23:10 Medical sources told Al Jazeera that 46 people have been killed in Israeli raids across multiple areas of the Gaza Strip since dawn on Sunday.
22:30 Lebanese official media said the Israeli army handed over seven people to United Nations peacekeepers at the border on Sunday amid a delicate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
"The Israeli enemy handed over seven freed citizens, who were detained by the enemy after the ceasefire," the official National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The NNA said the seven were handed over to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at Ras Naqura on the border. The Lebanese Red Cross, accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross, then transported them to the hospital for check-ups.
21:40 Israeli forces targeted the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on Sunday evening, killing three civilians and wounding several others, local sources said.
The strike occurred on Saturday evening amid continued bombardment of the hospital in Beit Lahia. Medical staff have issued urgent appeals for intervention to protect patients and healthcare workers as conditions worsen.
Medical sources reported that Israeli forces used bombs, artillery shells, and sniper fire, hitting the women’s, maternity, and neonatal wards. The attacks caused extensive damage and cut off communication with medical teams inside.
Hospital staff sought shelter in hallways and departments, attempting to protect themselves from shrapnel and gunfire. Power was cut entirely off after Israeli drones reportedly targeted the hospital's generators and fuel tanks, the sources added.
21:30 Syria's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said weapons in the country, including those held by Kurdish-led forces, would come under state control.
Sharaa spoke alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, after meeting with Lebanese Druze leaders and vowing to end "negative interference" in the neighbouring country.
Ankara-backed rebels played a key role in supporting Sharaa's Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which headed a rebel alliance and seized Damascus on 8 December, ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
During a press conference with Fidan, Sharaa said Syria's armed "factions will begin to announce their dissolution and enter" the army.
"We will absolutely not allow there to be weapons in the country outside state control, whether from the revolutionary factions or the factions present in the SDF area", he added, referring to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Sharaa -- also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani -- had traded in the olive-green military shirt he sported just days ago for a suit and tie during his meetings Sunday at the presidential palace.
He also said, "We are working on protecting sects and minorities from any attacks that occur between them" and from "external" actors exploiting the situation "to cause sectarian discord".
21:20:Syria alone was responsible for overthrowing Bashar al-Assad, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in Damascus on Sunday after meeting the country's new leaders.
"This victory belongs to you and no one else. Thanks to your sacrifices, Syria has seized a historic opportunity," he said. Turkey has repeatedly dismissed claims it had any hand in the lightning 12-day rebel offensive that ended with Assad's overthrow on 8 December.
21:10 Yemen's Houthi movement said it had repelled a US-British attack on Yemeni territory, claiming it targeted the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and several accompanying destroyers.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Sunday that Yemen's armed forces had successfully countered the assault, which coincided with the onset of hostilities on Saturday evening.
Saree said the operation involved eight cruise missiles and 17 drones, causing "substantial impacts" on enemy forces. He added that an F-18 fighter jet was shot down as it attempted to intercept Yemeni missiles and drones, prompting most hostile aircraft to withdraw from Yemeni airspace to international waters over the Red Sea.
The USS Harry S. Truman reportedly retreated from its southern Red Sea position to the north after being targeted by Yemeni missile forces, naval units, and drones, Saree said.
He also issued a warning to Israel and the United States to halt what he called aggression against Yemen, pledging that Yemen's armed forces would continue to defend the country while supporting the Palestinian people until the Gaza war ends and the siege is lifted.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on Sunday that an American F-18 fighter jet had been downed over the Red Sea, attributing the incident to "friendly fire" and saying the pilots had survived.
Earlier, CENTCOM said US forces had launched strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen on Saturday evening.
21:00 US President Joe Biden plans to support the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in their fight against the Islamic State group (ISIS) following warnings from the SDF chief about a potential ISIS resurgence fueled by ongoing attacks from militia groups, according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Sullivan described the SDF as a critical partner in the fight against ISIS, saying, "One of the major issues for Washington is how to ensure that we are standing up for and standing with our best and closest partners in that ISIS fight – the Syrian Democratic Forces, Kurdish-led forces but also Arab fighters alongside them."
He emphasized the importance of securing the SDF to maintain their ability to manage large prisons and camps housing thousands of ISIS fighters and their family members. "If they were all to escape, it would pose a considerable threat to the region and ultimately the United States," Sullivan added.
"We need to stand with the Kurds, and President Biden intends to do that," he said.
20:20 The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty exchanged views on Sunday's developments in Syria in phone calls with his counterparts from the UAE, Jordan, Iraq, and Algeria.
According to the ministry, Abdelatty had separate phone calls with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of foreign affairs of the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of foreign affairs of Jordan, Ayman Safadi, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of foreign affairs of Iraq, Fuad Hussein, and the Minister of foreign affairs of Algeria, Ahmed Attaf.
