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Health ministry in Gaza says war death toll at 41,534

Health ministry in Gaza says war death toll at 41,534
A Palestinian woman holds a cat as she walks pas the rubble of houses destroyed in the Israel’s military offensive in Khan Younis on Sept. 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 26 September 2024
AFP
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Health ministry in Gaza says war death toll at 41,534

Health ministry in Gaza says war death toll at 41,534
  • The toll includes 39 deaths in the previous 24 hours
  • Gaza rescuers say 15 killed in Israeli strike on school
Updated 26 September 2024
AFP
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GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: Civil defense rescuers in Gaza said an Israeli strike Thursday on a school-turned-shelter killed at least 15 people, with the Israeli military saying it had targeted a Hamas command center.
The vast majority of the besieged Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once by the war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, with many seeking shelter in school buildings.
Civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there were “15 martyrs, including children and women, and dozens wounded, some of them seriously, following an Israeli bombardment of Al-Faluja school in Jabalia camp in north Gaza.”
Bassal earlier said the death toll was seven.
The military said it carried out “precise strikes” targeting Hamas militants operating inside what it said was a command-and-control center at the Al-Faluja school.
AFP was unable to immediately verify what was targeted, and the military statement did not provide information on casualties.
Thursday’s attack was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes on school buildings housing displaced people in Gaza, where fighting has raged for nearly a year.
A strike on the United Nations-run Al-Jawni School in central Gaza on September 11 drew international outcry after the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said six of its staffers were among the 18 reported fatalities.
The Israeli military accuses Hamas of hiding in school buildings where thousands of Gazans have sought shelter — a charge denied by the Palestinian militant group.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Thursday that at least 41,534 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants, now in its 12th month.
The toll includes 39 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 96,092 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.

Topics: Gaza Israel

26 killed as Syrian Turkish-backed groups attack Kurdish-held area in north

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters gather with their vehicles at a position near the northern Syrian town of Manbij. (AFP file photo
Turkish-backed Syrian fighters gather with their vehicles at a position near the northern Syrian town of Manbij. (AFP file photo
Updated 18 sec ago
AFP
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26 killed as Syrian Turkish-backed groups attack Kurdish-held area in north

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters gather with their vehicles at a position near the northern Syrian town of Manbij. (AFP file photo
  • The Ankara-backed factions said they had “taken control of the city of Manbij in the eastern countryside of Aleppo after fierce battles,” in a statement on their Telegram channel
Updated 18 sec ago
AFP

BEIRUT, Lebanon: At least 26 combattants were killed Sunday as Turkish-backed Syrian fighters launched an offensive on the northern Manbij area, days after seizing a Kurdish-held enclave.
The pro-Turkiye fighters had already retaken the Kurdish-held Tal Rifaat enclave last week, days after  rebels swooped into government-held areas, snatching key cities before reaching Damascus on Sunday.
“Pro-Turkish factions... seized large districts of Manbij city in the eastern Aleppo countryside, after violent clashes with the Manbij Military Council,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.
The Council is affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that act as a de facto army for the Kurdish administration that controls swathes of Syria’s northeast.
“The clashes killed nine pro-Turkish fighters and at least 17 Manbij Military Council” combattants, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.
The US-backed SDF also reported “fierce clashes,” saying the military councils in Manbij and in Al-Bab were “dealing qualitative blows” to Turkish-backed fighters.
The Ankara-backed factions said they had “taken control of the city of Manbij in the eastern countryside of Aleppo after fierce battles,” in a statement on their Telegram channel.
The groups posted videos of the fighters declaring control over Manbij, said to be from inside the area.
AFP could not independently verify the videos.
Earlier Sunday, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi hailed “historic” moments with the fall of the “authoritarian regime” of President Bashar Assad.
 

 

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria Bashar Assad syrian kurds

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Director of key north Gaza hospital says power outage threatens patients

Director of key north Gaza hospital says power outage threatens patients
Updated 15 min 55 sec ago
AFP
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Director of key north Gaza hospital says power outage threatens patients

Director of key north Gaza hospital says power outage threatens patients
  • “The outage of electricity and water persists, and we urgently appeal to the international community for assistance,” he said
Updated 15 min 55 sec ago
AFP

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: The director of northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital said on Sunday the lives of more than 100 patients were in danger after electricity, oxygen and water supplies were cut.
Hossam Abu Safiyeh said recent Israeli shelling and bombing had severely damaged the hospital and cut the water and electricity supply to parts of it.
“The outage of electricity and water persists, and we urgently appeal to the international community for assistance,” he said.
“The situation is extremely dangerous. We have patients in the intensive care unit and others awaiting surgeries. Access to the operating rooms is only possible after restoring electricity and oxygen supply.”

