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Israel was “closer to a ceasefire deal than we have ever been,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said during a closed-door parliamentary committee hearing Monday. Hamas would also see a large number of Palestinian prisoners released by Israel as part of the deal, the sources said. Hamas has not confirmed to NBC News or others’ reporting that it has agreed to Israeli troops in Gaza. "After the military and governmental power of Hamas in Gaza is defeated, Israel will securely control Gaza with full freedom of action" he posted on X, likening this outcome to Israel’s current control over the occupied West Bank. Katz did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for details on what “full freedom of action” would mean.

Persons: Israel, Israel Katz, Jack Guez, ”, Israel “, Katz, Yossi Mekelberg, Hamza Z, Gershon Baskin, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Omar Al, Jake Sullivan, Bashar al, Assad Organizations: ” Defense, NBC News, Hamas, Getty, Street Journal, West Bank, NBC, Bank, Israel, Chatham House’s, WhatsApp, Ahli Arab Hospital, Biden Locations: Gaza, Israel, Tel Aviv, AFP, Doha, Qatar, East, North Africa, Gaza City, Anadolu, Al, Ahli, Iran

The head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Forces, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, was killed early Tuesday in an explosion set off by a device planted at an apartment block in Moscow, Russian officials said. Kirillov’s assistant, who was not identified by name, was also killed in the blast, Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement published on Telegram on Tuesday. AFP - Getty Images fileUkraine’s Security Services on Monday had charged Kirillov with the use of banned chemical weapons during Russia’s invasion of the country, which began in Feb. 2022. The scene of an explosion in which Russian general Igor Kirillov and his assistant were killed in Moscow on Tuesday. He did not hide behind people’s backs,” Zakharova said in a statement published to Telegram on Tuesday.

Persons: Igor Kirillov, Kirillov, Maxim Shemetov, Maria Zakharova, ” Zakharova, Bright Organizations: Chemical Defense Forces, Russia's, AFP, Getty, Britain, Reuters, Reuters Russian Foreign Locations: Moscow, Reuters Russian

☆ Women and children killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza shelters
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-16 | by ( Freddie Clayton | Freddie Clayton Is A Freelance Journalist Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Ash falls as rescuers search for survivors trapped in the wreckage, carrying small children, some limp, some struggling, some dead. A man cries out after an Israeli strike Sunday on a school serving as a shelter in Khan Younis. Relatives of Palestinians who were killed in the Israeli strike Sunday. Hours later, Israeli airstrikes killed seven during an attack on the Al-Majida Wasila school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City, local health officials said. Women and children were among the dead, including a baby girl named Janan Al-Ghura, who was born on Friday and killed on Saturday alongside her mother, Suzan.

Persons: Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz, Khan Younis, Tafesh, “, Israel, Abed Rahim Khatib, Majida, Janan Al, Ghura Organizations: NBC News ’, United Nations, Associated Press, Hospital, NBC, Israel Defense Forces, Anadolu, Getty, WAFA Locations: Gaza, Khan, Gaza City

Ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad planned to keep fighting rebel forces in the country before Russia evacuated him out of the country, according to a statement attributed to him and released on Monday. “My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles,” Assad, 59, said in a written statement shared on Telegram. Assad said he had remained in Damascus until the early hours of Sunday, Dec. 8 — the day rebels entered the Syria’s capital. Bashar al-Assad Matin Ghasemi / Borna News via Getty Images fileAssad said that as rebel forces swept through the city, he moved north to Lattakia in coordination with Russian allies "to oversee combat operations." Assad maintained that prior to that point, he had not considered "stepping down or seeking refuge."

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, “, ” Assad, Assad Matin Organizations: Getty, NBC Locations: Russia, Syria, Damascus, Lattakia, Moscow

Footage of the blast emerged as Israel announced plans to double its population in the occupied Golan Heights, citing threats from Syria. Israel occupied the Golan Heights during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed the roughly 460-square-mile area in 1981 in a unilateral decision that was not recognized by the international community. An Israeli soldier rolls up a portrait of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Saturday. “Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7th style attacks,” it said. The Syrian town of Quneitra, seen from the Golan Heights in Majdal Shams on Dec. 11.

