officials involved in torturing the Syrian people,” Jolani said. “We will offer rewards to anyone who provides information about senior army and security officers involved in war crimes.”
Crowds of rebel fighters and civilians descended on Assadist prisons as the regime collapsed during a 10-day surprise offensive. Rebel forces freed prisoners in every major city they passed through on the road to Damascus.
The most infamous facility was the Sednaya prison in the capital, which is believed to have held thousands of people. The prison has previously been described as the “Human Slaughterhouse” by Amnesty International.
Footage from inside showed rebels and local residents surging through its corridors to free groups of men, women and children from cells.
A former prisoner at Sednaya — Omar Alshogre — told ABC News that the prison “is known to have women” and that detainees there have been subjected to sexual abuse.
“Some women give birth and the children born and grew up in prison,” Alshogre said. “They don’t see anything but the walls of the cell. They do not know what a ball is or a bird is or a tree. This is not knew but it’s always shocking to see the pictures of it.”
The Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, appealed for information on suspected secret areas of the prison where it feared detainees were still being held. The group said it concluded its search on Monday having failed to find any “unopened or hidden areas.”
“Specialized teams conducted a thorough search of all sections, facilities, basements, courtyards, and surrounding areas of the prison,” the White Helmets said in a statement.
“These operations were carried out with the assistance of individuals familiar with the prison and its layout,” it added. However, no evidence of undiscovered secret cells or basements was found.”
The White Helmets said there are “thousands who remain missing and whose fates are unknown.”
Assad fled to Russia as the rebels closed in on the capital. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that President Vladimir Putin will grant his Syrian ally political asylum.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told journalists on Monday that “the people of Syria are probably going to want him to return home and stand judgment for his crimes in Syria.”
Asked whether Assad might stand trial at the International Criminal Court, Miller responded, “If he’s not going to return home from Russia, I doubt he’s going to transfer himself to The Hague, leaving Russian protection either.”
ABC News’ William Gretsky and Helena Skinner contributed to this report.
(DAMASCUS, SYRIA) — Rebel forces in Syria captured the capital Damascus and toppled 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.
Israel launches 480 strikes in Syria in 48 hours
The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday evening that it conducted about 480 strikes across Syria within the previous 48 hours, hitting most of the country’s strategic weapon stockpiles.
Earlier Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the navy destroyed the Syrian fleet at anchor overnight. Dozens of sea-to-sea missiles were also destroyed in strikes on naval facilities in the Mediterranean port city of Latakia, Katz said.
Israel has also deployed ground troops both into and beyond a demilitarized buffer zone that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria for the first time in 50 years.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Syria rebels will not succeed, Khamenei says
In his first public comments since the fall of Bashar Assad’s government, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran and its regional allies will continue fighting against the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East despite setbacks for Iran in the region.
In a Wednesday morning speech in Tehran, Khamenei said the collapse of Bashar Assad’s government — of which Iran was a major patron — was the product of a “joint” American and Israeli plan. “We have evidence — this evidence leaves no room for doubt,” he added.
Without naming Turkey, Khamenei said that one “neighboring state of Syria” also played an obvious role in the developments, but “the main conspirator, the main planner and the main command room are in America and the Zionist regime.”
Iranian leaders have previously described the Syrian opposition forces that toppled Assad as “terrorists” or “rebels,” but Khamenei on Wednesday did not use such words.
“Each of these fighters has a purpose,” he said of the armed groups. “Their goals are different, some are seeking to seize territory from northern Syria or southern Syria.”
The U.S., he added, “is seeking to strengthen its foothold in the region.”
“Time will show that, God willing, none of them will achieve these goals,” the ayatollah continued. “The occupied areas of Syria will be liberated by the zealous Syrian youth; do not doubt that this will happen.”
