Middle East crisis live: Iranian-backed militias reportedly enter Syria to back Assad’s army | World news
Key events
Overnight, Israel’s chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, justified the continued military activity in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, saying: “We are not waiting for terrorists.”
Speaking after the IDF mounted an operation in occupied Jenin, Halevi said in a statement:
We are not waiting for terrorists; we reach where necessary – until we eliminate those who threaten our security. Initiative and proactive actions are the key to our successes here. Offensive and preemptive efforts, like this morning’s strike, allow us to continue to fight effectively in Lebanon, Gaza, and even in more distant arenas.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency relied on a conversation between Iranpresident of Massoud Pezeshkiyan and IraqPrime Minister of Muhammad Shia al-Sudani.
It reported Pezeshkian as saying: “As the region moved toward relative calm following the cease-fire in Lebanonand attention turned to Gaza, recent events in Syria have raised serious concerns for regional security.
Pezeshkian was reported to have said it was “essential for the Islamic community to unite and work together to prevent the spread of terrorism in the region,” and he suggested that Israel was trying to spread “uncertainty, strife and conflict in Islamic countries”.
Iran-backed militias entered Syria overnight to support Assad’s army – reports
Iranian-backed militias entered Syria overnight from Iraq and headed for northern Syria to reinforce Syrian army forces battling rebels, two Syrian army sources told Reuters.
“These are fresh reinforcements sent to help our comrades on the front line in the north,” a senior army source told the news agency.
Pro-Assad media in Syria quoting the health minister Dr. Ahmed Damiriehreported that ambulances and emergency services in Aleppo had resumed operations after being out of action for two days following the attacks. The claims have not been independently verified.
Overnight, the Syrian National News Agency reported that the telephone network in Aleppo, which had been seized by rebel forces, “suffered significant damage and several switches were down.”
Welcome and introductory summary…
Welcome to our current coverage of the conflict in the Middle East. Here are the headlines…
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Iranian-backed militias entered Syria at night from Iraq and headed towards northern Syria to bolster the besieged Syrian army forces fighting the rebels
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A US-backed and Kurdish-led force in Syria is seeking to evacuate Kurds in parts of Aleppo in safe zones, his chief said on Monday after pro-Turkish rebels seized a city home to tens of thousands of Kurds
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to the Syrian capital Damascuswhere he told reporters in Iran the purpose of his visit was to convey the strength of Tehran’s support for the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and its management
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Assadwhose regime is also backed by Moscow, vowed to “protect [Syria’s] stability and territorial integrity in the face of all terrorists and their supporters”
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Turkey’s first diplomat discussed the shocking rebel offensive in Syria with the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinkensaying Ankara would support moves “to reduce tensions” in the war-torn country. In a telephone conversation, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Blinken that Turkey was “against any development that would increase instability in the region”
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The international criminal courtMember states open their annual meeting on Monday. The Assembly of States Parties, which represents the ICC’s 124 member states, will convene its 23rd conference to elect commission members and approve the court’s budget
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Israel It is reported to be closely monitoring developments in the Syrian uprising, fearing that Iran could send significant forces into the country. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a second meeting on Syria’s last stand, amid fears that Iranian troops could be deployed to Israel’s borders and that Tehran could use it as an opportunity to supply arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon
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Netanyahu’s wife Sara Netanyahu met with the President-elect of the United States Donald Trump on Sunday, in an event he held at his golf course in Florida
