Middle East latest: Israeli strikes hit Gaza and also target suspected weapons sites in Syria

The U.N. Security Council plans to hold emergency closed consultations on Syria later Monday at the request of Russia, which on Monday said it granted asylum to its longtime ally Syrian leadeashar Assad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally made the decision to offer asylum to Assad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov wouldn’t comment on Assad’s specific whereabouts and said that Putin wasn’t planning to meet with him.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,500 Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war, according to local health authorities. They say most of the dead are women and children but do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250, including older adults and children. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

___

Here's the Latest:

GENEVA — The U.N. human rights chief said Monday that former President Bashar Assad and other top Syrian officials behind possible war crimes “should be brought to justice.”

Volker Türk also said any transition process in Syria should not be separated from the need for accountability for alleged war crimes that took place in its civil war that began in 2011, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and millions fleeing their homes.

Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, also noted that Syria has not ratified the International Criminal Court statute, but the court in The Hague could have jurisdiction if the “new Syria” decides to ratify it -- an allusion to whoever the new leadership of Syria becomes.

Turk said there were “serious grounds to believe” that Assad and others in serious leadership positions in his government may have committed atrocity crimes, “and as a result, yes, they should be brought to justice.”

MOSCOW — The Kremlin said Monday that Russia has granted political asylum to former Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has personally made the decision to offer asylum to Assad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“Such decisions certainly can’t be made without the head of state,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “It was his decision.”

Peskov wouldn’t comment on Assad’s specific whereabouts. He said that Putin wasn’t planning to meet with Assad.

The Kremlin spokesman said that Moscow has been doing everything needed to ensure the security of its military bases in Syria.

He said the future of the Russian bases will be a subject for discussion with the new authorities.

“For now, we are witnessing a period of transformation and extreme instability, so it will obviously take time and require a serious conversation with those who will have power,” he said.

“The developments have surprised the world, and we weren’t an exclusion,” Peskov said when asked whether the Kremlin was surprised by Assad’s quick demise.

GENEVA — The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, says any political transition in Syria must ensure accountability for perpetrators of serious violations during the country’s civil war, and guarantee that those responsible are held to account.

Speaking Monday to reporters in Geneva, Türk said Syrians took to the streets a day earlier “with much hope and much anxiety for the future” after President Bashar Assad quit power and left the country.

The rights chief said reform of the security apparatus in Syria will be important for the transition, which “must also ensure that the tragedy of missing people is addressed.”

He suggested that Assad himself should be held to account.

“We will need to make sure that those who are responsible for these violations — be it on the side of the previous government, the president, and others — but also all others who are responsible for violations, that they are brought to account,” Türk said.

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday that Ankara hopes the fall of the Syrian government will usher in a new era where different ethnic and religious groups can live peacefully under an inclusive new government.

Fidan also said his country hopes that a “new Syria” would maintain good relations with its neighbors and bring stability to the volatile region.

“The developments in Syria yesterday have given us a glimmer of hope,” Fidan said in a speech to Turkish ambassadors. “We expect international actors, especially the United Nations, to reach out to the Syrian people and support the formation of an inclusive government.”

The minister said Turkey would continue to support Syria’s territorial and political unity and work toward the country’s “prosperity, security and stability.”

But Fidan said it was important that the Islamic State group and Kurdish militants do not take advantage of the situation, adding that Turkey “would work with determination” to prevent Syria from turning into a “haven for terrorism.”

“Turkey, which has reached out to its Syrian brothers during difficult times, will also be by their side, as the new page opens in Damascus,” Fidan said. “We believe that the Syrian people will also make good use of this golden opportunity.”

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said Monday that a drone that appeared to have originated in Yemen slammed into a city in central Israel.

Video posted by Israeli news sites showed a large burst of smoke erupting from a high-rise apartment building.

The military said sirens were not sounded to warn of the incoming drone. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Iran-backed militants in Yemen have been attacking Israel since Hamas’ assault on southern Israel in October 2023.

