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Arab World

Syria’s Opposition Works to Form Government, Restore Order after Assad Ouster

Opposition fighters pose as they hold a Syrian opposition flag inside the Umayyad Mosque, after the opposition seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 9, 2024. (Reuters)
Opposition fighters pose as they hold a Syrian opposition flag inside the Umayyad Mosque, after the opposition seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 9, 2024. (Reuters)
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Syria’s Opposition Works to Form Government, Restore Order after Assad Ouster

Opposition fighters pose as they hold a Syrian opposition flag inside the Umayyad Mosque, after the opposition seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 9, 2024. (Reuters)
Opposition fighters pose as they hold a Syrian opposition flag inside the Umayyad Mosque, after the opposition seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 9, 2024. (Reuters)

The lightning overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad left Syrians, countries in the region and world powers nervous on Tuesday about what comes next as the opposition alliance took its first steps in a government transition.

The United Nations Security Council met behind closed doors late on Monday, and diplomats said they were still in shock at how quickly Assad's overthrow unfolded over 12 days, after a 13-year civil war that was locked in stalemate for years.

"Everyone was taken by surprise, everyone, including the members of the council. So we have to wait and see and watch ... and evaluate how the situation will develop," Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after the body met.

Russia played a major role in supporting Assad's government and helping it fight the opposition factions. The Syrian leader fled Damascus for Moscow on Sunday, ending more than 50 years of brutal rule by his family.

With the mood in Damascus still celebratory, Assad's prime minister, Mohammed Jalali, on Monday agreed to hand power to the opposition-led Salvation Government, an administration based in opposition-held territory in northwest Syria.

The main opposition commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, met with Jalali and Vice President Faisal Mekdad to discuss the transitional government, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters. Jalali said the handover could take days to carry out.

Al Jazeera television reported the transitional authority would be headed by Mohamed al-Bashir, who has headed the Salvation Government.

The steamroller advance of the opposition alliance headed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, was a generational turning point for the Middle East.

The civil war that began in 2011 killed hundreds of thousands, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times and left cities bombed to rubble, countryside depopulated and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.

But the opposition alliance has not communicated plans for Syria's future, and there is no template for such a transition in the fractious region.

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Monday, partly on concerns that instability in Syria, which is not a major oil producer, could raise regional tensions, analysts said.

"This is an incredible moment for the Syrian people," Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said in New York. "Now we're really focused right now on trying to see where the situation goes. Can there be a governing authority in Syria that respects the rights and dignities of the Syrian population?"

The US was seeking ways to engage with Syrian opposition groups and is reaching out to partners in the region such as Türkiye to start informal diplomacy, Washington said.

Qatari diplomats spoke with HTS on Monday, an official briefed on the developments told Reuters, as regional states race to open contact with the group.

'FREEDOM, EQUALITY, RULE OF LAW'

Some opposition fighters who milled about the capital on Monday, clustering in the central Umayyad Square, expressed hope a civilian administration would soon be running the country.

"We want the state and security forces to be in charge," said Firdous Omar, a fighter who intends to resume farming in provincial Idlib.

Golani has vowed to rebuild Syria, and HTS has spent years trying to soften its image to reassure foreign nations and minority groups within Syria.

But fears of reprisals remained. HTS said it will not hesitate to hold security and army officers involved in torturing the Syrian people accountable, describing them as criminals and murderers.

"We will release a list that includes the names of the most senior officials involved in the torturing of the Syrian people," Golani said in a statement. "Rewards will be offered to those who will provide information about senior army and security officers involved in war crimes."

HTS is designated as a terrorist organization by many states and the UN, and its governing credentials are uncertain.

"Syrians are looking forward to establishing a state of freedom, equality, rule of law, democracy, and we will join efforts to rebuild our country, to rebuild what was destroyed, and to rebuild the future, better future of Syria," Syria's UN Ambassador Koussay Aldahhak told reporters.

There were tentative signs of a return to order. Syria's banks will reopen on Tuesday, and the oil ministry called on all employees in the sector to head to work on Tuesday, adding that protection would be provided to ensure their safety.

In one of many challenges facing Syria, Israel seized a buffer zone in the country's south, a move condemned by Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia said the move would "ruin Syria's chances of restoring security."

Israel said its airstrikes would carry on for days but told the UN Security Council that it was not intervening in Syria's conflict. It said it had taken "limited and temporary measures" solely to protect its security.

