Intensive Israeli strikes have targeted military sites in the coastal region of Tartus in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, quoted by Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
"Israeli warplanes carried out strikes" on several sites, including air defense units and "surface-to-surface missile launchers", the center reported.
These are "the heaviest strikes since 2012" in this coastal region, where a Russian naval base is located.
Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa met with the UN envoy for Syria and called for a reassessment of the road map drawn up by the Security Council in 2015, Agence France-Presse and Reuters reported, citing a statement from the Syrian authorities.
The two discussed "changes in the political scene that require a review" of Security Council resolution 2254, which establishes the road map.
"We must ensure that Syria immediately receives substantial humanitarian assistance for its population and for all refugees who may return", Pedersen said earlier today.
This is the first visit by a high-ranking UN representative to Syria since Bashar Assad fled to Russia, AFP recalls.
Ash-Sharaa said today that he would disband all armed groups in Syria and called on Syrians to return to their homeland, DPA recalls.
Earlier yesterday, Qatar announced that it would reopen its embassy in Syria on Tuesday. It had been closed for more than 13 years, the Gulf country's foreign ministry said a week after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, Reuters reported.
Doha's embassy in Damascus had been closed since July 2011, when Qatar withdrew its ambassador from Damascus after a series of deadly crackdowns by the Assad regime on protesters. That violence led to a 13-year civil war. In recent years, the country has not joined efforts by several Arab countries to improve relations with Assad's government and restore diplomatic ties with Damascus.
A lightning offensive by rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, led to the ouster of Assad on December 8.
A statement from Qatar's foreign ministry said its decision to reopen the embassy reflected its support for the Syrian people and their "struggle to achieve their legitimate rights to a dignified life."
France announced that it would send a diplomatic mission to Damascus on Tuesday - the first in 12 years, AFP noted.
Qatar will reopen its embassy in Syria on Tuesday, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported, citing the foreign ministry of the small but wealthy and influential Persian Gulf state.
A Qatari diplomatic delegation has arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus to carry out the necessary procedures. It has confirmed to the Syrian transitional authorities "Doha's full commitment to supporting the brotherly Syrian people".
Qatar closed its embassy in Damascus in July 2011 - a few months after the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, Reuters recalls.
The emirate was among the main supporters of the rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, but after he stabilized his power with the help of Russia and Iran, it established contacts with him. However, Qatar never reopened its embassy in Damascus.
Russia evacuated part of its embassy staff in Syria, TASS reported, quoted by BTA, citing the country's Foreign Ministry.
This was done by a special flight from the Russian air base "Hmeimim" in the Syrian coastal province of Latakia to Moscow.
Also on board the plane were diplomats from two Russian allies - Belarus and North Korea, as well as from Abkhazia.
The Georgian separatist region was recognized as an independent state by Moscow and by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, which was overthrown at the end of last week.
The statement did not give a reason for the partial evacuation, but it specified that the Russian embassy in Damascus continues to work.
Russia was a key ally of Assad, to whom it gave asylum after he was overthrown.
Now the future of "Hmeimim" and the Russian naval base in Tartus is in question, notes Agence France-Presse. On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was in contact with the new Syrian rulers on the issue.
This military infrastructure is of key importance for the Russian military presence in the Middle East, but also in Africa.
The Russian Foreign Ministry statement, quoted by TASS, also said that the "embassy" of Abkhazia in Damascus continues to operate, with only one of its employees being evacuated today.
Ukraine is ready to provide humanitarian aid to Syria, said President Volodymyr Zelensky, quoted by DPA and BTA.
In coordination with his government, he said that food from the "Grain from Ukraine" program can be used to help the Syrian population, Zelensky said in his evening video address.
"Now we can help the Syrians with Ukrainian wheat, flour and our oil - our products that are used all over the world to ensure food security," Zelensky said.
The logistics must be coordinated with representatives of Syria, the Ukrainian president added. "We will definitely support this region so that peace there can become a cornerstone of our movement towards true peace," Zelensky stressed.
The humanitarian program, launched in 2022, provides for donor countries and other organizations to purchase agricultural products directly from Ukrainian producers and send them to countries in need, primarily in Africa and Asia.