Russia confirms humiliated Assad has fled Syria after rebels liberated Damascus, as Israel ‘strikes military sites across the country’: Live Updates

Israeli forces have seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

It came after a lightning rebel advance early on Sunday ended Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

Mr Netanyahu said the decades-old agreement had collapsed and Syrian troops had abandoned their positions, necessitating the Israeli takeover to protect Israeli residents.

Israel’s military later warned residents of five southern Syria communities to stay home for their safety.

It did not respond to further requests for comment.

Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it. The international community, except for the United States, views it as occupied Syrian territory.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday hailed the end of Syria’s ‘dictatorial regime’ and urged the country to rebuild after president Bashar al-Assad’s sudden fall. Guterres said in a statement:

After 14 years of brutal war and the fall of the dictatorial regime, today the people of Syria can seize an historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future. I reiterate my call for calm and avoiding violence at this sensitive time, while protecting the rights of all Syrians, without distinction.”

Iran’s foreign ministry said in statement that Iran respects Syria’s unity and national sovereignty and called for ‘the swift end of military conflicts, the prevention of terrorist actions, and the commencement of national dialogue’ with all sectors of Syrian society.

Tehran said it would continue to support international mechanisms for pursuing the political process, adding that long-standing and friendly relations between the Iranian and Syrian nations are expected to continue.

As the sunsets in Damascus, reports are emerging of massive explosions being heard across the capital.

This follows prewvious reports that Israel has struck government secuirty buildings in the city.

BBC News has reported currently unverifed claims that Israel had struck a major security complex in the Kafr Sousa district along with a research centre where it had previously said Iranian scientists developed missiles.

This is the heartbreaking moment a toddler is seen walking out of a Syrian prison cell inside tyrant President Bashar al-Assad’s ‘human slaughterhouse’.

The little boy stands by the unlocked cell doors looking confused as rebel soldiers shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ – meaning ‘God is greatest’ – as they free hundreds of inmates.

Read the full story below.

Celebrations have erupted around Syria and crowds ransacked President Bashar al-Assad’s luxurious home on Sunday after Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus and declared he had fled the country, in a spectacular end to five decades of Baath party rule.

Assad’s whereabouts were not clear, but his key backer Russia said he had resigned from the presidency and left Syria.

Residents in the capital were seen cheering in the streets as the rebel factions heralded the departure of ‘tyrant’ Assad, saying: ‘We declare the city of Damascus free.’

AFPTV footage showed a column of smoke rising from central Damascus, and AFP correspondents in the city saw dozens of men, women and children wandering through Assad’s home after it had been looted.

The rooms of the residence had been left completely empty, save some furniture and a portrait of Assad discarded on the floor, while an entrance hall at the presidential palace not far away had been torched.

‘I can’t believe I’m living this moment,’ tearful Damascus resident Amer Batha told AFP by phone.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is the one of the largest oppositon forces in the Syrian civil war and are the group responsible for the lighting offensive that toppled the Assad regime after over 50 years in power.

HTS is a group of allied factions that was founded at the start of the civil war as Jabhat al-Nusra.

It was originally formed by ISIS in 2012 but it split from the terrorist organisation a year later and allied iself with al-Qaeda instead.

They then severed ties with sal-Qaeda in 2017 and joined other facitons to form HTS.

It is understood that HTS has around 30,000 fighters.

The group is largely self-funded using natural resources – such as petroleum – as a signifcant source of income.

Before the capitulation of the Assad regime, HTS already controlled large swathes of Syria including the city of Idlib.

Pictured: The leader of HTS Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.

Addressing crowds at Damascus’ Umayyad mosque, The leader of Syria’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – Abu Mohammed al-Jolani – has promised that his victory is for ‘all Syrians.’

He said Assad’s regime ‘imprisoned thousands of its own citizens unjustly and without any crime’, adding that ‘today, we are rewarded with this victory. This victory is for all Syrians.’

US President Joe Biden will meet today with his national security advisors to discuss the collapse of the Assad regime.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, National Security Council spokesman Sean Savet said: ‘The President will meet with his national security team this morning to receive an update on the situation in Syria.’

The leader of Syria’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – Abu Mohammed al-Jolani – hasa been pictured in Damascus’ Umayyad Moasque.

