US aircraft carrier strike group arrives in Middle East

The U.S. believes an individual seen in a video circulating online could be Travis Pete Timmerman, an American who went missing from Hungary earlier in the year, two officials familiar with the matter told ABC News.

Officials said they were seeking to provide support to the person, who was featured in a video published to social media on Thursday. The man does not speak in the short video and is seen lying on a mattress on the floor.

Timmerman, 29, has been missing since June 2, 2024, the date of his last contact, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol.

It wasn't immediately clear when and where the circulating video was taken, but the person speaking in Arabic to the camera identifies the man as an American, according to a translation. The speaker was identified as a Syrian local.

-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston

The Political Affairs Department in Liberated Areas -- which is part of the rebel-run transitional authorities -- posted a statement on X on Thursday thanking nations for re-opening diplomatic missions in Damascus.

The statement expressed "thanks and gratitude" to Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman and Italy for re-opening their missions in the Syrian capital.

Turkey and Qatar, the department said, had given assurances that their missions will also re-open in the near future.

"The Syrian people will not forget" the steps taken, the department said. "We are hopeful of building good relations with all countries that respect the will of the people, the sovereignty of the Syrian state and the unity of its territories."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a Wednesday post to X that the body supports "a smooth transition of power in Syria, with an inclusive political process in which the rights of all minorities will be fully respected."

Ongoing talks should pave "the way towards a united country with its territorial integrity fully reestablished," Guterres added.

"I fully trust the Syrian people to be able to choose their own destiny," he added, noting that special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen "is engaging all key actors to contribute to these objectives."

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Unlike U.N. Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they do reflect world opinion.

The 193-nation body voted 158-9, with 13 abstentions to demand an immediate ceasefire.

A second vote broke 159-9 with 11 abstentions in support of the agency known as UNRWA -- officially the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East -- which Israel has banned from operating on its territory and sought to undermine elsewhere.

The language of the ceasefire resolution adopted by the assembly on a ceasefire mirrors the text of a security council resolution vetoed by the U.S. on Nov. 20, which also demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The U.S. objected to the resolution because it was not tied to an immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas militants during their Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian