For today, links to two articles of commentary from Middle East Eye, the first with a video, the other with a map. Sandwiched between them are nine reports: from the Associated Press (the second with map), Middle East Eye, Reuters, Middle East Monitor, and Kyiv Post. Other published material is accessible by clicking on the sources’ names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Is the Arab Spring back from the dead? by David Hearst | Middle East Eye  Books have been written, and careers forged, on the premise that this foolishly optimistic yearning for democracy is dead. Throughout this prolonged funeral, Syria was held as the object lesson that the Arab world was told to avoid. Click HERE for article and a video.

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Thousands scour Syria’s most horrific prison but find no sign of their loved ones, by Sarah el Deeb | AP  SAYDNAYA, Syria — The first place tens of thousands of Syrians rushed to after the fall of their longtime tormentor, former President Bashar Assad, was here: Saydnaya Prison, a place so notorious for its horrors it was long known as “the slaughterhouse.” READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

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Israeli warplanes pound Syria as troops reportedly advance deeper into the country, by Abdulrahman Shaheen, Bassem Mroue and Melanie Lidman | AP  DAMASCUS — Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country, a Syrian opposition war monitor said today. Israel denied its forces were advancing toward Damascus after they pushed into a buffer zone inside Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad. READ MORE . . .

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Israel pounds Syrian army bases, denies further incursion, by Maya Gebeily and Timour Azhari | Reuters  DAMASCUS Israel pounded Syrian army bases today in strikes it says aim to keep weapons from falling into hostile hands, but denied its forces had advanced into Syria beyond . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Middle East Monitor.

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Moscow evacuates troops by air and sea as Syrian base faces siege. From Kyiv Post. Russia has begun a large-scale withdrawal from Syria, using military aircraft and naval vessels to evacuate troops and equipment. The primary route out, says Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, is via . . . READ MORE . . .

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Mohammed al-Bashir: Who is Syria’s new interim prime minister? From Middle East Eye. Mohammed al-Bashir, the head of the administration that ran Idlib in northwest Syria, has been appointed as the country’s interim prime minister following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 9  As Israel advances on a Syrian buffer zone, it sees peril and opportunity, by Melanie Lidman | AP  TEL AVIV — The dramatic downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad presents possible danger, and an opening, for neighboring Israel. Click HERE for article and map.

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Here’s how the U.S. is countering the Islamic State group during Syria’s upheaval, by Lolita C. Baldor | AP  WASHINGTON — Massive U.S. airstrikes on Islamic State militants in Syria were meant in part as . . . READ MORE . . .

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Mount Hermon: Why control of Syria’s highest peak matters, by Alex MacDonald | Middle East Eye  Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since the 1967 war with Syria. Between 1974 and 2024 the territory was divided between areas controlled by Israel and areas controlled by Syria, split by a buffer zone. On Sunday . . . Click HERE for article and map.