UN refugee chief says airstrikes in Lebanon have violated humanitarian law

A man stares at the devastation in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that targeted the Sfeir neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs on October 6, 2024. (AFP)
A man stares at the devastation in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that targeted the Sfeir neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs on October 6, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 06 October 2024
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UN refugee chief says airstrikes in Lebanon have violated humanitarian law

A man stares at the devastation in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that targeted the Sfeir neighbourhood.
  • Fighting has led some 220,000 people to cross the Lebanese border with Syria, 70 percent of whom are Syrians and 30 percent Lebanese

BEIRUT: The United Nations’ refugee chief Filippo Grandi said on Sunday that airstrikes in Lebanon had violated international humanitarian law by hitting civilian infrastructure and killing civilians, in reference to Israel’s bombardment of the country.
“Unfortunately, many instances of violations of international humanitarian law in the way the airstrikes are conducted that have destroyed or damaged civilian infrastructure, have killed civilians, have impacted humanitarian operations,” he told media in Beirut.
Grandi was in Lebanon as it struggles to cope with the displacement of more than 1.2 million people as a result of an expanded Israeli air and ground operation that it says is targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Fighting had previously been mostly limited to the Israel-Lebanon border area, in parallel to Israel’s war in Gaza against Palestinian group Hamas.
Grandi said all parties to the conflict and those with influence on them should “stop this carnage that is happening both in Gaza and in Lebanon today.”
More than 2,000 people have been killed and nearly 10,000 wounded in Lebanon in nearly a year of fighting, most in the past two weeks, the Lebanese health ministry says. Israel says around 50 civilians and soldiers have been killed.
Israel says it targets military capabilities and takes steps to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, while Lebanese authorities say civilians have been targeted.
Israel accuses both Hezbollah and Hamas of hiding among civilians, which they deny.
Grandi said the World Health Organization briefed him “about egregious violations of IHL in respect of health facilities in particular that have been impacted in various locations of Lebanon,” using an acronym for international humanitarian law.
Attacks on civilian homes may also be violations, though the matter requires further assessment, he said.
The fighting has led some 220,000 people to cross the Lebanese border with Syria, 70 percent of whom are Syrians and 30 percent Lebanese, Grandi said, saying these were conservative estimates.
Israel’s bombardment of the main border crossing with Syria at Masnaa on Friday was “a huge obstacle,” to those flows of people continuing, he said.
Many of the Syrians leaving Lebanon had sought refuge and fled war and a security crackdown after the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
Now was an opportunity for the Syrian government to show that returnees’ “safety and ability to go back to their homes or wherever they need to go is respected,” Grandi said.


Qatar PM says ‘momentum is coming back’ to Gaza talks after US election

Qatar PM says ‘momentum is coming back’ to Gaza talks after US election
Updated 16 min 51 sec ago
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Qatar PM says ‘momentum is coming back’ to Gaza talks after US election

Qatar PM says ‘momentum is coming back’ to Gaza talks after US election
  • The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce

DOHA: Qatar’s prime minister said Saturday that momentum had returned to talks aimed at cementing a truce and hostage exchange deal in Gaza following the election of Donald Trump as US president.

“We have sensed, after the election, that the momentum is coming back,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani told the Doha Forum for political dialogue.

The Qatari prime minister explained that while there were “some differences” in the approach to an agreement by the outgoing and incoming US administrations, “we didn’t see or recognize any disagreement on the goal itself to end the war.”

The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release after 14 months of war.

But in November, Doha announced it had put its mediation on hold, saying it would resume when Hamas and Israel showed “willingness and seriousness.”

Sheikh Mohammed said there had been “a lot of encouragement from the incoming administration in order to achieve a deal, even before the president comes to the office,” adding this had affected the Qatari decision to get talks “back on track” over the last two weeks.

“We hope to get things done as soon as possible. We hope that the willingness of the parties to engage in a good faith continues,” he said.