It has been reported that Israeli strikes have targeted government security buildings in Damascus.

The strikes come just hours after Assad fled the country and rebels entered the capital.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said: ‘Israeli strikes targeted a security complex in Damascus near the former regime’s buildings” including intelligence, customs and a military headquarters.’

The leader of Syria’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that headed a lightning rebel offensive that caused the collapse of the Assad regime has been spotted in Damascus

AFP reported that HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani was seen vsitng the capital’s landmark Umayyad Moasque earlier today.

Now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, it has been reported that crowds cheered as he entered the mosque and while he gave a speech chants of ‘Allahu akbar’ were heard.

Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the fall of Bashar Assad’s ‘barbaric regime’ in Syria.

The Prime Minister has called for the restoration of ‘peace and stability’ and for all sides to protect civilians and ensure aid can reach the vulnerable.

Overnight on Sunday, a lightning rebel offensive seized control of Damascus, the Syrian capital, and president Mr Assad is reported to have fled.

The UK Government has been evacuating its citizens over the weekend before the situation reached a crisis point.

The developments in Syria in recent hours and days are unprecedented, and we are speaking to our partners in the region and monitoring the situation closely. The Syrian people have suffered under Assad’s barbaric regime for too long and we welcome his departure. Our focus is now on ensuring a political solution prevails, and peace and stability is restored. We call on all sides to protect civilians and minorities, and ensure essential aid can reach the most vulnerable in the coming hours and days.

The deputy prime minister has today welcomed the fall of Assad’s regime, as she hit out at his brutal regime amid the fall of Damascus.

Angela Rayner told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that Assad ‘wasn’t exactly good to the Syrian people’.

‘The situation looks very serious and if (the) Assad regime has fallen, then I welcome that news, but what we need to see is a political resolution in line with the UN resolutions,’ she said.

Read the full story below.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the ousting of al-Assad as an ‘historic day’.

The Israeli Prime Minister said the fall of Assad, a major link in the Iranian axis, is a direct result of blows dealt to Hezbollah and Iran by Israel.

‘We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,’ he added.

Writing on his official X account, Netanyahu said the ‘collapse of the tyranny in Damascus’ offers ‘great opportunity’ but warned it was ‘fraught with significant dangers’.

Thousands of Syrians have taken to the streets in Berlin to celebrate the end of Assad’s brutal rule.

One of the demonstrators was dressed as Santa Claus as people waved Syrian flags after rebel soldiers stormed the capital Damascus.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz today welcomed the fall of Bashar al-Assad as ‘good news’ and urged a political solution to stabilise for the war-stricken country.

‘Bashar al-Assad oppressed his people brutally. He has countless lives on his conscience and has driven numerous people to flee, many of whom have arrived in Germany,’ Scholz said in a statement.

Women and children have been freed from despot President Bashar al-Assad’s ‘human slaughterhouse’ prison as Syrian rebels seize power of the country.

Rebel soldiers could be heard shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ – meaning ‘God is great’ – as they frantically cut through padlocks on jail cell doors at Saydnaya prison to free hundreds of female prisoners and their youngsters.

Read the full story below.

Supporters of the Syrian rebels that ousted President Bashar al-Assad entered the Syrian embassy in Athens on Sunday and hoisted the rebel flag from the rooftop, police and a Reuters reporter said.

Police entered the embassy compound and detained four people, but left the flag flying.

Dozens of Syrians living in Germany have gathered on the streets to celebrate the collapse of Assad’s regime.

Around 1.2million Syrians have moved to Germany over the course of the 13 year civil war.

Under the premiership of Chancellor Angela Merkel the country allowed millions of refugees from the war torn nation to settle in Syria.

The EU’s top diplomat on Sunday hailed the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and said it pointed to the weakness of some of his supporters, including Russia.

‘The end of Assad’s dictatorship is a positive and long-awaited development. It also shows the weakness of Assad’s backers, Russia and Iran,’ Kaja Kallas said in a post on X.

She added that the EU’s priority was to ‘ensure security’ in the region and pledged to work with “all the constructive partners” in Syria and more broadly across the area.

‘The process of rebuilding Syria will be long and complicated and all parties must be ready to engage constructively,’ she said

Syrian refugeese in Lebanon have flocked to the border following the collapse of the Syrian government.

Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011 nearly 1.5million refugees have resided in Lebanon.

With the collapse of Assad’s regime many have been pictured flocking to the Syria-Lebanon border in order to return home.

Leaders from the Middle East and across the world have shared their reaction to the collapse of Assad’s regime in Syria.

In a statement, the King of Jordan said he spports ‘Syrian brothers’ and ‘respect their wills.’

King Abdullah II told his National Security Council that there was a ‘need to protect Syria’s security, its citizens’ and to work towards ‘stability and avoid any conflict that may lead to chaos.’

Meanwhile, in Doha, the Qatar Foreign Ministry issued a warning that Syria must not descend ‘into chaos’.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the fall of Bashar al-Assad as ‘good news’ and urged a political solution to stabilise for the war-stricken country.

‘Bashar al-Assad oppressed his people brutally. He has countless lives on his conscience and has driven numerous people to flee, many of whom have arrived in Germany,’ Scholz said in a statement.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said: ‘The end of Assad’s dictatorship is a positive and long-awaited development. It also shows the weakness of Assad’s backers, Russia and Iran.’

Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of the HTS-led coalition that toppled Bashar al-Assad, said in an address to Syrian TV that ‘the future is ours.’

He added that there was ‘no room for turning back’, and that his HTS group was ‘determines’ to continue down the path it took in 2011 at the start of the brutal civil war.

The fall of the Assad regime is the perfect opportunity to release the Syrian people from decades of human rights violations, Amnesty International’s secretary general today said.

Agnès Callamard, the organisation’s chief, said in a statement today: ‘After over five decades of brutality and repression, the people of Syria may finally have an opportunity to live free of fear with their rights respected.

‘Under the rule of Bashar al-Assad – and before him his father Hafez al-Assad – Syrians have been subjected to a horrifying catalogue of human rights violations that caused untold human suffering on a vast scale.

‘This included attacks with chemical weapons, barrel bombs and other war crimes, as well as murder, torture, enforced disappearance and extermination that amount to crimes against humanity. This historic opportunity must be now be seized and decades of grave human rights violations redressed.

‘Amnesty calls on opposition forces to break free from the violence of the past. The most important step is justice, and not retribution. We urge all parties to the present conflict to fully respect the laws of armed conflict.’

Olaf Scholz said in a statement today: ‘Bashar al-Assad brutally oppressed his own people, has countless lives on his conscience and has driven numerous people to flee Syria, many of whom came to Germany. The Syrian people have suffered terribly. The end of Assad’s rule over Syria is therefore good news.

‘What matters now is that law and order are quickly restored in Syria. All religious communities, all minorities must enjoy protection now and in the future. A political solution to the conflict in Syria in accordance with UN security council Resolution 2254 is still possible.

‘We will judge the future rulers by whether they make it possible for all Syrians to live in dignity and self-determination, defend Syria’s sovereignty against malicious interference by third parties and live in peace with their neighbours.’

Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan told Syrian refugees who have called Turkey home for the last decade to go back to their country.

He said at a conference in Doha, Qatar: ‘Millions of Syrians who were forced to leave their homes can return to their land.’

He added that it was ‘time to unite and reconstruct the country.’

Militia fighters entered the residence of the Italian ambassador to Syria on Sunday, leaving him and his security detail unharmed, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said, as reported by ANSA and other domestic news agencies.

ANSA quoted Italian ministry sources as saying that Syrian fighters were going into embassies and offices of international NGOs in a search for allies of President Bashar al-Assad, who rebels say has been deposed.

‘This morning an armed group entered the garden of the ambassador’s residence. They took away only three cars and that was it. Neither the ambassador nor the Carabinieri (embassy police) were harmed,’ Tajani said.

The ambassador and the police officers have been moved to a secure location, the minister added.

Dr. Burcu Ozcelik, a senior research fellow of Middle East security at RUSI, exclusively told MailOnline that Russia’s ability to project power in Syria and the wider region as been ‘severely debilitated.’

The expert said: ‘It is in Russia’s interest to seek to maintain access, but its ability to project power in and through Syria is now severely debilitated.

‘It will take time and negotiations with the new Syrian administration, a yet to be determined entity, before it is clear what Russia’s stakes in Syria will be. But this is now a radically transformed Syria, and Russia has no good options.’