The discussions focused on recent developments in Syria and Egypt’s position regarding the ongoing crisis.
Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s steadfast support for the Syrian state and stressed respecting its sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.
He stressed the need for concerted regional and international efforts to restore stability across Syria.
The Egyptian FM also called for mobilizing regional and global support for Syria during the transitional phase and initiating a comprehensive political process that would include all segments of the Syrian population.
He also underscored the importance of ensuring a Syrian-led process free from external interference to pave the way for reintegrating the country into regional and international arenas and ending the prolonged suffering of the Syrian people.
19:50 The visiting head of a UN investigative body for Syria said it was possible to find "more than enough" evidence to convict people of crimes against international law. Still, there was an immediate need to secure and preserve it.
"We have the possibility here to find more than enough evidence left behind to convict those we should prosecute," said Robert Petit, who heads the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) set up by the UN in 2016 to prepare prosecutions for major international crimes in Syria.
But he noted that preserving evidence would "need a lot of coordination between all the different actors".
"We can all understand the human impulse to go in and try and find your loved ones," Petit said. "The fact is, though, that there needs to be a control put in place to restrict access to all these different centres... It needs to be a concerted effort by everyone who has the resources and the powers to do that to freeze that access, preserve it".
The organization, known as the Mechanism, was not permitted to work in Syria under Assad's government but was able to document many crimes from abroad.
Since Assad's fall, Petit has been able to visit the country, but his team still require authorization to begin their work inside Syria, which they have requested.
He said his team had "documented hundreds of detention centres... Every security centre, every military base, every prison had their own either detention or mass graves attached to it".
"We're just now beginning to scratch that surface and I think it's going to be a long time before we know the full extent of it," he told AFP.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, more than 100,000 people died in Syria's jails and detention centres from 2011.
18:40 US President-elect Donald Trump knows better than to continue Washington's backing for Kurdish fighters over supporting the security needs of its NATO ally Turkey, Ankara's top diplomat said Sunday.
"When we look at it from America's interests, as a mathematical calculation -- whether Turkey or a terrorist oorganizationlike the PKK is more important -- Mr. Trump sees the mathematics immediately," Hakan Fidan told a news conference, referring to US support for Kurdish fighters in Syria that Turkey sees as linked to its outlawed domestic foe, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
18:30 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would act firmly against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, a day after the group fired a missile that injured 16 people in Tel Aviv.
17:00 The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the main UN body providing aid in Gaza, reported the accumulation of a massive rubbish pile spanning one square kilometre in Khan Younis as Israeli restrictions block efforts to address the crisis.
"Every day, we see children, animals, and families scavenging through the trash, searching for scraps of food or materials to burn for warmth," said UNRWA spokesperson Louise Wateridge, speaking from the southern enclave.
Wateridge said over 1,000 tonnes of rubbish pile up daily, with the waste spreading into the tents and shelters of displaced Palestinians. Israeli military restrictions hinder efforts to remove the refuse, she added.
16:30 Syria's new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa's engagement with Turkey underscores Ankara’s support for his Islamist group, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham, which played a decisive role in overthrowing Bashar Al-Assad.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and global powers have initiated cautious dialogues with Syria's new leadership, emphasizing concerns over terrorism and minority rights. As Al-Sharaa positions himself as a sstabilizingforce, the region watches closely to gauge the future trajectory of Syria under its Sunni Islamist rulers.
15:30 Syria's new leader, Al-Jolani, told Lebanese Druze leaders that Damascus would not negatively interfere in Lebanon and would respect its neighbour's sovereignty.
Syria will no longer exert "negative interference in Lebanon at all -- it respects Lebanon's sovereignty, the unity of its territories, the independence of its decisions and its security stability," Ahmed Al-Sharaa told visiting Druze chiefs Walid and Taymur Jumblatt.
Walid Jumblatt is the first Lebanese figure to meet Sharaa since his rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied rebel factions launched a lightning offensive last month, seizing Damascus on 8 December and ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Syria "will stay at equal distance from all" in Lebanon, Sharaa added, acknowledging that Syria has been a "source of fear and anxiety" for the country.
Walid Jumblatt, long a fierce critic of Assad and his father Hafez, who ruled Syria before him, arrived in Damascus Sunday at the head of a delegation of lawmakers from his parliamentary bloc and religious figures from Lebanon's Druze minority.
Syria's new leader, Al-Jolani, told Lebanese Druze leaders that Damascus would not negatively interfere in Lebanon's affairs and would respect its sovereignty.
Syria will no longer exert "negative interference in Lebanon at all — it respects Lebanon's sovereignty, the unity of its territories, the independence of its decisions, and its security stability," Ahmed Al-Sharaa told visiting Druze chiefs Walid and Taymur Jumblatt.
