True, the writing was on the wall that Assad's government was not salvageable and gave up their friend Assad
1. though Putin already had other resources stationed in Syria
2. as for Iran, after the Israeli strikes, they may have little to no resources left
3. also they would have to fight not just HTS but perhaps Turkey as well

It appears, Putin was already cultivating new relationships in the region and to have done the unthinkable striking a deal with his friend Assad's enemy

Iran and Lebanon, both backers of Assad, were also fighting battles of their own, with Israel's relentless decimation of their strongest rebel force, Hezbollah, in recent months

They could have asked Israel for help!

From: Reuters December 17, 2024
US says airstrike targeted Houthi command and control facility in Yemen

The US military says it conducted an airstrike against a command and control facility operated by the Houthis in Yemen.

“The targeted facility was a hub for coordinating Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” the US military’s Central Command says in a post on X

Still No demolition derby on Houthis -- Day 437

From: The Guardian December 17, 2024
Assad denies planning to flee Syria before evacuation by Moscow

Former Syrian leader claimed he wanted to stay and fight but left after Russian airbase came under attack

The former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has said he had no plans to flee Syria before being evacuated by the Russian army after its base in western Syria came under attack.

Assad says Syria in hands of 'terrorists'

From: Al Jazeera December 15, 2024
Israel bombs military sites, destroy roads in Quneitra

Israel’s air force carries out 61 missile attacks on military sites across Syria while ground troops destroy roads, power lines and water networks in southeastern Quneitra

Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa condemns Israel’s land grabs and ongoing attacks, but says the country is too “exhausted” for a new conflict

From: Haaretz December 12, 2024
Sinwar Liberates Syria While Saving Netanyahu

How the deadly Hamas assault has led to Israel's demolition derby in Syria – and a bitterly ironic rehabilitation for the prime minister's party in the polls, as Defendant Netanyahu testifies in court

Israel is being proactive with HTS ensuring Syria does not become a base for another Islamist terrorism
True -- they can rearm themselves via the terror routes but it would take time after Israel decimated most if not all the tunnels

While the immediate threat eliminated, these terrorists and no longer 'terror oriented terrorists' bounce back, becoming proxies of the “Axis of Terror” “Axis of Resistance” “ring of fire” against Israel

Once a terrorist... Islamist elephant never forgets -- They have the same motto as Mossad

The West supported extremist muhadjideen in Afghanistan against the Russians we see now the same with HTS.
In the past it created Al Qaeda let's hope these guys do not turn in the enemy of the West.

Foreign nations intensifying contact efforts with Syria's HTS
ABC News Australia, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Associated Press (AP) 16 December 2024

Extracts:

• Foreign nations intensifying contact efforts with Syria's new de facto government

The US, UK, France, Türkiye and Qatar are among nations that have been in contact and undertaken diplomacy with Syria's new
rebel-led government

A meeting of foreign ministers from at least 10 countries and EU and UN officials called for hostilities in Syria, to be ceased to facilitate a locally led transitional political process

Foreign countries have stepped up efforts to establish contacts with Syria's interim rulers, a week after Islamist-led rebels sent president Bashar al-Assad fleeing to Moscow, ending decades of brutal rule

• United Nations

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen was among those arriving in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Sunday

Pedersen said,
Pedersen called for "increased, immediate" aid to war-ravaged Syria, saying it had been through "an enormous … humanitarian crisis"

• Pedersen and al-Sharaa meeting

Pedersen later met Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa who previously went by the pseudonym Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the rebels' Telegram channel said

Foreign nations intensifying contact efforts with Syria's HTS
ABC News Australia, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Associated Press (AP) 16 December 2024

Extracts:

• Aid and diplomacy

On Saturday, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had made "direct contact" with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — in the first declaration by a US official confirming contacts between the Biden administration and HTS

• HTS - designated terrorist organisation

1. HTS once an affiliate of Al Qaeda, has been designed as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US State Department since 2018
2. That designation carries severe sanctions, including a ban on the provision of any "material support" to the group or its members
3. The sanctions do not however legally bar US officials from communicating with designated groups

