US aircraft carrier strike group arrives in Middle East

Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the U.S.'s "full support for a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition."

"This transition process should lead to credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governance that meets international standards of transparency and accountability," Blinken said in a statement Tuesday.

"The Syrian people will decide the future of Syria. All nations should pledge to support an inclusive and transparent process and refrain from external interference. The United States will recognize and fully support a future Syria government that results from this process. We stand prepared to lend all appropriate support to all of Syria’s diverse communities and constituencies," Blinken said in a statement.

Blinken added that it must also "fully respect the rights of minorities, facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance to all in need, prevent Syria from being used as a base for terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors, and ensure that any chemical or biological weapons stockpiles are secured and safely destroyed."

-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels have begun to form a new government as they seize power in Damascus, Syria. The group has appointed Mohammed al-Bashir as the new prime minister, according to state media outlet SANA.

Al-Bashir has previously held leadership roles and he will run the new government until March.

Israel destroyed the Syrian navy's fleet overnight in a "large-scale operation," according to the Israel Ministry of Defense.

"The IDF has been operating in Syria in recent days To harm and destroy strategic capabilities that threaten the State of Israel. The Navy operated last night to destroy the Syrian fleet with great success," Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement Tuesday.

"I hereby warn the rebel leaders in Syria: Whoever follows Assad's path will end up like Assad - we will not allow an extremist Islamic terrorist entity to act against Israel across its border and at the risk of its citizens, we will do everything necessary to remove the threat," Katz said.

Israel is focused on Iranian forces and interests in Syria as it continues strikes across the country, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said during a Tuesday briefing.

Israeli warplanes have launched hundreds of strikes all over Syria since Bashar Assad's regime was toppled on Sunday, according to local reports. Israeli troops have also crossed into the demilitarized buffer zone between the two countries established in 1974.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani refused to go into details on "the nature of what we are doing and long-term plan of these operations," which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said included strikes on naval assets and port facilities in the Mediterranean city of Latakia.

"This is something we've been committed to for years," Shoshani said during the briefing. Israel is committed to preventing "lethal strategic weapons from reaching the wrong hands," he added.

"The primary focus is observing Iran's movements and interests and our secondary focus is on local factions who are taking control of the area, assessing their actions, behavior and deterrence level and ensuring they do not mistakenly direct their actions toward us," Shoshani continued.

Shoshani repeated the IDF's earlier denial of local reports that Israeli tanks were operating on the outskirts of Damascus. Israeli forces, he said, have been operating in the "Area of Separation" buffer zone between Israel and Syria and "in a few additional points."

-ABC News' Bruno Nota and Joe Simonetti