Khamenei said that the Iranian-led “Resistance Front,” meanwhile, will grow stronger despite its recent setbacks in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
“The more pressure you put on it, the stronger it becomes,” he said of the grouping. “The more you fight them, the wider it becomes, and I tell you, with the power of god, the scope of resistance will encompass the entire region more than ever before,” he said.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
UN warns of skyrocketing food prices in Syria
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs published a new report Wednesday warning that food prices in some parts of Syria have increased by 900% amid the collapse of former President Bashar Assad’s regime.
“Food shortages were reported in Deir el-Zour, Damascus and Hama; bread prices Idlib and Aleppo rose by 900% from Nov. 27 to Dec. 9,” the UNOCHA wrote, referring to the period between the start of the surprise rebel offensive in the northwest and the fall of Damascus.
“Around 100,000 individuals have been displaced to northeast Syria,” the report continued. “Hospitals are overwhelmed with trauma and injury cases and there is significant psychological distress, especially among children,” it added.
The “fluid displacements” of large numbers of people are particularly concerning given the many areas of continued fighting and minefields across the country, the UNOCHA said. Those include 52 minefields identified in the past 10 days, it said.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
Syrian rebels claim Deir el-Zour from Kurdish forces
Syrian rebel forces said late Tuesday they had taken control of the eastern city of Deir el-Zour on the banks of the Euphrates River and close to U.S. military positions in the region.
The city was occupied by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces on Dec. 6 as former president Bashar Assad’s forces withdrew. The SDF subsequenty faced protests from residents and local officials.
The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Military Operations Department said in a post to Telegram that the city and its military airport were “completely liberated” as of the early hours of Wednesday.
Geolocated videos showed rebel fighters in the city center, joined by residents waving the Syrian revolutionary flag.
Rebel forces continued to advance into the countryside to the west and east of the city, Lt. Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani said in a statement posted to Telegram.
Deir el-Zour is the largest city in eastern Syria and the closest to U.S. troop concentrations along the Euphrates River running to the Iraqi border.
-ABC News’ Helena Skinner
Iran’s Khamenei says Syrian collapse ‘planned’ by US, Israel
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei alleged on Wednesday that the U.S. and Israel orchestrated the rapid collapse of the Syrian government led by former President Bashar Assad.
Damascus’ defeat, Khamenei wrote on X, “was planned in the U.S.-Israeli control room.”
“We have evidence for this” which leaves “no room for doubt,” Khamenei said.
Iran and Russia were the key backers of Assad’s government through more than a decade of civil war.
Tehran’s support for the regime in Damascus enabled Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to establish a major presence inside Syria alongside a range of Iran-backed militias, including Lebanese Hezbollah.
Famous Syrian activist found dead in Saydnaya
After dedicating his life to fighting the Assad regime, Mazen Al-Hamada did not live to see it fall.
A symbol of resilience and courage, the famous Syrian activist was found dead in the “slaughterhouse” prison of Saydnaya in Damascus, where he had been held since he returned to Syria in February 2020.
An unverified photo circulating online shows his disfigured face and suggests he was killed just before the rebels reached the prison, according to independent observers.
Al-Hamada was first arrested in 2011, when he protested against the regime, and remained in prison for two years. He left Syria in 2013 and was granted asylum in the Netherlands a year later.
That’s when the world got to know the horrors he endured, which he bravely described as he spoke to huge crowds, policymakers and the press, voicing the struggle of thousands who like him were detained by Assad’s regime — at least 157,000 between 2011 and August 2024, according to a report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
“I will not rest until I take them to court and get justice,” Al-Hamada said in an interview for a 2017 documentary, ‘Syria’s Disappeared,’ his sunken eyes in tears unable to hide the pain behind his words. “Justice for me and my friends who they killed. Even if it costs my life. Bring them to justice, no matter what.”
-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini
White Helmets search 2nd prison
The White Helmets said they have searched a second prison in Damascus within a training center for the Assad regime’s State Security Branch.