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Arab World

Hezbollah Signals Possible Return to 1980s 'Tactics' Against Israeli Army

Israeli military vehicles maneuver on the Lebanese side of the border, as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 29 April 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Israeli military vehicles maneuver on the Lebanese side of the border, as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 29 April 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
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Hezbollah Signals Possible Return to 1980s 'Tactics' Against Israeli Army

Israeli military vehicles maneuver on the Lebanese side of the border, as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 29 April 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Israeli military vehicles maneuver on the Lebanese side of the border, as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 29 April 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/ATEF SAFADI

Overlapping media leaks from within Hezbollah on activating “martyrdom fighters” (suicide operatives) have raised questions about the next phase on the southern front, amid talk of non-traditional combat options that echo the warfare of the 1980s.

Media leaks citing military sources within Hezbollah said the group is studying a return to “1980s tactics,” including activating what it described as “martyrdom units.”

The issue gains additional weight in light of prior rhetoric within the group. Former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah described fighters in the south during the 2024 “support war” as “martyrdom fighters,” reflecting the nature of the fighting and battlefield conditions.

The renewed use of the term raises questions over whether it is mobilizing rhetoric or an indication of potential operational choices.

Environmental Constraints and Technological Shift

Retired Brigadier General Yarub Sakhr told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the field reality in southern Lebanon makes talk of a return to suicide operations closer to a theoretical proposition than a practical option.”

He added: “The south today is largely depopulated due to displacement and destruction, which strips this type of operation of one of its key elements, namely the ability to conceal within a civilian environment.”

“Technological advances in surveillance and reconnaissance, along with Israel’s extensive target bank, make carrying out such operations extremely difficult, if not impossible, under constant monitoring and precise tracking, in addition to the difficulty of movement and field access.”

He noted that “signaling the existence of such operations along the border with Israel is used in a propaganda context,” adding that “the real message goes beyond the military dimension to the Lebanese domestic arena, where this rhetoric is employed as a pressure tool on officials and political forces to push them toward certain foreign policy choices.”

According to Sakhr invoking the 1980s approach does not stop at suicide operations but also recalls a broader pattern that included kidnappings and assassinations.

He affirmed that the comparison between the current situation in the south and that of the 1980s is not accurate, stressing that “talk of a return to this mode of warfare remains within the realm of slogans and political pressure rather than a viable military option under current conditions.”

Between Theory and Application

By contrast, retired Brigadier General Fadi Daoud told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Talk of reviving 1980s methods is not merely media rhetoric, but reflects that this option exists within the party’s available capabilities.”

He said references to suicide operatives ready to act “fall within the human capabilities that have long been one of the party’s strengths.”

“These operations, despite major technological advances in surveillance and monitoring, can still have battlefield impact, because technology remains limited in effectiveness against a human element determined to reach its target.”

Daoud said the effectiveness of such operations “depends on the nature of the target, the level of surrounding security protection, and field measures around sites and facilities,” noting that “the chances of success vary from case to case based on these factors.”

He said any potential use of such capabilities would remain directed at Israeli targets, adding that carrying out such operations inside Israel would require infiltration and direct access to the target, which faces major field challenges and makes success rates uneven.

“Merely signaling this option carries psychological and strategic weight, recalling past experiences in the Israeli memory and sending a message that any settlement that does not take balances into account could lead to escalation outside conventional frameworks.”

Operational Meaning of the Term

A source following Hezbollah’s operations told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the use of the term ‘martyrdom fighters’ does not necessarily mean a return to traditional suicide operations, but reflects the nature of the current battlefield phase under the siege imposed on areas in southern Lebanon.”

He added: “Fighters are fully aware of the scale of risks surrounding them and deal with them on the basis of fighting to the utmost limits.”

The source noted: “What is meant by the term is readiness for engagement under the most difficult battlefield conditions, and continuing the confrontation until death if imposed, not as a separate tactical option but as part of the nature of the battle itself.”

Arab World

Lebanese Defense Minister: Talks With Israel Aimed at Peace, Not Surrender or Trade-Offs

Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa (National News Agency)
Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa (National News Agency)
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Lebanese Defense Minister: Talks With Israel Aimed at Peace, Not Surrender or Trade-Offs

Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa (National News Agency)
Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa (National News Agency)

Lebanon’s Defense Minister, Major General Michel Menassa, said on Thursday that his country had entered negotiations for peace, not for surrender or trade-offs.