Hossam Abu Safiyeh. (Supplied)

Safiyeh said the hospital currently had 112 wounded patients, including six in intensive care and 14 children.
Continued shelling near the hospital was “preventing us from conducting repairs,” he said.
Israel on Friday said it was operating around the facility but had not fired directly on the hospital.
Kamal Adwan is located in Beit Lahia, a city at the center of an intense Israeli military operation aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping in northern Gaza.
The hospital is one of the last operational medical facilities in the north of the territory.
The World Health Organization’s representative in the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, said on Friday the hospital was operating at a “minimum” level.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s surprise October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 44,708 people, mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry which the UN considers reliable.

 

Topics: War on Gaza Palestine Gaza US

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Morocco’s king undergoes successful surgery after shoulder fracture

King Mohammed VI of Morocco. (File/AFP)
King Mohammed VI of Morocco. (File/AFP)
Updated 56 min 21 sec ago
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Morocco’s king undergoes successful surgery after shoulder fracture

King Mohammed VI of Morocco. (File/AFP)
  • King Mohammed VI of Morocco has been told to rest for 45 days to allow his shoulder to recover
Updated 56 min 21 sec ago
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RABAT: King Mohammed VI of Morocco had successful surgery on Sunday on his left shoulder after suffering a fall while working out, state media said.
He has been told to rest for 45 days to allow his shoulder to recover, state news agency MAP said, citing a statement by the king’s medical team.
The palace has issued statements about the king’s health in the past, including when he had heart surgery in 2018 and 2020, a lung infection in 2019 and COVID-19.

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Across Europe, Syrians celebrate being ‘free’ of Assad

Lareen, 8, looks on as people gather in Trafalgar Square, after Syrian militants announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar Assad
Lareen, 8, looks on as people gather in Trafalgar Square, after Syrian militants announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar Assad
Updated 08 December 2024
AFP
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Across Europe, Syrians celebrate being ‘free’ of Assad

Lareen, 8, looks on as people gather in Trafalgar Square, after Syrian militants announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar Assad
  • Syrians in Athens, Belgrade, Istanbul, London, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna also waved flags in the green, red, black and white colors of the Syrian opposition
Updated 08 December 2024
AFP

BERLIN: Thousands of jubilant Syrians rallied in Berlin and cities across Europe on Sunday, waving flags and barely able to contain their joy at the downfall of president Bashar Assad.
“Finally we are free!” exclaimed Bassam Al-Hamada, 39, among 5,000 people at an exuberant rally in the capital of Germany, where the one million-plus Syrians makes it the largest diaspora in Europe.
But Syrians in Athens, Belgrade, Istanbul, London, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna also waved flags in the green, red, black and white colors of the Syrian opposition and made clear their hostility to Assad.
Berlin police said more than 5,000 Syrians gathered in a square in the Kreuzberg district.
Many waved flags and banners that read “Free Syria” and “Freedom,” flashed “V” for victory signs and chanted “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Greatest!).
Despite a cold drizzle, many came with their families. Children’s faces were painted in the Syrian colors. Passing cars honked their horns.
Most Syrians in Germany fled their country after civil war erupted in 2011. A big community now lives in Berlin’s Neukoelln district.
“We’re happy. The dictatorship is over. Assad has gone,” said 39-year-old Berlin resident Ahmed, who preferred not to give his last name.
“All Syrians are together now,” said the railway technician, who fled the Syrian city of Aleppo in 2015.
Ahmad Al-Hallabi, a 27-year-old mechanic from Aleppo, arrived in Germany through Turkiye and Greece in 2015 at the peak of the migrant influx into Europe.
“Ten years ago, I was in Syria and saw things no-one should have to see, things that are impossible to wipe from your memory,” he said.
“Assad is the worst terrorist imaginable ... I hope there’ll be peace and everything Assad and his men destroyed will be rebuilt.”
Germany’s far-right, which has gained popularity on the back of its opposition to the arrival of Syrians and other migrants quickly raised its fears about more arrivals.
“The frontiers are closed, we will not accept any any more,” said Alternative for Germany co-leader Alice Weidel on the X social platform.
Anti-immigrant parties have also made gains in other European countries. “The top priority must be to ensure that the Syrian civilian population has prospects on the ground again and that refugees can return,” Austria’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Assad’s defeat.
Many Syrian say they want to return to their war-battered nation.
“Like many Syrians, I would like to return to my country to help rebuild it,” said Bassam Al-Hamada, a social worker who arrived in Germany in early 2016.
Sabreen, 36, an architect, said she planned to help from Germany.
“They mainly need expertise and money. All of that, we can gather here for the moment,” added the woman.
Like many of the stunned exiles in Berlin, Sabreen called for Assad to answer for the killing and torture of his people in the past 13 years. “He must be tried in the international court in The Hague,” she said.
Hundreds of ecstatic Syrians celebrated the fall of Assad on London’s Trafalgar Square, hugging each other and chanting “Mabrouk!” (Congratulations!).
Syrians greeted each other, many with the opposition flag, and singing: “Syria is ours, not the Assad family’s.”
Hundreds took part in joyous scenes outside the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul, one of the focal points for their 500,000-strong Syrian community in the Turkish city.
Several hundred Syrians also gathered outside parliament in central Athens. “Allah, Syria, freedom!” and “together, together, together,” they chanted.
“I am happy after these 13 years of displacement, massacres and tens of thousands of people killed in prisons,” said Adel Batal, 29.
“I am in Greece because of this regime,” said the man from Aleppo. “My city has been destroyed by this regime.”
Thousands also gathered in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Vienna. Sweden has Europe’s second biggest Syrian diaspora.
“I lost my homeland. My home, my family and my friends, and we fought for 14 years — so yes, today I am happy,” Noura Bittar told Danish local television.
“Of course, we are worried about what the next step will be, what kind of government will be put in place? But for now, we are just happy.”

