BEIRUT: The Syrian army has in effect cut off the two large eastern Ghouta towns of Douma and Harasta by advancing into areas between them and the rest of the rebel enclave, and by bringing roads linking them into firing range, a war monitor said.
The advances on Saturday morning included taking the town of Mesraba at a narrow point joining the northern and southern halves of the rebel area, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The ferocious three-week assault on the last major rebel stronghold near Damascus has captured about half its area and killed 960 people, according to a war monitor.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said on Saturday that warplanes, helicopters and artillery were used in bombardment of the area overnight.
Syrian President Bashar Assad and Russia, his main ally, say the campaign is needed to end rebel shelling of Damascus and to end the rule of insurgents over the area’s civilians.
The offensive follows the pattern of previous assaults on rebel strongholds, deploying massive air power and tight sieges to force insurgents to accept “evacuation” deals.
These involve rebels surrendering territory in exchange for safe passage to opposition areas in northwest Syria, along with their families and other civilians who do not want to come back under Assad’s rule.
Late on Friday, a small number of fighters and their families from the former Al-Qaeda affiliate previously known as the Nusra Front left eastern Ghouta under such a deal.
But the group represents only a small portion of the insurgent presence in the enclave, and both Jaish Al-Islam and Failaq Al-Rahman have said they are not negotiating a similar deal for themselves.
Shortages
The intensity of the government’s attack on an enclave that has been besieged since 2013 and suffers acute shortages of food and medical supplies has drawn Western condemnation and demands by UN aid agencies for a humanitarian halt in fighting.
The United Nations estimates that some 400,000 people are trapped in the enclave.
“Living conditions are harsh... Shop owners and traders are sending their workers to the shelters to sell food for three times their price before the offensive,” said a man in Saqba who identified himself as Abu Abdo in a voice message.
Aid agencies have tried to deliver aid into eastern Ghouta, but they have only been able to bring in a portion of the amount they wanted.
A convoy was unable to finish unloading on Monday because of continued fighting, bringing in the remaining undelivered food parcels on Friday despite bombardment nearby.
However, UN agencies said most medical supplies had been stripped from the convoy by Syrian government officials and added that the food supplies brought in were insufficient.
The government has opened what it says are several safe routes out of eastern Ghouta for civilians, but none are known to have left so far and Damascus and Moscow accuse the rebels of preventing them from fleeing the fighting.
Insurgent groups in eastern Ghouta deny this, but a Reuters witness on Friday saw gunfire and mortar fire from inside the rebel territory near one of the crossing points.
Syrian regime forces surround two Eastern Ghouta towns: Observatory
Syrian regime forces surround two Eastern Ghouta towns: Observatory
’Deadly blockade’ leaves Gaza aid work on verge of collapse: UN, Red Cross
WFP said a week ago that it had sent out its “last remaining food stocks” to kitchens
GENEVA: Two months into Israel’s full blockade on aid into Gaza, humanitarians described Friday horrific scenes of starving, bloodied children and people fighting over water, with aid operations on the “verge of total collapse.”
The United Nations and the Red Cross sounded the alarm at the dire situation in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, demanding international action.
“The humanitarian response in Gaza is on the verge of total collapse,” the International Committee of the Red Cross warned in a statement.
“Without immediate action, Gaza will descend further into chaos that humanitarian efforts will not be able to mitigate.”
Israel strictly controls all inflows of international aid vital for the 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
It halted aid deliveries to Gaza on March 2, days before the collapse of a ceasefire that had significantly reduced hostilities after 15 months of war.
Since the start of the blockade, the United Nations has repeatedly warned of the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground, with famine again looming.
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said a week ago that it had sent out its “last remaining food stocks” to kitchens.
“Food stocks have now mainly run out,” Olga Cherevko, a spokeswoman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told reporters in Geneva Friday via video link from Gaza City.