Persons: Assad regime's, Abu Mohammad al, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bashar al, Assad, Majdal Shams, Jalaa Marey, Donald Trump, Biden, “, Mount Hermon —, Jolani, Israel, Hayat, Bashar Al, Kobi Wolf, António Guterres Organizations: Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, NBC, NASA, Israel Defense Forces, Getty, Forces, Mount, Reuters, Bloomberg, United Nations Locations: Tartus, Syria, Israel, Golan, London, Syrian, Latakia, Israeli, Gaza, Majdal, AFP, Mount Hermon, “ Israel, Hayat Tahrir, United States, Quneitra

☆ Israel appeals ICC arrest warrants; Gaza death toll nears 45,000
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-15 | by ( Freddie Clayton | Freddie Clayton Is A Freelance Journalist Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Israel has appealed the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as the official death toll in Gaza nears 45,000, according to Palestinian health authorites. Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that Israel had filed the appeal against the ICC arrest warrants. In Gaza, Israel bombed clusters of houses and set some ablaze in three towns, also attacking Khalil Aweida, a school-turned-shelter, before storming it and ordering displaced families to head towards Gaza City, according to Reuters, citing medics and residents. A Palestinian man carries a child killed by an Israeli airstrike through a cemetery in Deir el-Balah on Sunday. Since then, nearly 45,000 people have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, while over 105,000 people have been injured, and many victims remain buried under rubble.

Persons: Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Oren Marmorstein, ”, OMAR AL, Marmorstein, “, ” Netanyahu’s, Omer Dostri, Donald Trump, Khalil Aweida, Mohammed Abu Afash, EYAD BABA, Philippe Lazzarini, ” Lazzarini Organizations: International, Court, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NBC News, ICC, Getty, Palestinian Medical Relief, World Health Organization, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, UNRWA Locations: Gaza, AFP, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Gaza City, Deir el, Palestinian, Jenin, Western, Jenin Camp

☆ Blinken confirms direct contact with Syria’s rebel leaders
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-15 | by ( Freddie Clayton | Freddie Clayton Is A Freelance Journalist Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

“We’ve been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken said after talks in Aqaba, Jordan, with diplomats and representatives from several Arab nations. Blinken said in Jordan that he had emphasized the importance of finding Tice during talks with Syria's new parties. President Joe Biden told reporters last week that efforts were ongoing to pinpoint his location in Syria. "They’ll do everything they can to stay.”As the transition continues, there is particular concern for Syria’s minority groups. Women pose for a photograph with opposition fighters in Damascus, Syria, last week.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Syria’s Hayat, “ We’ve, ” Blinken, Assad, Hakan Fidan, ANDREW CABALLERO, REYNOLDS, Austin Tice, Blinken, Tice, Obaida, Joe Biden, Yasar Guler, Guler, Ahmed Al, Abu Mohammad al, ”, Omar Sanadiki, Geir Pedersen, Biden Organizations: U.S, Turkey's, AFP, Getty, Sunday, Turkish Defense, Reuters, Al, ” United Nations, United Nations Locations: Syria’s Hayat Tahrir, Aqaba, Jordan, U.S, Turkey, E.U, Syria, Syrian, Washington, Damascus

☆ Father and son buried together in an Israeli strike that killed dozens in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-14 | by ( Freddie Clayton | Freddie Clayton Is A Freelance Journalist Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The overnight strike on a residential block levelled homes, reduced streets to rubble, and killed at least 36 people, tearing some of them apart. Bayoumi had come to check on his cousin only to find “flesh and bodyparts,” and his cousin’s family, including his wife and son, buried beneath the rubble. “I swear, we don’t understand anything.”A boy walks through the aftermath of the Israeli strike on Nuseirat. A man stroked the round cheek of another dead child, and two others, tiny enough to be fit into a single stretcher, were carried by the crowd for burial. For the dozens of people weeping and mourning over the dead that day, the grief was no less raw for its regularity.

