We’ll shortly be ending our live coverage of the situation in Syria, where the country’s north-west has been struck by Russian air strikes.

Anti-government rebels have advanced in Aleppo, Syria’s second city, and Russia – historically a supporter of the government – has launched strikes in Aleppo and Idlib.

If you’re just coming to this story, there’s more coverage about this situation across the BBC.

• Our main news story will be updated throughout the evening with any key developments

• You can learn more about who the rebel forces leading the offensive are – and why they’re doing so – via this explainer from our Middle East regional editor

• You can also watch the moment the statue of the Syrian president's brother was torn down in Aleppo yesterday

• World Service's Global News podcast discussed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's pledge to defeat rebels earlier today

Thank you for joining us for today's coverage.

A fast-moving incursion in Syria puts pressure on Assadpublished at 16:56 Greenwich Mean Time 1 December 2024

16:56 GMT 1 December 2024

Lina Sinjab
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Beirut

This is a fast-moving offensive that has taken government forces in Syria and their allies by surprise.

President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to fight back and stop the rebels, whom he described as “terrorists”.

Assad still controls the skies and is striking rebel-held Idlib, but is also said to have sent messages to the Turks that he is ready to talk - a potential sign he is feeling under pressure.

It is hard to see the opposition being able to hold on to the territories they have captured, but the timing and speed of this operation is possibly sending messages to Assad it is time to cut ties with Iran.

All the areas that rebels have taken so far were at one point controlled by Iran-linked groups, primarily Hezbollah, which have been weakened by Israel.

The US also said Assad's forces had relinquished control of territories like Aleppo because the president relied too much on Russia and Iran.

These developments won’t bring about a big change that would see an end to President Assad’s power, but the changing dynamics on the ground could see the opposition fighters seizing on an opportunity to build up support.

Image source, EPA

Cities in Syria have been hit by Russian air strikes throughout the weekend, as anti-government rebels have advanced in Aleppo.

Hundreds of people have been killed in fighting since Wednesday, when the current offensive began.

Here are some key takeaways from our reporting over the past few hours:

• 372 people, including 48 civilians, have been killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The figure includes a child, university students and other civilians

• It comes as opposition fighters continue to advance towards several towns in the countryside surrounding Aleppo, SOHR reports

• Syria’s defence ministry says the government is preparing to launch a counter-offensive

• And the UN's special envoy to Syria has called the situation a "mark of collective failure" to enact a ceasefire in the country. As a reminder, this current conflict sits against the backdrop of an ongoing civil war

• Countries across the Middle East have been responding - including Iran whose foreign minister was due in Damascus today

• Earlier in the day, the city of Idlib - which is under opposition control - was hit by several Russian air strikes. Russia has historically been a supporter of the Syrian government

• This morning, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad pledged to "defend [Syria's] stability and territorial integrity"

Nick Beake
Europe correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

Besides the speculation about how events in Syria might affect the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, there's also some unease in Israel. This is reflected in today's newspapers and on TV news channels.

Many Israelis are mindful of the prominence of jihadis among the disparate groups of Syrian rebels now on the attack and the threat they may pose to Israel in the future, were they to continue to make gains against the Assad regime.

There’s also the prospect of Iran sending its own troops to Syria to support the government.

For now, all this is largely debate and discussion among columnists and military experts.

But the explosion of activity in Syria threatens to destabilise the Middle East even further - a region that’s been in a heightened state of flux ever since the Hamas attacks last year, which heralded a new bloody chapter.

Image source, Getty Images

The UN special envoy to Syria says that the current conflict is “a mark of collective failure” to bring about a ceasefire in the country.

“The Syrian parties and key international stakeholders need to be seriously engaged in meaningful and substantive negotiations to find a way out of the conflict”, Geir O. Pedersen says in a statement. “Without this, Syria is in danger of further division, deterioration, and destruction.”