“Community kitchens have begun to shut down (and) more people are going hungry,” she said, pointing to reports of children and other very vulnerable people who have died from malnutrition and ... from the lack of food.”
“The blockade is deadly.”
Water access was also “becoming impossible,” she warned.
“In fact, as I speak to you, just downstairs from this building people are fighting for water. There’s a water truck that has just arrived, and people are killing each other over water,” she said.
The situation is so bad, she said that a friend had described to her a few days ago seeing “people burning ... because of the explosions and there was no water to save them.”
At the same time, Cherevko lamented that “hospitals report running out of blood units as mass casualties continue to arrive.”
“Gaza lies in ruins, Rubble fills the streets... Many nights, blood-curdling screams of the injured pierce the skies following the deafening sound of another explosion.”
She also decried the mass displacement, with nearly the entire Gaza population being forced to shift multiple times prior to the brief ceasefire.
Since the resumption of hostilities, she said “over 420,000 people have been once again forced to flee, many with only the clothes on their backs, shot at along the way, arriving in overcrowded shelters, as tents and other facilities where people search safety, are being bombed.”
Pascal Hundt, the ICRC’s deputy head of operations, also cautioned that “civilians in Gaza are facing an overwhelming daily struggle to survive the dangers of hostilities, cope with relentless displacement, and endure the consequences of being deprived of urgent humanitarian assistance.”
The World Health Organization’s emergencies director Mike Ryan said the situation was an “abomination.”
“We are breaking the bodies and the minds of the children of Gaza. We are starving the children of Gaza,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Cherevko slammed decision makers who “have watched in silence the endless scenes of bloodied children, of severed limbs, of grieving parents move swiftly across their screens, month, after month, after month.”
“How much more blood must be spilled before enough become enough?“
Two killed in safety valve incident at BAPCO Refining plant in Bahrain, 3rd person injured
DUBAI: Two workers have been killed in an incident at one of the Bahrain Petroleum Company’s (BAPCO) units, the country’s Ministry of Interior confirmed in a post on X.com.
Members of the Bahraini civil defense, working in cooperation with Bapco’s emergency teams, dealt with the leakage the post explained.
The Bahrain News Agency later reported that BAPCO Refining had confirmed that all precautionary measures had been taken regarding the leak that happened on Friday morning in a safety valve in one of BAPCO Refining’s units.
The statement added that the situation was under full control, the leak has been stopped and work had resumed.
The statement added that Bapco expressed its “sincere condolences, sympathy, and support” to the families of the two employees who died.
The national ambulance service transferred a third person who was injured to the hospital for treatment.
Illinois landlord to be sentenced in hate crime that left 6-year-old Palestinian American boy dead
- A jury convicted 73-year-old Joseph Czuba in February of murder and hate crime charges in the fatal stabbing of Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen
- The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in the Chicago suburb of Plainfield in 2023 when the attack happened
JOLIET: An Illinois landlord found guilty of a vicious hate crime that left a 6-year-old Muslim boy dead and wounded his mother days after the start of the war in Gaza in 2023 was due in court Friday for sentencing.
A jury convicted 73-year-old Joseph Czuba in February of murder and hate crime charges in the fatal stabbing of Wadee Alfayoumi, who was Palestinian American, and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen. The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in Plainfield, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Chicago, in 2023 when the attack happened.
Central to prosecutors’ case was harrowing testimony from the boy’s mother, who said Czuba attacked her before moving on to her son, insisting they had to leave because they were Muslim. Prosecutors also played the 911 call and showed police footage. Czuba’s wife, Mary, whom he has since divorced, also testified for the prosecution, saying he had become agitated about the Israel-Hamas war, which had erupted days earlier.
Police said Czuba pulled a knife from a holder on a belt and stabbed the boy 26 times, leaving the knife in the child’s body. Some of the bloody crime scene photos were so explicit that the judge agreed to turn television screens showing them away from the audience, which included Wadee’s relatives.
