DAMASCUS: Bashar Assad on Monday said he fled Syria only after Damascus had fallen and denounced the country’s new leaders as “terrorists,” in his first remarks since militants seized the capital and unseated him.
An opposition alliance launched a lightning offensive from its northwest Syria bastion on November 27, swiftly capturing major cities from government control and taking the capital on December 8.
“My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed,” said a statement from Assad on the ousted presidency’s Telegram channel.
“I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours” of Sunday December 8, it added.
“As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations,” the statement said, adding that he arrived at the Hmeimim base that morning.
“As the field situation in the area continued to deteriorate, the Russian military base itself came under intensified attack by drone strikes,” it said, and “Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening” of December 8.
Five former officials previously told AFP that hours before militant forces seized Damascus and toppled Assad’s government, the former Syrian president was already out of the country.
The officials said that the night before, Assad had even asked his close adviser to prepare a speech — which the ousted leader never gave — before flying from Damascus airport to Russia’s Hmeimim air base, and from there out of the country.
“When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes void of purpose,” the statement from Assad added.
Though Assad has long branded any who oppose his rule “terrorists,” Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the group that led his overthrow, has also been proscribed as a terrorist organization by the United States and other Western governments.
With its roots in a former branch of Al-Qaeda in Syria, HTS broke with the extremist group in 2016 and has sought to soften its image.
In recent days, both the US and Britain have established contact with the group.
Assad denies ‘planned’ exit from Syria
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Assad denies ‘planned’ exit from Syria
- Former officials said that the night before he left, Assad had asked his close adviser to prepare a speech
- He flew from Damascus airport to Russia’s Hmeimim air base, and from there out of the country: former officials
Syrians begin fasting during first Ramadan without Assad family rule in decades
- Most countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Kuwait began observing Ramadan on Saturday, while a few other countries such as Malyasia and Japan, as well as some Shiite Muslims, will begin the fast on Sunday
- Insurgents led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group, or HTS, overthrew President Bashar Assad’s secular government in early December ending the 54-year Assad family dynasty
DAMASCUS, Syria: Some restaurants and coffee shops in Syria were closed during the day Saturday while others opened as usual as observant Muslims began fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, the first since the fall of Assad family rule in the war-torn country.
Syria’s interim Ministry of Religious Endowments reportedly called for all restaurants, coffee shops and street food stands be closed during the day and that people must not eat or drink in public or face punishment. Those who violate the rule could get up to three months in jail. However, it did not appear that any official order had been issued by the government to that effect.
Associated Press journalists who toured Damascus on Saturday said some coffee shops were opened but had their windows closed to that people can’t see who is inside.
Insurgents led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group, or HTS, overthrew President Bashar Assad’s secular government in early December ending the 54-year Assad family dynasty. Since then, Syria’s new Islamist government under former insurgent leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa, has been in control and many fear that the country could turn into an Daesh, although Al-Sharaa has so far promised to respect religious minorities.
Under Assad’s rule during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when observant Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset, people were allowed to eat in public. This year, many people are abstaining from eating in public fearing reprisals.
“Ramadan this year comes with a new flavor. This is the Ramadan of victory and liberation,” said interim Minister of Religious Affairs Hussam Hajj-Hussein in a televised statement.
Most countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Kuwait began observing Ramadan on Saturday, while a few other countries such as Malyasia and Japan, as well as some Shiite Muslims, will begin the fast on Sunday.
In many parts of the region, the holy month this year is bittersweet. Lebanese this year mark Ramadan after the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a US-brokered ceasefire that went into effect in late November.
In the Gaza Strip, a fragile ceasefire deal, which has paused over 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas, nears the end of its first phase, and many Palestinians ate their first iftar in the middle of the rubble where their houses used to be.
“This year, after the fall of the regime, there are many confirmations regarding the prohibition of publicly breaking the fast, with violators facing imprisonment,” said Damascus resident Munir Abdallah. “This is something new, good and respectable, meaning that the rituals of Ramadan should be fully observed in all their aspects.”
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar; the month cycles through the seasons. The start of the month traditionally depends on the sighting of the crescent moon.
The actual start date may vary among Muslim communities due to declarations by multiple Islamic authorities around the globe on whether the crescent has been sighted or different methodologies used to determine the start of the month.
The fast breaking meal is known as iftar and usually family members and friends gather at sunset to have the main meal. Muslims eat a pre-dawn meal, called “suhoor,” to hydrate and nurture their bodies ahead of the daily fast.
The holy month is also a time when Islamic and charitable organizations frequently provide meals for those unable to afford their own.
In the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Bashar al Mashhadani, imam of the Sheikh Abdulqadir al Gailani Mosque in Baghdad said the mosque was preparing to serve 1,000 free meals per day to people coming to break their fast.
Ramadan is followed by the Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Fitr, one of Islam’s most important feasts.
Israel backs US proposal for Ramadan, Passover truce
- Netanyahu’s office said Israel would immediately conduct negotiations on Witkoff’s plan if Hamas agreed to it
CAIRO: Israel will adopt the proposal by US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods, the prime minister’s office said early on Sunday, hours after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire was set to expire.