“Our teams conducted searches and inspections inside the prison and the basement, which contains collective and solitary confinement cells, where innocent people were detained and brutally tortured. The teams found papers with numbers of soldiers who worked in the branch. The teams contacted them and they confirmed that the cells were only within the basement and that there were no hidden detention centers in the place,” the White Helmets said in a statement.
White Helmets demand Assad hand over maps of secret prisons
After searching Monday for secret prisons and cells, the White Helmets are now demanding Bashar Assad hand over the locations of the regime’s secret prisons along with a list of detainees being held.
Many believe there are still prisons that have yet to be discovered.
“The defunct Assad regime has practiced indescribable brutality and criminality in killing, arresting, and torturing Syrians, prolonging the period of oppression and pain in the hearts of mothers. Justice for all victims and holding accountable the perpetrators of crimes against Syrians is the first step in healing wounds and supporting peace-building efforts,” the White Helmets said in a statement Tuesday.
The White Helmets said they sent a request to the United Nations through an international mediator to demand that Russia pressure Assad to release the information so the prisoners can be reached.
Israel will act ‘to ensure security,’ but won’t interfere in Syria, Netanyahu says
Israel will act decisively against positions in Syria if Hezbollah reemerges, but it has “no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of Syria,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in remarks Tuesday.
“I authorized the Air Force to bomb strategic military capabilities left behind by the Syrian army, so that they would not fall into the hands of the jihadists,” Netanyahu said.
“We want relations with the new regime in Syria. But if this regime allows Iran to re-establish itself in Syria, or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons or any other weapons to Hezbollah, or attacks us — we will respond forcefully and we will exact a heavy price from him,” Netanyahu said.
IDF says they’ve destroyed almost all Assad regime capability
The Israel Defense Forces said it has hit about 320 targets, destroying almost all of the Assad regime army’s capability throughout Syria, from Damascus to Tartus.
“The operation destroyed dozens of fighter jets, combat helicopters, radars, surface-to-air missile batteries, ships, surface-to-surface missiles, rockets, weapons production sites, weapons depots, Scud missiles, cruise missiles, coastal missiles, sea-to-sea missiles, UAVs, and more,” the IDF said in a statement Tuesday.
“The operation is still ongoing on the ground, with the IDF ground forces operating in the buffer zone. There, too, the IDF is working to establish a grip on the area, destroy weapons, and ensure that they do not fall into unwanted hands,” the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Fighting escalates between Kurds, Turkey-supported group in northeast Syria
With focus still on the collapse of Bashar Assad’s government, there are signs fighting is dramatically escalating in northeast Syria. The area is held by U.S.-backed Kurds, while Turkey-supported rebel groups have gone on the offensive there, aided by Turkish airpower.
The Turkish rebels have attacked the territory controlled by the Kurds, who helped the U.S. defeat the Islamic State in eastern Syria. There are fears that Turkey — which has waged a long war against the Kurds and considers the U.S.-backed group to be a terrorist group — will use the chaos in Syria to now force them back.
There are reports the Turkish-backed rebels are now advancing on Kobani, an important Kurdish-majority town on Turkey’s border. It comes a day after the rebels successfully drove the Kurds from the key town of Manbij in northern Syria.
There are concerns that if Turkey and its rebel proxies press on against the Kurds it could endanger the containment efforts against the Islamic State. The Kurds currently guard 50,000 Islamic State prisoners in camps and are also essential to prevent the group regaining a foothold.
There are calls from some for the U.S. to warn Turkey to pull the rebels back.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
US will recognize, fully support a future Syria government
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the U.S.’s “full support for a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition.”
“This transition process should lead to credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governance that meets international standards of transparency and accountability,” Blinken said in a statement Tuesday.
“The Syrian people will decide the future of Syria. All nations should pledge to support an inclusive and transparent process and refrain from external interference. The United States will recognize and fully support a future Syria government that results from this process. We stand prepared to lend all appropriate support to all of Syria’s diverse communities and constituencies,” Blinken said in a statement.