“He could not escape,” Michael Fitzgerald, a Will County assistant state’s attorney, told jurors at trial. “If it wasn’t enough that this defendant killed that little boy, he left the knife in the little boy’s body.”
The jury deliberated for 90 minutes before returning a verdict. Czuba is eligible for a minimum prison sentence of 20 to 60 years or life, according to the Will County state’s attorney’s office.
Prosecutors declined to comment ahead of Friday’s hearing and have not said what sentence they will seek. Illinois does not have the death penalty.
The attack renewed fears of anti-Muslim discrimination and hit particularly hard in Plainfield and surrounding suburbs, which have a large and established Palestinian community. Wadee’s funeral drew large crowds and Plainfield officials have dedicated a park playground in his honor.
Czuba did not speak during the trial. His defense attorneys argued that there were holes in the case. His public defender, George Lenard, has not addressed reporters and declined comment ahead of the sentencing.
Shaheen had more than a dozen stab wounds and it took her weeks to recover.
She said there were no prior issues in the two years she rented from the Czubas, even sharing a kitchen and a living room.
Then after the start of the war, Czuba told her that they had to move out because Muslims were not welcome. He later confronted Shaheen and attacked her, holding her down, stabbing her and trying to break her teeth.
“He told me ‘You, as a Muslim, must die,’” said Shaheen, who testified in English and Arabic though a translator.
Police testified that officers found Czuba outside the house, sitting on the ground with blood on his body and hands.
Separately, lawsuits have been filed over the boy’s death, including by his father, Odai Alfayoumi, who is divorced from Shaheen and was not living with them. The US Department of Justice also launched a federal hate crimes investigation.
Lebanon warns Hamas not to carry out any attacks from its territories
- “Hamas and other factions will not be allowed to endanger national stability,” the council said
- “The harshest measures will be taken to put a complete end to any act that infringes on Lebanon’s sovereignty”
BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities warned the Hamas group Friday that it would face the “harshest measures” if it carried out any attacks from Lebanon.
The warning by the Higher Defense Council, Lebanon’s top military body, came weeks after several Lebanese and Palestinians were detained on suspicion of firing rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel.
“Hamas and other factions will not be allowed to endanger national stability,” the council said. “The safety of Lebanon’s territories is above all.”
“The harshest measures will be taken to put a complete end to any act that infringes on Lebanon’s sovereignty,” according to a statement that was read by Brig. Gen. Mohammed Al-Mustafa.
Hamas officials did not immediately respond to requests by The Associated Press for comment.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, the Palestinian militant group has carried out several attacks against Israel from Lebanon, where it has an armed presence. Israel has since carried out airstrikes that killed Hamas officials including one of its top military chiefs, Saleh Arouri, in Beirut.
Lebanese authorities are seeking to establish their authority throughout the country, mainly in the south near the border with Israel after the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war that ended in late November with the US-brokered ceasefire.
Authorities last month detained several people, including a number of Palestinians, who were allegedly involved in firing rockets toward Israel in two separate attacks in late March that triggered intense Israeli airstrikes on parts of Lebanon. Lebanon’s Hezbollah group denied at the time that it was behind the firing of rockets.
The meeting of the Higher Defense Council was attended by senior officials including the country’s president, prime minister, army commander and heads of security services.
The council’s statement quoted Prime Minister Nawaf Salam as saying that all “illegal weapons” should be handed over to the state.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to visit Lebanon later this month.
Despite the ceasefire deal with Israel in November, Israel is continuing with near-daily airstrikes on Lebanon that have left dozens of civilians and Hezbollah members dead.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone fired three missiles Friday morning at a gas station in the southern village of Houla, wounding five people. On Thursday, Israel said it killed an official with Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force in a drone strike in south Lebanon.
