Bryan Stern, founder of Grey Bull Rescue, says evidence points to a safe return of American journalist and former U.S. Marine Austin Tice, along with other prisoners detained by the brutal Assad regime in Syria.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Tice's mother his country won't conduct airstrikes near a secret prison outside Damascus.

We hold Bashar al-Assad and his criminal regime accountable for the consequences of Austin’s disappearance and the pain inflicted on his mother — pain, tears and separation," a spokesman told NBC News.

We should ask the militants who toppled Bashar al-Assad in Syria what became of missing U.S. reporter Austin Tice and why

The mother of Austin Tice, who was taken captive in Syria in 2012, voiced hope that upheaval in the country will lead to freedom for her son.

There are no credible hints of his whereabouts, but also no clear evidence that he is dead, a U.S. official said.

Nongovernmental workers and journalists have scoured prisons for clues about his fate in the absence of an official American presence in the country.

The mother of missing journalist Austin Tice told NBC News" "Meet the Press" that seeing an American held captive in Damascus after he was freed was "almost like having a rehearsal."

HOUSTON — The head of an international aid group for hostages believes Houston freelance journalist Austin Tice is alive. This latest update comes a few weeks after another American, Travis Timmerman, was found in Damascus. Tice was detained at a checkpoint near Damascus in 2012 while covering the civil war in Syria.

The Palestinian city of Bethlehem is preparing for a somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza, with most festivities cancelled and crowds of tourists absent Tuesday in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

US group Hostage Aid Worldwide said Tuesday that it believes journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, is still alive, though it did not offer concrete information on his whereabouts.