She added that Iran will also be heavily affected by the overthrow of Assad.

‘There is no doubt that the fall of the Assad regime is a highly consequential defeat for Iran, the implications of which will unfold in ripples and waves. Syria was the conduit for Iran’s systematic support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, this supply chain has now been cut off.’

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had left office and departed the country after giving orders there be a peaceful handover of power.

In a statement, the ministry did not say where Assad was now and said Russia has not taken part in the talks around his departure.

‘As a result of negotiations between B. Assad and a number of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to resign from the presidency and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power.

‘Russia did not participate in these negotiations,’ the ministry said.

Syrian rebels in control of Damascus have imposed a curfew on the city, beginning at 4pm local time and lasting until 5am tomorrow.

Hezbollah pulled all of its forces out of Syria on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Russia’s deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin has today confirmed that Bashar al-Assad has left Syria.

He added that Moscow is alarmed by the developments in the country, and that ther is no risk of Russian bases in the region being harmed.

The Times of Israel has reported that Israel has struck several military targets in Syria, including at the Mazzeh airbase in Damascus.

Syrian media reported that Israeli struck airbass in the Daraa and Suwayda areas in southern Syria.

The strikes reportedly targeted ammo and weapons depots at the Khalkhalah airbase in Suwayda, several sites in the Daraa Governorate and the Mezzeh airbase.

The IDF has not yet commented on the matter.

Explosions have been heard in Syria in the Mazzeh area of Damascus.

While the source of the explosions is not currently known, Mazzeh is home to a military airport and the Al Akram mosque.

Germany’s top diplomat called the fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad ‘a great relief’ for the people of war-torn country, while warning against radicalisation.

‘The end of Assad represents for millions of people in Syria a great relief,’ said Annalena Baerbock.

She added: ‘The country must not now fall into the hands of other radicals, whatever form they take.’

Turkish sources have told Reuters that Syrian rebels are at the hear of Manjib, a northern Syrian city controlled by Kurdish forces.

Lebanon has sent reinforced units to the northern and eastern borders in response to the ongoing military developments in Syria, the Lebanese army said today.

Sir John Sawers, the former head of MI6, told Sky News tofay that Assad’s fall will be a ‘surprise’ to Britain’s intelligence services.

He said: ‘I think it was a surprise to everyone, it probably came as a surprise to Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which have been the main rebel group involved in this march on Damascus, I don’t think they expected to go so far so fast.

‘I think we’re all surprised at how the regime forces have just completely collapsed, even those most loyal to the regime and closest to the regime… It’s not a failure of intelligence, it’s a surprise to everyone.’

He added that it would be ‘rather ridiculous’ for the UK to engage with HTS, a proscribed terror group.

The country’s foreign ministry said in a statement today: ‘A new page is being written in the history of Syria, to inaugurate a national covenant and charter that unites the word of the Syrians, unites them and does not divide them, in order to build one homeland in which justice and equality prevail and in which everyone enjoys all rights and duties, far from a single opinion.

‘Citizenship is the basis.

‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic and its diplomatic missions abroad will remain committed to serving all fellow citizens and managing their affairs, based on the trust they bear in representing the Syrian people, and that the homeland remains supreme.’

Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s foreign minister, said today that his country was in contact with the rebels who overthrew Bashar al-Assad to ensure continued security.

Iraq has secured its entire border with Syria, an army spokesperson told local media today.

Yehia Rasool, spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief, said the border has been heavily fortified, and that reinforcements are on hand to support in the event of an overspill of military action

Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic advisor to the President of the UAE, told the BBC: ‘We don’t know the shape of developments in Syria. Is this going to be a sort of wiser group that will be able actually to transcend Syria’s tortured history or are we going to go back into a re-incarnation of radical and terrorist organisations?

‘I think Syria is still not out of the woods because Syria is still, if you look at the different colours, is still a very patchy picture in terms of its territorial integrity.’

Gargash also blamed Assad for the fall of his regime, saying the dictator did not implement the necessary political reforms for his nation.

He said: ‘Ultimately this was a huge political failure. We have seen the rapid collapse of the regime in part because of the political failure.

