Live: Over 100,000 bodies found in mass grave near Damascus

The US State Department has again sanctioned Fawaz al-Akhras, a UK resident and the father-in-law of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for "materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Bashar al-Assad," a statement said on Monday.

Akhras was previously sanctioned in 2020. 

Assad himself was also previously designated "in relation to the Government of Syria’s perpetration of serious human rights abuses against the Syrian people and Bashar al-Assad’s actions obstructing, disrupting, or preventing a ceasefire or a political solution to the Syrian conflict," the State Department said.

The move coincides with International Anti-Corruption Day, during which the US wanted to "promote accountability for perpetrators of corruption and human rights abuse around the world." 

The White House has provided a brief readout of a call on Monday between US President Joe Biden and King Abdullah II of Jordan, discussing the situation unfolding in Syria.

Biden "emphasized his full support for a Syrian-led transition process under the auspices of the United Nations," and "discussed the situation in eastern Syria to include the US commitment to the the [Defeat]-ISIS mission."

The US president also "emphasized the support of the United States for the stability of Jordan and Jordan’s central role in maintaining stability and de-escalating tensions throughout the Middle East region," the readout says.  

The US State Department said on Monday that Israel was acting in self-defence when its military invaded Syrian territory beyond the demilitarised buffer zone, following the removal of the Bashar al-Assad government by rebel groups.

On Sunday, Israeli forces moved from the occupied Golan Heights into a buffer zone between Israel and Syria, saying the end of Assad's rule meant that the 1974 "disengagement agreement" between the two countries had collapsed and "Syrian forces have abandoned their positions".

"I directed the [Israeli military] yesterday to seize the buffer zone and the commanding positions nearby. We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

However, several Israeli officials told The New York Times that Israeli forces advanced beyond that buffer zone and crossed into Syrian territory.

Read more: US repeats Israel's 'right to defend itself' after seizure of buffer zone with Syria

The HTS-led rebels who toppled Syria's Bashar al-Assad met elders in the former president's Alawite hometown on Monday and received their support, in what residents said was an encouraging sign of tolerance from the country's new rulers. 

How the rebels treat the sizeable Alawite population, who widely backed Assad and from whom he drew his personal presidential guards, is seen in Syria as a litmus test of whether the takeover of Damascus on Sunday leads to violent revenge against former Assad loyalists.

The rebel delegation visited Assad's hometown of Qardaha in the mountains of Latakia province in northwest Syria, meeting with dozens of religious men, elders and others at the town hall for a discussion, before the Alawite notables signed a statement of support, three residents said.

- Reporting by Reuters

Saudi Arabia believes Israel's seizure of a buffer zone in Syria shows its will to "ruin Syria's chance of restoring its security", the kingdom's foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.

- Reporting by Reuters

Washington will seek to contact Syrian rebel factions, including Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller indicated to reporters on Monday.

"We do have the ability to engage with organizations [that] have been designated [as terrorists]," Miller said.

"You might remember that the previous administration engaged with the Taliban while it was a designated terrorist organisation and struck an agreement to withdraw from Afghanistan with the Taliban, while the Taliban was a designated terrorist organisation. So we do have the ability, when it is in our interest legally, to communicate with a designated terrorist organisation. There are things you can't do under the law, but talking with people is not one of them when it comes to engagement with groups on the ground in Syria." 

Israel told the United Nations Security Council on Monday that it has taken "limited and temporary measures" in a demilitarised strip bordering Syria to counter any threats, particularly to residents of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

But those measures also appeared to involve several air strikes across western Syria, including facilities close to the capital, Damascus.

"It is important to emphasize, however, that Israel is not intervening in the ongoing conflict between Syrian armed groups; our actions are solely focused on safeguarding our security," Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon wrote in a letter to the 15-member council.

He said Israel remained committed to the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement framework.

- Reporting by Reuters

The head of US Central Command, General Michael Kurilla, met with Major General Yousef al-H'naity, chairman of the Jordanian joint chiefs of staff, in Amman on Monday for a discussion that included security concerns arising from the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. 

Kurilla "reiterated the US commitment to supporting Jordan should any threats arise from Syria", the statement from Centcom said. 

𝐔𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐂𝐎𝐌 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐉𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧

Today, Dec. 9, Gen. Kurilla met with Maj. Gen. Yousef Al-H'naity, Chairman of the Jordanian Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Amman, Jordan, and discussed efforts to enhance regional cooperation and security, strengthening… pic.twitter.com/wkveq7zDeD

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 9, 2024

The US says that journalist and former US Marine Austin Tice is still alive in Syria, where he has been held in Syria since 2012. 

Washington has deployed hostage affairs envoy Roger Carstens to Beirut as part of "intensive efforts" to find Tice after the fall of the Assad regime, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday warned that the Islamic State group will try to use this period to re-establish capabilities in Syria, but that the United States is determined not to let that happen.

He added that the Syrian people have to be the ones to choose their future, saying that statements by rebel leaders toward building inclusive governance are welcome, but that the real measure will be in the actions they take.

Reporting by Reuters 

Syrian doctors are rushing to help prisoners freed from Syria's Sednaya prison outside of Damascus.

Doctor Mustafa Mahmoud, who spoke to Middle East Eye, said the biggest concern is that prisoners will be severely malnourished and face a condition called "refeeding syndrome".

Syrian doctor Karim Aljaiz echoed Mahmoud’s concerns and explained that refeeding syndrome could lead to these prisoners dying.

The condition occurs when a malnourished person begins eating again, causing a sudden shift in electrolytes and fluids that can lead to dangerous complications such as heart failure, seizures, or respiratory issues. This happens because the body, after prolonged fasting or starvation, struggles to handle the rapid influx of nutrients, particularly carbohydrates, which trigger a surge in insulin and depletion of critical electrolytes like phosphate, potassium, and magnesium.

Aljaiz fears the families of prisoners will not be aware of this syndrome and inadvertently kill them by feeding them too much food after their release.

Read more: Prisoners freed from Nazi concentration camps at the end of World War II died within three days because their bodies, weakened by prolonged starvation, could not handle the sudden overfeeding by Soviet soldiers

An Aljazeera correspondent in Damascus is reporting that the explosions heard near the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday have been identified as Israeli air strikes. The Israelis have stepped up their attacks in light of what they say is a vacuum in Syrian governance and security. 

At least two explosions heard near the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday appear to have come from explosions near a government facility linked to chemical weapons production, witnesses have said. 

The Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Centre in Barzeh has been sanctioned by the US since 2005.

An Israeli air strike targeted an air defence installation near Syria's Mediterranean Latakia port, Syrian security sources said on Monday.

Reporting by Reuters

A Syrian opposition source has told Reuters that the US and Turkey have reached a deal for the US-backed Kurdish forces, otherwise known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to withdraw from the besieged town of Manbij, in northeastern Aleppo, Syria.

The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) mounted an offensive in the area, which began on 6 December, to push back against the SDF. Turkey links the SDF to the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, a designated terror group by Ankara.