Blinken added that it must also “fully respect the rights of minorities, facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance to all in need, prevent Syria from being used as a base for terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors, and ensure that any chemical or biological weapons stockpiles are secured and safely destroyed.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
New Syrian government begins to form
The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels have begun to form a new government as they seize power in Damascus, Syria. The group has appointed Mohammed al-Bashir as the new prime minister, according to state media outlet SANA.
Al-Bashir has previously held leadership roles and he will run the new government until March.
Israel destroys Syrian navy fleet
Israel destroyed the Syrian navy’s fleet overnight in a “large-scale operation,” according to the Israel Ministry of Defense.
“The IDF has been operating in Syria in recent days To harm and destroy strategic capabilities that threaten the State of Israel. The Navy operated last night to destroy the Syrian fleet with great success,” Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement Tuesday.
“I hereby warn the rebel leaders in Syria: Whoever follows Assad’s path will end up like Assad – we will not allow an extremist Islamic terrorist entity to act against Israel across its border and at the risk of its citizens, we will do everything necessary to remove the threat,” Katz said.
Israel focused on ‘Iran’s movements and interests’ in Syria, IDF says
Israel is focused on Iranian forces and interests in Syria as it continues strikes across the country, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said during a Tuesday briefing.
Israeli warplanes have launched hundreds of strikes all over Syria since Bashar Assad’s regime was toppled on Sunday, according to local reports. Israeli troops have also crossed into the demilitarized buffer zone between the two countries established in 1974.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani refused to go into details on “the nature of what we are doing and long-term plan of these operations,” which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said included strikes on naval assets and port facilities in the Mediterranean city of Latakia.
“This is something we’ve been committed to for years,” Shoshani said during the briefing. Israel is committed to preventing “lethal strategic weapons from reaching the wrong hands,” he added.
“The primary focus is observing Iran’s movements and interests and our secondary focus is on local factions who are taking control of the area, assessing their actions, behavior and deterrence level and ensuring they do not mistakenly direct their actions toward us,” Shoshani continued.
Shoshani repeated the IDF’s earlier denial of local reports that Israeli tanks were operating on the outskirts of Damascus. Israeli forces, he said, have been operating in the “Area of Separation” buffer zone between Israel and Syria and “in a few additional points.”
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Joe Simonetti
Assad made ‘personal decision’ to resign, Kremlin says
Syrian President Bashar Assad made a personal decision to resign and leave the country as rebel forces closed in on the capital Damascus, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
“It was a personal decision of Assad to withdraw from the process of service as the head of state,” Peskov said when asked if Russia played any role in Assad’s decision.
Peskov said Monday that President Vladimir Putin will grant Assad political asylum in Russia.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israeli operation against Syria ‘needs to stop,’ UN says
The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told reporters on Tuesday Israeli attacks and operations inside Syria are unacceptable.
“We are continuing to see Israeli movements and bombardments into Syrian territory,” Pederson said in Geneva, Switzerland. “This needs to stop. This is extremely important.”
Israeli leaders say the operations are intended to deny “extremist” groups access to weapons or territory that could be used for cross-border attacks into Israel.
Pedersen also said that the conflict in Syria is not yet over, pointing to continued clashes in the northeast of the country between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and the mainly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, which are partnered with the U.S. in operations against ISIS remnants.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Netanyahu in court for corruption trial
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in court in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to give evidence in his corruption trial, making him the first sitting Israeli prime minister to take the stand as a defendant.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies all charges, calling the trial a “witch hunt.”
“This is the opportunity to dispel the allegations against me,” Netanyahu told the court on Tuesday morning. “There is a great absurdity in the charges and great injustice.”
Netanyahu had long sought to delay or avoid appearing in front of the court. If found guilty, he could face 10 years in prison.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Morgan Winsor
IDF denies reports of Israeli tanks near Damascus
The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday denied reports that Israeli tanks had been spotted on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, amid the nascent Israeli operation inside a border buffer zone separating the two nations.