‘There was a major failure in the part of politics and policy. Assad did not really use the lifeline that was thrown to him by various Arab countries including the UAE and did not use that to open up, to move on the constitutional discussions that were taking place. He also did not open up to Turkey.’

Syria’s decade-long civil war has descended further into bloodshed, as rebels announced a major attack against Kurdish forces hours after toppling Assad’s murderous regime.

The Ministry of Defence of the Syrian Interim Government, an opposition coalition group that controls some parts of the country and helped HTS in its push for control of Syria, published a statement today that said it was attacking Kurdish forces in the northern city of Manjib.

It said in the statement, which was dated December 7: ‘The Syrian National Army forces are determined to liberate the city of Manbij from the separatist PKK gang after years.

‘Because of its occupation of the city, it has practised all forms of terrorism against civilians of all affiliations and nationalities.

‘Our Kurdish people: The military action has begun and its goal is to eliminate the separatist group in northern Syria so that you can live with the rest of the Syrian people in freedom and dignity in this country that can accommodate all its people.

‘Therefore, we recommend that during military actions you stay in your homes and stay away from the military sites belonging to the terrorist PKK party, so that you will be in peace and safety.’

The Syrian National Army is made up of a series of Turkey-backed militias.

The coalition army has sided with and against HTS countless times. The militias are keen on introducing a northern buffer zone with the Turkish border, with an aim to keep Kurdish militants away.

Syrians will have to cope with a full-scale civil war alone, Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy chairman of Russia’s upper house of parliament said on Sunday, the Interfax news agency reported.

Syrian rebels announced on state television on Sunday that they had ousted President Bashar al-Assad, eliminating a 50-year family dynasty in a lightning offensive that raises the spectre of a new wave of instability in a Middle East gripped by war.

Russia, a staunch Assad ally, intervened decisively in 2015 to prop him up during Syria’s civil war, which began in 2011.

Russian war bloggers have raised fears about the fate of two strategically-important Russian military facilities in Syria.

The Chinese government has assisted citizens in leaving Syria, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

It said Syria should ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel and that China’s embassy in Syria continues to operate.

The US said today it will maintain a heavy presence in eastern Syria following the fall of Assad’s regime.

Deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Middle East, Daniel Shapito, told attendees at a Bahrain security conference that the US would also take measures to prevent an ISIS resurgence in the country.

British deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has welcomed the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

She added that she wanted to see a political resolution to the decade-long conflict.

She told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips: ‘The situation looks very serious and if (the) Assad regime has fallen, then I welcome that news, but what we need to see is a political resolution in line with the UN resolutions. We need to see civilians and infrastructure protected, far too many people have lost their lives, we need stability in that region.’

She added: ‘The Foreign Secretary and obviously our Foreign Office are working. You’ll have heard last week, the Foreign Secretary was very clear about UK civilians leaving Syria.

‘We’ve had a plan to ensure that people were evacuated ahead of what’s happened over the weekend and we continue to support our UK nationals.’

Rayner later said President Bashar al-Assad ‘wasn’t exactly good to the Syrian people, adding: ‘Dictatorship and terrorism creates problems for the people of Syria, who have faced so much already and also destabilises the region.

‘That’s why we have to have a political solution where the government is acting in the interests of the Syrian people.’

Russia’s embassy in Syria has said its staff are ‘fine’, after the embassy of Iran was raided by furious rebels.

A Russian embassy staff member told TASS, a Kremlin-owned news agency: ‘We are fine.’

Russia has played a key role in the Syrian civil war, providing missiles and logistical support to Assad’s regime

Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali, the prime minister of Syria under Assad’s government, has been escorted from his Damascus hotel room following the fall of the previous regime.

CNN reported that a man can be heard saying in the video: ‘The former prime minister is with the 5th Corps from the people of Hauran heading to the Four Seasons Hotel for a meeting and to hand over the country’s institutions to the heroes of the Free Army.’

Earlier, al-Jalali said he wanted to ‘ensure’ the operation of public functions, state facilities and to preserve the ‘safety and security for all citizens.’

Syrian rebels have started an attack on Kurdish forces in the northern Syrian town of Manjib, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defence of the Syrian Interim Government.

While the statement was posted this morning, it was dated December 7

Iran has evacuated its embassy in Syria and moved staff to Lebanon, minutes after reports emerged that Iran’s emabssy was stormed by rebels in Damascus.

