No criticism from US as Israeli warplanes pound Syria despite fall of al-Assad regime: Analyst

Commenting on events currently unfolding in Syria as they relate to the United States, Washington’s former ambassador in Damascus, Robert Ford, said that he was not aware of any US criticism of Israel’s bombing campaign against Syrian targets.

“I have seen no criticism of the Israeli action from United States government spokespeople in Washington,” Ford told Al Jazeera.

Addressing Turkish and US relations regarding Syria, Ford said that both countries have not yet reconciled their differences in terms of their support for rival opposition armed groups in the Syria civil war, which continues to the present day.

Ankara and Washington agree on the value of preventing the return of ISIL (ISIS) into central and eastern Syria, but they disagree on strategies to achieve that objective, which is in their “common interest”, Ford said.

“I have seen no evidence yet that the Americans are prepared to relinquish their use and partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces. And I have seen no indication that Turkiye has backtracked from its animosity towards the Syrian Democratic Forces,” he said.

Israeli bombing of Syria disrupting humanitarian operations, spreading fear: UN official

The UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, spoke to UN News in an exclusive interview about the rapidly evolving security and humanitarian situation in the country, as well as Israel’s bombing campaign.

Here are some extracts from that interview:

More reports of Russian military pulling out of southern Syria

A column of Russian military vehicles has been seen withdrawing from southern Syria towards the Tartous military base in the coastal city of Latakia.

The Associated Press reported on Friday that Russian military convoys were seen on the Damascus-Homs highway near Shinshar village heading north. The vehicles appear to include tanks and armoured personnel carriers that were previously stationed in southern regions of Syria such as Deraa and Damascus.

Videos posted to social media appeared to capture elements of the withdrawal that comes amidst speculation about whether Russia will be able to negotiate a new agreement to keep its Syrian military bases with the new government after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Russian forces were leaving bases in Ain Issa and Tel al-Saman in the Raqqah countryside on Thursday. Earlier this week, all Russian naval ships departed the Syrian port of Tartous, according to a US official.

Russian military convoy consisting of 250 military vehicles withdraw from Damascus towards Hmeimim base in the Latakia countryside pic.twitter.com/j1xPKRGmWe

— Rojava Network (@RojavaNetwork) December 13, 2024

The Russian military appears to be packing up equipment at a military airbase in Syria, according to satellite images released by Maxar.

The images, taken on Friday, show what appear to be at least two Antonov An-124s, one of the world’s largest cargo planes, with their nose cones open at the Hmeimim airbase in Syria’s coastal Latakia province.


_{This handout satellite image released by Maxar Technologies on December 13, 2024, shows an Antonov An-124 heavy transport aircraft preparing to load equipment at the Russian Hmeimim airbase in Syria’s western province of Latakia}

Images also show what appears to be a Ka-52 attack helicopter being dismantled and likely prepared for transport, as well as Russian frigates sailing off the coast of Syria.

Russian forces in central and southern Syria gathered in Qudssaya near Damascus before the fall of the al-Assad regime and are also withdrawing to the Hmeimim airbase and the port of Tartous.


_{A satellite image shows a Russian Admiral Gorshkov-class frigate off the coast of Tartous, Syria, amid the apparent Russian withdrawal on December 13}

Official says Russian cargo plane departed Syria for Libya: Report

The plane has taken off from Russia’s airbase in Latakia for Libya, a Syrian security official stationed outside the facility has told the Reuters news agency. The official stationed at the gate told Reuters that additional Russian departures from the Hmeimim airbase in Syria’s coastal Latakia province are expected in the coming days.

White Helmets’ say they will soon arrive to support people of Deir Az Zor

Raed al-Saleh, the director of Syria’s Civil Defence organisation, known as the White Helmets, addressed the residents of Deir Az Zor, saying the “volunteers will soon be among you to serve you”.

“Today and every day, our eyes and hearts yearn for you, our people in Raqqa and Hasakah, and we are doing our best to be by your side,” al-Saleh wrote in a post on X.