Lebanese news network Al Mayadeen reported that Israeli armor advanced into the Damascus countryside, while other unverified reports suggested that Israeli forces occupied several villages south of the capital.
The IDF rejected the reports. “The reports circulating in the media about the alleged advancement of Israeli tanks towards Damascus are false,” an IDF official told ABC News.
“IDF troops are stationed within the buffer zone, as stated in the past,” the official added.
Israeli forces entered the border buffer zone over the weekend amid the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime in Damascus. The area was demilitarized per a 1974 agreement between the two neighbors.
Israeli leaders say the deployment — and the ongoing nationwide airstrike campaign — is intended to prevent “extremist” groups using the country as a springboard for cross-border attacks.
Israel still occupies the Golan Heights plateau, which overlooks Damascus from the southwest. Israeli forces seized the strategic region during the 1967 war. Israel unilaterally annexed the area in 1981, a move recognized by the U.S. in 2019.
The vast majority of the international community still recognizes the Golan Heights as Syrian territory.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
US can engage with Syrian rebels despite terror designation, official says
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told journalists at a Monday briefing it is “obvious” that the U.S. wants to engage with Syrian rebel leaders including the head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which is designated as a terrorist organization in the U.S.
Miller said the U.S. has “the ability to engage” with proscribed terror groups like HTS and is also speaking with the foreign backers of such groups and intermediaries within Syria.
HTS has roots in al-Qaeda and its leader — Abu Mohammed al-Jolani — fought with al-Qaeda against American occupation forces in Iraq. Jolani is still subject to a U.S. $10 million bounty.
Miller declined to say whether the U.S. will engage directly with Jolani, but said: “We want to have conversations with the key groups inside Syria, either directly or indirectly. It’s obvious that HTS is one of them.”
“I’m not ruling anything in or out either way,” Miller added.
Jolani has sought to distance himself from his jihadist background in recent media and public appearances. The rebel leader said he is committed to a pluralist transition to a new government of national unity.
Israel conducts 310 airstrikes in Syria since Assad’s fall, watchdog says
The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said Tuesday that Israel has conducted around 310 airstrikes across Syria since the fall of former President Bashar Assad’s regime on Sunday.
The group — which documents war crimes and human rights abuses related to the Syrian Civil War and has generally been described as pro-opposition and anti-Assad — said the targets included Syrian airports, aircraft, radars, air defense systems, scientific institutions and weapons and ammunition depots.
SOHR said Israeli strikes have been reported all across the country, from Deir Ez Zor in the east to the coastal province of Latakia in the west. Israeli strikes have reportedly hit targets in major cities including the capital Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Daraa, SOHR said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar confirmed Monday that Israeli forces “attacked strategic weapons arrays, residual chemical weapons capabilities, missiles and long-range rockets” inside Syria to prevent them from falling into the hands of “extremist elements.”
Syrian Civil Defence did not find detainees, hidden facilities in Sednaya Prison
The Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, said it had concluded its search for detainees within Sednaya Prison on Monday after failing to uncover any “unopened or hidden areas” within the facility.
The prison previously held thousands of people detained by the former regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad. Families of the missing and survivors believed that some detainees might have been unable to leave over the past two days, potentially due to being held in tightly sealed and secured areas, those close to the situation told the White Helmets, prompting the search.
“Specialized teams conducted a thorough search of all sections, facilities, basements, courtyards, and surrounding areas of the prison,” the White Helmets said in a statement. “These operations were carried out with the assistance of individuals familiar with the prison and its layout. However, no evidence of undiscovered secret cells or basements was found.”
The statement also called on international organizations and local authorities to support the efforts of the Syrian Civil Defence in uncovering the fate of the detainees and returning them to their loved ones.
“We share the profound disappointment of the families of the thousands who remain missing and whose fates remain unknown,” the statement continued. “We stand in solidarity with the victims’ families, fully understanding their anguish and their longing for answers about their loved ones.”