Rebels have stormed Iran’s embassy in Syria’s capital, Damascus, according to local media.

Iran has long supported Assad’s iron grip on the country, particularly during the civil war when it provided money, training and troops to Assad to fight for him.

Mazloum Abdi, commander in chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led alliance that was backed by the West during the country’s civil war, said today: ‘We are living through historic moments as we witness the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus.

‘This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantees the rights of all Syrians.’

The rebels who overthrew Assad’s government have said they are working to complete the transfer of power to a transitional government.

The rebel coalition said in a statement: ‘The great Syrian revolution has moved from the stage of struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria together that befits the sacrifices of its people.’

Syrians in the city of Tartus have toppled a statue of Assad’s father.

Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria with an iron fist from 1971 to 2000, before power was handed to his son Bashar.

Hafez was known for ordering the torture of prisoners, as well as the mass repression of his nation’s people.

Israel’s military has entered the demilitarized zone between the Syria in the Golan Height to protect civilians, the military said.

The military said in a statement that the deployment was aimed to put Israeli forces between rebel groups that have taken parts of the Syrian Golan Heights and Israeli communities on the border.

Most of Syria’s Golan Heights region was occupied by Israel in 1967 before it was annexed in 1981.

In their first statement to Syrians on state TV, a group of rebels appeared on state TV and proclaimed Damascus as being liberated.

Dressed in civilian clothing, the man said: ‘The tyrant Bashar al Assad has been toppled.

‘All the prisoners have been released from the prison of Damascus. We wish all our fighters and citizens preserve and maintain the property of the state of Syria. Long live Syria.’

Videos shared to social media show people on the streets of Damascus celebrating the end of the Assad regime.

Gunfire can be heard ringing out among the streets as groups gather around what appears to be military vehicles.

CNN are reporting that there is an active search underway for President Assad with rebels questioning his military and intelligence officials.

A sources told the outlet that they are trying to pinpoint his movements, after he reportedly fled the capital by jet on Sunday morning.

The president hasn’t been seen or heard from since rebels stormed the capital city, according to the outlet.

AlJazeera have reported that they are seeing people gathering at the Syrian border with Lebanon.

The outlet said they are waiting for it to open so they can return to their homes as the regime collapsed on Sunday morning.

An anonymous US official has told CNN that the events in Syria have marked the end of ‘Iran’s artifice’ across the Middle East.

The end of the Iran-backed Assad regime comes after Hezbollah and Hamas were decimated by Israeli forces over the last 14 months.

President Bashar al-Assad fled the nation to an unknown destination in the early hours of Sunday morning as rebel forces swept Damascus.

He had announced that he would address the nation at 8pm local time on Saturday, but never did.

His children and British-born wife fled to Russia last week, and his brothers-in-law allegedly travelled to the UAE, per Syrian security officials.

The leader of the largest insurgent group in Syria has prohibited his fighters from getting close to state institutions saying they will remain under the supervision of the country´s prime minister at the present time.

Abu Mohammed al-Golani, leader of the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, also banned his fighters from opening fire in the air in the capital Damascus.

In a statement, he said: ‘Public institutions will remain under the supervision of the prime minister until they are officially handed over.’

Al-Golani’s comments came as Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said he is extending his hand to the opposition adding that he wants to guarantee that state institutions function.

Abu Mohammed al-Golani speaks in a video statement, in this still image taken from a video released on December 8, 2024

Individuals can be seen throwing up the peace sign as they celebrate the end of the Assad government in the early horus of Sunday morning in Damascus.

The leader of the opposition in Syria Hadi al-Bahra has told the Arabic news organization Al-Arabiya that the Assad regime has fallen.

He told the outlet that a ‘dark era in Syria’s history has passed’ after declaring to the people: ‘I announce to you the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime’.

Bahra added: ‘The situation is safe, and there is no room for revenge or retaliation.’

The Syrian Administration of Political Affairs, an arm of the opposition, has said in a statement that they will work for all Syrians.

They said: ‘The liberation of Syria is a victory for all of its children who have sacrificed for the unity of its land and people.

‘In this occasion, we assert our commitment to strengthening social unity and confirming the principles of justice and dignity for all the components of Syrian society.’

