Israel says it will destroy Syria’s heavy strategic weaponry

Update Israel says it will destroy Syria’s heavy strategic weaponry
Above, Israeli military armored vehicles cross the fence to Syria near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on Dec. 8, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 09 December 2024
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Israel says it will destroy Syria’s heavy strategic weaponry

Israel says it will destroy Syria’s heavy strategic weaponry
  • Israeli will also keep a ‘limited’ troop presence on the ground, hoping to head off any threat that could emerge
  • The military on Monday published photos of Israeli commandos in the Syrian Mount Hermon area

JERUSALEM: Israel will step up airstrikes on Syrian stores of advanced weaponry, Israeli officials said on Monday, and keep a ‘limited’ troop presence on the ground, hoping to head off any threat that could emerge in the fallout of President Bashar Assad’s overthrow.

Israel has watched the upheaval in Syria with a mixture of hope and concern as it weighs the consequences of one of the most significant strategic shifts in the Middle East in years.

While Assad’s fall wiped out a bastion from which Israel’s arch-foe Iran had exercised influence in the region, the lightning advance of a disparate group of militant forces with roots in the Islamist ideology of Al-Qaeda poses risks.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military would “destroy heavy strategic weapons throughout Syria, including surface-to-air missiles, air defense systems, surface-to-surface missiles, cruise missiles, long-range rockets, and coastal missiles.”

A senior Israeli official said airstrikes would persist in the coming days, while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel had no interest in interfering in internal Syrian affairs and was concerned only with defending its citizens.

“That’s why we attack strategic weapons systems like, for example, remaining chemical weapons or long-range missiles and rockets in order that they will not fall into the hands of extremists,” Saar told reporters in Jerusalem.

Egypt has condemned Israel’s “further occupation of Syrian lands” and views the Israeli military’s movement into a buffer zone as an attempt to enforce a new reality on the ground, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Still reeling from the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ attack in October 2023, Israel is also looking to head off any future threat from its neighbor.

Israeli forces had already cleared land mines and established new barriers on the frontier between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and a demilitarized strip bordering Syria in October.

Early on Sunday, the military said it had sent ground forces into the demilitarized zone, a 400-square-kilometer buffer created by a 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement and overseen by the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).

The military on Monday published photos of Israeli commandos in the Syrian Mount Hermon area.

Saar said the troop presence was strictly limited. “It’s basically near our borders, sometimes a few hundred meters, sometimes one mile or two miles,” he said. “It is a very limited and temporary step we took for security reasons.”


Israeli fire wounds five in south Lebanon as residents try to return, Lebanese media reports

Israeli fire wounds five in south Lebanon as residents try to return, Lebanese media reports
Updated 53 min 42 sec ago
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Israeli fire wounds five in south Lebanon as residents try to return, Lebanese media reports

Israeli fire wounds five in south Lebanon as residents try to return, Lebanese media reports
  • Israel said on Friday it intended to keep troops on the ground beyond the Sunday deadline
  • Kfar Kila is one of dozens of border villages where residents are forbidden from returning
BEIRUT: Israeli fire wounded five people in south Lebanon on Sunday, Lebanese media and security sources said, as residents sought to return to homes in the border area where Israeli forces remained on the ground after a deadline for their withdrawal passed.
Israel said on Friday it intended to keep troops on the ground beyond the Sunday deadline stipulated in the US-brokered ceasefire that halted last year’s war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Israel did not say how long its forces would remain.
The deal stipulated that Israeli forces should withdraw from south Lebanon as Hezbollah’s weapons and fighters were removed from the area and the Lebanese army deployed, within in a 60-day period which ended on Sunday morning.
Israel has said the terms had not been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, while Lebanon’s US-backed military on Saturday accused Israel of procrastinating in its withdrawal.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli forces opened fire on residents of the village of Kfar Kila after they crossed a barricade put up by Israeli forces, wounding five.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the report.
Kfar Kila is one of dozens of border villages that the Israeli military has said residents are forbidden from returning to until further notice.