Persons: ” Akram Bayoumi, Bayoumi, ”, EYAD BABA, Abou Ayaman Elshaar, Elshaar, Jihad ”, Fadi, Ali, Al, NBC's, Mokthar Elshaar, “ It’s, Nuseirat, “ Organizations: Getty, Israeli Defense Forces, Jihad, Awda, War Child Locations: Gaza, AFP, Nuseirat

☆ What just happened in Syria? Unpacking the historic week that toppled Assad
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-14 | by ( Ammar Cheikh Omar | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

DAMASCUS, Syria — For more than a decade, Syria was synonymous with war, brutality and the family dynasty visiting this violence on its own people. It was only on Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad fled the country as rebels entered Damascus. Syrians have since torn down statues of Assad and ripped back the veil from his murderous regime. Meanwhile, questions hang over Syria’s future, guided by a former Al Qaeda offshoot that says it has moderated. But for the time being at least, the primary emotion for many in Syria is one of disbelieving joy.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Austin Tice Organizations: Al, Islamic State Locations: DAMASCUS, Syria, Damascus, United States, Israel

☆ Images appear to show Russia dismantling military equipment in Syria
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-14 | by ( Freddie Clayton | Freddie Clayton Is A Freelance Journalist Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

(©2024 Maxar Technologies/AFP via Getty Images) AFP - Getty ImagesAt Hmeimim, two An-124 heavy transport aircraft were observed on the airfield with their nose cones raised, ready to load equipment. Other forces, including Russian military convoys, appear to be heading toward the airbase. Another verified video showed Russian military vehicles driving through what appears to be Syria as bystanders waved their shoes at the cars. A separate video, posted by the prominent Russian military-themed Telegram channel "Military Informer," purportedly showed a Russian military column crossing through Kurdish-controlled territories in Syria. Russian military vehicles and artillery guns at the Russian airbase at Qamishli Airport in northeastern Syria on Thursday.

Persons: Bashar Al, Assad, Antonov, “, God, Dmitry Peskov, DELIL SOULEIMAN, ” Peskov, Israel Katz Organizations: Maxar Technologies, Hmeimim Air Base, Getty Images, Getty, NBC News, Russian, Observatory, Human Rights, Reuters, United Nations, . Security, Security Council, Israeli Defense Locations: Syria, Russian, Russia, Moscow, U.S, Latakia, AFP, Homs, Damascus, Aleppo, Jableh, Hmeimim, Tartus, U.K, Kurdish, Ukraine, Syrian, Qamishli, Israel, U.N

French President Emmanuel Macron named centrist ally François Bayrou as France's new prime minister on Friday as he sought to steer the country out of political chaos following a no-confidence vote that toppled former Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government earlier this month. Francois Bayrou at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris. Barnier became France's shortest-serving prime minister after he was ousted just three months after Macron appointed him. The vote came amid mounting fury over Barnier's efforts to push through a controversial 2025 budget using a rarely deployed constitutional mechanism to circumvent parliamentary approval. While Barnier's ouster did not immediately affect Macron's position, his future as president is likely to fall under scrutiny if France's government were to collapse again.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, François Bayrou, Michel Barnier’s, Francois Bayrou, Dimitar Dilkoff, Barnier, Macron, Barnier's Organizations: Democratic Movement, Getty, National Assembly Locations: Paris, AFP, France

And the school thrived for a decade, sending orchestras and ensembles on tours around the world and playing to packed venues. “There’s a fight between dark forces and progressive forces of this nation.”Zohra Ahmadi rehearses with the Afghan Youth Orchestra in Braga, Portugal. Before she left, Zohra said her 63-year-old grandmother, Sabera Yawari, told her to stay positive. Members of the Afghan Youth Orchestra perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City. “My family will come, Taliban will be gone, and it just feels good.”“It’s also making me more strong,” Farida added.

Persons: ANIM, ”, Farida, Farida —, Ahmad Sarmast, ” Sarmast, “, ” Zohra, Marc Smith, Sarmast, Zohra, Sabera Yawari, Jennifer Taylor, “ We’ve, it’s, Jennifer Taylor “, “ It’s, ” Farida Organizations: NBC News, Afghan Youth Orchestra, NBC, “, Carnegie Hall, Braga’s Conservatory of Music, Kennedy Center, Washington , D.C Locations: U.S, Kabul, Portugal, Braga, United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Afghanistan, “ Portugal, Kabul’s, Qatar, New York City, Lisbon, Washington ,, New York

Israel has ordered troops to prepare to remain throughout winter on Mount Hermon — a strategic peak inside a buffer zone that has existed for decades with Syria but which Israeli forces have seized in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse. Israel has said its deployment to the buffer zone was temporary, but concerns have grown over what United Nations chief António Guterres on Thursday called “extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity" as he urged Israeli forces to withdraw from the buffer zone. On Friday, Katz shared a photo on X that he said showed him with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu overlooking the Syrian peak of Mount Hermon with binoculars, saying the site had "returned to Israeli control after 51 years." "An exciting historical moment," he wrote. In his warning, Guterres called for urgent de-escalation "on all fronts, throughout Syria" as he expressed particular concern over hundreds of Israeli strikes on locations across Syria in recent days following the toppling of the Assad regime, which crowds gathered in Damascus to celebrate Friday.

