Browsing: Region
The Israeli occupation renewed today its violation of the ceasefire agreement with Gaza as air raids continued on various areas of the strip.WAFA news agency reported today that air raids continue on areas in North and Central Gaza.Since the ceasefire agreement went into effect last Oct. 10, 410 people were martyred, and 1134 others were injured. A total of 649 bodies were recovered. Related Story Source link
Israeli occupation’s forces on Saturday arrested eight Palestinians in different towns and villages in the West Bank.Israeli occupation forces arrested eight Palestinians in the town of Dura and the villages of Abda and Marish in the Hebron Governorate of the West Bank after searching their homes, ransacking their belongings, and assaulting them, reported Palestin’s news agency (WAFA).In a separate incident, Israeli forces erected several military checkpoints at the entrances to Hebron, its towns, villages, and refugee camps, and closed a number of main and secondary roads with iron gates and barriers.The occupation forces also imposed a curfew on the neighborhoods of Jaber, Salaymeh, and Wadi Al-Haseen in Hebron, allegedly to secure access for settlers from the so-called Kiryat Arba settlement, whih is built on Palestinian land and property east of Hebron, to the Ibrahimi Mosque. Source link
A major Gaza hospital said yesterday it had suspended several services because of critical fuel shortages in the devastated Palestinian territory, which faces a severe humanitarian crisis.Ravaged by more than two years of war, the Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza’s Nuseirat district cares for around 60 in-patients and receives nearly 1,000 people seeking medical treatment each day.“Most services have been temporarily stopped due to a shortage of the fuel needed for the generators,” said Ahmed Mehanna, a senior official involved in managing the hospital. “Only essential departments remain operational: the emergency unit, maternity ward and paediatrics.”To keep these services running, the hospital has been forced to rent a small generator, he added. Under normal conditions, Al-Awda Hospital consumes between 1,000 and 1,200 litres of diesel per day. At present, however, it has only 800 litres available.“We stress that this shutdown is temporary and linked to the availability of fuel,” Mehanna said, warning that a prolonged fuel shortage “would pose a direct threat to the hospital’s ability to deliver basic services”.Khitam Ayada, 30, who has taken refuge in Nuseirat, said she had gone to the facility after days of kidney pain. But “they told me they didn’t have electricity to perform an X-ray… and that they couldn’t treat me,” the displaced woman said.“They gave me a painkiller and told me that if my condition didn’t improve I should go” to another hospital, she said.“We lack everything in our lives, even the most basic medical services,” she added. Hospital official Mehanna urged local and international organisations to intervene swiftly to ensure a steady fuel supply.Despite a fragile truce observed since October 10, the Gaza Strip remains engulfed in a severe humanitarian crisis. While the ceasefire agreement stipulated the entry of 600 aid trucks per day, only 100- 300 carrying humanitarian assistance can currently enter, according to the United Nations and non-governmental organisations.The remaining convoys largely transport commercial goods that remain inaccessible to most of Gaza’s 2.2mn people. The vast majority of Gaza’s residents rely on aid from UN agencies and international NGOs for daily survival.Gaza’s health sector has been among the hardest hit by the war. During the fighting, the Israeli miliary repeatedly struck hospitals and medical centres across Gaza, accusing Hamas of operating command centres there, an allegation the group denied.International medical charity Doctors Without Borders now manages roughly one-third of Gaza’s 2,300 hospital beds, while all five stabilisation centres for children suffering from severe malnutrition are supported by international NGOs. The war in Gaza was sparked by an unprecedented Hamas storming of Israel in October 2023.In Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza, at least 70,942 people – also mostly civilians – have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.These figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. Source link
A photograph released by the Lebanese Government Press Office yesterday, shows Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaking during a press conference after a cabinet session in…
German Foreign Minister Johannes Wadephul has affirmed that Berlin strongly supports the transition to the second phase of the ceasefire plan and post-war arrangements in Gaza, warning that prolonging the current situation would exacerbate human suffering and undermine the prospects for stability.Wadephul added, in a statement to German media, that improving humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip is a top priority for Berlin, emphasising that the German government has intensified its contacts with international partners to facilitate the delivery of aid through all available channels.Wadephul noted that Germany is among the largest international supporters of humanitarian organisations operating in the Palestinian territories, explaining that these organisations need safe, sustained, and unimpeded access to expand their operations and meet the growing needs of the civilian population.The German foreign minister affirmed Berlin’s readiness to play a pivotal role in international efforts to rebuild the Gaza Strip, emphasising that this process requires substantial financial participation from the international community.He cautioned that reconstruction must proceed in parallel with a clear political track that guarantees the prevention of a recurrence of cycles of violence.He explained that Berlin supports the idea of holding an international conference