The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has denied reports that Israeli tanks are advancing towards Damascus.

A source quoted by Reuters news agency earlier said that the Israeli military was 25km (15 miles) from the Syrian capital and that troops had reached Qatana, which is 10 km (six miles) into Syrian territory east of a demilitarised zone separating Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.

An IDF official tells the BBC that their forces are stationed "within the buffer zone, as stated in the past".

"Reports circulating in the media about the alleged advancement of Israeli tanks towards Damascus are false," the official adds.

On Sunday, Israel's prime minister announced that its military has temporarily seized control of the demilitarised buffer zone in the Golan Heights, a rocky plateau in south-west Syria, extending towards north-east Israel.

It follows Syrian rebel fighters capturing the capital, Damascus, and toppling Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Earlier, Syrian civil defence group White Helmets announced that their teams had finished searching Saydnaya prison.

For people like Hiba Abdulhakim Qasawaad from the Syrian city of Homs, whose family disappeared during Assad's rule, this news doesn't bring any relief about their relatives' whereabouts.

Speaking to our colleagues on the Today programme, she describes how her two brothers, father, and grandfather were all taken from their home to an unknown location in January 2013, when she was just 12 years old.

Hiba says she expected her family to return soon, but eleven years later, there's still no sign of them.

Now that prisoners from places like Saydnaya have been released, the 24-year-old says the wait for news is agonising.

“Now freedom rings like a bell too loud for ears accustomed to silence,“ she says.

“We don’t know what will happen next; all we can do is keep searching," she adds.

In the past few days, we've had reporters in Damascus bringing you the latest updates.

We're also sending more experts to give you deeper insights into the situation.

"It's really early days at the moment. We don't know the degree of control [HTS] have outside the capital," says the BBC's Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen on Radio 4 this morning while on his way to Damascus.

"Clearly the regime has collapsed but Syria has dozens of armed groups, some of which are jihadists that have not converted and changed in the way HTS says it has."

Bowen notes that while it's a moment of opportunity for the Syrian people, "there are dangers ahead," as the precedent from Iraq and Libya suggests there could be a "chaotic situation" following the fall of a dictator.

• You can read more from Jeremy Bowen's latest article here

New images are coming in from Syria, including shots from Damascus showing smoke billowing above the city after Israeli air strikes.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, PA Media

Yesterday, we reported that the UK has paused asylum decisions on cases from Syria.

This morning, a Home Office minister explains the decision, citing the “fluid” situation in the country.

“We can’t judge somebody’s asylum claim when the country that they are fleeing from is in such turmoil and the regime they fled from has disappeared,” Dame Angela Eagle tells BBC Radio 4.

When asked about the fate of Syrians whose claims are currently being processed in the UK, Eagle says: “We're not planning any deportations back to a situation that is as fluid as the one in Syria at the moment, countries have to be safe.”

Image source, Getty Images

Footage and images showing the conditions in Bashar al-Assad’s detention centres are "shocking" but "not surprising", the UN’s Syria Commission coordinator says.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Linnea Arvidsson explains that UN teams have been gathering information on Syria's detention centres since 2011 by speaking to former detainees, but only gained access to the centres themselves yesterday.

"To see these underground cells, windowless, where people spent years and decades without sunlight is just harrowing," she says. "The conditions we had heard about truly match what we’re seeing."

The commissioner notes that previous attempts to prosecute these wrongs through the International Criminal Court (ICC) had been "vetoed", and the ICC lacks jurisdiction in Syria. However, Arvidsson suggests justice should now be pursued through any available means.

"It's a new day in Syria and suddenly the possibilities for local efforts are opening up, which has not been the case since 2011," she explains.

Earlier this morning, a series of large explosions rocked Damascus in what appeared to be a series of air strikes.

BBC reporters in the Syrian capital heard the sound of warplanes as well as drones flying above the city.

As we've reported, a war monitor says there have been over 300 Israeli air strikes on Syrian territory since the fall of the Assad regime.

Syrian media reports also say Israeli warplanes have carried out dozens of attacks across the country, including Damascus, in the past 48 hours.

Image source, Getty Images

Yesterday, we reported on Israeli air strikes in Syrian territory. Now, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has updated its figures, stating there have been around 310 Israeli air strikes on Syrian territory since the fall of the Assad regime.

These strikes have hit defence factories, weapons and ammunition depots, airports, and scientific research centres. Locations include the outskirts of Damascus, the Qudsaya area in the Damascus countryside, and the Salamiyah countryside east of Hama, according to the SOHR.