Persons: Israel, Mount Hermon —, Assad, Hermon, Israel Katz, António Guterres, Katz, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Israeli Defense, AFP, United Nations, Israeli Locations: Mount, Syria, Israel, Mount Hermon, Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria — A Missouri man found in Syria told NBC News on Thursday he spent months in a Syrian prison after after crossing into the country on a "pilgrimage" to Damascus. It was not widely known that the man, who identified himself as Travis Timmerman and went missing in Hungary in May, was in Syria. "I was on a pilgrimage to Damascus," he told NBC News in a building on the outskirts of the capital. Travis Timmerman speaking to NBC News outside the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday. A U.S. official told NBC News that Washington was "aware of reports of an American found outside of Damascus and seeking to provide support.

Persons: Travis Timmerman, Bashar al, Assad, Timmerman, “ Travis, ”, he'd, Ted Turner, ” Timmerman, “, Austin Tice, Pete Timmerman, Travis Pete Timmerman, ” Matt Bradley, Chantal Da Silva Organizations: NBC, NBC News, CBS News, U.S, Washington, Authorities, Highway Patrol Locations: DAMASCUS, Syria, A Missouri, Damascus, Hungary, American, Dhiyabia, Lebanon, Europe, Missouri, Budapest, London

Arnaot said Syria's interim government had tried to find Tice to reunite him with his family, but has so far had no luck locating the journalist, now 43. "We tried as much as possible to find information about Austin and return him to his mother, but we have not reached any result," he said. Instead, the State Department said Tice was believed to be in the custody of the Syrian government — a charge vehemently denied by the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad. With Assad overthrown by rebel forces, Tice's family has expressed renewed hope that they'll be reunited with their son. Syria’s new rebel coalition is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, a group that emerged from an Al Qaeda affiliate.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Austin Tice, Obaida, Arnaot, Tice, they'll, Lester Holt, Marc Tice, Assad's, “ We’re, ” Debra Tice, Joe Biden, Jen Daskal, Biden, Daskal, Hayat Tahrir, Abu Mohammad al, Jolani, Al Qaeda, Assad’s, ” Richard Engel, Gabe Joselow, Chantal Da Silva Organizations: NBC News, Austin, State Department, NBC, Atlantic Council, Al Locations: DAMASCUS, Syria, Houston, Austin, Washington, Al Qaeda, Iraq, Damascus, London

When Syria’s new interim prime minister, Mohammad al-Bashir, chaired a Cabinet meeting in Damascus on Tuesday, hanging behind him was the flag of the country’s suddenly victorious opposition. That path will largely depend on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel organization that led the charge into Damascus and is now stewarding Syria’s political overhaul. Its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, said a decade ago that there would be no room for religious minorities in the Islamist Syria of which he dreamed about. The leader of Syria's Islamist HTS group, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on Sunday. Aref Tammawi / AFP - Getty ImagesSome observers, such as Gerges, see the interim prime minister as little more than an Jolani figurehead.

Persons: Syria’s, Mohammad al, Bashir, Assad, Muhammad Haj Kadour, Abu Mohammad al, Jolani, Ahmad al, ”, Bilal Sukkar, trepidation, Nael, ” Sukkar, Fawaz, Gerges, “, ” al, Della Sera, “ God, Aref Tammawi Organizations: Getty, Harvard Divinity School, London School of Economics, Islamic State, U.S, NBC News Locations: Damascus, Syria, Hayat Tahrir, Homs, Sunday, AFP, United States, Al Qaeda, Syrian, London, Idlib, Italian, Washington, Umayyad, Idlib province

A torture device discovered at Saydnaya prison in Damascus on Monday. Clothing strewn across the floor of a cell inside the Saydnaya prison as a Syrian man awaits news about an imprisoned relative Monday. The dynasty built and operated a network of detention centers scattered across Syria, according to the human rights group Amnesty International. The Human Rights Data Analysis Group, an independent scientific human rights organization based in San Francisco, has counted at least 17,723 people killed in Syrian custody from 2011 to 2015 — around 300 every week — almost certainly a vast undercount, it says. Syrians wait for news Monday about their relatives incarcerated at Saydnaya prison.