In 2015, the UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted resolution 2254, which called for an end to hostilities. Pedersen also calls for “focus on a political solution” that aligns with the resolution.

The Syrian civil war has been ongoing since March 2011.

We can now bring you images from Idlib, a north-western Syrian city that has remained under opposition control.

Idlib was hit by strikes yesterday and this morning. Images show damaged cars and rubble in the streets.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Mahmoud Ali Hamad
BBC Monitoring

In Aleppo, sources on the ground describe a city caught between relief and apprehension.

While some residents are returning to their homes after years of displacement, welcoming the chance to rebuild their lives, others remain wary of the changing power dynamics.

Hope for stability is tempered by fear, particularly among women and vulnerable groups, who worry about the potential loss of freedoms.

Armed factions are engaging with civilians, offering reassurances that conditions will improve, but scepticism lingers after years of conflict and shifting control.

The recent return of large numbers of displaced residents has brought a sense of cautious optimism, yet the aftermath of air strikes and the ongoing tension serve as stark reminders that Aleppo’s future remains uncertain.

Footage from Saturday shows people pulling down a statue of the Syrian president's brother in Al Basel square in Aleppo.

The figure is of Bassel al-Assad, who was widely considered to inherit the presidency from his father before he was killed in a car crash in 1994.

As we previously reported, Russia launched strikes on the square yesterday, killing 16 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Nick Beake
European correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

The rapid gains of Syrian rebels prompted Benjamin Netanyahu to call an emergency meeting of Israel’s security cabinet on Friday night.

"We are constantly monitoring what is happening in Syria," he said during a visit to an army recruitment centre today.

Israel neighbours Syria through the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

There were reports in local Israeli media following the security meeting that intelligence chiefs had told the PM the latest developments in Syria could bolster the chances of the ceasefire reached this week with Hezbollah in Lebanon holding firm.

The thinking was that Hezbollah – which along with Iran and Russia have been staunch and decisive allies of the Syrian regime – would now be more focussed on trying to shore up support for President Assad in the face of the rebel’s swift advances.

However, there’s also speculation that the Israeli military may use this distraction to intensify attacks on any weapons found being funnelled from Syria into Lebanon, for potential future use by Hezbollah.

At least 48 civilians have been killed since fighting between anti-government rebels and the Syrian army intensified on Wednesday.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says that at least 372 people have been killed so far.

The organisation says that the civilian deaths include:

• One child was killed during strikes in Al-Atareb
• Four university students killed in rocket fire by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham at a student dormitory in Aleppo
• Four people were killed in Russian air strikes on a refugee camp in Idlib
• 16 killed in the air strikes on Al-Basel roundabout, which we reported on yesterday
• 23 killed in Russian air strikes on various areas of Idlib and in areas of Al-Atareb and Darat Izza (both located in the western countryside of Aleppo)

Russian air strikes have killed five people near Aleppo's University Hospital, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which monitors the death toll in the country.

Russian fighter jets carried out four strikes on the hospital, SOHR says.

A "large number of people" have been injured, the organisation says.

Syria has vowed to fight back after rebel fighters took control of the country's second largest city, with air strikes conducted by the Syrian and Russian airforces.

We've recently received this video from the White Helmets, a network of volunteers on the ground in Syria who conduct search and rescue operations after attacks in the country.

It shows the destruction on the streets of Idlib, a north-western city in Syria, which was hit by air strikes earlier today.

Idlib, as we've been mentioning, is the last remaining opposition stronghold in the country.

As we've been reporting, opposition fighters have taken control of Aleppo and are continuing to push into several towns in the countryside near Syria's fourth largest city, Hama, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says.

And elsewhere, Russian air strikes have hit parts of Idlib and Hama, the monitor adds.

We've also been reporting that Iran is sending its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, to Syria's capital of Damascus today.