Israel says it is acting to stop weapons falling "into the hands of extremists" following the overthrow of the Assad regime.

Image source, Getty Images

Robert Petit, head of the UN’s accountability mechanism, told BBC Newsnight he believes “accountability will take place” in Syria after the Assad regime falls.

Petit said: “There needs to be accountability, certainly for those most responsible for the architects of these crimes. And when it comes to lower level perpetrators, then various means of justice and accountability can take place.”

When asked if Israeli strikes might hinder evidence preservation, Petit said: “I'm concerned about the protection of civilians. That's why time is of the essence to preserve that evidence... Syrian civil society has been leading in terms of documenting atrocities and preserving evidence is very much at the forefront of their task.”

Last night, Syria’s main Islamist rebel leader said the country’s new government will pursue individuals involved in torturing prisoners.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've reported earlier, Syria's main Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has announced plans to list officials from Assad's government who oversaw torture during his rule. They will also offer rewards for information on officers involved in war crimes.

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani said they would publish the names of those involved in torture and seek repatriation for those who fled to other countries.

He added that rewards will be given for information about senior army and security officers involved in "war crimes".

You can read more on Abu Mohammed al-Jolani here

As investigations into Assad's detention centres continue, rebel fighters reported last night that they found nearly 40 bodies in a hospital morgue, showing signs of torture.

AFP news agency says it heard directly from one rebel fighter, who told them: “I opened the door of the morgue with my own hands, it was a horrific sight: about 40 bodies were piled up showing signs of gruesome torture.”

AFP also says it has seen photographs and video of the allegedly tortured bodies.

“We informed the military command of what we found and co-ordinated with the Syrian Red Crescent, which transported the bodies to a Damascus hospital, so that families can come and identify them," the rebel fighter reportedly tells the news agency.

The BBC has not independently verified this report, but we're working to find out more and will give you further details as we get them.

UN Security Council members will work on a statement on Syria in the coming days, according to US and Russian diplomats after the 15-member body convened.

Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said: "The council, I think, was more or less united on the need to preserve the territorial integrity and unity of Syria, to ensure the protection of civilians, to ensure that humanitarian aid is coming to the needy population."

Diplomats also said there had been no discussion about removing HTS from the sanctions list.

Throughout Syria's civil war, Russia often provided diplomatic support for the now-deposed Syrian president Assad in the UN Security Council. The council has met multiple times to discuss the country's political and humanitarian issues.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image source, Reuters

The Syrian civil defence group, known as the White Helmets, has announced the end of search operations at Saydnaya prison, after investigating reports from survivors about people still being held in underground cells.

The group, which had earlier deployed "specialised emergency teams" at the prison, says the search "did not uncover any unopened or hidden areas within the facility".

It's estimated that over 30,000 detainees at Saydnaya prison were either executed or died due to torture, lack of medical care, or starvation between 2011 and 2018. Human rights organisations have previously called it a “human slaughterhouse”.

Saydnaya is among the prisons that were liberated as rebels took control of Syria over the weekend.

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Good morning. It's around 09:30 in Syria (06:30 GMT), where people are celebrating after Bashar al-Assad fled. However, there are also fears for those who suffered under Assad's rule, with searches for loved ones focusing on Saydnaya prison.

Attention now turns to what a new government might look like and the possible consequences for those who supported Assad's brutal regime.

This morning, the leader of Syria’s main Islamist rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), stated that authorities will list former regime officials who oversaw torture under Assad’s rule and will offer rewards for information about officers involved in war crimes.

This follows reports from rebel fighters who say they've found more than 40 bodies in a hospital morgue showing signs of torture.

We'll bring you updates throughout the day as we get them. Stay with us.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

It's been another significant day in Syria and the wider Middle East.

We're about to pause our live page but before we go here's a quick summary of today's main developments:

• Israel has carried out more than 100 air strikes in Syria on Monday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
• Military sites have been targeted in the capital Damascus, as well as Daraa, Latakia and Hama, the UK-based human rights organisation says
• Israel has said the strikes are intended to stop extremists from getting hold of weapons
• Meanwhile, huge crowds of Syrians have travelled to Sednaya prison - one of the worst prisons in the Middle East - looking for their loved ones
• Elsewhere, the UK has paused asylum decisions on cases from Syria after other European countries did the same
• Top US diplomat Antony Blinken says the Islamic State group will try to use this period to re-establish capabilities in Syria
• And the Syrian rebel groups that overthrew the government say they will grant amnesty to all military personnel conscripted into the army during his rule

You can continue reading about the latest developments in Syria with these stories:

• Shaken by Assad's sudden fall, Syria faces seismic turning point
• Saydnaya Prison: Mapping the Assads' 'human slaughterhouse'
• Syrian asylum seekers in limbo as countries stop applications
• Assad's police threatened to bury me and my reporting. Now I'm back, and free

Image source, Reuters

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron say they are "ready to co-operate with the new leadership" of Syria "on the basis of fundamental human rights and the protection of ethnic and religious minorities".