Persons: Assad, nooses, Emin Sansar, Bashar al, AnadoluAnagha Subhash Nair, —, Abdulaziz Ketaz, Saydnaya, Hafez Assad, Getty Images Hafez Assad, Richard Engel, Gabe Joselow, Alexander Smith Organizations: NBC, Getty, Anadolu, NBC News, Amnesty International, Amnesty, Getty Images, United Nations Locations: DAMASCUS, Syria, Syria’s, Damascus, Anadolu, Saydnaya, AFP, San Francisco, London

☆ Israel strikes and advances into Syrian territory after Assad's overthrow, fueling alarm
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-10 | by ( Freddie Clayton | Freddie Clayton Is A Freelance Journalist Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The exact location of Israeli forces was unclear. And U.S. NATO ally Turkey said Israel was "once against displaying its occupying mentality," condemning its actions while Syria strives for "peace and stability." But Israel’s ground offensive carries “significant risks,” especially if they are going beyond the buffer zone as Netanyahu hinted, warned Michael A. Horowitz, a geopolitical and security analyst. The roughly 155-square-mile buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights was created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Netanyahu said Sunday that the agreement that established the zone had “collapsed” after Syrian soldiers abandoned their positions amid the overthrow of Assad.

Persons: Nadav Shoshani, Avichay Adraee, Israel’s “, Israel's, Israel, Netanyahu, Michael A, Horowitz, ” Horowitz, Assad Organizations: Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, IDF, Gaza, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, United Nations Charter, . Security, NATO, United, ISIS, NBC, Sunday, Syrian Scientific Studies, Research, Reuters, News Locations: U.K, Damascus, Israel, ”, Lebanon, Qatar’s, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Russia, United States, Golan, Barzeh

These sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds of years, and no one has the right to eliminate them,” Jolani told CNN. For now, his leadership of HTS remains defined by military success, with the group growing into a formidable force against the Assad regime and its powerful backers, including Russia and Iran. Still, the question remains: Can HTS can evolve from a militant insurgency into a legitimate governing authority in post-Assad Syria? While the future of HTS and Syria remains uncertain, Jolani is steadfast. The rebel leader said Sunday there would be “no turning back” after toppling the Assad regime.

Persons: ” Jolani, Assad, —, ” Charles Lister, Burcu, ”, Joe Biden, Pat McFadden, Jolani, “ Organizations: CNN, Middle East Institute, Royal United Services Institute, United Nations, Sky News, German Foreign Ministry, AFP, Reuters Locations: Syria’s, Syria, Russia, Iran, Turkish, Aleppo, Homs, Damascus, Assad Syria, London, Washington, United Kingdom

He did so as the rebels entered and seized Damascus, seemingly with little fightback from Assad’s government forces. Syria dominated international consciousness for almost a decade, its civil war erupting after Assad crushed peaceful protests during the region-wide 2011 Arab Spring. But until last month the conflict had been largely at a stalemate, after Assad’s forces regained control of much of the country. The conflict in Syria partly contributed to a wave of mass migration into Europe, met by a right-wing backlash across the continent that is still reverberating today. Much of this diaspora has also responded to Assad’s downfall with astonished glee, some rushing to return home.

Persons: Dimitry Peskov, Assad, Murat Sengul, gulags, Hayat Tahrir, Abu Mohammad al Organizations: Baath Party, Getty, UNHCR, Amnesty, Al, State Department Locations: Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Israel, Moscow, Syria, U.S, Turkey, Iraq, Anadolu, Europe, London, Berlin, Germany, Al Qaeda

Donald Trump details his plans for Day 1 of his presidency. Trump said pardons for Jan. 6 rioters will happen on day one, arguing many have endured overly harsh treatment in prison. Read more from the exclusive interview with Trump here. The federal lawsuit was originally filed in October in the Southern District of New York, listing Combs as a defendant. 🏈 Josh Allen had one of the greatest games in NFL history and still lost.