Top UN court wraps a week of hearings on humanitarian aid to Gaza
- The proceedings are taking place as the humanitarian aid system in Gaza is nearing collapse and ceasefire efforts remain deadlocked
- Israel has blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other humanitarian supplies since March 2
THE HAGUE: The top United Nations court on Friday wraps a week of hearings on what Israel must do to ensure desperately needed humanitarian aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Last year, the UN General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on Israel’s legal obligations after the country effectively banned the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the main provider of aid to Gaza, from operating.
Experts say the case could have broader ramifications for the United Nations and its missions worldwide.
The hearings are taking place as the humanitarian aid system in Gaza is nearing collapse and ceasefire efforts remain deadlocked. Israel has blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other humanitarian supplies since March 2. It renewed its bombardment on March 18, breaking a ceasefire, and seized large parts of the territory, saying it aims to push Hamas to release more hostages.
Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff as part of its war with Hamas and did not attend the hearing. The country did provide a 38-page written submission for the court to consider.
What is at stake?
The hearings focused on provision of aid to the Palestinians, but the UN court’s 15 judges could use their advisory opinion to give legal guidance on the powers of the world body.
“The court has the opportunity to clarify and address questions about the legal immunities of the United Nations,” Mike Becker, an expert on international human rights law at Trinity College Dublin, told The Associated Press.
Advisory opinions issued by the UN court are described as “nonbinding” as there are no direct penalties attached to ignoring them. However, the treaty that covers the protections that countries must give to United Nations personnel says that disputes should be resolved through an advisory opinion at the ICJ and the opinion “shall be accepted as decisive by the parties.”
“The oddity of this particular process,” Becker said, “is a clear response to any argument that the opinion is nonbinding.”
What has the ICJ been tasked with answering?
The resolution, sponsored by Norway, seeks the ICJ’s guidance on “obligations of Israel … in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations … to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population.” The United States, Israel’s closest ally, voted against it.
Israel’s ban on the agency, known as UNRWA, which provides aid to Gaza, came into effect in January. The organization has faced increased criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who claim the group is deeply infiltrated by Hamas. UNRWA rejects that claim.
“We cannot let states pick and choose where the UN is going to do its work. This advisory opinion is a very important opportunity to reinforce that,” Becker said.
Do these proceedings matter for countries other than Israel?
Whatever the judges decide will have an impact beyond the current situation in Gaza, according to Juliette McIntyre, an expert on international law at the University of South Australia. “Are these immunities absolute or is there wiggle room? This is useful for where United Nations personnel are working in other places,” McIntire told AP.
An authoritative answer from the World Court can have influence beyond judicial proceedings as well. “Every time a norm is breached, the norm gets weaker. The advisory opinion in this case could push the norm back,” said McIntyre.
In separate proceedings last year, the court issued an unprecedented and sweeping condemnation of Israel’s rule over the occupied Palestinian territories, finding Israel’s presence unlawful and calling for it to end. The ICJ said Israel had no right to sovereignty in the territories, was violating international laws against acquiring territory by force and was impeding Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
According to McIntyre, the arguments presented this week reflect the opinion handed down just nine months ago. “Now the starting premise is that Israel is illegally occupying all of Palestine,” McIntire said.
What did the Palestinians and Israelis say?
On Monday, the Palestinian delegation accused Israel of breaching international law in the occupied territories and applauded the move to bring more proceedings to the court. “Our journey with the international institutions, be it Security Council, the General Assembly or the ICJ, is we are building things block on top of another block while we are marching toward the accomplishment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including our right to self-determination, statehood, and the right of the refugees,” Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour told reporters.
Israel has denied it is in violation of international law and said the proceedings are biased. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar hit back at the case during a news conference in Jerusalem on Monday. “I accuse UNRWA, I accuse the UN, I accuse the secretary-general and I accuse all those that weaponized international law and its institutions in order to deprive the most attacked country in the world, Israel, of its most basic right to defend itself,” he said.
The court is expected to take months to deliver its opinion.
