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US President Joe Biden and his team are monitoring the "extraordinary events in Syria" and are in touch with regional partners, the White House said.

Syrian rebels will broadcast their first statement to the Syrian people on state TV, but no time has yet been set, two opposition sources said.

Syrian rebels said Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad had fled the country, calling on citizens abroad to return to a "free Syria" and saying that Damascus was free of the "tyrant".

"The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has fled" and "we declare the city of Damascus free", the rebel factions said on Telegram, adding that "after 50 years of oppression under Baath rule, and 13 years of crimes and tyranny and (forced) displacement... we announce today the end of this dark period and the start of a new era for Syria".

The leader of Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, ordered forces Sunday not to approach official institutions in Damascus, saying they would remain under the prime minister until they are "officially" handed over.

"To all military forces in the city of Damascus, it is strictly forbidden to approach public institutions, which will remain under the supervision of the former prime minister until they are officially handed over," Jolani said in a statement on Telegram, using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa instead of his nom de guerre, and adding: "It is forbidden to shoot into the air."

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said on Sunday that he remained in his home and was ready to support continuity of governance, after President Bashar al-Assad fled Damascus as rebels entered the capital.

Jalali said he was ready to "cooperate" with any leadership chosen by the people and for any handover process.

"This country can be a normal country that builds good relations with its neighbours and the world... but this issue is up to any leadership chosen by the Syrian people. We are ready to cooperate with it (that leadership) and offer all possible facilities," Jalali said in a speech broadcast on his Facebook account.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad had left of the country, after losing swathes of territory to a lightning rebel offensive.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said "Assad left Syria via Damascus international airport before the army security forces left" the facility. AFP was unable to immediately confirm the report.

Two senior Syrian officers say that President Bashar al-Assad has left Damascus to an unknown destination.

Islamist-led rebels said Sunday they had broken into a notorious Damascus jail, announcing on Telegram an "end of the era of tyranny in the prison of Sednaya".

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "the doors of the infamous 'Sednaya' prison, known as the 'human slaughterhouse', have been opened for thousands of detainees who were imprisoned by the security apparatus throughout the regime's rule".

Rebels entered the Syrian capital Damascus, with two sources saying there was with no sign of army deployments.

"Our forces started entering Damascus," Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) said on Telegram.

Hezbollah is pulling its forces from the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus and the Homs area, a source close to the Lebanese group said Sunday, as their ally President Bashar al-Assad faces a rebel offensive.

The group "has instructed its fighters in recent hours to withdraw from the Homs area, with some heading to Latakia (in Syria) and others to the Hermel area in Lebanon", the source told AFP, noting that "Hezbollah fighters have also vacated their positions around Damascus."

Intense sounds of shooting were heard in the centre of the Syrian capital Damascus, two residents said on Sunday as rebels march towards the capital.

It was not immediately clear where was the source of the shooting, two residents who live in a residential area close to the centre of the capital said.

Syrian rebels announced they gained full control over the key city of Homs early on Sunday after only a day of fighting, leaving President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year rule dangling by a thread as insurgents marched on the capital, Damascus.

The White House said Saturday that US priorities in Syria now are to ensure the country's conflict does not encourage a resurgence of the Islamic State militant group or lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe."

Spillover "is a concern," said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, with particular worry about the so-called Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

In previous phases of Syria's long-running civil war, "at its worst, we saw the explosion of ISIS onto the scene," he said at a conference in Simi Valley, California run by the Reagan National Defense Forum.

The main priority is to ensure "that the fighting in Syria not lead to a resurgence of ISIS," Sullivan said. "We are going to take steps ourselves, directly and working with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurds, to ensure that does not happen."

Sullivan said the administration of outgoing US President Joe Biden is working to ensure allies Israel, Jordan, Iraq and others in the region, "who would potentially face spillover effects from Syria, are strong and secure, and we're in touch with them every day."

Washington is also alert to stopping a "humanitarian catastrophe, both in terms of civilians, access to life-saving necessities, and in terms of the protection of religious and ethnic minorities in Syria," Sullivan said.

"Of course, an event like this happens and ISIS immediately looks to take advantage. We have seen reports of ISIS trying... to reconstitute to a certain extent."

So the United States will seek to "contain the potential violence and instability," protect allies and ensure that ISIS not "get new oxygen out of this" that could lead them to threaten US or allies' interests, Sullivan added.