-ABC News’ William Gretsky
Blinken addresses US response to fall of Assad regime
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said senior officials from his department are “fanning out through the region as we speak” to work with their counterparts on how the U.S. can “help support the Syrian people as they decide their own path for the future.”
“We have a strong interest in preventing the reemergence of ISIS, given the death and destruction that it has wrought for so long,” he said during remarks at an unrelated event on Monday.
Blinken noted that ISIS would seek to exploit the moment, and that U.S. strikes on ISIS sites over the weekend demonstrate that the U.S. is “determined not to let that happen.”
“We have a clear interest in doing what we can to avoid the fragmentation of Syria, mass migrations from Syria and, of course, the export of terrorism and extremism,” he said. “The region and the world have a responsibility to support the Syrian people as they begin to rebuild their country and charge a new direction.”
Blinken also said that with every party they engage with, he and other U.S. officials will continue to seek information on American freelance journalist and Marine Corps veteran Austin Tice, who went missing while covering the civil war in August 2012, “so that we can find him and bring him home to his family and loved ones.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Top US hostage negotiator in Lebanon, official says
The special presidential envoy for hostage affairs is in Lebanon as the Biden administration tries to capitalize on the fall of the Assad regime to uncover information on the whereabouts of missing American freelance journalist and Marine Corps veteran Austin Tice, according to a U.S. official.
The envoy, Roger Carstens, was in Doha last week but traveled to Beirut when the Assad regime fell, the official said. The Biden administration is working through multiple partners in the Middle East — most notably Lebanon and Turkey — to track people coming out of Syrian jails.
However, U.S. officials say they still have very little intelligence on Tice’s whereabouts and can’t say with certainty that he is even in Syria.
Tice went missing while covering the civil war in August 2012.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
White Helmets offering reward for info on ‘secret’ Syrian prisons
The Syria Civil Defence, aka the White Helmets, announced Monday it is offering a $3,000 reward for any direct information that will lead them to Assad’s “secret” Syrian prisons.
The organization addressed former security officers and those working in the security branches for help in accessing the prisons, adding they will maintain the confidentiality of sources.
Turkey opening border gate with Syria for return of migrants
Turkish President Erdogan said Monday that Turkey is opening the border gate with Syria for the return of migrants.
Erdogan said they are opening the Yayladağı border gate to crossings “in order to prevent congestion and ease traffic.”
There were long lines at the border earlier awaiting this decision.
Germany and Austria pause Syrian asylum
Germany and Austria have paused asylum for Syrian refugees after Assad’s regime was toppled.
The German interior minister called the situation in Syria “very confusing” and that due to the unclear situation, they have “imposed a freeze on decisions for asylum procedures that are still ongoing until the situation is clearer.”
Nearly 1 million Syrian refugees live in Germany.
Austria’s interior minister has also instructed the ministry to “prepare an orderly repatriation and deportation program to Syria.”
Nearly 100,000 Syrian refugees live in Austria.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Parents of journalist missing in Syria hoping for positive news
Debra and Marc Tice — the parents of Austin Tice, a U.S. journalist and prisoner in Syria since 2012 — released a statement urging “anyone who can do so to please assist Austin so he can safely return home to our family” following the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime.
“We are watching the events unfold in Syria and seeing families reunited with their loved ones after years of separation,” said a statement released via the Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club.
“We know this is possible for our family, too,” they added. “Austin Tice is alive, in Syria, and it’s time for him to come home. We are eagerly anticipating seeing Austin walk free.”
Tice went missing while reporting in Syria in 2012. President Joe Biden said Sunday his return remains possible, though acknowledged that “we have no direct evidence” of his status. “Assad should be held accountable,” Biden added.
-ABC News’ Dee Carden
Assad’s fall ‘good for the United States,’ Sullivan says
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told “Good Morning America” on Monday that “it is good for the United States and the world that a murderous dictator whose family has ruled Syria with an iron fist for half a century is gone.”
