Angry Syrians Demand ‘Holding Regime Accountable’ for Tadamon Massacre

Snapshot from the video of the Tadamon massacre published by The Guardian
Snapshot from the video of the Tadamon massacre published by The Guardian
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Angry Syrians Demand ‘Holding Regime Accountable’ for Tadamon Massacre

Snapshot from the video of the Tadamon massacre published by The Guardian
Snapshot from the video of the Tadamon massacre published by The Guardian

The footage of the Tadamon massacre sparked massive anger among Syrians and opposition activists who called on the international community to hold the Syrian regime accountable for its horrific crimes.

The Guardian released on Wednesday a video clip showing members of branch 227 of the country's military intelligence service carrying out mass executions of civilians in the Tadamon neighborhood, south of Damascus.

The video, dating back to 2013, depicts a group of blindfolded and handcuffed detainees shot dead by a Syrian intelligence officer as they are forced to run toward an execution pit.

It also showed members of the Syrian regime's forces piling bodies on top of each other and burning them.

Opposition activist Ahmed al-Omar said that The Guardian's video and investigative report revealed the mass execution of dozens of civil detainees by the Syrian regime forces in the Tadamon neighborhood.

Omar indicated that the video brought back to people's memory the atrocities and crimes of the regime forces during their raids on Syrian cities and neighborhoods.

He noted that the international community's silence on the regime's crimes against Syrians over the past decade was shocking.

Umm Mazen, 56, the wife of a detainee since 2013, said she felt intense fear and terror when she saw the video.

She indicated that after watching the massacre, she sensed the feeling of every wife and mother whose husband or son is detained by the regime forces and fear that he will be killed in the same way.

The Syrian Islamic Council offered its condolences to the families of the victims of the "horrific crime," adding that the crimes of the Syrian regime continue behind bars.

The statement warned of dire consequences for the returned refugees, adding that a joint constitutional committee or reconciliation is not possible with the presence of these criminals in power.

The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces said that the world watched one of the massacres of the criminal Assad regime, adding that it is only one crime out of the thousands of bloody massacres carried out by the government and its allies against the Syrian people.

The Coalition stated that the truth known to Syrians is now clear to the whole world, leaving no room for doubt.

In its statement, the Coalition said the massacre in the video is a well-documented "war crime" with perpetrators' information, adding that it requires fair accountability in the International Criminal Court of the criminal regime.

It stressed that there would be no peace in Syria and the region with the presence of this criminal regime that has committed all kinds of atrocities against the Syrians.

It urged an "international accountability" for the crimes, calling for a fair trial of perpetrators.



Israel Studying Hamas Reply to Gaza Ceasefire Proposal 

19 August 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Smoke billows following an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City. (dpa)
19 August 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Smoke billows following an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City. (dpa)
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Israel Studying Hamas Reply to Gaza Ceasefire Proposal 

19 August 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Smoke billows following an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City. (dpa)
19 August 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Smoke billows following an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City. (dpa)

Israel is studying Hamas' response to a Gaza ceasefire proposal, two officials said on Tuesday of a potential deal for a 60-day truce and the release of half the Israeli hostages still held in the battered enclave.

Efforts to pause the fighting gained new momentum over the past week after Israel announced plans for a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City, and Egypt and Qatar have been pushing to restart indirect talks between the sides on a US-backed ceasefire plan.

The proposal includes the release of 200 Palestinian convicts jailed in Israel and an unspecified number of imprisoned women and minors, in return for 10 living and 18 deceased hostages from Gaza, according to a Hamas official.

Two Egyptian security sources confirmed the details, and added that Hamas has requested the release of hundreds of Gaza detainees as well.

The proposal includes a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, which presently control 75% of Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid into the enclave, where a population of 2.2 million people is increasingly facing famine.

The last round of indirect talks between the sides ended in deadlock in July, with the sides trading blame for the collapse. Israel had previously agreed to the outline, advanced by US special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, but negotiations faltered over some of its details.

Israel's plans to seize control of Gaza City in the heart of the Palestinian enclave have since stirred alarm abroad and among the estimated one million people presently living there.

On the ground, there were no signs of a ceasefire nearing as Israeli gunfire, tank shelling and airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians on Tuesday, according to Gaza health officials.

Tanks completed taking control of the Zeitoun suburb, an eastern neighborhood on Gaza City's outskirts, and continued to pound the nearby area of Sabra, killing two women and a man, medics said.

Local health authorities said dozens of people had been trapped in their houses because of the shelling. The Israeli military said it was checking the report.

ISRAELI PROTESTERS DEMAND DEAL

On Friday, it said its forces were operating in nearby Zeitoun to locate weapons, tunnels and gunmen.

"It has been one of the worst nights in Sabra and Gaza City as the explosions are heard throughout the city," said Nasra Ali, 54, a mother of five, who lives in Sabra.

"I was planning to leave my house when I heard there is a possible ceasefire. I might stay for a day or two, if nothing happens, then I will run away with my kids," she told Reuters via a chat app.

Thousands of people are estimated to have fled the area in the past few days.

In Israel, the threatened offensive prompted tens of thousands of Israelis on Sunday to hold some of the largest protests since the war began, urging a deal to end the fighting and free the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to convene discussions about the ceasefire proposal soon, the two Israeli officials said. He faces pressure from his far-right government partners who object to a truce with Hamas.

Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir have called for Israel to keep the war going until Hamas' defeat, and annex Gaza.

Hamas official Izzat El-Reshiq said that the truce proposal it has agreed to is an interim accord that would pave the way for negotiations on ending the war.

A source close to the talks said that, unlike previous rounds, Hamas accepted the proposal with no further demands.

But prospects for agreeing an end to the war appear remote, with gaps remaining on the terms. Israel is demanding the group lay down its arms and its leaders leave Gaza, conditions which Hamas has so far publicly rejected.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, plunged Gaza into humanitarian crisis and displaced most its population.