Join our Community
Support ToI and remove all ads
Learn more

ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 472

Syria

People walk along a market alley in the old city of Damascus, Syria, on January 18, 2025. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
January 19, 2025, 4:18 pm
Nearly 200,000 Syrian refugees have returned since Assad regime fell, UN says
Hundreds of thousands more came back earlier in 2024 from Lebanon, fleeing Israel-Hezbollah conflict; Turkey allowing 3 round trips per refugee family to prepare for resettlement
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Security forces reporting to Syria's transitional government patrol the streets of Dummar, a suburb of the Syrian captial Damascus, on January 15, 2025. (Bakr Alkasem/AFP)
January 19, 2025, 4:18 pm
Syrian defense minister rejects Kurdish proposal for own military bloc
US-backed Kurdish force demands ‘decentralized administration,’ refuses to dissolve itself in face of interim government’s efforts to unify armed forces
By Reuters
This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani in Damascus, Syria, January 16, 2025. (SANA/AFP)
January 18, 2025, 12:17 am
Syria’s de facto leader: Israel no longer has excuse to stay in buffer zone
In joint press conference with Qatari PM, Ahmed Al-Sharaa says Damascus will welcome presence of UN peacekeepers in demilitarized area between countries
By ToI Staff and Agencies
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at a human rights-themed event hosted by his Islamist AKP political party in the Turkish capital of Ankara, August 5, 2024. (Screen capture: X/Türkiye Canlı, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
January 15, 2025, 4:08 pm
Israel rebuffs ‘imperialist’ Turkey after Erdogan says it must withdraw from Syria
Turkish leader warns of an ‘unfavorable outcome for everyone’ if IDF troops don’t leave buffer area they entered after fall of Assad regime
By Amy Spiro, ToI Staff and Reuters
Syrian children play on an damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
January 14, 2025, 4:10 pm
Unexploded ordnance in Syria killing children at ‘alarming’ rate, UN warns
Over 100 kids killed or injured in last month, UNICEF reports, as explosives litter country after almost 14 years of civil war; tens of millions of dollars needed to clear them
By AFP
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan hosting a meeting of top diplomats from the Middle East and Europe to discuss Syria, poses for a picture with the participants in Riyadh on January 12, 2025. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP)
January 12, 2025, 2:12 pm
Diplomats convene in Saudi Arabia for talks on Syria’s future
Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led Islamist rebel group that toppled regime, urges sanctions relief, as West moves to provide humanitarian essentials while demanding inclusive government
By AFP
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), shows Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati (L) shaking hands with Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa before their meeting in Damascus on January 11, 2025. (SANA/AFP)
January 12, 2025, 1:07 am
Syria’s Sharaa meets Lebanese PM in bid to improve nations’ ties
Mikati is the first head of government to visit Damascus since Assad regime fell last month; new Syrian leaders looking to get relations back on track with neighbors
By Reuters
An aerial view shows the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, locally believed to hold the grave of Zeinab bint Ali, the daughter of Imam Ali and Fatima, and granddaughter of the Islamic prophet Mohammad, in the southern suburbs of Damascus, on December 11, 2024. (Dylan COLLINS / AFP)
January 11, 2025, 3:10 pm
Syrian intelligence agency says it thwarted Islamic State bomb attack on Shiite shrine
Site has been previously targeted by the terror group; announcement of foiled plot appears to be latest attempt by country’s new leaders to reassure religious minorities
By Agencies
A rebel fighter walks past a portrait of toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad at the 4th Division barracks of the dismantled Syrian army, in the town of Dummar near Damascus, on December 23, 2024. (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
January 9, 2025, 2:07 pm
Iranian general says Assad blocked Tehran’s effort to open Syrian front against Israel
Behrouz Esbati says now-ousted Syrian leader refused multiple requests to let Iran-backed militias attack from country after October 7; acknowledges regime’s fall a ‘very big blow’
By ToI Staff
An Israeli soldier stands guard at the Hermon ski resort, bordering Syria and Lebanon, during a media tour organized by the IDF, January 8, 2025. (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
January 8, 2025, 11:44 pm
IDF detains, then releases, French journalist in southern Syria buffer zone
Military says Sylvain Mercadier and his fixer ‘came too close to the soldiers, was questioned and then released,’ as Mercadier says he was humiliated, had his equipment stolen
By Emanuel Fabian and Agencies
Abdullah Zahra demonstrates how he was tortured in a cell at Branch 215, a detention facility run by military intelligence during Bashar al-Assad's regime, in Damascus, Syria, on Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
January 7, 2025, 12:29 pm
‘My screams would go to heaven’: Syrians speak out about torture under Assad
Long silenced by fear, men and women finally share what happened in the 100 detention facilities where torture, brutality, sexual violence and mass executions were rampant
By Sarah El Deeb and Malak Harb
Israeli military armored vehicles block a road leading to the town of Quneitra, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP)
January 6, 2025, 9:30 pm
In Syria’s Quneitra, frustration at lack of action to end Israeli incursion
Local residents want new government to push out IDF, which it accuses of demolishing homes and orchards; military source says army ‘unaware of incidents’
By AP and ToI Staff
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger delivers remarks during a press preview of the use of drones in humanitarian work in Avully near Geneva, on June 7, 2023. (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
January 5, 2025, 2:13 pm
Red Cross says locating missing Syrians after Assad’s downfall likely to take years
Organization is currently dealing with at least 43,000 missing people in ‘massive task’ that may fail in some cases, urges de facto leaders to preserve evidence
By Maher Al Mounes
Troops of the Israeli Air Force's elite Shaldag unit are seen atop the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, in a photo published December 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
January 4, 2025, 3:00 pm
Report: Syrian leader asked US to press Israel to withdraw its forces from buffer zone
Amid reports of more Islamist slant in Syrian school curricula, Ahmed al-Sharaa hosts German and French foreign ministers, who warn that Europe won’t fund ‘new Islamist structures’
By ToI Staff
Bakhour Chamntoub (L), the head of Syria's remaining Jewish community, which numbers some nine people, speaks with Mohammad Badarieh (R), a representative of the country's de-facto new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a clip aired by the Kan public broadcaster on January 3, 2025. (Screen capture via X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
January 3, 2025, 1:57 pm
Aide to Syrian leader meets with head of tiny Jewish community, urges Jews to return
Mohammad Badarieh, representing Islamist rebel chief Ahmed al-Sharaa, tells Bakhour Chamntoub, one of 9 remaining Jews, that ‘you will be safe,’ all will have ‘peace and security’
By ToI Staff
Load More
Sign in or Register
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.
Never miss breaking news on Israel
Get notifications to stay updated
You're subscribed
image
Register for free
and continue reading
Registering also lets you comment on articles and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.