On the first day of Witkoff’s proposal, half of the hostages held in Gaza, both alive and dead, will be released, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, adding the remaining hostages will also be released after a permanent ceasefire was agreed.
Witkoff made the proposal to extend the current ceasefire after realizing more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire, Netanyahu’s office added.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem earlier on Saturday said the group rejected Israel’s “formulation” of extending the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, but did not explicitly mention Witkoff’s plan.
Netanyahu’s office said Israel would immediately conduct negotiations on Witkoff’s plan if Hamas agreed to it.
“According to the agreement, Israel can return to fighting after the 42nd day if it feels that the negotiations are ineffective,” Netanyahu’s office also said, accusing Hamas of violating the deal. Both sides have been trading accusations of violating the deal.
The ceasefire agreement reached in January halted 15 months of fighting, allowing the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. It was meant to lead to subsequent talks to build on the ceasefire deal.
Talks about the ceasefire have been ongoing, most recently in Cairo, but have not led to an agreement.
Mourners bury one of the last hostages released from Gaza as talks start for ceasefire future
- With the first phase of the ceasefire deal set to end Saturday, relatives of hostages still held in Gaza are ramping up pressure on Netanyahu to secure the release of their loved ones
JERUSALEM: Mourners in Israel on Friday buried the remains of one of the final hostages released in the first phase of the ceasefire between Hamas militants and Israel, as negotiators discussed a second phase that could end the war in Gaza and see the remaining living captives returned home.
The funeral procession for Tsachi Idan, an avid soccer fan who was 49 when he was abducted by Hamas militants, began at a Tel Aviv football stadium en route to the cemetery where he was buried in a private ceremony.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Idan, taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 2023 attack that left 1,200 dead in Israel and sparked the war in Gaza, was killed in captivity.
His body was one of four released by Hamas early Thursday in exchange for over 600 Palestinian prisoners, the last planned swap of the ceasefire’s first phase, which began in January.
Idan was the only one of his family taken to Gaza. His eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed as militants shot through the door of their saferoom. Hamas militants broadcast themselves on Facebook live holding the Idan family hostage in their home, as his two younger children pleaded with the militants to let them go.
“My brother is the real hero. He held on,” Idan’s sister, Noam Idan ben Ezra, said in an interview on Israeli radio Friday. She said Idan had been “a pace away” from being released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023, when more than 100 of the 251 people abducted on Oct. 7 were released.
“Tsachi was forsaken twice. The first time when he was kidnapped from his home and the second time when the deal blew up,” she added. “The fact that Tsachi is not standing next to me today is the outcome of the decision-making and the policy here in Israel. They did not listen to us then, but it’s not too late to listen to us today.”
Concern for remaining hostages
With the first phase of the ceasefire deal set to end Saturday, relatives of hostages still held in Gaza are ramping up pressure on Netanyahu to secure the release of their loved ones.
According to Israel, 32 of the 59 hostages still in Gaza are dead, and there has been growing concern about the welfare of an unknown number who are still alive, particularly after three hostages released Feb. 8 appeared emaciated.
One of the three, Eli Sharabi, said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 Friday that he and other hostages had been held in iron chains, starved and sometimes beaten or humiliated.
“During the first three days, my hands are tied behind my back, my legs are tied, with ropes that tear into your flesh, and a bit of food, a bit of water during the day,” he said, in one of the first interviews by a hostage released under the current deal. “I remember not being able to fall asleep because of the pain, the ropes are already digging into your flesh, and every movement makes you want to scream.”
Sharabi found out after his release that his wife and daughters had been killed during the Oct. 7 attack.
The next phase of the ceasefire
Officials from Israel, Qatar and the United States have started “intensive discussions” on the ceasefire’s second phase in Cairo, Egypt‘s state information service said Thursday. The agreement calls for those talks to bring an end to the war, with the return of all remaining living hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Hamas said in a statement released Friday that it “reaffirms its full commitment to implementing all terms of the agreement in all its stages and details.” It called on the international community to pressure Israel to “immediately proceed to the second phase without any delay or evasion.”
Hamas has rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the first phase by 42 days, saying it goes against the ceasefire agreement, according to a member of the group who requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. The Israeli proposal calls for extending the ceasefire through the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in return for an additional hostage exchange, the Hamas member said.
Netanyahu’s office confirmed he had sent a delegation to Cairo.
Mediators in the talks are “also discussing ways to enhance the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, as part of efforts to alleviate the suffering of the population and support stability in the region,” the statement from Netanyahu’s office said.
Israel’s negotiators were to return home Friday night, said an Israeli official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks. Negotiations are set to continue Saturday, the official said. But it was not clear if the Israeli team would travel back to Cairo to attend them.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that the coming days are “critical,” and urged Israel and Hamas to fulfill their commitments.
The first phase of the ceasefire, which paused 15 months of fighting, saw the release of 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has vowed to return all the hostages and destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza.
But it’s unclear how Israel would destroy Hamas without resuming the war, and Hamas is unlikely to release the remaining hostages — its main bargaining chips — without a lasting ceasefire.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, who don’t differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but say over half the dead have been women and children.