“Our teams will not stop until they reach every Syrian city to plant peace and hope in it,” he added.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) held Deir Az Zor, the largest city in eastern Syria, for several days after the Syrian government forces, which previously controlled it, withdrew following last weekend’s blitz by rebel forces.

On Wednesday, the opposition groups then said they had taken full control of the city after the SDF withdrew.

Fighting in Deir Az Zor leaves hospital looted

While people have been celebrating in the capital, Damascus, for days, other cities in the country have witnessed fighting between Kurdish-led forces, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and rebel fighters who toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

On Wednesday, the eastern city of Deir Az Zor was seized by Syrian rebels following clashes with Kurdish-led forces who briefly held it after pro-government soldiers fled.

The fighting has left a trail. The city’s main hospital, which used to provide hundreds of thousands of patients with healthcare services, was looted by the SDF causing great damage.

“We are currently facing a severe shortage of medical supplies; there are no MRI machines in the entire eastern region,” Mamoun Heiza, the head of the Health Department in Deir Az Zor, told Al Jazeera. “We are also short on medicines and other medical supplies. I call on the medical staff to resume their duties at their respective hospitals and start treating members of the public in need.”

The SDF still controls eastern sections of the governorate, across the Euphrates river where the coalition fighters say they are advancing. The power struggle in Deir Az Zor, a critical battleground in the fight against ISIL (ISIS) from 2014-2017, comes after rebel forces also wrested control of Kurdish-led forces in the northern city of Manbij.

ICRC engineers dispatched to maintain critical Syrian dam

A team of engineers has been dispatched to help with the maintenance of the Tishreen Dam, a critical source of power and electricity in eastern Syria.

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria (ICRC) has provided support, with agreement from Syria’s new government, to shore up the structure and ensure its continued operation.

The Tishreen Dam, operated by the General Organisation for Euphrates Dams, supplies drinking water and electricity to eastern Syria. The dam, in combination with the Tabqa and Baath dams, also provides over two-thirds of the country’s power.

Kurdish SDF fighters previously controlled the dam with support from the United States, taking control of the facility in 2015. The new Syrian government has since taken control of the site.

Al-Sharaa: New Damascus administration has clear goals on how to rebuild Syria

Ahmed al-Sharaa (also referred to as al-Julani), the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, whose forces deposed former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad less than a week ago, says his group is communicating with Western embassies as it tries to restore governance in Syria.

Here are a few of the key comments he made:

Israel bombards schools and homes in Gaza, a day after Nuseirat massacre

Israel is still attacking homes and schools across the Gaza Strip, killing and injuring several people just one day after dozens were massacred in a strike on Nuseirat camp.

Dawn raids on Saturday killed four members of the Saadallah family in their home in Jabalia, two people in a school northeast of Gaza City and one person sheltering in a tent south of Khan Younis, Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

Later that day, at least seven Palestinians were killed and 12 others injured in an Israeli strike on a school-turned shelter west of Gaza city, Gaza's civil defence said.


_{Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, in Gaza city December 14}

"Our teams recovered the bodies of seven martyrs and 12 injured from the targeted Al Majida Al Wasila school, and they were transferred to the Baptist and Al Shifa hospitals," the agency said. Wafa reported that women and children were among the victims.

Separately, a person was killed in an attack by Israeli gunboats on Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.

The news agency also reported a drone attack on a group of civilians at the Jalaa Junction northwest of Gaza City, which killed one woman and injured several others. Another civilian was killed in an airstrike west of Al-Nuseirat camp.

A further five citizens were injured in a drone attack on the Al-Mawasi area west of Rafah city.

_{A Palestinian child on the rubble left by an Israeli strike on Nuseirat refugee camp, on December 13}

Gaza death toll rises to 44,930, says Health Ministry

At least 44,930 Palestinians have been killed and 106,624 injured in Israel's war on Gaza since October 7, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Saturday.

The latest toll includes 55 deaths and 170 injured people in the past 24 hours, the ministry added in a statement.