Persons: Donald Trump, Kristen Welker, Trump’s, Welker, Trump, Jan, ”, ” Trump, Joe Biden, Read, Assad, “ It’s, Bashar al, Jay, Sean ‘ Diddy ’ Combs Hannah Mckay, Shawn Carter, Sean “ Diddy ” Combs, Combs, Carter, Tony Buzbee, Buzbee, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Ed Zurga, Greg Rosenstein, 👑, 🤘, Jo, Tam, ove, bui, lea, Ann i e Hil Organizations: Trump, NBC, Press, ”, Syrian, Reuters, MTV, of, Chiefs, Kansas City Chiefs, NFL, AFC West, Los Angeles Chargers, NBC News Locations: Syria, Manhattan, Damascus, Russia, Moscow, Southern, of New York, Texas

Powerful images have emerged showing Syrians, including women and children, being freed from prisons across the country after the toppling of President Bashar Al-Assad. The White Helmets rescue organization said it had deployed five specialized emergency teams to search for prison cells believed to be hidden underground at the notorious prison, citing survivors' accounts. Footage appears to show a child being liberated from a prison cell in Syria in footage captured after the fall of Assad's regime. People could also be seen toppling statues of Assad's father Hafez al-in cities across Syria, including in the Assad stronghold of Latakia. President Joe Biden described this as “a moment of risk and uncertainty,” as leaders from around the world expressed hopes for stability in the wake of Assad’s toppling.

Persons: Bashar Al, Assad, they'd, X Freed, Bashar Barhoum, —, ”, ” Salem Alaya, Bekir Kasim, Alaya, Assad's, Hafez al, Joe Biden Organizations: NBC News, Associated Press, Anadolu, Getty Locations: Moscow, Damascus, Syria, Britain, London, Latakia, The U.S, Israel

Members of the clergy arrive to attend Mass. Julien De Rosa / AFP - Getty ImagesThe robes worn during the morning mass were crafted by French fashion designer Jean-Charles Castelbajac and bore his signature style, boasting bold primary colors to convey the joy of the the day’s service. “I wanted something very pure,” Castelbajac said in the lead-up to the weekend’s celebrations. Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich after the consecration of the new main altar. Julien De Rosa / AFP - Getty ImagesHe added that the rector-archpriest of Notre Dame, Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, had asked that the robes reflect “nobility and simplicity.”“I did everything with my scissors.

Persons: Julien De Rosa, Jean, Charles Castelbajac, “, ” Castelbajac, Paris Laurent Ulrich, Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, ” Organizations: Diocese of, Eastern Catholic Churches, Getty, Notre Dame Locations: France, Diocese, Diocese of Paris, AFP, Notre

☆ Explosion hits apartment block in The Netherlands
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-07 | by ( Freddie Clayton | Freddie Clayton Is A Freelance Journalist Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

An explosion hit a three-story apartment block in the Dutch city of The Hague on Saturday, partly toppling the building and injuring four people, according to authorities. The cause of the explosion is not clear, but Dutch say police are seeking information on a car that sped away shortly after, and have appealed for witnesses, according the BBC. A search-and-rescue dog works at a site of the explosion. The three-storey apartment block in the Hague partially collapsed after the fire and explosion. The Hague is home to several major international courts, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

Persons: Phil Nijhuis, Dick Schoof, RAMON VAN FLYMEN Organizations: BBC, Reuters, Authorities, NOS, Dutch, Getty, International Court of Justice, Criminal Locations: Dutch, The, Hague, AFP

Syrian rebels claimed to have seized a key southwestern city close to the border with Jordan as on Saturday they pressed on with a lightning-fast offensive that threatens to further destabilize a region already convulsed by war. "Once they get Homs, then really Damascus is cut off and they'll all be centered around Damascus and Latakia on the coast." But Hellyer said there was not yet a definitive outcome to the conflict despite the rebels' rapid advance. The collapse of government control in Daraa and the threat to Homs signals a growing vulnerability in Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s hold on power. The observatory says more than 820 people, including 111 civilians, have been killed across the country since the rebels began their offensive.

Persons: “, Bashad Al, Assad, OMAR HAJ KADOUR, Hellyer, hasn't, Bashar Al, Deir, Israel Organizations: NBC, Syrian, Human Rights, ”, Getty, Royal United Services Institute, NBC News Locations: Jordan, Daraa, Hayat Tahrir, U.K, “, ”, Hama Saturday, BAKR, AFP, Syria, Aleppo, Hama, Homs, Damascus, Russia, Iran, Tartus, Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, H.A, London, Latakia, Idlib, Raqqa, Jaber, Golan

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