Blinken signed off on a set of principles meant to guide Syria's transition to a peaceful, non-sectarian and inclusive country, along with counterparts from eight Arab nations and Türkiye and senior officials from the European Union and the UN

• HTS - considerations on lifting the terrorist designation

Syria's HTS rebel group remains a proscribed terrorist organisation by many of the countries now engaging with it but considerations on lifting the designation are reportedly being made

Foreign nations intensifying contact efforts with Syria's HTS
ABC News Australia, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Associated Press (AP) 16 December 2024

Extracts:

• Britain

Britain's Foreign Minister David Lammy said London had established diplomatic contact with HTS rebel group that led the offensive against Mr Assad

Lammy said,
The UK also announced it would release 50 million pounds ($99 million) of humanitarian aid for "the most vulnerable" Syrians in Syria and in neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan

Lammy added,

• Türkiye

On Saturday, Türkiye also reopened its embassy in Damascus after 12 years
Türkiye was a major player in Syria's conflict, holding considerable sway in the north-west and financing armed rebel groups there

Defence Minister Yasar Guler said on Sunday, according to Turkish media reportsGuler added,

• France

France said a four-strong diplomatic team would arrive in Damascus on Tuesday, acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said,Barrot added,

Foreign nations intensifying contact efforts with Syria's HTS
ABC News Australia, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Associated Press (AP) 16 December 2024

Extracts:

• Scant details on nature of diplomatic engagement

HTS while designated a "terrorist" organisation by many Western governments, has sought to moderate its rhetoric in recent years, including by claiming it has renounced its Al Qaeda ties

The interim government insists the rights of all Syrians will be protected as will the rule of law

In an interview on Syrian television on Saturday, HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa did not address any direct contact with the US but said the new authorities in Damascus were in touch with Western embassies

al-Sharaa also said,
US officials said, but US remained sceptical that al-Sharaa would follow through on them in the long run

Foreign nations intensifying contact efforts with Syria's HTS
ABC News Australia, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Associated Press (AP) 16 December 2024

Extracts:

• Syrian agenda

A joint statement after the meeting of foreign ministers on Sunday urged all parties to cease hostilities in Syria and expressed support for a locally led transitional political process

It called for preventing the re-emergence of extremist groups and ensuring the security and safe destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles

• Jordan

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told journalists

• Syrian elections

A separate statement by Arab foreign ministers called for UN-supervised elections based on a new constitution approved by Syrians

• Israel's incursion into the buffer zone with Syria

Their statement condemned Israel's incursion into the buffer zone with Syria and adjacent sites over the past week as a "heinous occupation" and demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces

• Assad's brutal dictatorship

Assad fled Syria on December 8 following an 11-day rebel offensive led by HTS, after years of civil war sparked by his violent crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011

The war has killed upwards of 500,000 people and displaced more than half the country's roughly 23 million population

Israel is preparing military action against Yemen’s Houthis
Al Jazeera by Lyndal Rowlands, Zaheena Rasheed, Maziar Motamedi, Umut Uras, Farah Najjar and Nils Adler 16 December 2024

• Israel is preparing military action against Yemen’s Houthis:

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (Kan) reports that Israel is preparing for a military offensive due to the group’s continued missile and drone attacks

The announcement came after Israel intercepted a ballistic missile and a drone launched by the Houthis earlier in the day

The Houthis said,where Israel has been waging a war for more than a year, killing more than 45,000 people [according to, Hamas-run health ministry]

Kan said, citing the weakened positions of Syria’s ousted al-Assad regime and Hezbollah in Lebanon as contributing factors
Kan also reported a consensus within Israel’s security establishment to strike back at Houthi targets

From: The times of Israel December 17, 2024
Lebanese Druze politician says country should ‘permanently abandon’ war on Israel

Hezbollah ally Wiam Wahhab, who heads the minor Arab Unification Party, says ‘the nation does not want war’ and the only victor in the region is Netanyahu

Wiam Wahhab, a Druze Lebanese politician and former minister, said in an interview on Sunday that Lebanon should end its long-running fight against the State of Israel and pursue normalization.