C-sections without anaesthesia and needless deaths: the realities of Gaza's maternity care

Israel's war on Gaza has wrecked maternity care in the enclave, as doctors and midwives contend with few resources, higher rates of premature births and babies born severely unwell, an obstetrics and gynaecology doctor who worked there this year has told The National.

Hundreds of babies are dying needlessly as crucial items needed to care for mothers and their children are scarce, due to siege conditions imposed by Israel, said Dr Thalia Pachiyannakis, from Indiana in the US Midwest. Babies who make it through labour arrive with signs of chronic malnutrition.

“Palestinian babies were very big, fat babies. But now, because the mothers are malnourished, the babies' growth is restricted,” Dr Pachiyannakis said.

The UN Population Fund sexual and reproductive health agency found in September that more than 17,000 pregnant women were on the brink of famine, with nearly 11,000 already experiencing severe food shortages.

Dr Pachiyannakis is one of a group of courageous medics who travelled to Gaza to provide life-saving care, entering with a UN convoy.

El Sisi discusses Gaza ceasefire efforts and hostages with senior US officials

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi spoke to visiting US officials on Saturday about efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostages-for-detainees deal in the Palestinian enclave, his office said.

The officials, who met Mr El Sisi in Cairo, included US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, it said. 

Could Israel’s Netanyahu be about to agree to a Gaza ceasefire?

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/12/14/could-israels-netanyahu-be-about-to-agree-to-a-gaza-ceasefire

Indications that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be ready to agree to end the assault on Gaza that has killed 44,800 people – with thousands more lost under the rubble and presumed dead – could raise hopes of an end to the war.

After meeting with Netanyahu this week, United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said he “got the sense” Netanyahu was “ready to do a deal”. Until now, Netanyahu has been seen as blocking any chances of a ceasefire.

Rumours that a ceasefire agreement may be close are near-constant among those trapped in the enclave, desperate for an end to the bombardment.

“In the last week, there have been two, maybe three occasions where the community around us erupted in cheers and whistling and applause because of rumours that there has been an agreed ceasefire,” Louise Waterbridge, senior emergency officer at the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), told Al Jazeera.

The north of Gaza remains under total Israeli siege, with 65,000 to 75,000 Palestinians trapped behind the siege lines, the UN estimates, as the Israeli military has prevented aid from reaching them. Israeli forces have essentially cut off the northern part of Gaza from the south.

Aid organisations have long warned of famine in Gaza, and many believe that it has already taken hold in north Gaza.

One killed as Palestinian security forces clash with militants in Jenin

At least one person was killed in clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, residents and medics said.

Gunshots and explosions could be heard in the city, where security forces set up checkpoints. Friction has risen in Jenin in recent days between militant factions and the western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) of President Mahmoud Abbas, following raids by the PA.

Residents identified the dead man as a militant, although none of the factions immediately confirmed his affiliation. The PA's security branch said in a statement that its forces were undertaking a security operation to restore law and order to Jenin's refugee camp, a stronghold of militants alienated from the Palestinian leadership.

Earlier in the day, Palestinian security authorities said they had thwarted an attempt to set off a car bomb in Jenin. The vehicle was prepared by “outlaws” to be detonated around citizens and security personnel “as part of a cowardly criminal act”, Gen Anwar Rajab, spokesman for the PA's security forces, said in a statement carried by Wafa news agency.

Jenin Brigades commander killed as PA forces raid occupied West Bank camp

Fighting has erupted in the Jenin refugee camp between Palestinian security forces and the Jenin Brigades, leaving a commander from the occupied West Bank armed group dead and several other people injured.

The fighting at dawn came five days after Palestinian Authority (PA) forces surrounded the camp and is, according to PA spokesperson Brigadier General Anwar Rajab, the penultimate stage of “Operation Protect the Homeland”.

Rajab said Operation Protect the Homeland was launched to “eradicate sedition and chaos” in the West Bank.

Sources told Al Jazeera that PA forces also surrounded the Jenin Government Hospital, searched ambulances, and stormed Ibn Sina Hospital.