The prime minister also brushed off the prospect of Qatar facing greater pressure over the status of its political bureau for Hamas, which the Gulf state has hosted since 2012 with the blessing of the United States.

He called the office a “platform to convene between the different parties,” adding that Qatar was not “expected to enforce solutions” on the Palestinian militants.

On Syria, Qatar’s prime minister said Syrian President Bashar Assad failed to engage with his people and address issues like the return of refugees during a period of calm in the country’s war.

“Assad didn’t seize these opportunities to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people, and we didn’t see any serious movement, whether it’s on the return of the refugees or on reconciling with his own people,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said at the Doha Forum for political dialogue.

Qatar — which gave early support to the opposition after Assad’s government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011, leading to the civil war — remains a fierce critic of the Syrian leader but is calling for a negotiated end to the fighting.

Sheikh Mohammed said the world had been “surprised” by the speed of a recent rapid advance by Islamist-led militants in Syria and cautioned that the situation might become “more and more dangerous,” threatening a return to a more intense level of civil war.

He added such an outcome would “damage and destroy what’s left, if there is not any sense of urgency to start putting (in place) a political framework for what’s happening over there... in order to find a political solution.”


Israeli strikes kill at least 29 at hard-hit Gaza hospital

Israeli strikes kill at least 29 at hard-hit Gaza hospital
Updated 07 December 2024
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Israeli strikes kill at least 29 at hard-hit Gaza hospital

Israeli strikes kill at least 29 at hard-hit Gaza hospital
  • Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya is one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the Gaza’s northernmost province
  • The dead included five children and five women

CAIRO: At least 29 people were killed, including four medical staff, when Israeli strikes pummeled the area around one of the last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza, Palestinian officials said.
The situation in and around the Kamal Adwan hospital is “catastrophic,” according to Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of the hospital. The dead included five children and five women, according to the hospital casualty list, which was obtained by The Associated Press.
Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya is one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the Gaza’s northernmost province, where Israeli forces are pressing an offensive that has almost completely sealed off the area from humanitarian aid for two months.
Israel’s military denied that its forces had struck the hospital or operated inside it. The army said that in the past few weeks, “coordinated efforts with international organizations have been underway in order to transfer patients, companions, and medical staff to other hospitals.”
An Indonesian medical team which had been assisting in Kamal Adwan for the past week was forced to evacuate on foot after the area was surrounded by Israeli soldiers, according to a statement from the team. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the medical team’s expulsion. Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization representative in the Palestinian territories, said an Israeli tank approached the hospital at around 4 a.m. Friday. Although no official Israeli evacuation order was issued, “people started to climb the wall to escape, and this panic attracted IDF (Israeli) fire,” he said. He spoke by video from Gaza to journalists in Geneva.
Kamal Adwan Hospital has been struck multiple times over the past two months since Israel launched a fierce military operation in northern Gaza against Hamas militants. In October, Israeli forces raided the hospital, saying that militants were sheltering inside and arrested a number of people, including some staff. Hospital officials denied the claim.
Saudi Arabia calls for and end to Gaza war
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has reiterated the kingdom’s call for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan described Israel as acting with “impunity and is getting away without punishment” in its war on Hamas there.
The prince said that any permanent solution requires a two-state solution, with the Palestinians having east Jerusalem as their capital.
“Israel has become an apartheid, colonial and genocidal state,” Prince Turki said. “It is about time for the world to address that issue and take the necessary steps to bring those who are thus charged by the International Criminal Court to justice.”
The Saudis spoke at the International Institute for Security Studies’ Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.


Syrian militants quicken momentum as Assad tries to shore up defense

Syrian militants quicken momentum as Assad tries to shore up defense
Updated 20 min 34 sec ago
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Syrian militants quicken momentum as Assad tries to shore up defense

Syrian militants quicken momentum as Assad tries to shore up defense
  • The pace of events has raised fears of a fresh wave of regional instability

AMMAN/BEIRUT: Syrian militants readied to press their lightning advance on Saturday as government forces buttressed collapsing frontlines and bombarded the insurgents’ positions around Homs, in a bid to save President Bashar Assad’s 24-year rule.