Wahhab, the founder and head of the minor Tawhid Party, or Arab Unification Party, is considered an ally of the Hezbollah terrorist group, which holds considerable power in Lebanon, and of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

In an interview with the local al-Jadeed TV station, Wahhab said, “We must permanently abandon this mentality of war with Israel,” according to translation from the L’Orient Today Lebanese news outlet.

Wahhab, who served as environment minister in Lebanon from 2004 to 2005, said he would be willing to strike a “deal with the devil,” meaning Israel, in order to ensure the safety of his Druze community.

The Druze population in Lebanon is thought to make up about three percent of the population. Wahhab’s party does not currently hold any seats in parliament.

“The Lebanese have sacrificed more than 75 years of their lives for the Palestinian cause.

This must come to an end,” he said during the interview, adding that “the nation does not want war and no longer wishes to fight the Israeli state.”

After decades of constant fighting against Israel, Lebanon “must stop following pipe dreams… the nation does not want to fight,” said Hezbollah ally Wiam Wahhab

“We want to live comfortably,” he added, suggesting that “the only victor in the region is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who continues to reshape the Middle East.”

The Lebanon front has paid a heavy price since Hezbollah opened a support front for Gaza,” said Wahhab, referring to the more than year of attacks by the terror group on northern Israel, starting right after the Hamas onslaught on the south on October 7, 2023

Israel believes that around 3,500 Hezbollah operatives have been killed throughout the conflict.

A tentative ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah entered into effect last month, though each side has accused the other of violating the terms of the deal.

Wahhab suggested that the Iranian Axis of Resistance “ended after the deaths of [Iranian general] Qassem Soleimani [in 2020] and [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah” in an Israeli airstrike earlier this year.

The only path forward, he said, is normalization with the State of Israel.

The Lebanese politician is known for his outspoken statements, and has made comments suggesting Lebanon abandon its fight against Israel in the past.

In October 2022 after Israel and Lebanon reached an agreement over their maritime border, Wahhab said in an interview with al-Jadeed that, “in my opinion [by signing the deal] we went for sustainable peace. Let’s not kid around.”

Maybe, you have a point...

Perhaps Israel could have extended a friendly neighborly hand to the battered and bloodied Syria instead of
“Israel strikes Syria 480 times and seizes territory”

From: Foreign nations intensifying contact efforts with Syria's HTS
1. Foreign nations intensifying contact efforts with Syria's new de facto government
2. "The new leadership should be given "a chance"
3. After Assad's ouster in Syria, U.N. envoy calls for end to sanctions

Syria's HTS rebel group remains a proscribed terrorist organisation by many of the countries now engaging with it but considerations on lifting the designation are reportedly being made

Totally agree with Trump on Turkey. Both Iran and Russia underestimated them.

Turkey seeks Saudi Arabia and UAE support for new Syria !

Hundreds of thousands of bodies could be buried in Syrian mass graves, advocacy group says

Syrians are starting to uncover mass graves across the country, shedding light on the magnitude of atrocities committed during the brutal rule of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Since Assad fled Syria on December 8 following the collapse of his regime, scores of Syrian families still have no answer about what happened to their loved ones following their detention by Assad’s secret police.
Hundreds of thousands of bodies of people “tortured to death by the Assad regime” could be buried in a mass grave east of Damascus, according to Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the US-based Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), an anti-Assad advocacy group.


A ceasefire between Turkey and the U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian forces (SDF) around the northern Syrian city of Manbij has been extended until the end of this week, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.
Washington brokered an initial ceasefire last week after fighting that broke out earlier this month as rebel groups advanced on Damascus and overthrew the rule of Bashar al-Assad.
"We continue to engage with the SDF, with Turkey about a path forward," Miller said at a regular press briefing, adding that the U.S. would like the ceasefire to be extended for as long as possible.
"We don't want to see any party take advantage of the current unstable situation to advance their own narrow interests at the expense of the broader Syrian national interest," he added.
The SDF is the main ally in a U.S. coalition against Islamic State militants in Syria. It is spearheaded by YPG militia, a group that Ankara sees extension of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants that it outlaws and who have fought the Turkish state for 40 years.
Washington has been closely watching any moves by Turkey or Turkish-backed forces on the Kurdish-controlled town of Kobani, but Miller said the U.S. understands Turkish concerns over the PKK, which both Washington and Ankara call a terrorist group.
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi expressed on Tuesday the group's readiness to present a proposal that establishes a demilitarized zone in the northern city of Kobani with the redeployment of security forces under U.S. supervision and presence.
He said in a statement on X that the proposal aims to address Turkey's security concerns and ensure permanent stability in the area.