Israel hit a Hezbollah convoy of armoured vehicles on their way out of Qusair, as Syrian rebel forces took over the strategic city, Syrian army sources told Reuters.

Hezbollah had controlled Qusair for years. The city sits close to the Lebanese border.

The Syrian opposition says it has coordinated with the heads of intelligence branches in Damascus to take control of the capital.

"Intelligence branches in Damascus have completed arrangements with us to take control of the capital," the Syrian opposition Military Operations Command said.

Rebels in Syria have reportedly captured the city of Qusayr close to the Lebanese border, shortly after announcing that they were in complete control of the city of Homs.

Qusayr had for years been controlled by the Lebanese Shia Hezbollah militant group which fought alongside Bashar al-Assad's regime in the conflict.

Rebels of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, engaged in a stunning offensive against the Syrian government, announced Sunday they had captured the key city of Homs.

Their statement on Telegram, came shortly after their leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, posted on the same platform: "We are living in the final moments of the liberation of the city of Homs... this historic event that will distinguish between truth and falsehood."

Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghany said early on Sunday that insurgent forces "fully liberated" Syria's central city of Homs.

Thousands have gone out in celebration in the Syrian city of Homs, chanting and demanding the downfall of the Assad family rule, according to residents and videos shared online.

الآن حمص حرّة 💚

— أرشي� الثورة السورية Syrian Revolution Archive (@syr_rev_archive)

Rebels in Syria say they have freed more than 3,500 inmates from the Homs military prison after storming the city.

Five Arab countries and Iran, Turkey and Russia said on Saturday a political solution was needed to stop military operations and protect civilians in Syria.

In a joint statement released by the countries' foreign ministers after they met in Doha, they said the crisis in Syria posed a threat to regional and international security.

Dozens of fighters from Hezbollah's elite Radwan forces fled the Syrian city of Homs after a decision was taken with the Syrian army that the city could no longer be defended, a Syrian army officer told Reuters on Saturday.

Syrian army and security commanders departed by helicopters from Homs' Shuayrat military base and are heading to the regime's stronghold in the coast, a senior Syrian officer has told Reuters.

Dozens of army vehicles were seen leaving Homs city on the main highway and one convoy was hit, two rebel sources told Reuters.

The large convoy reached the Qusayr bridge, south of Homs and close to the Lebanese border, a Syrian army source said.

Syrian rebels captured Homs central prison on Saturday and freed hundreds of prisoners, two rebel sources said.

Another rebel source said fighters had begun to enter deeper into after breaking through army defences from the city's eastern gateway.

Security personnel from the main security headquarters in Homs were fleeing on motorcycles, residents told Reuters.

Lebanese authorities will close the main Masnaa border crossing with Syria from 10 pm local time (8 pm GMT) Saturday until 8 am Sunday morning, Al Arabiya cited one source as saying.

Lebanon's health ministry said at least six people were killed in two separate Israeli strikes on south Lebanon Saturday.

"The Israeli enemy's airstrike on the town of Beit Lif resulted in the martyrdom of five people and the injury of five others," a ministry statement said, adding that in a separate incident a drone strike killed one person in Deir Seryan.

Despite the ceasefire deal, Israel has continued to attack what it claims are Hezbollah militants and installations in southern Lebanon, saying it will not allow Hezbollah to regroup. The Israeli army has 60 days to pull out its forces.

Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said on Saturday it has no intention of using chemical weapons under the control of Syrian authorities "under any circumstances".

All Polish citizens in Syria should leave immediately because of the security situation, the Polish embassy in the country said on Saturday.

"Due to the rapid escalation of the situation, which has quickly spread across the entire territory of Syria, we appeal to all Polish citizens residing in the country to leave immediately," the Polish embassy said in a post on X. "We also categorically appeal not to enter the territory of Syria."

The Free Syrian Army broke a nine-year siege by Assad forces on the Rukban camp in Al-Tanf area along Syria's borders with Iraq and Jordan, Syria TV reported earlier Saturday.

Thousands of displaced Syrian had been stuck there for years.

The Free Syrian army and the military factions in the al-Tanf area break the siege imposed on the Rukban camp by the regime forces and allied militias for five years
#Hesar#rukban_camp

— Hesar (@hesar_net)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday in a speech in Doha that extremism will breed in the Middle East unless a Palestinian state is created.

The Israeli military claimed Saturday it struck a Hezbollah militant in south Lebanon, one of multiple operations against "activities... that posed a threat" to Israel, more than 10 days into a ceasefire.

