US aircraft carrier strike group arrives in Middle East

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

Syrian President Bashar Assad made a personal decision to resign and leave the country as rebel forces closed in on the capital Damascus, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

"It was a personal decision of Assad to withdraw from the process of service as the head of state," Peskov said when asked if Russia played any role in Assad's decision.

Peskov said Monday that President Vladimir Putin will grant Assad political asylum in Russia.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told reporters on Tuesday Israeli attacks and operations inside Syria are unacceptable.

"We are continuing to see Israeli movements and bombardments into Syrian territory," Pederson said in Geneva, Switzerland. "This needs to stop. This is extremely important."

Israeli leaders say the operations are intended to deny "extremist" groups access to weapons or territory that could be used for cross-border attacks into Israel.

Pedersen also said that the conflict in Syria is not yet over, pointing to continued clashes in the northeast of the country between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and the mainly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, which are partnered with the U.S. in operations against ISIS remnants.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in court in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to give evidence in his corruption trial, making him the first sitting Israeli prime minister to take the stand as a defendant.

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies all charges, calling the trial a "witch hunt."

"This is the opportunity to dispel the allegations against me," Netanyahu told the court on Tuesday morning. "There is a great absurdity in the charges and great injustice."

Netanyahu had long sought to delay or avoid appearing in front of the court. If found guilty, he could face 10 years in prison.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti and Morgan Winsor