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The Daily Edition

What Matters Most On Monday, December 9, 2024

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A video circulating on social media purports to show an Israeli airstrike in at the Mezzeh airbase near Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024. (Screenshot via X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

US hits 75 Islamic State camps in Syria

As Assad ousted, Israeli jets destroy his deadly arsenals before they fall to rebels

By Emanuel Fabian and Agencies

IAF strikes target missile depots, air defenses, chemical sites amid fears that advanced arms could fall into hands of hostile groups; IDF seizes buffer zone, in first since 1974

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar arrives to attend a plenary session of the 31st Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial summit, in Ta'Qali, Malta, December 5, 2024. (Miguela Xuereb/AP)

Sa’ar confirms Israel hit chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets in Syria

By Agencies and ToI Staff

IDF troops are seen on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, December 8, 2024. (Courtesy)

PM: Temporary position 'until suitable arrangement found'

IDF: Troops will stay in Syria buffer zone and strategic Mount Hermon as long as needed

By Emanuel Fabian

Israel says move to capture territory is defensive, intended to be temporary; army says it will hold new positions until situation clears up after fall of Assad regime

Syrian families arrive to cross into Syria from Turkey at the Cilvegozu border gate, near the town of Antakya, southern Turkey, December 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Metin Yoksu)

Throngs of Syrian refugees start returning from Turkey, Lebanon after Assad’s fall

By Agencies and ToI Staff

People gather to celebrate the Syrian government fall in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, December 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

ExplainerWhere Turkey stands after Assad regime falls to Syrian opposition

By Susan Fraser and andrew wilks

Top row, from left: Maj. (res.) Evgeny Zinershain, Master Sgt. (res.) Binyamin Destaw Negose. Bottom row, from left: Cpt. (res.) Sagi Ya'akov Rubinshtein, Sgt. First Class. (res.) Erez Ben Efraim (Courtesy)

Four troops killed in southern Lebanon by accidental blast inside Hezbollah tunnel

By Emanuel Fabian

Reservists believed to have triggered unmarked munitions left by other IDF soldiers, setting off Hezbollah cache and bringing tunnel down on troops

Promoted EventMir Yam Institute

Join us Dec. 10 in NYC with Bret Stephens and ‘Son of Hamas’ Mosab Yousef

The MirYam Institute’s Annual Regional Briefing: will also feature IDF combat veteran Boris Shtonda, and Almog Meir-Jan, a hostage rescued from Gaza.

Analysis

Sinwar’s ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ washed Iran’s axis away, but that doesn’t spell plain sailing for Israel

Hamas, Hezbollah and Assad’s Syria no longer pose a strategic threat, but Tehran will keep working to harm the Jewish state; meanwhile, unpredictable Turkey and its proxies are ascendant

Broken pictures of Iranian spiritual leaders Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini lie on the floor at the Iranian embassy after opposition forces took control of the city in Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Troops of the elite Shaldag unit are seen on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, December 8, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

ToI podcastDaily Briefing Dec. 9: Day 430 – IDF shores up buffer zone as Syrian rebels grasp power

By Amanda Borschel-Dan and Lazar Berman

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, tours Mount Bental on Israel's border with Syria along with military officers and Defense Minister Israel Katz, left, on December 8, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Netanyahu claims credit for starting ‘historic’ process that led to fall of Assad regime

By Lazar Berman, Sam Sokol, Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff

People are seen at the Sednaya Military Prison after armed groups take control in Damascus, Syria on December 9, 2024. (Emin Sansar / Anadolu / Reuters)

Bewildered, jubilant prisoners pour out as Assad’s jails are flung open

Freed inmates run through Damascus streets, hold up the fingers of both hands to show how many years they were in prison, ask passers-by what has happened, not knowing Assad ousted

A member of the Syrian community has painted a heart in the colors of Syria on her cheek as she attends a rally on December 8, 2024 in Berlin, Germany, to celebrate the end of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's rule. (Ralf Hirschberger/AFP)