Walid Jumblatt is the first Lebanese figure to meet Al-Sharaa since his rebel group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and allied rebel factions launched a lightning offensive last month, seizing Damascus on 8 December and ousting longtime ruler Bashar Al-Assad.
Syria "will stay at equal distance from all" in Lebanon, Al-Sharaa added, acknowledging that Syria has been a "source of fear and anxiety" for the country.
Walid Jumblatt, long a fierce critic of Al-Assad and his father Hafez, who ruled Syria before him, arrived in Damascus Sunday at the head of a delegation of lawmakers from his parliamentary bloc and religious figures from Lebanon's Druze minority.
14:52 Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Syria's new leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Damascus on Sunday, according to Ankara's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A video released by the Anadolu state news agency showed the two men greeting each other.
The ministry released no details of where the meeting occurred in the Syrian capital.
Turkey's spy chief Ibrahim Kalin had earlier visited the city on 12 December, just a few days after Al-Assad's fall.
Kalin was filmed leaving the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, surrounded by bodyguards, as broadcast by the private Turkish channel NTV.
14:40 Iran's supreme leader denied Sunday that militant groups around the region functioned as Tehran's proxies, warning that if his country chose to "take action," it would not need them anyway.
"The Islamic Republic does not have a proxy force. Yemen fights because it has faith. Hezbollah fights because the power of faith draws it into the field. Hamas and (the Islamic) Jihad fight because their beliefs compel them to do so. They do not act as our proxy," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a group of visitors in Tehran.
"They (the Americans) keep saying that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxy forces in the region! This is another mistake," he said, adding: "If one day we want to take action, we do not need a proxy force."
Khamenei also predicted "the emergence of a strong, honourable group" in Syria, saying the country's young men had "nothing to lose."
14:23 According to a report by Haaretz, which briefly gained access to the besieged Jabalia camp in northern Gaza, the Israeli army estimates that 70 percent of the camp’s buildings have been destroyed.
The Israeli daily described Jabalia refugee camp as having become a "ghost town" due to the ongoing attacks by the Israeli army.
According to data from the Israeli army, cited by Haaretz, approximately 96,000 Palestinian civilians were forcibly displaced from the densely populated camp during the occupation army's operation over the last two and a half months.
The newspaper also reported that, based on the Israeli army’s figures, more than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed, and around 1,500 have been arrested in the camp since 5 October 2024 as part of the war that has devastated Gaza.
This is the third time Israeli forces have attacked the camp, with previous raids occurring in December 2023 and May 2024.
The report linked the devastation to Israel's ongoing "Generals Plan," a military strategy aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians from the northern and southern regions of Gaza.
The plan, as outlined by the occupation army officials, involves creating a "closed military zone" in the area north of the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, which would effectively separate the northern part of Gaza, including Jabalia, from Gaza City and its southern neighbourhoods.
Under this plan, all Palestinians in these areas would be displaced.
Mourners attend a funeral of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli strike the previous night in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip. AFP
14:06 Turkey believes Syria's new rulers, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive Kurdish YPG fighters from all territory they occupy in northeastern Syria, Defence Minister Yasar Guler said during a visit to Turkish troops on the Syrian border with military commanders, according to Reuters.
Turkey regards the Syrian YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington, and the European Union.
The YPG spearheads an alliance, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is backed by the United States and controls territory in northeastern Syria.
Since the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar Al-Assad two weeks ago, Turkey and Syrian groups it backs have fought against the SDF, seizing the city of Manbij.
"We believe that the new leadership in Syria and the Syrian National Army, which is an important part of its army, along with the Syrian people, will free all territories occupied by terrorist organizations", Guler said. "We will also take every necessary measure with the same determination until all terrorist elements beyond our borders are cleared," he said in a video released by his ministry.
Ankara has demanded the Syrian Kurdish fighters disband and has called on Washington to withdraw its support. The US military acknowledged last week that it has 2,000 troops on the ground in Syria, twice as many as it had said previously.
13:27 The spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Adnan Abu Hasna, confirmed today that Sweden's decision to cut its funding for the agency will significantly and detrimentally impact education across the five regions where it operates, including Gaza, WAFA news agency reported.
Abu Hasna spoke to the Voice of Palestine radio, emphasizing the far-reaching consequences of this financial shortfall on the education of Palestinian refugees.
He explained that this decision comes amid rising international pressure, particularly with Norway seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice regarding Israel's attempts to restrict UNRWA's operations. The situation is especially alarming as it compounds the already critical living conditions in Gaza, he added.