From: Reuters December 17, 2024

Turkey, which controls swathes of land in northern Syria after several cross-border incursions against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia,
was a main backer of opposition groups aiming to topple Assad, who was backed by Iran and Russia, since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011

Appearing to allude to Turkey's Ottoman past, which included control over modern day Syria, Trump added:
"They've wanted it for thousands of years, and he got it, and those people that went in are controlled by Turkey, and that's OK."

OK Good news! for Israel which controls swathes of land in... "They've wanted it for thousands of years...

From: various News Agencies
France 24: Trump calls rebel victory in Syria 'unfriendly takeover' by Turkey
POLITICO.eu: Trump says Turkey orchestrated Assad’s overthrow in Syria
Financial Times: Donald Trump says Turkey was behind Islamist groups that toppled Assad in Syria

From: Reuters December 17, 2024

US Troops in eastern Syria:
Washington has kept an estimated 900 troops in eastern Syria as a hedge against the militants.

Asked what he will do with those troops, Trump was vague, pointing instead to the strength of Turkey's military and highlighting his relationship with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

Washington and Ankara:
Since Assad's ouster, Washington and Ankara have held talks on countering any resurgence of Islamic State militants in Syria.

Trump and Erdogan:
"Erdogan is somebody I got along with great ... He's built a very strong, powerful army," Trump said.

From: Reuters December 17, 2024
Trump says Turkey holds the key to Syria's future

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that Turkey will "hold the key" to what happens in Syria, where rebels backed by Ankara toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad earlier this month.

Making his first comments on how he views the NATO ally's role in post-conflict Syria, Trump praised what he described as Turkey's "major military force" that he said "has not been worn out with war."

Turkey's unfriendly takeover:
By supporting the rebels, "Turkey did an unfriendly takeover without a lot of lives being lost," Trump told a press conference at his residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

"Right now, Syria has a lot of, you know, there's a lot of indefinites ... I think Turkey is going to hold the key to Syria," Trump said.

From: The Times of Israel December 17, 2024

Hezbollah:
Swiss parliament votes to outlaw Hezbollah

Rare motion for the neutral country passes the parliament’s lower chamber with 126 votes in favor, 20 against and 41 abstentions, despite government’s opposition to ban

Switzerland’s parliament on Tuesday voted to outlaw Hezbollah, in a rare move by the neutral country that has traditionally followed a policy of promoting international dialogue and mediation.

Proponents of the ban, which was passed by the lower house after receiving upper house approval last week, said Hezbollah was a threat to international security and that Switzerland needed to prohibit it to take a stand against terrorism.

Hamas:
Last week, the Swiss parliament outlawed Hamas over the Palestinian terror group’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught in southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and 251 were seized as hostages.

The government, which drafted the bill to outlaw Hamas, said it had done so in line with the practice of proscribing organizations on a case-by-case basis only “for extremely serious reasons.”

Switzerland had previously only banned al-Qaeda and Islamic State, which are on the United Nations’ list of terrorist organizations.

From: Foundation for Defense of Democracies December 18, 2024
Meta Dismantles Iranian and Hezbollah Influence Operations Targeting Israel

Meta's Threat Disruption Center, two weeks ago exposed influence operations backed by Iran and Hezbollah that targeted Israel, taking down several accounts on the company’s Instagram and Facebook platforms.

While Meta dismantled the operations before their deceptive content could garner significant attention from users, they reflect how Iran and its terrorist proxies have waged numerous information campaigns against Israel since Hamas’s atrocities on October 7, 2023

Meta warned that after Russia, Iran conducts the most covert influence operations on its platforms.