Criticism of the PA

The Popular Resistance Committees condemned Ja’ayseh’s killing as “a serious violation of all national norms and traditions” that is “in line with the Zionist agenda that aims to eliminate the resistance in the West Bank”.

In a separate statement, Hamas described Ja’ayseh as a “martyr leader” and condemned his killing as “shameful” adding that it would “fuel internal disputes”.

The PA has partial administrative authority in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp are a stronghold for armed factions, including the Jenin Brigades, who are seen as a more effective resistance to the Israeli occupation, in contrast with the PA which coordinates security matters with Israel.

Tensions have further escalated in the occupied territory after the PA arrested several armed fighters earlier this month.

On Thursday, the PA also admitted that its forces were responsible for the death of a 19-year-old Palestinian man during clashes with fighters in Jenin. The security forces had initially claimed Rahbi Shalabi was beaten to death by “lawbreakers”, but later admitted “full responsibility” for his death.

After the clashes that killed Shalabi and wounded a 16-year-old relative of his, Hamas condemned the PA security forces, which is dominated by its political rival Fatah.

We can all be millionaires in Iran...

Iran’s rial drops to all-time low against the US dollar

Iran’s currency has hit a new all-time low against the US dollar amid uncertainty following the fall of longtime ally al-Assad and the upcoming return of Donald Trump to the US presidency.

The rial dropped to 756,000 to the dollar on the unofficial market, compared with 741,500 rials on Friday, according to Bonbast.com, which reports the exchange rate.

But the dollar has been gaining against the rial since early November amid concerns that Trump, once inaugurated, would re-impose his “maximum pressure” policy against Iran with tougher sanctions and empower Israel to strike Iranian nuclear sites.

US acknowledges direct contact with HTS

In the first public acknowledgement of the US speaking with the opposition group that removed al-Assad, Blinken said US officials have been in direct contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Blinken would not discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the US to convey messages to the group about its conduct and how it intends to govern in a transition period.

“Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken said. “Our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and we’re prepared to help them do so.”

HTS, which was once an affiliate of al-Qaeda, has been designated as a foreign “terrorist organisation” by the US since 2018. That designation carries with it severe sanctions, including a ban on the provision of any “material support” to the group or its members. The sanctions do not, however, legally bar US officials from communicating with designated groups.

What did the Arab FMs agree on during a meeting on Syria?

Foreign ministers from Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar have called for a peaceful transition in Syria following the fall of al-Assad following talks in Jordan:

Israeli army chief says ‘no intention’ of managing Syria

Syria’s al-Sharaa says country cannot enter in a ‘new conflict’ with Israel

Opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa says Syria is too “exhausted” for another war amid Israeli forces seizing a buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights.

“The Israelis have clearly crossed the disengagement line in Syria, which threatens a new unjustified escalation in the region,” al-Sharaa said in a statement on Telegram.

However, “the general exhaustion in Syria after years of war and conflict does not allow us to enter new conflicts”.

Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has conducted hundreds of air strikes on Syrian military positions and seized the area in what it claims is in “self-defence”.

Mayor among 10 killed in Gaza strike

At least 10 people were killed in an airstrike near the municipality building in Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza, where people gathered to receive aid, medics said.

Casualties were carried by foot, on rickshaws and in cars from the site of the attack to the hospital, medics said.

The strike killed the head of the Hamas-run administrative committee in central Gaza, a Hamas source said. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the strike on the town hall killed mayor Deiab al-Jaro, and nine other people.

The Israeli military said it targeted Mayor Jaro and accused him of being "an operative in Hamas's military wing".

At least 18 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Saturday, medics said.

A former shelter in Gaza City housing displaced people targeted Hamas fighters, the Israeli military said. At least seven people were killed there, Palestinian medics said, including a woman and her baby.

It was unclear whether any of the other people killed were fighters. The military said it had taken precautions to reduce risk of harm to civilians.

A separate strike in Gaza City killed a local journalist, medics said, which the military said it was looking into.

_{An emergency worker searches in the rubble of a Deir al-Balah building hit by an Israeli airstrike.}