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

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has criticised Israel for launching strikes on Syria and expanding its territory further into the occupied Golan Heights after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Guterres described Israel’s actions as “deeply concerning” and called for the Israelis to stop firing into Syria and respect its sovereignty.

“The secretary-general is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria,” the UN said in a statement, calling for urgent de-escalation “on all fronts, throughout Syria".

“The secretary-general is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria.

“He stresses the urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts, throughout Syria.”

Read more: UN chief ‘concerned’ by Israel expanding into Golan Heights and Syria strikes

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has documented 35,000 cases of enforced disappearance in Syria during the past 13 years.

In a statement, the ICRC urged all parties in Syria to protect critical records, including those detailing detainees and deceased individuals. "These records hold vital information that could provide long-awaited answers for the families of the missing," the organisation stated.

The plea comes amid fears that ongoing conflict may lead to the destruction of such essential documents, further compounding the suffering of affected families.

For our generation, the fall of the Assad regime marks the end of a historical chapter, coming more than a decade after the Syrian regime - backed by Russia and Iran - brutally suppressed the Syrian revolution, shattering the dreams of democratisation held by many young people across the Arab world.

But on Sunday, as Syrian opposition forces entered Damascus and ended the Assad family’s decades-long rule, we were reminded of a fundamental truth: no tyrannical regime or colonial entity can endure forever, as long as human resistance and the inherent desire for dignity and freedom persist.  

Naturally, the world is preoccupied with questions about Syria’s future, and with good reason. Will the country’s political transition lead to democracy, or will it spiral into endless sectarian and religious conflicts that threaten its very existence? 

Despite all possible scenarios, nothing can justify the horrors of Syria’s prisons, or the unimaginable suffering inflicted on men, women and even children born into a living hell.

Read more: Syria after Assad: As a new era dawns, could there be hope for Palestine?

Geir Pedersen, the UN envoy for Syria, has highlighted ongoing difficulties in achieving stability in the war-torn nation. Speaking through his spokesperson in Geneva, Pedersen acknowledged some progress but emphasised that "many challenges" persist, with the overall situation described as "very fluid."

Jenifer Fenton, Pedersen’s spokesperson, announced that the envoy will travel to Jordan this weekend to engage with Arab foreign ministers. He is also scheduled to meet Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the region's volatile dynamics.

Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), has highlighted Syria’s worsening humanitarian crisis, describing it as a “triple crisis” stemming from a 13-year civil war, an influx of people fleeing the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, and the abrupt ousting of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad.

“It’s a triple crisis, and the needs are going to be massive,” Skau told The Associated Press.

Even before the current turmoil, more than 3 million Syrians were experiencing acute food insecurity, with the WFP struggling to assist all of them due to significant funding cuts, Skau revealed.

While the situation in Aleppo remains “quite calm and orderly,” he noted ongoing challenges in Damascus, where market disruptions, a plummeting currency, surging food prices, and limited transport options are creating widespread uncertainty.

The crisis underscores the mounting pressure on humanitarian agencies as they contend with a lack of resources to address Syria’s escalating needs.

The overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has emptied the country's jails.

Many of those who have emerged after years or decades of confinement are pale and starving. Frequently they bear the marks of Assad’s torturers.

Few places are worse than the sprawling Sednaya Prison, around 30km north of Damascus, where thousands are believed to have been executed in what was known as the “Human Slaughterhouse".

The methods employed by Bashar are a continuation of those of his father Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria between 1970 and 2000.

Such practices were in part learned from Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner, who lived in Syria for more than half his life and who served as an adviser to the state on repressing dissent and establishing a regime of torture.

Read more: The Nazi who helped the Assads torture Syrians

President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering a significant change in policy towards Iran, with military action among the options under review to limit the country’s nuclear programme, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The report outlines various strategies being discussed, including a potential US-led preemptive strike or backing Israeli operations targeting Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan.

Two sources familiar with the matter revealed that Trump had informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is seeking proposals to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan recently spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the evolving situation in Syria and Gaza, Reuters reported.

Fidan confirmed that the discussions focused on the potential roles both Turkey and the US could play in Syria's future. "We discussed the situation in Syria and Gaza," Fidan stated.

Blinken, for his part, noted that there is broad consensus on the desired outcomes for Syria. He also emphasised the importance of continuing efforts to control ISIS, in line with ongoing security priorities.