From: Haaretz December 18, 2024

14 months of war and tragedy have taken a toll on Israel that is measurable in all of the traditional ways:
1. the civilian victims of October 7 and subsequent rocket and drone attacks;
2. the hostages still held in Gaza;
3. the soldiers who have fallen in battle;
4. the Israelis displaced from their homes;
5. the homes and buildings damaged and destroyed
6. and the tremendous economic damage as businesses faltered and fell

Hamas-Israel ceasefire:
Pressure from US President-elect Donald Trump pushed Hamas to agree to major concessions as hopes grow for a truce between Israel and the militant group

From: The Australian December 19, 2024
Pressure from Trump ‘led to Hamas concessions for ceasefire deal’: White House

Donald Trump’s threats of ‘all hell to pay’ if hostages aren’t released by the time he takes office, pushed Hamas,
1. to agree to Israeli forces in Gaza
2. and to release a list of hostages to be freed

Turkish FM denies Trump claim of ‘unfriendly takeover’
Al Jazeera 19 December 2024

Extracts:

• Turkish FM denies Trump claim of ‘unfriendly takeover’ by Türkiye in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan tells Al Jazeera the only ‘takeover’ in Syria was ‘the will of the Syrian people’

Fidan has denied a claim by incoming United States President Donald Trump,
In remarks apparently praising Ankara, Trump told a news conference earlier this week,
In an interview with Al Jazeera broadcast on Wednesday, Fidan said,
Fidan also said,
Fidan added,

Turkish FM denies Trump claim of ‘unfriendly takeover’
Al Jazeera 19 December 2024

Extracts:

• Turkish military action against Kurdish forces

Asked about US media reporting on concerns that the Turkish military may be prepared to launch a major military offensive in Syria to crush Kurdish forces that are hostile to Türkiye, the foreign minister Hakan Fidan pointed to the YPG (People’s Protection Units) as an “essential threat” to his country

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) armed group is listed as a “terrorist organisation” by Türkiye and the West
Fidan described the YPG as the PKK’s “extension” in Syria

Fidan said,adding
Fidan also said,
Local witnesses have told the French news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP) that there has been an increase in the number of soldiers patrolling on the Turkish side of the border but unusual military activity has not been evident

Turkish FM denies Trump claim of ‘unfriendly takeover’
Al Jazeera 19 December 2024

Extracts:

• HTS “legitimate partner” for Ankara

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also said,
Officials from the United Nations, European Union and other countries have also made contact with the new administration, Fidan noted, adding that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group – whose leader is Ahmed al-Sharaa, also referred to as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, is the de facto leader in Syria – should be delisted as a ‘terrorism’ organisation

Fidan said of HTS which is the main component of the coalition currently governing Syria

• US and HTS

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged over the weekend that Washington is in contact with HTS and discussions with the group were in the broad context of the future of Syria

The US State Department placed HTS on its list of “foreign terrorist organisations” in May 2018 due to its affiliation with the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate

• HTS credible caretakers of Syria

Since 2016 HTS’s al-Sharaa has moved to distance the organisation from al-Qaeda and has been positioning himself and HTS as credible caretakers of Syria in a post-Assad period

Israel plans to expand Golan settlemen
BBC by Emily Atkinson & Jack Burgess 16 December 2024

Extracts:

• Israel plans to expand Golan settlements after fall of Assad

Israel's government has approved a plan to encourage the expansion of settlements, in the occupied Golan Heights

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said,
Netanyahu said,which Israel seized during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered illegally occupied under international law

Israeli forces moved into a buffer zone separating the Golan Heights from Syria in the days following Assad's departure, saying,
Despite the move, Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday evening,
1. There are more than 30 Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights, which are home to an estimated 20,000 people
2. They are considered illegal under international law, which Israel disputes
3. The settlers live alongside some 20,000 Syrians, most of them Druze Arabs
4. The Druze Arabs did not flee when the area came under Israeli control

Netanyahu said,