"Conditions in Gaza are dire, with widespread diseases and severely compromised public health systems," said Abu Hasna. "Only 6 percent of the essential supplies needed by the population are allowed into the Gaza Strip, with just 60 trucks permitted to cross daily into the enclave by Israeli authorities."
Abu Hasna also expressed concern over a rise in diseases previously unseen in the region, such as hepatitis, which is now infecting approximately 1,000 people each week. The ongoing blockade and a lack of adequate medical supplies and infrastructure have made it incredibly difficult to tackle these emerging health threats.
A man checks for salvageable items at the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the Musa bin Nusayr School in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza City. AFP
13:08 Sky News Arabia reported that a Saudi delegation met with Al-Jolani in Damascus. The channel did not provide further details on the time or location of the meeting.
The report also mentioned that Al-Jolani met with former Syrian Vice President Farouk Al-Sharaa and invited him to the National Dialogue Conference.
12:30 A Lebanese Druze delegation headed by Walid Jumblatt, former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon, arrived at the presidential palace in Damascus to meet with Ahmed Al-Sharaa, aka Al-Jolani, leader of the Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) group.
10:03 Four children and their mother were killed this morning in an Israeli airstrike on a residential home in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
Local sources reported that the Israeli occupation forces targeted the house early on Sunday, causing it to collapse. The victims were trapped under the rubble.
Despite efforts by rescue teams to recover them, all five individuals were confirmed dead.
Earlier, we reported that Israel had killed at least 28 Palestinians since late last night across Gaza. This brings the total death toll to 33 since last night.
"In the besieged north, it's nothing but horror stories," the UNRWA insisted.
09:45 Pope Francis on Saturday condemned the Israeli bombing of children in Gaza as "cruelty."
The pontiff made his remarks a day after an Israeli airstrike had killed seven children from one family.
"Yesterday, they did not allow the Patriarch (of Jerusalem) into Gaza as promised," the pope told members of the government of the Holy See.
"Yesterday, children were bombed. This is cruelty; this is not war."
"I want to say it because it touches my heart."
As leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, the pope is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts. However, he has recently been more outspoken about Israel's genocidal war on Gaza and the mass killing of Palestinians.
In book excerpts published last month, the pontiff stressed that international experts said that "what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide."
09:33 Communications were lost with journalists inside Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, the Al-Quds news network reported.
The general director of Field Hospitals in Gaza spoke to Al-Araby TV, revealing disturbing developments regarding the ongoing Israeli targeting of medical facilities.
He confirmed that the Israeli military had issued an evacuation order for Kamal Adwan Hospital and deployed explosive robots around the facility.
"The Israeli occupation is deliberately targeting medical teams at Kamal Adwan Hospital," he eemphasized.
"The Israeli occupation continues to carry out its plans to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system by targeting all hospitals," he said.
09:30 The Israeli occupation forces raided the town of Tammoun, in the northern West Bank province of Tubas, on Sunday morning.
According to eyewitnesses, Israeli undercover units infiltrated the town and conducted raids on two homes. The forces sneaked into the area under the cover of darkness.
These incursions are part of a broader and growing pattern of Israeli army assaults in Palestinian areas, which have intensified in recent months.
09:27 The Israeli occupation ongoing war on Gaza, now entering its 443rd day, has killed at least 28 civilians, including women and children, since the early hours of Sunday, medical sources told WAFA news agency.
At least eight Palestinians were killed and others injured in an Israeli bombing of a school housing displaced people in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood east of the city of Gaza.
Another four people were killed and several others injured this morning in an Israeli airstrike targeting a vehicle on Al-Jalaa Street also in Gaza City.
Meantime, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, three people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the city of Rafah.
Simultaneously, a couple lost their lives in an Israeli attack on their apartment building near Bilal Mosque in the western area of Khan Younis.
In central Gaza, the death toll from an overnight Israeli bombing of the Abu Samra family home in eastern Deir al-Balah has risen to 11, with additional injuries reported.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces have continued demolishing residential buildings in the northern area of the Nuseirat refugee camp, located in central Gaza, while shelling remains heavy throughout the region.
The ongoing Israeli genocidal war since October 2023 has killed at least 45,227 Palestinians, mostly children and women, with over 107,573 others injured.
09:00 Two US Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the US Army said.
The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said. On 15 December, Central Command acknowledged that Truman had entered the Mideast but hadn't specified that the airline and its battle group were in the Red Sea.
“The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said.
According to the military's description, the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
It wasn't immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake a F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly as ships in a battle group remain linked by radar and radio communication.
Both pilots were recovered alive, but "initial assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries," the CENTCOM said.
Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels.
On Saturday night and early Sunday, US warplanes conducted airstrikes that shook Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, which the Houthis have held since 2014.
Yemen's media reported strikes in both Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida without offering any casualty or damage information.
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