Topics: Fall of Assad Europe Syrian

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Bewildered, elated prisoners pour out as Assad’s jails flung open

A person gestures as individuals, reportedly freed prisoners, run in the streets of Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024. (Reuters)
A person gestures as individuals, reportedly freed prisoners, run in the streets of Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024. (Reuters)
Updated 08 December 2024
Reuters
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Bewildered, elated prisoners pour out as Assad’s jails flung open

A person gestures as individuals, reportedly freed prisoners, run in the streets of Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024. (Reuters)
  • Throughout the civil war that began in 2011, security forces held hundreds of thousands of people seized in detention camps
Updated 08 December 2024
Reuters

DAMASCUS: Bewildered and elated prisoners poured out of Syrian jails on Sunday, shouting with joy as they emerged from one of the world’s most notorious detention systems and walked to freedom following the collapse of Bashar Assad’s government.
All across Syria, families wept as they were reunited with children, siblings, spouses and parents who vanished years ago into the impregnable gulag of the Assad dynasty’s five-decade rule.
A video verified by Reuters showed newly freed prisoners ran through the Damascus streets, holding up the fingers of both hands to show how many years they had been in prison, asking passers-by what had happened, not immediately understanding that Assad had fallen.
“We toppled the regime!” a voice shouted and a prisoner yelled and skipped with delight in the same video. A man watching the prisoners rush through the dawn streets put his hands to head, exclaiming with wonder: “Oh my god, the prisoners!“
Throughout the civil war that began in 2011, security forces held hundreds of thousands of people seized in detention camps where international human rights organizations say torture was universal practice. Families were often told nothing of the fate of their loved ones.
As insurgents seized one city after another in a dizzying eight-day campaign, prisons were often among their first objectives. The most notorious prisons in and around Damascus itself were finally opened on the uprising’s final night and the early hours of Sunday.
When they reached Sednaya prison, militants shot the lock off the gate, a video showed, using more gunfire to open closed doors leading to cells. Men poured out into corridors and a courtyard, cheering and helping them open more cells.
In a video uploaded by Step News Agency, a grey-haired man leapt into the arms of relatives in a sudden, disbelieving hug, the three men clasping each other and sobbing with joy before one fell to his knees, still clutching the freed man’s legs.
The pan-Arab Al Arabiya news channel showed a family arriving in Damascus by car from Jordan to meet their newly released son, the elderly mother’s voice breaking with emotion as she told the interviewer he had been freed after 14 years.
Reuters was not immediately able to verify the locations of some of the videos, though no one disputed that prisons were opened across the country.
Relief and terror
In what was purported to be the women’s block at Sednaya prison on the Damascus outskirts, perhaps the most notorious in the country, a militant recorded the moment he reached cells and pulled open the doors for prisoners who seemed to have had little idea they were about to be freed.
“May God honor you!” a woman shouted to the men freeing her. As they left their cells a toddler could be seen walking the corridor, having apparently been held in the prison along with his mother.
“He (Assad) has fallen. Don’t be scared,” a voice shouts, trying to reassure the prisoners that they faced no more danger.
In another video, a deafening roar erupted as militants marched down a corridor, said to be in the prison at Mezzeh air base southwest of the old center of Damascus. Prisoners leaned through the bars at the top of doors and banged on the sides of their cells as shouts of joy echoed all around.
One video showed a shaven-headed man squatting on his heels, trembling and barely able to answer the militants asking his name and where he was from.
Over the years, thousands of Syrians were brusquely informed by authorities that their relatives had been executed, sometimes years earlier.
The United States said in 2017 it had evidence of a new crematorium built at Sednaya especially to dispose of bodies of thousands of inmates hanged during the war.
Some of the most disturbing information about Assad’s prison system came with thousands of photographs smuggled out of Syria by a military photographer codenamed Caesar who defected to the West in 2013.
His photographs of thousands of killed detainees showed clear marks of torture and starvation and for many families provided the first evidence that imprisoned relatives were dead.
A few miles from Sednaya early on Sunday, a stream of freed prisoners was recorded walking toward Damascus, many lugging sacks of belongings on their backs, and chanting “God is great!”

Topics: Fall of Assad prisoners

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