A flame of hope burns bright today in Syria – but if it's not carefully managed by both Syrians themselves and the international community, it risks being extinguished. That's the warning from UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaking to reporters in New York on Thursday morning.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that there was a "flame of hope" in Syria following the fall of president Bashar al-Assad's regime but warned of significant challenges ahead.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for Israel to stop striking strategic weapons and military infrastructure in Syria and called on both sides to respect the buffer zone.

Israeli airstrikes on Syria are violations of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity and "must stop," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called on Israel to withdraw its forces from the expanded buffer zone along the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel, saying only international peacekeeping troops should be based in the “Area of Separation” following the swift collapse of the Bashar Assad regime in Damascus earlier this month.

They are violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,' Guterres said of IDF strikes, despite Israel moving in only after UNDOF came under attack by gunmen in the demilitarized zone

Since the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad abruptly fell earlier this month, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes, including around the capital, Damascus, that it says are aimed at destroying strategic weapons and military infrastructure.