WHO chief urges end to attacks on Sudan health care after 70 killed in drone strike

WHO chief urges end to attacks on Sudan health care after 70 killed in drone strike
Updated 26 January 2025
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WHO chief urges end to attacks on Sudan health care after 70 killed in drone strike

WHO chief urges end to attacks on Sudan health care after 70 killed in drone strike
  • WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: ‘We continue to call for a cessation of all attacks on health care in Sudan’

The head of the World Health Organization called on Saturday for an end to attacks on health care workers and facilities in Sudan after a drone attack on a hospital in Sudan’s North Darfur region killed more than 70 people and wounded dozens.
“As the only functional hospital in El Fasher, the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital provides services which include gyn-obstetrics, internal medicine, surgery and pediatrics, along with a nutrition stabilization center,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X after the Friday strike.
“We continue to call for a cessation of all attacks on health care in Sudan, and to allow full access for the swift restoration of the facilities that have been damaged,” Tedros said.
The war between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which broke out in April 2023 due to disputes over the integration of the two forces, has killed tens of thousands, driven millions from their homes and plunged half of the population into hunger.
The conflict has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF, creating a humanitarian crisis.
Darfur Governor Mini Minnawi said on X that an RSF drone had struck the emergency department of the hospital in the capital of North Darfur, killing patients, including women and children.
Fierce clashes have erupted in El Fasher between the RSF and the Sudanese joint forces, including the army, armed resistance groups, police, and local defense units.


Devastating toll for Gaza’s children: Over 13,000 killed and an estimated 25,000 injured, UN says

Devastating toll for Gaza’s children: Over 13,000 killed and an estimated 25,000 injured, UN says
Updated 26 January 2025
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Devastating toll for Gaza’s children: Over 13,000 killed and an estimated 25,000 injured, UN says

Devastating toll for Gaza’s children: Over 13,000 killed and an estimated 25,000 injured, UN says
  • UN says out of 40,717 Palestinian bodies identified so far, roughly a third or 13,319  were children
  • Nearly 19,000 children were hospitalized for acute malnutrition in four months before December 2025

UNITED NATIONS: The war in Gaza has been devastating for children: More than 13,000 have been killed, an estimated 25,000 injured, and at least 25,000 hospitalized for malnutrition, according to UN agencies.
As Britain’s deputy UN ambassador, James Kariuki, recently told the Security Council, “Gaza has become the deadliest place in the world to be a child.”
“The children of Gaza did not choose this war,” he said, “yet they have paid the ultimate price.”
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported Thursday that of the 40,717 Palestinian bodies identified so far in Gaza, one-third – 13,319 – were children. The office said Friday the figures came from Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

The bodies of three children killed by an Israeli strike are carried for burial in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday Nov. 21, 2024. (AP)

The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said the estimate of 25,000 children injured came from its analysis based on information collected together with Gaza’s Health Ministry.
UN deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said nearly 19,000 children had been hospitalized for acute malnutrition in the four months before December.
That figure also came from UNICEF, which said it was from data collected by UN staff in Gaza focusing on nutrition, in coordination with all pertinent UN agencies.

The UN says thousands of children have also been orphaned or separated from their parents during the 15-month war.
Yasmine Sherif, executive director of the UN global fund Education Cannot Wait, told a press conference that 650,000 school-age children haven’t been attending classes and the entire education system has to be rebuilt because of the widespread destruction in Gaza.

Palestinian children queue at a food distribution kitchen in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)

Diplomats from Britain, France and other countries also cited the toll on Israeli children who were killed, injured and abducted during Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 – with some still being held hostage.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon asked the Security Council whether it ever paused to consider the plight of Israeli children “mutilated, tortured and murdered” on Oct. 7, the 30 who were kidnapped and the tens of thousands who have been displaced, their homes destroyed.
“The trauma they have endured is beyond imagination,” he said.
Danon called Thursday’s council meeting on children in Gaza “an affront to common sense,” accusing Hamas of turning Gaza into “the world’s largest terror base” and using children as human shields.
“The children of Gaza could have had a future filled with opportunity,” he said. “Instead, they are trapped in a cycle of violence and despair, all because of Hamas, not because of Israel.”

