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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
SYRIA
The leader of Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group yesterday told Reuters he would dissolve the Assad regime’s security forces and close its prisons, adding that the rebel forces are working with international organizations to secure chemical weapons sites. Maya Gebeily and Timour Azhari report.
Syria’s former ruling party yesterday said it is suspending its work and activities until further notice and that all of its property, funds, and weapons will be handed to Syrian government bodies. Kareem El Damanhoury reports for CNN.
HTS fighters yesterday claimed they took control of Deir al-Zour, an eastern Syrian city previously controlled by the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Separately, SDF and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) said they reached an agreement for the SDF to withdraw from the city of Manbij following a U.S.-brokered ceasefire effort. Leo Sands reports for the Washington Post.
Russian naval and commercial activity in the Syrian port of Tartarus has ceased since the fall of the Assad regime, satellite imagery and ship tracking data shows. Christiaan Triebert and Riley Mellen report for the New York Times.
Recent Israeli strikes have targeted more than 15 military aircraft at Syria’s Marj Ruhayyil Airbase, satellite imagery shows. The IDF also said it has confiscated several Syrian tanks along the buffer zone and seized a weapons cache at a Syrian observation post. Avery Schmitz reports for CNN.
HTS received 150 drones and other support from Ukrainian intelligence operatives to help with its assault against Assad, according to sources familiar with Ukrainian military activities. David Ignatius reports for the Washington Post.
Displaced civilians who fled to Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria to escape the rebel coalition assault on Assad’s regime are facing “dire conditions,” Human Rights Watch said yesterday. Michael Rios reports for CNN.
SYRIA — U.S. RESPONSE
Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday travelled to Jordan and Turkey to promote a “Syrian-led transition” in Damascus, the State Department said. Separately, Blinken said he is “not confident” the HTS will keep their word about protecting minorities in Syria. Michael Birnbaum reports for the Washington Post; Michael Conte reports for CNN.
Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Brendan Boyle (D-PA) urged Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to suspend some sanctions on Syria. Maya Gebeily reports for Reuters.
SYRIA — REGIONAL RESPONSE
An SDF commander yesterday accused the United States of abandoning its Kurdish allies in Syria and leaving a “vacuum” that “ISIS and other actors” can take advantage of as the SDF seeks to fight off the SNA. Eve Sampson reports for the New York Times.
SYRIA — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
France yesterday called on Israel to withdraw its forces from the Golan demilitarized zone and respect the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Syria. Tom Nicholson reports for POLITICO.
Spain’s foreign minister yesterday called on the international community to establish “red lines” in talks with the new Syrian leadership. Reuters reports.
The global chemical weapons watchdog will hold an emergency meeting today to discuss the situation in Syria. Molly Quell reports for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Hamas has for the first time agreed to a temporary Israeli presence in Gaza after a ceasefire and handed over a list of hostages it would release, Arab mediators said. Summer Said reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Israeli overnight strikes killed at least 15 people trying to guard convoys travelling through southern Gaza, the territory’s civil defense service said. Israeli bombings killed at least 35 Palestinians in total today, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA. Hajar Harb and Claire Parker report for the Washington Post; Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
Strikes in north Gaza’s Beit Lahia killed or left under rubble more than 30 people over the last day, the Kamal Adwan hospital’s director said. Separately, the Hamas-run Health Ministry’s Director General told the Washington Post Israeli forces had besieged Beit Hanoun’s Indonesian hospital. Miriam Berger and Heba Farouk Mahfouz report.
Death feels imminent for 96% of children in Gaza, a new study by a Gaza-based NGO sponsored by the War Child Alliance charity found. Julian Borger reports for the Guardian.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The U.N. General Assembly yesterday overwhelmingly supported an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and reversing Israel’s ban on the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Edith M. Lederer reports for AP News.
The prosecutor leading the ICC’s Palestine investigation, Andrew Cayley, yesterday said the claims about the presence of Hamas fighters in hospitals in Gaza have been “grossly exaggerated.” Harry Davies reports for the Guardian.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT
Gen. Michael Kurilla visited Beirut yesterday to monitor the withdrawal of the first Israeli troops from Lebanon, CENTCOM said yesterday. Eric Beech reports for Reuters.
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION AND NEW CONGRESS
FBI director Christopher Wray yesterday announced he intends to resign before President-elect Trump takes office, clearing the path for Trump’s intended nominee Kash Patel. Adam Goldman and Devlin Barrett report for the New York Times.
Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration in January, sources say. It is unclear whether Xi has accepted. Jennifer Jacobs reports for CBS News.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, Zuckerberg’s latest attempt to bolster his relationship with the President-elect. Dana Mattioli and Rebecca Ballhaus report for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoning 39 more convicted of nonviolent crimes, the White House announced today. Leo Sands reports for the Washington Post.
The House of Representatives yesterday passed a contentious defense policy bill that would deny coverage for transgender health care for the children of service members. Karoun Demirjian reports for the New York Times.
Far-right militias are seeking to insert themselves into the Trump administration’s deportation plans, though Trump spokespeople have said they will rely on official resources. Alan Feuer reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Senior Treasury Department officials will travel to China this week as part of Biden’s final push to reinforce communication channels between Washington and Beijing. Alan Rappeport reports for the New York Times.
Biden is pushing U.S. national security agencies to devise new strategies to tackle the deepening ties between Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China, U.S. officials say. Trevor Hunnicutt reports for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia could launch its new Oreshnik ballistic missile against Ukraine again soon, the Pentagon said yesterday. Separately, Russia yesterday claimed Ukraine struck a military airfield with U.S.-made ATACMS missiles and said the attack “will not go unanswered.” Aamer Madgani, Lolita C. Baldor, and Tara Copp report for AP News; Reuters reports.
Russian forces are less than two miles from the key eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk after making advances yesterday, according to the Ukrainian mapping service DeepState. Sophie Tanno, Kostyantyn Hak, and Darya Tarasova-Markina report for CNN.
EU envoys yesterday agreed a new raft of sanctions targeting Russia’s shadow fleet. Separately, Russia’s Foreign Ministry yesterday said Moscow could seize Western assets on its territory to retaliate for the U.S. transfer of $20 billion to Ukraine. AP News reports; Reuters reports.
SOUTH KOREA MARTIAL LAW CRISIS
South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol today delivered a defiant speech attempting to justify his decision to impose martial law, as the country’s ruling party announced it supports impeachment after failing to persuade Yoon to resign. Gawon Bae, Jerome Taylor, Helen Regan, and Lex Harvey report for CNN.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
A blast in Kabul yesterday killed a senior Taliban minister, the group’s spokesperson said, claiming the local branch of the self-styled Islamic State group was responsible. Rick Noack and Haq Nawaz Khan report for the Washington Post.
Australia’s government today announced plans to charge big tech firms millions of dollars if they do not pay Australian media companies for news hosted on their platforms. Praveen Menon and Wayne Cole report for Reuters.
Somalia and Ethiopia will work together to resolve a dispute over Addis Ababa’s plan to build a port in Somaliland, the countries’ leaders announced yesterday. Reuters reports.
More than 40 people have been killed over the last week in violence between two feuding communities in western Democratic Republic of Congo, the Congolese army said. Yassin Kombi reports for Reuters.