Sullivan did, however, echo President Joe Biden’s warning that there is real risk that “terrorists, jihadists and other people who do not have the United States best interests at heart…could take advantage of this.”
“We are vigilant about that,” Sullivan said in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. “We are taking action to deal with that, and we’re prepared to work with anyone in Syria who wants a stable, inclusive, democratic future for that country.
Sullivan said that the U.S.’ top priority is “to protect the United States of America from the resurgence of a terror threat” emanating from Syria.
“That means holding ISIS down,” he added. “Don’t let them take advantage of this. Then there is the priority of making sure that our friends in the region are secure and stable — Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon — that these countries do not suffer from any kind of violent spillover effects from what’s happening in Syria.”
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Putin to grant Assad asylum in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin will grant political asylum to toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
“Of course, such decisions cannot be made without the head of state,” Peskov said, as quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax. “This is his decision,”
“We have nothing to tell you about Mr. Assad’s whereabouts right now,” Peskov said, adding there was no official meeting between Putin and Assad planned.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israel bombed Syrian chemical weapons sites, foreign minister says
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters on Monday that Israeli forces “attacked strategic weapons arrays, residual chemical weapons capabilities, missiles and long-range rockets” inside Syria to prevent them from falling into the hands of “extremist elements.”
Israeli forces have been striking inside Syria and occupying positions on Syrian territory in recent days, as rebel forces — some with roots in jihadist organizations — surged into major Syrian cities and precipitated the collapse of President Bashar Assad’s regime in Damascus.
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Sunday it had taken up positions in the demilitarized buffer zone between Israel and Syria established by a bilateral 1974 agreement.
Saar said the presence of “armed men” in the zone and their alleged attacks on United Nations positions there prompted the Israeli decision to cross the border.
Saar said Israeli deployments into the buffer zone are “targeted and temporary” and intended to prevent an “Oct. 7 scenario from Syria,” referring to last year’s devastating Hamas infiltration attack into southern Israel.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Dana Savir
Israeli forces cross into buffer zone separating occupied Golan Heights from Syria
Israel Defense Forces tanks and armored vehicles have entered the buffer zone that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria on Sunday night.
The move puts IDF troops in operations on four fronts in the Middle East, Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi said on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
The advancement into Syria comes after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to Islamist rebels.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision was made to “protect Israeli residents after Syrian troops abandoned positions,” according to AP.
The IDF has reportedly warned Syrian residents in five southern communities to stay home for their safety.
Israeli forces on Sunday also took over the Syrian side of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, according to AP.
Iranian foreign minister says he fears ‘renewed civil war’ in Syria
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi commented on the fall of Syria’s government during an interview on Iranian state TV on Sunday.
He said Syria’s ousted president, Bashar al-Assad, was “surprised” and “complained about the way his own army was performing.”
Araghchi also said Iran was fully aware of the situation in Syria through “the intelligence and security system of our country.”
Iran is monitoring the developments in Syria and is concerned about the “possibility of a renewed civil war or a sectarian war between different sects or the division of Syria and the collapse of Syria and its transformation into a haven for terrorists,” Araghchi said.
-ABC News’ Hami Hamedi and Ellie Kaufman
US strikes 75 ISIS targets in Syria
The United States launched dozens of against ISIS targets in central Syria on Sunday in an attempt to “disrupt, degrade and defeat” the terrorist group, according to the head of the U.S. Central Command.
CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement that 75 ISIS targets were hit in precision airstrikes Sunday in Syria. He said the mission was carried out by U.S. Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s and A-10s.
“There should be no doubt — we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria. All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way,” Kurilla said.
Kurilla said the strikes hit known ISIS camps and operatives in central Syria.
During a speech at the White House on Sunday, President Joe Biden mentioned the U.S. strikes on ISIS targets in Syria. He said U.S. forces are also bolstering security at detention facilities in Syria where ISIS fighters are being held.
“We’re clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish its capability and to create a safe haven,” Biden said. “We will not let that happen.”