Their drones have at times evaded Israel’s sophisticated aerial defense system.

ANKARA, Turkey — The Turkish-backed forces known as the Syrian National Army launched an offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces in the northern Syrian city of Manbij on Dec. 6, days after expelling SDF fighters from the city of Tal Rifaat.

Turkish security officials said Monday that “control of Manbij has been secured,” without providing further details. The officials provided the information on condition of anonymity, in line with Turkish regulations.

Turkey views the SDF, which is primarily composed of a Syrian Kurdish militia group, as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and a terrorist organization. The force, however, has been a key partner of the United States in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Separately, the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement on Monday that a Turkish drone strike in the village of al-Mistriha north of Raqqa in eastern Syria killed 12 civilians, including six children.

BEIRUT — A Syrian opposition war monitor says a top aide to the brother of Syria’s ousted president was found dead in his office near the capital, Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Maj. Gen. Ali Mahmoud, who was in charge of Maher Assad’s office, had led a 2018 military campaign in southern Syria.

A video that circulated on social media allegedly showed Mahmoud covered in blood while sitting on a chair. His clothes appear to have been set on fire. It was not clear if he was killed by Maher Assad or he committed suicide, the observatory’s chief Rami Abdurrahman said.

Maher Assad was in charge of the army’s 4th Armored Division which played a major role in Syria’s conflict since it began in March 2011.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s foreign minister says the strikes were to prevent them from falling into the hands of hostile actors.

Gideon Saar said Monday that “the only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens.”

“That’s why we attacked strategic weapons systems, like, for example, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets so that they will not fall in the hands of extremists."

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s prime minister says most Cabinet ministers who are in Damascus are performing their duties from their offices to promote security and that food and medicine are available to the public.

“We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth,” Mohammed Ghazi Jalali told Sky News Arabia TV station on Monday.

The government is working with insurgents, Jalali said, adding that he is ready to meet their leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who heads the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes in the central Gaza Strip overnight killed at least six people, including a woman, Palestinian medical officials said Monday.

Among the dead was Raed Ghabaien, who was released from Israeli detention in 2014, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where the casualties were taken.

He was killed along with his wife when an Israeli strike hit their tent in the central town of Zuweida, the hospital records showed.

Two other people were killed in a strike that hit their house late Sunday in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp. Another two were killed in a strike in the Wadi Gaza area early Monday. An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the hospital’s morgue.

Mourners held funeral services Monday morning for the six dead and nine others who were killed in a strike the previous day in the urban refugee camp of Bureij.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,500 Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war, according to local health authorities. They say most of the dead are women and children but do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

Israel says it only strikes militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in residential areas.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250, including older adults and children. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. Central Command says its forces launched dozens of airstrikes targeting Islamic State group camps and operatives in central Syria.

The strikes on Sunday were intended to "disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS, in order to prevent the terrorist group from conducting external operations and to ensure that ISIS does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria,” it said in a statement.

The airstrikes hit over 75 targets using B-52s, F-15s, and A-10s, it said, noting that damage assessments were underway and there were no indications of civilian casualties.

TOKYO — Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi says Tokyo is watching recent developments in Syria “with a serious interest," while hoping for an improvement in human rights conditions for the Syrian people.

“Japan is gravely worried about a large number of deaths among citizens and strongly concerned about further worsening of the humanitarian conditions,” Hayashi said Monday.

He added that Japan is “hopeful” that the latest developments could lead to an improvement in the situation.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters says his country is closely following developments related to the collapse of former President Bashar Assad’s government in Syria.

“This was a regime that perpetrated significant human rights abuses, including repeated chemical weapons attacks, against its own people for many years,” Peters said in a statement issued on Monday. “Now we need to see a peaceful transition with civilians protected and UN Security Council resolutions upheld. This is critical for moving towards a sustainable and comprehensive political solution.”