Since the militants’ sweep into Aleppo a week ago, government defenses have crumbled across the country at dizzying speed as insurgents seized a string of major cities and rose up in places where the rebellion had long seemed over.

Besides capturing Aleppo in the north, Hama in the center and Deir Ezzor in the east, militants rose up in southern Suweida and Daraa, saying on Friday they had taken control of the two cities and posting videos showing insurgent celebrations there.

Syria’s military said it was carrying out airstrikes around Hama and Homs and reinforcing on that front. It also said it was repositioning around Daraa and Suweida, without acknowledging their capture by militants.

The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a fresh wave of regional instability, with Qatar saying on Saturday it threatened Syria’s territorial integrity.

Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 as an uprising against Assad’s rule, dragged in big outside powers, created space for jihadist militants to plot attacks around the world and sent millions of refugees into neighboring states.

Western officials say the Syrian military is in a difficult situation, unable to halt militant gains and forced into retreat.

Assad had long relied on allies to subdue the militants, with Russian warplanes bombing from the skies while Iran sent allied forces including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraqi militia to bolster the Syrian military and storm insurgent strongholds.

But Russia has been focused on the war in Ukraine since 2022 and Hezbollah’s leadership has been decimated this year in its own grueling war with Israel.

Russia on Friday urged its nationals to leave the country. Iran evacuated families of diplomats from Syria, an Iranian official said.

Hezbollah has sent some “supervising forces” to Homs on Friday but any significant deployment would risk exposure to Israeli airstrikes, Western officials said. Israel attacked two Lebanon-Syria border crossings on Friday, Lebanon said.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias are on high alert, with thousands of heavily armed fighters ready to deploy to Syria, many of them amassed near the border. But they have not yet been ordered to cross, two of their commanders said. Iraq does not seek military intervention in Syria, a government spokesman said on Friday.

BATTLE FOR HOMS

The militants said they were “at the walls” of Homs after taking the last village on its northern outskirts late on Friday, a day after seizing nearby Hama following a brief battle outside the city.

Inside Homs, a resident said the situation had felt normal until Friday, but had grown more tense with the sound of airstrikes and gunfire clearly audible and pro-Assad militia groups setting up checkpoints.

“They are sending a message to people to keep in line and that they should not get excited and not expect Homs to go easily,” the resident said.

Seizing Homs, a key crossroads between the capital and the Mediterranean, would cut off Damascus from the coastal stronghold of Assad’s minority Alawite sect, and from a naval base and air base of his Russian allies there.

Militants outside Homs came under intense bombardment overnight and the military and its allies were attempting to dig in for a defense of the city, both sides said.

A Syrian military officer said there was a lull in fighting on Saturday morning after a night of intense airstrikes on the militants.

A coalition of militant factions that include the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) made a last call on forces loyal to Assad’s government in Homs to defect.

Ahead of the militant advance, thousands of people fled Homs toward the coastal regions of Latakia and Tartus, strongholds of the government, residents and witnesses said.

“Homs is the key. It will be very hard for Assad to make a stand but if Homs should fall, the main highway from Damascus to Tartus and the coast will be closed, cutting the capital off from the Alawite Mountains,” said Jonathan Landis, a Syria specialist at the University of Oklahoma.

“But the Syrian army won’t fight. No one wants to die for Assad and his regime,” he added.

Taking Daraa and Suweida in the south could allow a concerted assault on the capital, the seat of Assad’s power, military sources said.

Militant sources said on Friday the military had agreed to make an orderly withdrawal from Daraa under a deal giving army officials safe passage to the capital Damascus, about 100km north.

Daraa, which had a population of more than 100,000 before the civil war began 13 years ago, holds symbolic importance as the cradle of the uprising. It is the capital of a province of about one million people, bordering Jordan.

