Portal:Current events/2024 December 8

December 8, 2024 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- 2024 Syrian opposition offensives
  - Fall of Damascus
    - Fall of the Assad regime
      - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad leaves the country on a flight from Damascus International Airport to Moscow, Russia. (BBC News) (Al Jazeera)
      - Russian state media reports that Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow, and that he and his family have been granted asylum by the Russian government. (Euronews) (Sky News)
      - Senior Syrian government officials are reportedly in talks with the Syrian opposition and are preparing to defect. (CNN)
      - Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali says that he is not leaving Syria and will commit to a peaceful transition of power to the Syrian opposition. Al-Jalali also calls on rebel forces to not damage state institutions in Damascus or to harm civilians. (Axios)
      - The Syrian Army says that Bashar al-Assad's rule has ended and orders all of its troops to lay down arms and stop fighting. (Reuters)
      - Syrian rebels seize state television and announce to the nation that Bashar al-Assad has been toppled and that a new government will be formed. (Xinhua)
      - Rebel forces seize the Presidential Palace in Damascus, which is later looted by armed soldiers and civilians. (The Guardian) (Al Arabiya)
    - Rebel forces take control of Sednaya Prison and begin releasing thousands of prisoners, including many political prisoners. (Barron's)
    - Thousands of Damascus residents gather in Umayyad Square to celebrate the collapse of the Assad regime. (BBC News)
    - A video posted to X shows Syrians tearing down posters of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qasem Soleimani at the Iranian embassy in Damascus. Statues of former president Hafez al-Assad are also toppled across the city. (Al Bawaba) (Madhyama Online)
    - Syrians abroad celebrate the collapse of the Assad regime, with rallies being held in cities across Europe. (France24) (The Guardian)
  - 2024 Manbij offensive, Operation Dawn of Freedom
    - Turkish security sources claim that 80% of Kurdish-held positions in the city of Manbij in Aleppo Governorate have been taken by the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army. (Türkiye Today)
    - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan threatens "appropriate measures" against Kurdistan Workers' Party-aligned rebel groups, and states that Turkey will never allow these groups control over any part of Syria or its government. (Shafaq)
  - Deir ez-Zor offensive
    - Syrian regime forces reportedly surrender Deir ez-Zor to opposition forces, according to Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. (BBC News)
- Israel and the Syrian civil war
  - Israeli invasion of Syria (2024–present)
    - Israeli tanks and troops enter Syria's Quneitra Governorate to reportedly establish a buffer zone, marking Israel's first crossing of the ceasefire line in 50 years. (The Times of Israel) (Al Jazeera)
    - Israeli forces take control of the towns of Madinat al-Baath and Khan Arnabah in Quneitra Governorate and also capture the Syrian side of Mount Hermon in Rif Dimashq Governorate. (Factjo) (The Times of Israel)
    - The Israeli Air Force launches targeted airstrikes on ammunition and equipment depots at Mezzeh Air Base in Damascus and Khalkhalah air base in Suwayda Governorate. An Israeli airstrike also targets the Scientific Research Center in Damascus's security zone, which oversees chemical weapons and ballistic missile programs. (Reuters) (Sada El-Balad) (Al Jazeera)
    - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria has "collapsed" and orders the Israel Defense Forces to occupy the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. (New Arab)
- US intervention in the Syrian civil war
  - War against the Islamic State
    - The United States launches airstrikes on ISIL targets in Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime. (The Telegraph)
  - U.S. President Joe Biden praises the end of the Ba'athist Syria regime and announces that the U.S. will support Syria and its neighbors during Syria's political transition. (CNBC)
- Turkish forces bombard positions in Syrian Democratic Forces-controlled areas in Al-Hasakah. (SOHR)
- The Syrian opposition takes control of the city of Jableh in Latakia Governorate. (Al Jazeera)
Gaza war
- Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
  - At least 16 Palestinians are killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, including in Deir al-Balah and the Bureij refugee camp. (Al Jazeera)
Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Casualties of the Russo-Ukrainian War
  - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in action since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and that 370,000 soldiers have been injured, while estimating the number of Russian casualties at 198,000 soldiers killed and more than 550,000 soldiers injured. (Politico)

Arts and culture

Reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris
- The Notre-Dame cathedral in Île de la Cité, Paris, France, reopens and holds its first public mass five years after a structural fire damaged the building and destroyed its spire. French President Emmanuel Macron and dozens of world leaders attend the reopening ceremony. (Irish Independent) (RTHK)

Law and crime

2024 South Korean martial law crisis
- South Korean National Police arrest former national defense minister Kim Yong-hyun and raid his home, alleging that Kim helped President Yoon Suk Yeol institute martial law. (DW) (Anadolu Agency)

Politics and elections

2024 Ghanaian general election
- Former Ghanaian President and National Democratic Congress candidate John Mahama wins the presidential election as incumbent vice president and New Patriotic Party candidate Mahamudu Bawumia concedes defeat. (DW) (BBC News)

Sports

2024 Formula One World Championship
- In auto racing, McLaren wins the World Constructors' Championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, its first title since 1998. (NBC News)
In professional baseball, the New York Mets sign Dominican outfielder Juan Soto to a $765 million, 15-year contract, the largest contract in Major League Baseball history. (Reuters)