Palestinians prepare for Ramadan amid destroyed homes
Palestinians who returned to destroyed homes in Gaza City started Friday to prepare for Ramadan, shopping for essential household goods and foods. Some say the Islamic holy month feels better than one spent last year, but still far from normal.
“The situation is very difficult for people and life is very hard. Most people — their homes have been destroyed. Some people can’t afford to shop for Ramadan, but our faith in God is great as he never forgets to bless people,” said Gaza City resident Nasser Shoueikh.
Ramadan is a holy Islamic month during which observant Muslims around the world practice the ritual of daily fasting from dawn to sunset. It’s often known for increased prayers, charity and spirituality as well as family gatherings enjoying different dishes and desserts during Iftar, when Muslims break their fasting, and Suhoor, the last meal before sunrise.
US says killed military leader of Syria Al-Qaeda affiliate
- On February 22, it said a “precision air strike” had killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a leader of the group which the US classifies as a terrorist organization
WASHINGTON: The US Army said Saturday it had killed a top military leader of Hurras Al-Din, a Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda which announced its dissolution in January.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM), in charge of American forces in the Middle East, said in a statement that its forces on February 23 “conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras Al-Din.”
Since Hurras Al-Din announced in late January that it was dissolving itself, US air strikes have killed several of the group’s leaders, according to CENTCOM.
On February 22, it said a “precision air strike” had killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a leader of the group which the US classifies as a terrorist organization.
American forces are in Syria as part of an international coalition created in 2014 to fight the terrorists of the Daesh group.
After a rebel alliance led by radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham toppled President Bashar Assad and took power in Damascus on December 8, Hurras Al-Din said it no longer needed to exist.
The group, including foreign jihadists, was based in mountainous northwestern Syria.
’Steadfast’ Gazans begin second Ramadan among rubble
- Israeli bombardment or fighting has displaced almost the entire population and triggered widespread hunger, according to the United Nations
RAFAH, Palestinian Territories: A red-covered table stretching several hundred meters carved a path through mounds of rubble in southern Gaza on Saturday, as families gathered to break their fast during the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
As the sun set over a neighborhood in Rafah, where fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants has left barely a handful of buildings standing, hundreds of Gazans of all ages dug into their Iftar meal marking the end of the day’s fast.
“People are deeply saddened, and everything around us feels heartbreaking,” said Malak Fadda, who had organized the communal meal.
“So, we decided to bring joy back to this street, just as it was before the war.”
As the crowd sat down to eat, uncertainty loomed over the next stages of the Gaza ceasefire, the first phase of which was drawing to a close on Saturday after largely bringing an end to more than 15 months of fighting.
A second stage is supposed to pave the way for a more permanent end to the war, but negotiations have so far been inconclusive.
Music wafted from loudspeakers through the crowd in Rafah, who sat on a long row of plastic chairs under bunting, Palestinian flags and lights strung between the broken concrete.
The war sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel has left over 69 percent of Gaza’s buildings damaged or destroyed.
Israeli bombardment or fighting has displaced almost the entire population and triggered widespread hunger, according to the United Nations.
The truce that took effect on January 19 has enabled greater aid flows into the devastated Palestinian territory, but hundreds of thousands continue to live in tents, with many camped out in the rubble of their former homes.
“On the first day of Ramadan, we had hoped to return to our houses to break our fast with our families and be together at our homes,” Rafah resident Umm Al-Baraa Habib told AFP.
“But this is God’s will, and we remain steadfast,” she added.
In the northern city of Beit Lahia, dozens defiantly joined together in the fading evening light to break the fast among the remnants of half-collapsed buildings.
“We are here in the midst of destruction and rubble and we are steadfast despite the pain and our wounds,” said Mohammed Abu Al-Jidyan.
“Here we are eating Iftar on our land and we will not leave this place,” he added.
United States President Donald Trump has floated an idea for a US takeover of Gaza under which its Palestinian population would be relocated — a proposal met with global condemnation.
Before the break of dawn in the southern city of Khan Yunis, fluorescent pink, yellow and blue lights illuminated a largely war-destroyed neighborhood where a small crowd had gathered for the Suhur meal, eaten ahead of fasting.
A mural reading “Ramadan brings us together” with a crescent moon was painted onto one of the walls left standing.
The day before young people had hung colorful Ramadan lanterns, flags and decorations between the rubble, while vendors displayed balloons and toys for children.
But the usual joy of the Muslim holy month has brought little hope to many of Gaza’s war displaced.
“My children sometimes ask me for clothes and food, but I can’t provide for them because I have been out of work for a year and a half,” said Omar Al-Madhoun, a resident of the hard-hit Jabalia camp in north Gaza.
“We sit among the destruction, not knowing how to manage our lives. We also fear that the war will return, bringing even more destruction,” he told AFP on Friday, the day the start of Ramadan was announced.
Hamas’s attack on Israel that began the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel’s retaliation has killed 48,388 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory whose figures the UN has deemed reliable.
The first phase of the truce has seen Hamas free 25 living hostages and return the bodies of eight others to Israel in exchange for more than 1,700 Palestinian prisoners.