In the east, a US-backed alliance led by Syrian Kurdish fighters captured Deir El-Zor, the government’s main foothold in the vast desert, on Friday, three Syrian sources said, jeopardizing Assad’s land connection to allies in Iraq.


Damascus gripped by anxiety in face of militant offensive

Damascus gripped by anxiety in face of militant offensive
Updated 07 December 2024
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Damascus gripped by anxiety in face of militant offensive

Damascus gripped by anxiety in face of militant offensive
  • Many Syrians have been wracked by uncertainty, fearing a revival of the worst days of Syria’s grinding civil war

DAMASCUS: Like many others in the Syrian capital Damascus, student Shadi chose to stay home so he could keep up with the pace of events since militants launched a shock offensive last week.

“I had no wish to go out and everyone chose to stay in to follow the news surrounded by their loved ones,” said Shadi, who did not wish to give his full name.

As the militants have taken city after city in quick succession, many Syrians have been wracked by uncertainty, fearing a revival of the worst days of Syria’s grinding civil war now in its 14th year.

“We don’t understand anything anymore. In just one week, the twists and turns have been so overwhelming that they are beyond all comprehension,” the young man said.

“The worry is contagious but we have to keep our cool,” he said, never once taking his eyes off the alerts on his mobile phone.

Syrian militants, led by Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), launched the shock offensive on November 27, sweeping from their stronghold in the northwest to capture swathes of northern and central Syria including the major cities of Aleppo and Hama.

Government forces have launched a counteroffensive seeking to repel the militants but at the cost of relaxing their grip on other parts of the country, notably the east where Kurdish-led forces have taken over.

“Whenever rumors spread, people rush to buy various products, bread, rice, sugar and detergents,” said Amine, 56, who runs a grocery store in the Sheikh Saad neighborhood of the capital.

“Today, I bought twice from my wholesaler to keep up with demand.”

The offensive has already sent food prices skyrocketing by 30 percent in Damascus, according to residents.

The Syrian pound is trading at an all-time low of 19,000 to the dollar, down from 15,000 before the militants launched their offensive on Wednesday of last week.

Security measures — already strict before the offensive — have been beefed up, with extra car searches, particularly on vehicles coming from outside the capital, according to residents.

Concerns have been further driven by the spread of disinformation and rumors.

The Syrian defense ministry has denounced “fabricated” videos, including of explosions at the headquarters of the general staff, calling on citizens not to fall prey to “lies” that “aim to sow chaos and panic among civilians.”

In the usually lively neighborhood of Bab Sharqi, restaurants and cafes are near-deserted in the evening, with some even closing up early due to the absence of customers.

Damascus University has delayed end-of-term exams and the Syrian football federation has postponed matches until further notice.

State news agency SANA reported that at Friday prayers, imams called on the faithful “not to panic... and to stand as one behind the Syrian Arab Army to defend the homeland.”

Georgina, 32, said she had “heard a lot of rumors.”

“I went to Old Damascus and saw a normal situation,” she said, adding that nonetheless “everyone was keeping an eye on the news.”

Meanwhile, some radio stations have switched from variety programming to non-stop news segments.

On state television, programs host analysts and witnesses on the ground, including those denying “rumors” of fresh territorial losses to the advancing militants.


US tells citizens leave Syria ‘now while commercial options remain available’

US tells citizens leave Syria ‘now while commercial options remain available’
Updated 07 December 2024
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US tells citizens leave Syria ‘now while commercial options remain available’

US tells citizens leave Syria ‘now while commercial options remain available’

WASHINGTON: US citizens in Syria should immediately leave the country “while commercial options remain available,” the State Department said Friday, as militant forces continue their offensive against President Bashar Assad’s troops.
“The security situation continues to be volatile and unpredictable with active clashes between armed groups throughout the country. The Department urges US citizens to depart Syria now while commercial options remain available,” the department said in a security alert posted on social media.