The fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria over the weekend has brought a renewed effort by the Biden administration to find American journalist and Marine veteran Austin Tice and bring him home. 

An immense push to return Tice, who was abducted in Syria 12 years ago, has been initiated as hostage-affairs envoy Roger Carstens has begun outreach in Beirut, and efforts to engage with sources in Syria to gain information on Tice’s whereabouts have begun, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

“There are intensive efforts underway by the United States to find Austin Tice and bring him home to his family,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday evening. “We encourage anyone who has information about Austin’s whereabouts to contact the FBI immediately.” 

HERE IS WHO IS VYING FOR POWER IN SYRIA AFTER THE FALL OF BASHAR AL-ASSAD

Miller pointed to the FBI’s reward program offering up to $1 million for anyone with credible information pertaining to Tice and his safe return.

The State Department’s Rewards for Justice program is also offering up to $10 million for information about Tice’s whereabouts. 

“As Secretary [of State] Blinken has said directly to Austin’s family – including in the past few days – we will not rest until he is returned home safely to his loved ones,” the spokesman confirmed.

Similarly, Sullivan told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday that the U.S. was also working with partners in Turkey to communicate with people in Syria who may have information to help locate the prison where he may be being held.

“This is a top priority for us,” Sullivan said. 

Tice was 31 years old when he was detained in Damascus in August 2012 while reporting on the uprising against the Assad regime, which marked the early stages of the Syrian civil war, and ultimately ended with Assad’s ousting on Sunday after rebels seized the capital city.

The Tice family has said they believe he is still alive, and reports have suggested the U.S. has received intermittent information pertaining to his whereabouts, though one official told Reuters the credibility of this information has been difficult to verify.

Freelance journalist Austin Tice went missing in Syria in 2012 and has not been heard from since. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The U.S. reportedly received information over the summer from a Lebanese source who claimed they saw Tice alive and said he was believed to be held captive by a group connected with Hezbollah, a former U.S. official familiar with the intelligence told Reuters. 

In 2020, President Biden issued a statement that said he knew “with certainty” that the Assad regime was responsible for Tice’s imprisonment and demanded they release him. 

The regime responded by claiming it neither abducted nor held the American journalist. 

THE RISE AND FALL OF BASHAR AND ASMA ASSAD

The State Department’s Reward for Justice program is offering $10 million for information relating to locating Austin Tice. (The State Department’s Reward for Justice)

The U.S. has reportedly engaged in back-channel talks with Syria with the help of Lebanese intermediaries for years, including under the Biden administration, though to no avail.

Syrian officials apparently refused to engage in talks regarding the release of Tice and offered only proof-of-life information if the U.S. would meet its demands, like the withdrawal of its forces from the country. 

The last communication the Biden administration reportedly had with Syria regarding Tice was one month prior to the fall of Aleppo, which fell to rebel forces in late November.

Since the demise of Hezbollah following Israel’s campaign in Lebanon, along with Russia and Iran’s inability to once again back the Assad regime, and the subsequent rebel takeover of the country, tens of thousands of captives held in Syria’s notoriously brutal prisons have been released. 

A man breaks the lock of a cell in the infamous Saydnaya military prison, just north of Damascus, Syria, on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. Crowds are gathering to enter the prison, known as the “human slaughterhouse,” after thousands of inmates were released following the rebels’ overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on Sunday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The infamous Saydnaya military prison, dubbed the “human slaughterhouse” where torture, disease, starvation and secret executions were common, was liberated on Sunday by the rebels who smashed open cells where they found men, women and children held, reported The Associated Press.

Prisoners in cities including Aleppo, Homs, Hama as well as Damascus have been freed, giving new hope to relatives who have not seen family members held in these prisons for years.

In a Saturday address, Biden expressed some hope regarding Tice and said, “We believe he’s alive. We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence to that yet.”

“We have to identify where he is,” the president added.

Netanyahu took the stand for about four hours and will resume testifying on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken the stand for the first time in his long-running corruption trial, rejecting what he described as “absurd” allegations against him.

Appearing at a crowded courtroom in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, the embattled Israeli leader said the charges levelled against him were an “an ocean of absurdity”.

Israel’s longest-serving prime minister faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of public trust in three separate cases. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

He took the stand for about four hours and will resume testifying on Wednesday. His military secretary twice handed him written messages, the first time requiring a recess and underscoring his having to do double duty as prime minister.

He attacked the Israeli media for what he called its leftist stance and accused journalists of having hounded him for years because his policies did not align with a push for a Palestinian state.

“I have been waiting for eight years for this moment to tell the truth,” Netanyahu told the three-judge court. “But I am also a prime minister … I am leading the country through a seven-front war. And I think the two can be done in parallel.”

Netanyahu’s appearance at the trial comes as Israel continues its assault on the besieged Gaza Strip amid soaring tensions in the region.

Critics have accused the prime minister of extending Israel’s 14-month assault on the besieged Gaza Strip to maintain his stay in power. They also say he is blocking a ceasefire deal that could release dozens of Israeli captives held in Gaza.

Outside the court, dozens of protesters gathered, including members of the families of captives held in Gaza.

Israel’s offensive on Gaza has killed more than 44,500 people, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Three cases

Israel’s prime minister is on trial in three separate cases which were filed in 2019 – Case 1000, Case 2000, and Case 4000.

Netanyahu stands of accused of accepting luxury gifts from a billionaire Hollywood producer in exchange for assistance with personal business interests.

He is also charged with allegedly seeking regulatory favours for media tycoons in return for favourable news coverage.

His testimony follows years of scandals that have swirled around him and his family, who have gained a reputation of enjoying a lavish lifestyle at Israeli taxpayers’ expense.

Since the trial began in 2020, the court has heard prosecution witnesses in the three cases, including some of Netanyahu’s former aides, who have turned state witnesses.

The prosecution has tried to portray the prime minister as an image-obsessed leader who broke the law to improve his public perception.

The testimony, set to take place six hours a day, three days a week for several weeks, will take up a significant amount of Netanyahu’s time, prompting critics to ask if he can capably manage a country embroiled in a war on multiple fronts.

A verdict is not expected until 2026, at the earliest, and Netanyahu will have the option to appeal to the Supreme Court.