Regarding Gaza, Blinken highlighted encouraging developments, suggesting that a ceasefire could soon be possible. 

Omar knew something was up around 5am, when he heard cries of “Allahu Akbar” coming from the direction of the Assad family residences.

He was at home, following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government online, but he hadn’t expected the rebels to reach central Damascus so quickly.

“I immediately rushed towards Assad’s house. I had to see for myself that he was gone,” Omar tells Middle East Eye, crunching over broken glass as he retraces his footsteps from Saturday night. “My feet took me here, not my brain.”

Omar, who like many Syrians still has an institutional fear of speaking freely and wished to use a pseudonym, says the first thing he noticed was the smell. “It was a presidential scent,” he says.

Occasionally it still rises from the corners of this multi-story villa in the Malki neighbourhood of the Syrian capital, a musty cedar. 

Read more: A tour of Assad’s homes with the Syrians who stormed them

Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz has confirmed that the peaks of Mount Hermon in Syria have been fully occupied.

In a statement, Katz described the moment as "a touching historical moment," recalling a visit to the Golan Heights with Prime Minister Netanyahu, where they observed the occupied peaks of Syrian Mount Hermon.

Katz also revealed that he had instructed the military to prepare to maintain a presence on the summit of Mount Hermon throughout the winter, emphasising the strategic security importance of Israel's control over the area, particularly given the ongoing instability in Syria

Syrian opposition groups have reported the destruction of significant quantities of Captagon, a potent narcotic, found at the Mezzeh military airport in Damascus Al Jazera Arabic reported.

The opposition forces, after seizing both the drugs and the equipment used for their production, carried out the destruction and incineration of the confiscated materials.

Over 1.1 million people have been displaced in Syria since violence between opposition groups and forces of the deposed al-Assad regime intensified on 27 November, according to the United Nations.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) highlighted that women and children make up the majority of those uprooted. Its latest report detailed significant displacement figures: nearly 640,000 fled Aleppo governorate, 334,000 left Idlib, and 136,000 escaped from Hama.

Simultaneously, around 438,000 displaced individuals have sought refuge in Idlib, with 170,000 moving to Hama and 123,000 to rural Damascus.

The report also noted that over 400,000 displaced people are now housed in 240 collective shelters across Syria’s northeastern regions, where they receive essential aid, including food, hygiene kits, and psychological support.

Since the escalation began, nearly 700,000 people across Aleppo, Idlib, Homs, and Hama have received food assistance, OCHA added, as humanitarian efforts struggle to keep pace with the growing crisis.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has dispatched emergency “war wounded kits” to Syria to address the growing need for medical aid.

The kits, designed to treat gunshot injuries, have been delivered to al-Mwasat and al-Mujtahid hospitals in Damascus, with additional supplies set to reach other facilities soon, the ICRC confirmed.

“The already overstretched healthcare system in Syria needs more support,” the organisation stated, underscoring the dire situation faced by medical institutions across the country.

The United Nations estimates that more than 1.1 million people have been displaced in Syria since 27 November due to intensifying clashes between al-Assad regime forces and opposition groups.

Key developments:

• Raqqa shooting: Over 40 people were injured in an incident in Raqqa, a city controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). SDF chief Mazloum Abdi pledged accountability, stating, “any party proven to be involved” would face consequences

• US charges against Syrian official: The US Justice Department has charged Samir Ousman Alsheikh, a former head of Damascus Central Prison, with torturing detainees. Alsheikh has been in the United States since 2020

• Call for prosecution in Turkey: Bagimsiz Avukatlar, an independent Turkish lawyers’ association, has filed a criminal complaint with Istanbul prosecutors. The group demands the prosecution of former al-Assad regime officials for alleged crimes committed at Sednaya Prison

• Opposition push for transitional government: A representative of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, a Syrian opposition group in exile, has urged the United Nations to play a role in establishing a transitional government for Syria

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

Syria's interim government vowed on Thursday to institute the "rule of law" and said that new committees would be formed to weigh in on a constitution. The new government's spokesman told AFP on Thursday that the country's constitution and parliament would be suspended for the duration of a three-month transition.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Russia is nearing an agreement with Syria’s new government to keep two strategic military bases in the country. 

Other developments: 

• The World Food Programme (WFP) said it is increasing its food assistance programme in Syria 
• UN chief Antonio Guterres said he is deeply concerned by “the recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” by Israel 
• Turkey will reopen its embassy in Syria 
• Jordan will host a Syria crisis summit