"In one case, the (military) identified a Hezbollah terrorist who posed a threat to the troops deployed in southern Lebanon in violation" of the ceasefire, the military said, adding the air force "struck the terrorist".

The Israeli military said on Saturday it was assisting a United Nations force in repelling an attack on a UN post in Syria's Hader area, close to the Israeli-occupied Golan heights.

The Israeli military said the attack was carried out by "armed individuals".

The Syrian army said it was strengthening its defence lines around Damascus and in the south on Saturday, as panic spread in the capital after the rebels said they were drawing close.

"Our armed units are reinforcing their lines throughout the Damascus countryside and the southern region," a spokesperson for the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces said in a televised statement. He also said the army was launching operations against rebels in the "Hama and Homs countrysides (in central Syria) and the northern Daraa countryside" in the south.

Syria's interior minister told state TV that security forces had imposed an impenetrable cordon around Damascus on Saturday, as fighters opposing the government said they were nearing the capital.

"There is a very strong security and military cordon on the far edges of Damascus and its countryside, and no one... can penetrate this defensive line that we, the armed forces, are building," Interior Minister Mohammed al-Rahmoun told state TV from Damascus.

The United Nations special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen on Saturday called for calm in the country following rapid advances by Islamist-led rebels.

"I reiterate my call for de-escalation, for calm, for the avoidance of bloodshed and the protection of civilians in line with international humanitarian law," Pedersen said at the Doha Forum for political dialogue, urging "the start of a process that leads to the realisation of the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people".

A Syrian rebel commander, Hassan Abdul Ghany, said on Saturday rebel forces had overrun an army camp and a string of villages around the city of Homs.

Hardline Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said on Saturday it has a duty to protect governmental, international and UN offices in Syria.

Hamas released a video claiming to show Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker in captivity on Saturday.

In the video a man who introduces himself as Matan Zangauker, 24, can be seen pleading with the Israeli leaders to make a deal that would bring captives being held by Hamas in Gaza back to Israel.

Mediating countries, including Qatar, see increased momentum for a possible deal that could allow the 100 hostages being held in Gaza to be released in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners, after Israel signed a landmark ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon last month.

Donald Trump's Middle East envoy has travelled to Qatar and Israel to try to kickstart the US president-elect's diplomatic push for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal before he takes office on 20 January, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters.

Hamas has released several videos of hostages begging to be released over the course of the war as it enters its fifteenth month, but Israeli officials have dismissed the short, edited clips as psychological propaganda meant to put pressure on the government.

The Hostage Families Forum, which represents hostage family members, called the video "proof of life" and said that it "provides further evidence that after more than 420 days in captivity, there are hostages still alive and enduring severe suffering". 

(Reuters)

US President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States should "not get involved" in the situation in Syria, where fast-moving rebel forces say they have begun to encircle the capital Damascus.

"Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!" Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

He posted the message shortly before he was to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron while in Paris for the reopening ceremony of Notre Dame cathedral.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday he hopes neighbouring Syria "finds peace", as rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad closed in on the capital, Damascus.

"Our wish is for our neighbour, Syria, to find the peace and tranquility it has been dreaming of for 13 years," said Erdogan, a key player in the region, adding that Syria "is tired of war, blood and tears".

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is continuing to perform his duties from Damascus, his office said on Saturday, denying reports he had left as rebels advance towards the capital.

It condemned "rumours and false news about President Bashar al-Assad leaving Damascus,", adding that Assad "is following up on his work and national and constitutional duties from the capital".

The importance of restarting the Syrian political process was stressed at a meeting of Turkey, Russia and Iran in Doha on Saturday, a Turkish foreign ministry source said, adding that the meeting was constructive.

"Support for Syria's territorial integrity and political unity was declared" at the meeting, attended by the countries' foreign ministers in what is know as the Astana format.

(Reuters)

Syrian opposition forces have entered the city of Homs from the north and east, Reuters reported, citing sources in the opposition army and a resident.

Syrian regime soldiers have been allowed to enter Iraq through the Qaim border crossing, two security sources told Agence France-Presse on Saturday.

An Iraqi security official said that "the number of Syrian soldiers who entered Iraq reached 2,000, including officers and soldiers," noting that "their entry came in agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and with the approval of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces", Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Another official indicated that among the soldiers were "those who fled the front (...) were wounded who were transferred to Al-Qaim Hospital for treatment.

