Middle East conflict live updates: Syrian government counterattacks as rebels push forward

Russia will “continue to support” Syria’s President Bashar Assad as his forces battle rebels in and around the northern city of Aleppo, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters today.

Russia is analyzing the situation in Syria and “what is needed to stabilize the situation will be worked out,” Peskov said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko was also quoted by Russian state media as saying that he said he “cannot rule out” the possibility of a meeting with Turkey and Iran to discuss a settlement in Syria.

Around 40 miles south of Aleppo in the Syrian city of Idlib, civil defense teams raced to rescue survivors of strikes by Syrian government forces today.

A soldier was “moderately injured” when an Israeli drone struck a bulldozer carrying out “fortification work” at a military base, Lebanon’s army said on X today.

The work was being carried out in the Hermel region near the country’s border with Syria, the post said. It “resulted in one soldier being moderately injured,” the post said.

An Israeli American soldier who was thought to have been captured alive by Hamas in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack was killed that day and his body taken into the Gaza Strip, Israel’s military said today.

Capt. Omar Neutra served as a tank platoon commander after emigrating to Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an advocacy group for those held captive and their families said Omar’s body is still being held captive by Hamas.

Paying tribute to the 21-year-old from New York on X, Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, said his “life story and dedication represent the best and strongest we have built as a nation.”

Iraq’s border with Syria is “fully secured,” the country’s interior ministry said today, as fears mount that rebel push in northern Syria could spread across the region. 

“Breaching the border is absolutely impossible,” spokesperson Brig. Mukdad Meiri told a news conference. He added that police officers had been sent to the border to support border forces and the military.

At least 446 people including civilians and military personnel have been killed since Syrian rebels launched their shock offensive last week, according to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based monitoring group.

The Observatory which relies on a network of on-the-ground information sources, said five children and three women were among the civilians killed by bombardment and airstrikes.

The U.S. and other Western governments said yesterday that they were “closely monitoring developments in Syria and urge de-escalation by all parties and the protection of civilians and infrastructure to prevent further displacement and disruption of humanitarian access.” 

“The current escalation only underscores the urgent need for a Syrian-led political solution to the conflict,” the U.S., French, German and British governments said in a statement.