Israeli tanks have reportedly crossed the Syrian-Israeli border as part of prior plans to ensure a safe zone between the border of the nations.

Political anaylst Eva Koulouriotis posted on X that a security source had confirmed the ground offense to her.

The Israeli Air Force has reportedly carried out attacks against weapons depots, chemical weapons stores and laboratories near Damascus.

According to political anaylst Eva Koulouriotis, a security source confirmed to her that the facilites were hit.

HTS, the group leading the rebel offensive in Syria, is a powerful Islamist organisation that has maintained de facto control of Idlib for several years.

The group, led by Abu Mohammad al-Julani, solidified in 2017 as a conglomeration of various Islamist factions but traces its roots to al-Qaeda.

HTS’ core component arose from a group once known as Jabhat al-Nusra – al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch – but later sought to reposition itself as a legitimate Syrian nationalist organisation.

It officially severed ties with al-Qaeda and created a civilian arm known as the ‘Salvation Government’ through which it seeks to govern in Syria, insisting it has no ambition to expand beyond the nation’s borders.

Initial reports from civilians in Aleppo have appeared to suggest that HTS militants have treated inhabitants well after ousting Syrian government forces.

But there are suspicions that HTS’ jihadist origins remain and it is still designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), US, UK and the EU, among others.

National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement that President Biden was keeping an eye on the situation.

He said: ‘President Biden and his team are closely monitoring the extraordinary events in Syria and staying in constant touch with regional partners.’

Syria’s army command has notified officers that al-Assad’s 24-year authoritarian rule has ended.

The rebels said in a statement that they had liberated those being kept inside the notorious Saydnaya Military Prison.

The military prison near Damascus dubbed the ‘industrial torture chamber ‘ has reportedly seen between 5,000 to 13,000 inmates hanged since 2011, according to AlJazeera.

Amnesty International research said the Syrian authorities had committed crimes against humanity with thousands of inmates in the prison 30km north of Damascus being murdered, tortured, and exterminated.

They determined that the violations committed at the brutal facilities over the last decade under dictator’s Bashar al Assad regime, which has seen over 10,000 political detainees vanish, was part of an attack against civilians.

The rebels said in a statement on their Telegram channel that hundreds of Assad forces have given themselves up to rebels in Deir al-Zour, a city in eastern Syria.

Images inside Damascus airport early on Sunday morning local time shows dozens of people passing through security checkpoints and running to departure gates.

It appears that the airport is largely unstaffed and flight monitoring websites also showed no departures scheduled.

Rebel forces have said Syria is now ‘free’ and that the ‘tyrant’ President Bashar al-Assad has fled.

The HTS (Hayyet Tahrir al-Sham) said on Telegram that it was the end of a dark era and the beginning of a new one.

The rebels said that people displaced or imprisoned under the half-century reign of Assad can now come home.

HTS said it will be a ‘new Syria’ where ‘everyone lives in peace and justice prevails’.

Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali has said he does not plan on leaving his home in teh capital to ensure that public institutions continue to function.

He said: ‘I urge all to think rationally and to think about the country. We extend our hand to the opposition who have extended their hand and asserted that they will not harm anyone who belongs to this country.’

Ghazi added that he was ready to cooperate with whoever Syrians choose to lead the nation in a recording heard by The New York Times.

Video footage shared online and verified by Al Jazeera show several people in Ummayad Square standing on an abandoned military tank.

The group are singing in celebration as rebels swarmed the capital in the early hours of Sunday morning, local time.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters.

A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website.

The aircraft initially flew towards Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off the map.

It remains unclear exactly who was on board the flight.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad listens to a question during an exclusive interview with AFP in the capital Damascus on February 11, 2016

DailyMail.com will be providing live updates this evening as rebel fighters in Syria enter the capital of Damascus.

The move takes them to the brink of a victory as Syrian forces and their leader, President Bashar al-Assad appear to flee the crumbling capital.

On Saturday evening local time, opposition forces took the central city of Homs, Syria‘s third largest, as government forces abandoned it.

The city stands at an important intersection between Damascus, the capital, and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus – the Syrian leader´s base of support and home to a Russian strategic naval base.

The rebels had already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, as well as large parts of the south in a lightning offensive that began on November 27.