Syrian regime forces withdraw from Daraya in Damascus countryside, amid protests in the town against the government. Rebel forces have also begun closing in on the capital after sweeping through key cities and towns.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani has issued a statement addressing his forces and allied groups as they surround the Syrian capital of Damascus.

The statement, titled "To my free revolutionary brothers", was released via telegram on Saturday.

"I urge you not to waste a single bullet except in the chests of your enemies, for Damascus awaits you," al-Jolani, who has begun using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, said.

Protesters have toppled a statue of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad statue in the centre of Jaramana  in the Damascus countryside.
The act comes as rebel forces have closed in on Damascus and regime forces have withdrawn from areas surrounding the capital city.

Druze militias have overrun most of the army bases in Syria's southern province of Suweida along the border with Jordan, leaving one major base north of the city of Suweida, Druze militia sources told Reuters on Saturday.

Khalkhala air base, north of the provincial capital in the mainly Druze-populated region, remained under army control, with forces regrouping there. The headquarters of the army's special forces unit in the city saw mass desertions, they added.

Hundreds of army troops were now sheltering in Druze community halls, the sources said.

At least seven civilians were killed on Saturday in Russia and Syrian army strikes near Homs as Syrian rebels clashed with the army on their way towards Syria's third city.

"Russian and Syrian air strikes and artillery shelling killed seven civilians near the city of Homs," Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.

Syrian rebels said they have started to surround government-held Damascus after seizing towns close by on Saturday, as the defence ministry denied the army had fled positions near the capital.

Rebel commander Hassan Abdel Ghani, with the HTS-led rebel alliance that launched the offensive in the country's northwest, said "our forces have begun the final phase of encircling the capital, Damascus".

The regime defence ministry said "there is no truth to news claiming our armed forces, present in all areas of the Damascus countryside, have withdrawn".

US envoy Amos Hochstein said the situation in Syria was creating a new weakness for Lebanese group Hezbollah because it was making it more difficult for Iran to get weapons in, as it seemed that Iran was pulling out of Syria.

His statements came during the Doha Forum on Saturday.

(Reuters)

Syrian rebels were about 20 kilometres from Damascus Saturday after snatching the southern province of Daraa from government control, a war monitor and rebels said.

Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP that local rebel fighters now controlled all of Daraa province. Rebel commander Hassan Abdel Ghani, with the Islamist-led alliance that launched the offensive in the country's northwest, said "we are now less than 20 km from the southern gate of the capital Damascus".

A source close to Hezbollah said Saturday that the group sent 2,000 fighters to a part of Syria near the border with Lebanon, as ally Damascus reels from a rebel offensive that has seized major cities in recent days.

"Hezbollah sent 2,000 fighters to the Qusayr area... to defend its positions there and has not yet participated in any battles" with Syrian rebels, the source told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Gaza's Ministry of Health has announced that 52 people have been killed and 142 injured in Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours. 

The ministry added that 44,664 people have been killed and a further 105,976 wounded since the start of Israel's war on the enclave.

Syrian rebel forces on Saturday secured Sanamayn, advancing to within 20 kilometers from the southern gate of Damascus, rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghany said.

(Reuters)

Syrian rebel forces said on Saturday they took control of the city of Quneitra in the Syrian Golan near the border with Israel, according to two rebels and a Syrian officer who confirmed their withdrawal to Reuters. 

(Reuters)

The Israeli military said on Saturday that it was deploying additional forces to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the Syrian border to "strengthen the defence in the area, and the forces' preparedness for different scenarios".

Qatar's prime minister said Saturday that momentum had returned to talks aimed at cementing a truce and hostage exchange deal in Gaza following the election of Donald Trump as US president.

"We have sensed, after the election, that the momentum is coming back," Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani told the Doha Forum for political dialogue, adding there had been "a lot of encouragement from the incoming administration in order to achieve a deal, even before the president comes to the office".

Rebel military commander Hassan Abdel Ghani sought to reassure Syria's religious communities and minorities on Saturday, after Islamist-led fighters snatched key cities and swathes of territory from government control.

"Our securing of the villages and towns of our people in the newly liberated areas, especially those where different religious sects and minorities live, has become a reality... We ask that all sects be reassured and support the movements of the revolutionaries, for the era of sectarianism and tyranny has gone away forever," Abdel Ghani said in a statement on Telegram.

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

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