Syrians across Europe barely able to contain their joy at Assad’s downfall

By Céline LE PRIOUX and Frank Zeller

Opposition fighters celebrate as they burn down a military court in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, December 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

ChronologyTwo seismic weeks that toppled the Assad regime

By AP

The leader of Syria's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that headed a lightning rebel offensive snatching Damascus from government control, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, address a crowd at the capital's landmark Umayyad Mosque on December 8, 2024. (Aref TAMMAWI / AFP)

Russia confirms taking in ousted Syrian president

Assad flees to Moscow as victorious rebel leader al-Golani enters Damascus

By Agencies and ToI Staff

‘This victory, my brothers, is historic for the region,’ says HTS leader at mosque in Syrian capital; Biden says fall of Assad is ‘justice,’ but also ‘a moment of risk’ for region

An anti-government fighter waves an Islamic flag from atop a tank in Damascus on December 9, 2024. - (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

Iran says it is in direct contact with groups in Syria’s new leadership

By Reuters and ToI Staff

IDF troops operate in northern Gaza's Jabalia, in a handout photo issued on December 9, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Live updates (closed)

Dec. 9: US backs Israel’s seizure of Syrian side of Golan, says it’ll ensure it is temporary

By Michael Bachner and Elana Kirsh

Saudi Arabia says Syria’s chance at restoring security ruined by Israel capturing buffer zone * After 1.5 months, PM aide Feldstein accused in leaks case sent to house arrest

9:31 pm

Netherland's Geert Wilders meets, praises Netanyahu during whirlwind visit to Israel
9:16 pm

Saudi Arabia claims Israel undermining Syria's security with buffer zone seizure
9:10 pm

Israel tells UN its action in Golan Heights are 'limited and temporary'

In time, Latakia can be another Singapore, the Druze can border Israel, and a Sunni Syria can be extremist if it must (I’d prefer a peaceful, progressive state)

Catastrophizing the Melbourne synagogue attack

With our history of trauma, an act of terror can seem to prove that Jews are wholly unsafe. That’s a mistake – and a win for the terrorists

Photographs of the victims killed and held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since the October 7 massacre, on Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv, December 12, 2024. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

Israeli officials: Report Hamas gave list of hostages to be freed under deal is incorrect

By ToI Staff and Reuters

Government pointman dismisses Arabic paper’s claim that would indicate advanced stage of talks; FM Sa’ar says he is more optimistic than before, ‘but we are not there yet’

A large poster reading A year NOW, referring to Israeli hostages held in Gaza since October 2023, is seen in Tel Aviv. December 5, 2024. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

Israel and Hamas exchange lists of names for release as talks advance – report

Udi Goren, second from left, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he meets with relatives of Israelis held hostage in Gaza, December 8, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Netanyahu tells hostage families fall of Assad regime could advance negotiations

By Lazar Berman, Jacob Magid and ToI Staff

Drone from Yemen smashes into apartment block in Yavne; causes damage but no injuries

By Emanuel Fabian

IDF probe finds drone not continuously detected after entering Israeli airspace in south; no sirens sound; incident marks third successive day of attacks by Iran-backed Houthis

A member of the Israeli security forces takes pictures at the site where a drone exploded on the top floor of a residential building in the southern Israeli city of Yavne on December 9, 2024. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, November 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldbergl/Flash90)

Security cabinet ministers urge AG, court to delay Netanyahu’s graft testimony

Almost every minister signs letter appealing to Baharav-Miara and district court judge, claiming diverting PM’s attention from regional affairs now would harm national security

Eli Feldstein, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged with national security violations in a case involving leaked classified IDF intel, is released to house arrest after 45 days in detention, December 9, 2024 (Ynet screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

Netanyahu aide accused in documents scandal released to house arrest after 1.5 months

By Jeremy Sharon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen at the Jerusalem District Court during the testimony of businessman Arnon Milchan in Netanyahu's corruption trial, July 2, 2023. (Oren Ben Hakoon/POOL)

Court rejects claim it must coordinate Netanyahu’s testimony with Knesset speaker

