Netanyahu says 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria “has collapsed”, so he “directed the [military] yesterday to seize the buffer zone and the commanding positions nearby.”
Israel has pushed tanks over the border into the buffer zone with Syria after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was ousted earlier on Sunday after rebel forces captured the capital Damasus.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he has ordered the military to “seize” a UN-patrolled buffer zone between the Israeli-occupied and Syrian-controlled Golan Heights.
He said a 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria “has collapsed”, so he “directed the [military] yesterday to seize the buffer zone and the commanding positions nearby.”
What we know so far:
- Syrian rebels broadcast first statements to the people
- Assad flew out of Damascus to unknown destination
- PM Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali declares readiness to support transition as rebels announce they will maintain supervision of public institutions through the “former prime minister” during handover
- US President Biden says White House in touch with regional partners
- Thousands of Homs residents celebrate in the streets
- Iran’s embassy in Damascus stormed by rebels
“We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” he added.
Earlier the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Assad had left office and departed the country after being ousted by Syrian rebels, who ended the 50-year Assad dynasty in a lightning offensive that has raised fears of a new wave of instability in the Middle East.
In a statement, the ministry said that Assad had ordered a peaceful handover but did not say where he was now. The ministry denied Russia’s role in talks about his departure and added that Russian military bases in Syria were at a state of high alert, although there was no serious threat to them at the current time.
Syria’s army command notified officers that Assad’s regime had ended, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters.
But the Syrian army later said it was continuing operations against “terrorist groups” in the towns of Hama and Homs and Deraa countryside.
Dozens of Syrians entered Assad’s luxurious Damascus home after it was looted on Sunday, an AFP correspondent said, following the fall of the capital to rebel forces.
Women, children and men could be seen inspecting the six-storey home and its large garden, with the entrance to the residence burnt down and the rooms completely empty, save some furniture and a portrait of Assad thrown on the floor.
Assad, who had crushed all forms of dissent, flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters, as rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments.
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” the rebels said, referring to a large military prison on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands.
Thousands in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Damascus waving and chanting “Freedom” from a half-century of Assad family rule, witnesses said.
The dramatic collapse also marks a seismic moment for the Middle East, dealing a massive blow to Russia and Iran, which have lost a key ally at the heart of the region and creating more uncertainty as the Gaza offensive rages.
The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability.
It marks a turning point for Syria, shattered by more than 13 years of war which has turned cities to rubble, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and forced millions abroad as refugees.
Stabilising western areas of Syria captured in the rebels’ advance will be key. Western governments, which have shunned the Assad-led state for years, must decide how to deal with a new administration in which a globally designated terrorist group — Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — looks set to have influence.
HTS, which spearheaded the rebel advances across western Syria, was formerly an al Qaeda affiliate known as the Nusra Front until its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, severed ties with the global jihadist movement in 2016.
“The real question is how orderly will this transition be, and it seems quite clear that Golani is very eager for it to be an orderly one,” said Joshua Landis, a Syria expert and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
Golani will not want a repeat of the chaos that swept Iraq after US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. “They are going to have to rebuild … they will need Europe and the US to lift sanctions,” Landis said.
HTS is Syria’s strongest rebel group and some Syrians remain fearful it will impose draconian religious rule or instigate reprisals.
A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website.
The aircraft initially flew towards Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off the map.
Reuters could not immediately ascertain who was on board.
Two Syrian sources said there was a very high probability that Assad may have been killed in a plane crash as it was a mystery why the plane took a surprise U-turn and disappeared off the map according to data from the Flightradar website.
“It disappeared off the radar, possibly the transponder was switched off, but I believe the bigger probability is that the aircraft was taken down…,” said one Syrian source without elaborating.
As Syrians expressed joy, Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said the country should have free elections so Syrians can choose who they want.
But that would require a smooth transition in a country with complex competing interests, from fighters to groups with links to the United States, Russia and Turkey.
Jalali also said he had been in contact with rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani to discuss managing the current transitional period, marking a notable development in efforts to shape Syria’s political future.
Jordan affirmed on Sunday the importance of preserving the stability and security of Syria, the state news agency reported.
US President Joe Biden and his team were monitoring the “extraordinary events in Syria” and were in touch with regional partners, the White House said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Assad left office and departed the country after ordering a peaceful handover of power.
In a statement, the ministry did not say where Assad was now and said Russia had not taken part in the talks about his departure. It added that Russia’s military bases in Syria had been put on a state of high alert, but that there was no serious threat to them at the current time.
Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 as an uprising against Assad’s rule, dragged in big outside powers, created space for militants to plot attacks around the world and sent millions of refugees into neighbouring states.
The frontlines of Syria’s complex civil war were dormant for years. Then fighters once affiliated with Al Qaeda suddenly burst into action, posing the biggest challenge to Assad, who had survived years of gruelling war and international isolation with the help of Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
But Assad’s allies were focused on and weakened by other crises, leaving Assad at the mercy of his opponents with an army that was not prepared to defend him.
Israel, which has severely weakened Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, will likely celebrate the fall of Assad, another of Iran’s key regional allies. But the prospects of a hardline religious group ruling Syria will likely raise concerns.
Thousands of Homs residents poured onto the streets after the army withdrew from the central city, dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad”.
Rebels fired into the air in celebration, and youths tore down posters of the Syrian president, whose territorial control has collapsed in a dizzying week-long retreat by the military.
The fall of Homs gave the insurgents control over Syria’s strategic heartland and a key highway crossroads, severing Damascus from the coastal region that is the stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval base and air base.
Homs’ capture is also a powerful symbol of the rebel movement’s dramatic comeback. Swathes of Homs were destroyed by gruelling siege warfare between the rebels and the army years ago. The fighting ground down the insurgents, who were forced out.
Rebels freed thousands of detainees from the city prison. Security forces left in haste after burning their documents.
The head of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Mazloum Abdi said on Sunday on X: “We are witnessing historic moments in Syria as the authoritarian regime in Damascus falls. This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria founded on democracy and justice, ensuring the rights of all Syrians.”
Header image: A rebel fighter gestures from a vehicle as they gather in Homs after Syria’s army command notified officers on Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year authoritarian rule has ended, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters, following a rapid rebel offensive, in Homs, Syria December 8. — Reuters
Iranian embassy stormed in Damascus
Iran’s embassy in the Syrian capital was stormed by rebels on Sunday following their capture of Damascus and the fall of Iran-allied Bashar al-Assad, Iranian state TV reported.
“It is said that the Iranian embassy was stormed alongside nearby stores by an armed group different from the group now controlling [most of] Syria,” Iranian state TV said, referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which spearheaded the rebel advances across western Syria.
Footage from inside the embassy’s premises was shared by Saudi Arabia’s al-Arabiya channel, showing that assailants had rummaged through furniture and documents inside the building and damaged some windows.
Reuters could not verify the videos.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday that Iranian diplomats had vacated the embassy in the early morning, prior to any assault.
Iran’s state TV said HTS had guaranteed there would be no disturbance to the Sayeda Zeinab and Sayeda Ruqqaya shrines in Damascus.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Sunday that all Iranian servants of the shrines returned to Iran prior to the capture of Damascus by rebels.
