Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that his country's forces would be free to act in the Gaza Strip even after its war with Hamas ends.

"After eliminating Hamas's military and governmental capabilities in Gaza, Israel would have security control over Gaza with complete freedom of action" for the Israeli military, Katz said in a post on X, noting that it was his own "position".

A United Nations official visiting Damascus said on Tuesday there was a basis for the "ambitious scaling-up" of aid, after the country's new leaders assured the U.N. of full humanitarian access.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres earlier welcomed the "caretaker government's commitment to protect civilians" and humanitarian workers.

Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, said Monday that international sanctions against Damascus must be lifted if refugees displaced by the war are to return.

During a meeting with a British delegation, Jolani spoke "of the importance of restoring relations" with London, and stressed "the importance of ending all sanctions imposed on Syria so that displaced Syrians... can return to their country", according to remarks reported on his group's Telegram channel.

A French delegation arrived Tuesday at the country's embassy in Damascus, the first visit of diplomats from France since Bashar al-Assad's ouster by Islamist-led rebels.

Visiting French special envoy for Syria Jean-Francois Guillaume said his country was preparing to stand with Syrians during the transitional period.

Bashar al-Assad said Monday his departure from Syria was not planned and that Moscow requested his evacuation from a military base that was under attack, in the former president's first statement since his ouster.

"My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles," said a statement on the ousted presidency's Telegram channel, adding "Moscow requested... an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday December 8" after he moved to Latakia early that day.

The Syrian pound has begun to recover against the dollar after president Bashar al-Assad's ouster, moneychangers and traders said Monday as foreign currencies again became available on the local market.

On December 7 -- the day before Damascus fell to a rebel coalition led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group -- the rate had plunged to 30,000 pounds to the dollar, halving the value of the local currency compared to just months previously.

Syria's Kurds, who run a semi-autonomous administration in the northeast, called Monday for an end to all fighting in the country and extended a hand to the new authorities in Damascus.

In a statement at a press conference in Raqa, the Kurdish administration called for "a stop to military operations over the entire Syrian territory in order to begin a constructive, comprehensive national dialogue", more than a week after Islamist-led rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad's government.

Governments worldwide are stepping up efforts to engage with Syria's new interim rulers, just over a week after Islamist-led rebels ousted president Bashar al-Assad, ending decades of brutal rule and civil war.

The lightning offensive that captured the capital Damascus on December 8 led to celebrations across the country and beyond.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called for Syrians who sought refuge in his country to return home following the fall of Syria's longtime leader, Bashar al-Assad.

"The consequences of the Syrian war made Lebanon home to the largest number of refugees per capita, with one-third of our population comprising of Syrian refugees", Mikati said Saturday at a Rome political festival.

Israel has launched more than 60 strikes on Syrian territory over the past few hours, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said late Saturday.

Israel fired 61 missiles at Syrian military sites in less than five hours Saturday evening, it reported, maintaining a campaign which started after rebel forces toppled president Bashar al-Assad nearly a week ago.