The surprise victory of HTS had been predicted in November by Iranian officials, who informed Assad about the weakness of the state’s defenses because of the sustained Israeli attacks on Syrian army positions, of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and of the war in Ukraine.

The resignation and fleeing of Bashar al-Assad inaugurates a new chapter in the region that has been facing constant US and Israeli aggression for decades.

November marked an increase in Israeli airstrikes on different parts of Syria, foreshadowing a serious escalation in a third front in the region in addition to Gaza and Lebanon.

The massacre is the third to be committed by Israel in the Mazzeh neighborhood in Damascus within one week.

The strikes came less than two weeks after Israel launched an attack on Iranian diplomatic premises in Syria

Iran and Syria claimed in the UN Security Council that the US is equally responsible for the Israeli attacks inside Syria but asserted that no amount of attacks can dissuade them from supporting Palestine

At least 15 people were killed in the attacks. According to Lebanese media, the attacks were carried out by Israel which has a history of attacking civilian targets inside Syria

This was the third such instance of Israeli aggression inside Syria this month. Israel has carried out thousands of such strikes inside Syria since 2011, in complete violation of the UN charter

According to the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the attack took place around 1 am with missiles coming from the direction of the Golan Heights which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967

In recent years, Israel has attacked Syria with frequent airstrikes, resulting in not only extensive damage to civilian and military infrastructure, but also killing and injuring many civilians and armed forces personnel

Activists and human rights groups claim that the Danish government’s move to declare parts of Syria safe for the refugees and asking them to return is based on a wrong assessment of the ground realities

The elections for the 250-seat People’s Assembly was held on Sunday. The rebuilding of infrastructure and the economy ravaged by the war and sanctions was among the key electoral issues