 

 


Devastating toll for Gaza’s children: Over 13,000 killed and an estimated 25,000 injured, UN says

Palestinian children queue at a food distribution kitchen in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
Palestinian children queue at a food distribution kitchen in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
Updated 26 January 2025
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Devastating toll for Gaza’s children: Over 13,000 killed and an estimated 25,000 injured, UN says

Palestinian children queue at a food distribution kitchen in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
  • The UN says thousands of children have also been orphaned or separated from their parents during the 15-month war

UNITED NATIONS: The war in Gaza has been devastating for children: More than 13,000 have been killed, an estimated 25,000 injured, and at least 25,000 hospitalized for malnutrition, according to UN agencies.
As Britain’s deputy UN ambassador, James Kariuki, recently told the Security Council, “Gaza has become the deadliest place in the world to be a child.”
“The children of Gaza did not choose this war,” he said, “yet they have paid the ultimate price.”
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported Thursday that of the 40,717 Palestinian bodies identified so far in Gaza, one-third – 13,319 – were children. The office said Friday the figures came from Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

The bodies of three children killed by an Israeli strike are carried for burial in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday Nov. 21, 2024. (AP)

The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said the estimate of 25,000 children injured came from its analysis based on information collected together with Gaza’s Health Ministry.
UN deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said nearly 19,000 children had been hospitalized for acute malnutrition in the four months before December.
That figure also came from UNICEF, which said it was from data collected by UN staff in Gaza focusing on nutrition, in coordination with all pertinent UN agencies.

The UN says thousands of children have also been orphaned or separated from their parents during the 15-month war.
Yasmine Sherif, executive director of the UN global fund Education Cannot Wait, told a press conference that 650,000 school-age children haven’t been attending classes and the entire education system has to be rebuilt because of the widespread destruction in Gaza.

Palestinian children queue at a food distribution kitchen in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)

Diplomats from Britain, France and other countries also cited the toll on Israeli children who were killed, injured and abducted during Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 – with some still being held hostage.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon asked the Security Council whether it ever paused to consider the plight of Israeli children “mutilated, tortured and murdered” on Oct. 7, the 30 who were kidnapped and the tens of thousands who have been displaced, their homes destroyed.
“The trauma they have endured is beyond imagination,” he said.
Danon called Thursday’s council meeting on children in Gaza “an affront to common sense,” accusing Hamas of turning Gaza into “the world’s largest terror base” and using children as human shields.
“The children of Gaza could have had a future filled with opportunity,” he said. “Instead, they are trapped in a cycle of violence and despair, all because of Hamas, not because of Israel.”

 

 


US says it is ‘critical’ that Gaza ceasefire implementation continues

US says it is ‘critical’ that Gaza ceasefire implementation continues
Updated 26 January 2025
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US says it is ‘critical’ that Gaza ceasefire implementation continues

US says it is ‘critical’ that Gaza ceasefire implementation continues
  • Both Republican Trump and Democratic former President Joe Biden have been strong backers of Washington’s ally Israel

WASHINGTON: The US government said on Saturday it was “critical” that implementation of the Gaza ceasefire continues, after four Israeli soldiers were freed by Palestinian Hamas militants in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners.

KEY QUOTES
“It is critical that the ceasefire implementation continues and that all of the hostages are freed from Hamas captivity and safely returned to their families,” the US State Department said in a statement on Saturday.
Statements by the State Department and the White House welcomed the release of Israeli hostages and did not mention the Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel.
“The United States celebrates the release of the four Israeli hostages held in captivity for 477 days,” the State Department added.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The week-old ceasefire in Gaza began last weekend just before US President Donald Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20. Both Republican Trump and Democratic former President Joe Biden have been strong backers of Washington’s ally Israel.
Trump has credited his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff for the ceasefire deal reached after months of talks mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar. Before his inauguration, Trump warned there would be “hell to pay” if hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were not released.

CONTEXT
Hamas took around 250 hostages during an Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli tallies. It sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed over 47,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, and led to accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies. It also displaced nearly Gaza’s entire population and caused a hunger crisis.