By Sam Sokol and Jeremy Sharon

Flowers and messages of hope and support seen at the Adass Israel Synagogue in the Ripponlea suburb of Melbourne, December 8, 2024, after it was gutted in an arson attack early on December 6, 2024. (Reuters)

‘Shattered’: Melbourne synagogue arson leaves community feeling furious, and vulnerable

Many feel betrayed by the Australian government, citing inaction in the face of a surge of antisemitic incidents and an anti-Israel stance; suspects still at large

Australia declares synagogue arson a terror attack as police hunt for three suspects

Interview

Gianluca Pacchiani

With Assad’s fall, the possible splintering of Syria buoys hopes for a new Middle East

Anan Wahabi, a former IDF intel officer from the Druze community, says Syria’s groups could rebuild the country as semi-autonomous cantons, ensuring stability and perhaps cooperation with Israel

A Syrian opposition fighter tears up a painting depicting Syrian President Bashar Assad and his late father Hafez Assad at the Aleppo international airpot in Aleppo, Syria, December 2, 2024. .(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, shakes hands with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, before their meeting in Tehran, Iran, on February 25, 2019. (SANA via AP)

Analysis‘Break in the chain’: Fall of Assad deals blow to Iran’s global ‘Axis of Resistance’

By AP and ToI Staff

An Iranian flag lies on the ground at the entrance of the Iranian embassy, which was damaged by opposition fighters in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP/Hussein Malla)

Once staunch Assad backers, Iran and Russia now calling for deescalation in Syria

By Reuters and ToI Staff

Tsahal, Salim and Max, three friends in Katzrin, on December 8, 2024. (Gavriel Fiske/Times of Israel)

Reporter's Notebook'A tectonic, international earthquake'

As Syrian regime falls next door, Golan town of Katzrin keeps calm and carries on

By Gavriel Fiske

Residents of ‘The Capital of the Golan’ went about their business on Sunday, but some expressed uncertainty about the historical changes taking place a short car ride away

Palestinians at the site of an Israeli airstrike on an United Nations (UNRWA) school building in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on July 15, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

NYT: Documents show top administrators at UNRWA schools were Hamas fighters

Terror group’s internal records identify 24 school employees as operatives, half of whom were issued rifles, grenades; one principal was known to wear Hamas fatigues after school

Illustrative: Pope Francis prays before the 'Nativity of Bethlehem 2024' with baby Jesus wrapped in Palestinian keffiyeh, upon its inauguration in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on December 7, 2024. (Andreas Solaro/ AFP)

Pope Francis inaugurates nativity scene in Vatican showing baby Jesus on keffiyeh

Pontiff, who recently called to investigate Israel for genocide, preaches end to all war, as he dedicates scene by Palestinian artists, to be displayed in Vatican’s Paul VI Hall

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff looks downfield during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Houston November 30, 2024, in Provo. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

'I grew up with matzo with peanut butter as my favorite snack'

Star Jewish quarterback Jake Retzlaff nabs Manischewitz’s first sports sponsorship

By jacob gurvis

Retzlaff, who plays for Mormon flagship Brigham Young University, goes by the moniker BY-Jew while openly celebrating his Jewish identity and upbringing

More Headlines

Israeli settler activists set up tents in what they claimed is southern Lebanon, which the IDF initially denied, December 7, 2024. (Uri Tzafon Movement)

Settler group claims to have entered Lebanon and established outpost; IDF denies it

By Jeremy Sharon, Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff

President Isaac Herzog addresses a memorial ceremony in memory of the late prime minister David Ben Gurion, December 8, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Herzog decries coalition’s divisive judicial agenda, warns of harm to democracy

An Israeli man is detained on suspicion of spying for Iran in a picture released on December 9, 2024. (Israel Police)

Police accuse Nof Hagalil man of burning cars, spray-painting messages for Iran

By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff

Illustrative: Offices of the Jerusalem Venture Partners tech investment firm in Jerusalem, February 18, 2019. (Hadas Parush/ Flash90)

Israel is producing fewer new startups, raising concerns about future tech jobs

By Sharon Wrobel

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