The state-run National News Agency quoted Menassa as saying, during a meeting with Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna in Verdun: “We discussed the Israeli aggression against our country and the ongoing efforts to stop it. Preserving national unity, rallying around Lebanese legitimacy, and ensuring that arms remain exclusively in the hands of the Lebanese army and official security agencies were our shared priorities. Helping our people overcome this ordeal has been our concern, and rising above narrow calculations in favor of major national objectives will remain our goal.”

He added: “If we are heading to negotiations, they are for peace, not for surrender. We are going to negotiate, not to trade off. We want to stop the rivers of blood in honor of the martyrs, and we, as Lebanese, Muslims and Christians, insist on remaining united.”

He expressed hope that “this ordeal will end, that this cloud will pass, and that the light of deliverance will rise over Lebanon and its people.”

For his part, the Druze spiritual leader stressed “the duty to rally around the state and its legitimate institutions, foremost among them the military establishment, especially under the current circumstances, in support of carrying out its assigned tasks in protecting Lebanon and its sovereignty,” warning against any “attempts to undermine civil peace,” and saying that “a strong Lebanon is a united Lebanon.”

Arab World

Media Organizations Call on Israel to Allow Foreign Reporters Independent Access to Gaza

FILE - Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)
FILE - Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)
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Media Organizations Call on Israel to Allow Foreign Reporters Independent Access to Gaza

FILE - Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)
FILE - Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)

The leaders of major media companies around the world, including The Associated Press, are calling on Israel's government to lift a ban keeping foreign journalists from being able to independently enter and report from Gaza, a barrier that's been in place since the war's start in 2023 and continues even as a ceasefire has been in place for more than six months.

“Being on the ground is essential. It allows journalists to question official accounts on all sides, to speak directly with civilians and report back what they witness firsthand,” said the statement from the executives, released Thursday. “That is why news organizations send their reporters into the field, often at great personal risk.”

From the AP and the BBC to CNN to MS NOW, from Reuters to German news agency dpa to The Washington Post, the top editors of more than two dozen organizations said the Israeli government has so far not responded to their efforts to discuss the situation. They questioned the country's rationales for why the restrictions are still in place.

The letter was released at 5 a.m. ET by the local foreign press association.

Israel had said ban was necessary Initially, Israel said the ban was necessary because foreign journalists allowed into Gaza could give away the positions of Israeli soldiers and endanger them. Other rationales have included that as an active battle zone, it was too dangerous. The army has occasionally brought foreign reporters in on highly controlled trips, but media outlets want independent access.

Currently, “the heaviest fighting is over and there is a ceasefire in place," the editors' statement said. "The hostages have come home. Journalists do not pose a threat to Israeli troops. There is a mechanism in place—however restrictive—that allows aid workers to enter and exit the territory. Why not journalists?”

There have been attempts at legal action to force the issue. The Foreign Press Association, which represents international media in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, has been waiting on a decision from the Israeli Supreme Court on a petition for independent access to Gaza. That action was filed in 2024, but a ruling has been repeatedly delayed, most recently in January.

With foreign journalists kept out of Gaza, coverage of the conditions on the ground there has been possible only for local Palestinian journalists. While covering war would be fraught for any reporter, the Palestinian correspondents have also had to experience it on a personal level — their homes destroyed, their loved ones killed.

When access to food became severely restricted last year they also had to deal with hunger, to the point that the Agence France-Presse news agency in July raised an alarm about their Palestinian colleagues' continued survival. That concern was echoed by the AP and Reuters for the reporters in Gaza they work with.

The editors raised that point in the statement Thursday, saying “this has pushed the responsibility for covering this devastating war and its aftermath almost entirely on our Palestinian colleagues ... They should not have to shoulder this burden alone, and they should be protected.”

Their lives have also been put at risk from military actions. Well over 200 journalists and media workers have been killed according to a tally from the Committee to Protect Journalists organization, far more than in conflicts elsewhere like the Russia-Ukraine war.

Among them was Mariam Dagga, a 33-year-old visual journalist who worked as a freelancer for the AP and other news organizations. She and four other journalists, including Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri and Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance journalist who worked with Reuters, were among those killed last August in an Israeli strike on a medical facility.

The AP's reporting on the strike raised questions about the rationale used by the Israeli government to carry out the action against the hospital, which was known as a place where journalists gathered. AP and Reuters later issued a statement calling on Israel to explain what took place and what steps would be taken to protect reporters. The Israeli military says it is still investigating.

The statement from the editors on Thursday came during Press Freedom Week, which they noted. “Freedom of the press is a basic value in any open society. It is time for the delays to end. Let us into Gaza.”