for Gaza’s reconstruction in the near future, with the participation of international and regional stakeholders, to co-ordinate efforts, define priorities, and ensure that aid is directed effectively and sustainably.The German foreign minister ruled out his country’s participation in any potential international force to stabilise the Gaza Strip, asserting that the German government does not see a realistic possibility at present of deploying German troops for such a mission.He added that talk of an international force is not merely symbolic or political, but rather entails intervention to impose security in a highly complex environment.He further stated that this type of mission is currently inconceivable for German forces. He clarified that Germany is instead focusing on contributing politically and diplomatically to international efforts aimed at reaching a sustainable settlement, noting that any future security arrangements in Gaza must be part of a comprehensive political process that enjoys clear international legitimacy and regional acceptance. Source link
Iran has seized a foreign oil tanker near the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Gulf, saying it was carrying 4mn litres of smuggled fuel, state media reported yesterday. Authorities did not name the vessel or disclose its nationality. They said 16 foreign crew members had been detained on criminal charges. State TV said the tanker was seized on Wednesday.Iranian news websites published video footage and photographs of what they said was the seized tanker. Iran said last week it had seized another foreign tanker carrying 6mn litres of what it described as smuggled diesel in the Gulf of Oman without identifying the vessel or its nationality. Iran, which has some of the world’s lowest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and a sharp fall in the value of its national currency, has been seeking to curb widespread fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to other states. Source link
A view shows an interior of a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion in Homs, Syria yesterday. An explosion killed at least eight worshippers and injured another 21 at a mosque in Syria’s Homs yesterday, state media said.Health authorities in the city reported that the explosion occurred inside Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi Al Dahab neighbourhood of Homs yesterday.A security source meanwhile revealed that initial investigations indicate that the explosion was caused by explosive devices planted inside the mosque.Civil defence teams are working to remove the traces of destruction and secure the site, with investigations continuing to uncover the circumstances of the incident.Syria’s interior ministry said in a statement that “a terrorist explosion” targeted the mosque and that authorities had “begun investigating and collecting evidence to pursue the perpetrators of this criminal act”.Syria’s foreign ministry condemned a “cowardly criminal act”, saying it came “in the context of repeated desperate attempts to undermine security and stability and spread chaos among the Syrian people”, vowing to hold the attackers accountable.Several countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Turkiye and Jordan condemned the attack.Yesterday, Syrian state television reported the release of 70 detainees in the coastal city of Latakia “after it was proven that they were not involved in war crimes”, saying more releases would follow.In a speech this month marking a year since the fall of Bashar Assad, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa emphasised the importance of all Syrians unifying efforts to “to build a strong Syria”.Despite major achievements in relaunching Syria’s foreign standing, Sharaa faces the major domestic challenge of maintaining security and unity domestically. Source link
One person was killed Thursday in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon, in a continued violation of the 2014 ceasefire agreement. Lebanese medical sources reported that the Israeli airstrike on the town of Majdal Selm in the Marjeyoun district resulted in the death of a Lebanese citizen. Earlier Thursday, two people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on eastern Lebanon. It is worth noting that a ceasefire agreement in southern Lebanon came into effect on November 27 of last year, stipulating the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from border villages and towns in southern Lebanon within 60 days. However, the occupation forces remain in five locations and continue their violations through shelling and targeting of villages. Source link
Three people were killed, and five others were injured today in an explosion inside a mosque in the city of Homs in central Syria. The Syrian news agency (SANA) reported that an explosion occurred inside the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi Al Dahab neighborhood of Homs, adding that the nature of the explosion is currently being investigated. The Syrian News Agency reported that the initial toll of victims of the explosion revealed that 3 people were killed and 5 others were injured. Source link
One person was killed Thursday in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon, in a continued violation of the 2014 ceasefire agreement.Lebanese medical sources reported that the Israeli airstrike on the town of Majdal Selm in the Marjeyoun district resulted in the death of a Lebanese citizen.Earlier Thursday, two people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on eastern Lebanon.It is worth noting that a ceasefire agreement in southern Lebanon came into effect on November 27 of last year, stipulating the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from border villages and towns in southern Lebanon within 60 days. However, the occupation forces remain in five locations and continue their violations through shelling and targeting of villages. Source link