A statement by the German Chancellery says they spoke of "the importance of preserving Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty" and say the European Union will support "inclusive political processes" in Syria.

Shaken by Assad's sudden fall, Syria faces seismic turning pointpublished at 22:23 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

22:23 GMT 9 December 2024

Jeremy Bowen
International Editor

Image source, EPA

In the end the Assad regime was so hollow, corrupt and decayed that it collapsed in less than a fortnight.

No-one I have spoken to has been anything other than astonished by the speed with which the regime turned to dust.

In the spring of 2011, the year of the Arab uprisings, it was different, when Syrians tried to grab some of the revolutionary magic that had swept away the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt and was threatening the veteran strongmen of Libya and Yemen.

By 2011, the regime created by Hafez al-Assad and passed to his son Bashar on his death in 2000 was already corrupt and decadent.

But the system that Hafez built still had much of the brutal, ruthless strength that he believed was necessary to control Syria. Assad senior had seized power in a country that was prone to coups and delivered it to his son and heir without a significant challenge.

Bashar al-Assad went back to his father's playbook in 2011.

Image source, Reuters

It is hard to imagine now, but back then he had more legitimacy among some of Syria's population than the old dictators swept away by crowds chanting the slogan of that year - "The people want the fall of the regime".

Bashar al-Assad was a vocal supporter of the Palestinians and of Hezbollah during its successful fight against Israel in the 2006 Lebanon war. He was younger than the ex and soon to be former Arab leaders.

Since his father's death he had been promising reform. Some Syrians still wanted to believe him in 2011, hoping demonstrations were the spur he needed for the change that he had promised, until he ordered his men to shoot peaceful demonstrators dead in the streets.

• Read more on this story by following this link

Kasra Naji
Special Correspondent, BBC Persian TV

Image source, Reuters

Hard-line Islamist MPs packing the Iranian parliament are angry at the speed with which the Islamic republic’s biggest investment in the region has come to nothing.

Iran supported the Assad regime throughout the civil war in Syria, with arms, troops, oil and money.

Thousands of soldiers Iran sent to Syria were killed in the battles.

Syria provided a land corridor to supply Hezbollah in Lebanon with weapons.

But for the moment Iranian officials are keeping quiet. And the top commanders of the Revolutionary Guard, are nowhere to be seen.

Iran’s supreme leader is said to be planning to speak on the subject on Wednesday.

Image source, Getty Images

Only the Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has been speaking publicly.

He says Iran was taken off-guard by how little resistance the Syrian army put up, and how fast the rebels advanced on Damascus.

“We were never meant to replace the Syrian army,” he says. But he is putting on a brave face – saying the so-called axis of resistance – the coalition of previously Iran, Syria, and armed militias in the region – will continue to fight Israel – now without Syria.

Syria was the central plank of taking the fight to Israel’s borders.

Now this policy is in shambles. Iran will have to pick itself up and think again.

Feras Kilani
BBC Arabic’s special correspondent

Image source, EPA

As we've been reporting, thousands of Syrians are at Sednaya Prison - one of the worst prisons in the Middle East - looking for their loved ones. They don't know if they are still alive or have been killed.

"My son, son-in-law, and my sister’s husband have been detained for around 10 years and we do not know anything," Fatima tells me.

Some believe that there's a secret entrance from the kitchen to some place with hidden doors, but they don't know where this is.

Khaild, who has also came to the prison, is urging the prison guards to return and tell them how they can get the detainees out.

Amer Qassoum from the White Helmets says they cannot confirm the presence of more detainees.

"We are doing what we can, through the help of search dogs, available tools and previous detainees," he says.

Image source, Reuters

Let's bring you some reaction to the latest developments in Syria from the United States' top diplomat, Antony Blinken:

• The US Secretary of State says Bashar al-Assad being overthrown in Syria is a great opportunity but is one which "carries considerable risk" - something the United States "will not let that happen"
• The Islamic State group will try to use this period to re-establish capabilities in Syria, Blinken says
• He adds that the Syrian people have to be the ones to choose their future
• Finally, Blinken says Washington has a clear interest to avoid the "fragmentation of Syria, the export of terrorism and extremism"