Here's a look at where all these places sit within the wider region:

From the skies, Assad will try to bring country back under controlpublished at 12:53 Greenwich Mean Time 1 December 2024

12:53 GMT 1 December 2024

Lina Sinjab
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Beirut

As we just reported, the Syrian government is preparing to stage a counter attack.

It’s called up reinforcements, while its Russian allies bomb rebel forces in both Aleppo and in Idlib province - which has long been under their control.

The opposition fighters' offensive took everyone by surprise when it was launched earlier this week, and President Assad’s allies are now trying to bring the situation back under control.

The Iranian foreign minister is en route to Damascus and will then travel to Turkey, which backs some of the rebel forces in Syria.

Ankara is believed to be pushing for talks that Assad has long ignored.

It is uncertain whether the rebels will be able to hold the Syrian territories that they currently hold, particularly when Assad's forces have control over the skies and can conduct air strikes from overhead.

The Syrian defence ministry says the government is preparing to launch a counter-offensive against the rebel forces who have taken control of the country's second city of Aleppo.

In an update posted on the ministry's Facebook page, it says that both Russian and Syrian warplanes have conducted more air strikes on opposition fighters in northern Idlib and Hama provinces.

Idlib, not far from the border with Turkey, is the last remaining opposition stronghold.

The ministry says in a statement it is "intensifying its precise strikes on the movement of the fleeing terrorists".

Troops, rocket launchers and heavy military hardware have arrived in northern Hama to beat back rebel fighters, it adds.

Image source, Getty Images

• Russia has carried out "a series of air strikes" in Syria today, hitting rural parts of Idlib and Hama where the group leading the rebel offensive has "recently taken control", according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR)
• Opposition fighters now have control of Syria's second city - Aleppo - and are continuing to push south into several towns in the countryside near Hama - Syria's fourth largest city, SOHR says
• The Islamist militant group known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions backed by Turkey are leading the surprise offensive that was launched on Wednesday
• Syria's president has vowed to "defend [Syria's] stability and territorial integrity in the face of all terrorists and their backers"
• More than 370 people - including at least 20 civilians - have been killed since Wednesday, the UK-based monitor says

Nearly 400 people have been killed - including at least 20 civilians - since Syrian rebels staged an offensive against the government of President Bashar al-Assad last week, a human rights organisation says.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 372 people have been killed since the major offensive began in north-western Syria on Wednesday.

This total includes civilians and military personnel, the group adds.

Image source, Getty Images

In the days since rebel forces launched a major offensive in north-western Syria, regional allies and opponents of President Bashar al-Assad's have all been looking on nervously.

Here's a quick look at what they've been saying:

• Iran, one of Assad's main allies, is sending its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, to Damascus today to discuss the ongoing crisis
• The Iranian foreign minister will then travel to Turkey, a country that backs certain rebel factions
• Yesterday, Araghchi held a call with his Russian counterpart, during which the pair spoke about the "need for coordination" between Russia, Iran and Turkey
• The US, who supported rebel forces during the Syrian civil war, says it has nothing to do with the ongoing offensive. A White House spokesman has said the situation was the result of the Assad regime's refusal to engage in a political process, and its reliance on Russia and Iran
• In response to the rebel push, Russia has launched "a series of air strikes" onrural parts of north-western Syria, a day after hitting Aleppo for the first time since 2016, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says

An update now from our earlier report on the Russian air strikes that hit the north-western city of Idlib.

Four people have been killed and around 50 people wounded in the Sunday morning strikes, the Syrian Observatory for Human rights says in an updated death toll.

Earlier, one person was reported to have died.

As we've been reporting, the city of Idlib has been hit by several Russian air strikes on Sunday morning, killing at least one person, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

Russia has long been a key supporter of the Syrian government, and its air force launched a campaign in support of the Syrian president in 2015 that crucially turned the war in his favour.

On Saturday, Moscow carried out strikes on Aleppo, hitting the second largest city for the first time since 2016.

Here's a look at Idlib this morning:

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP