Syria’s lost heritage stands out in Aleppo’s broken minarets
UNESCO said 10% of historic buildings in Aleppo are ruined
Some Western countries said Syria should not start reconstruction until they reach a political solution
Updated 01 May 2019
Reuters
ALEPPO: The pencil minaret of the Ottoman Adliyeh mosque in Syria’s Aleppo lists to one side and is scored by an ugly gash running down its flank, the result of bombing in the war.
The sorry state of Aleppo’s Old City, a labyrinthine World Heritage Site and a battlefield from 2012-16, is obvious from a glance across the skyline at its shell-beaten minarets.
They look down on an area that suffered massive damage in a conflict that brought down the medieval covered souk, smashed mosque domes and burnt churches.
The UN cultural agency UNESCO in December said 10 percent of Aleppo’s historic buildings were destroyed and more than half the buildings they assessed showed severe to moderate damage.
But restoration work in Syria is controversial. With the exception of Daesh, which deliberately targeted ancient ruins, all sides in the war have portrayed themselves as guardians of historical sites and their enemies as vandals.
A huge image of President Bashar Assad dangles from the monumental gateway of the ancient citadel in central Aleppo.
Western countries that have imposed sanctions on Assad’s government oppose any reconstruction work until there is a political solution to the conflict, arguing it would reward him for war crimes they say he has committed but which he denies.
But that has cut off most funding from the nations that are normally top donors for cultural work — prompting state media to accuse them of complicity in destroying Syrian heritage.
A few of the most famous monuments are slowly recovering. At the Umayad Mosque, bullet-scarred walls are being refaced and the stones of the fallen minaret are piled ready to be rebuilt under a yellow crane.
One of the tallest, loveliest stretches of the souk has already been restored, its collapsed domes rising again high above the cobbled floor using original materials and techniques.
Minarets, domes, souks
But these sites represent only a fraction of the Old City’s myriad historical streets and buildings and, without fresh funding, the others risk falling into yet grimmer ruin.
“If there are funds I am optimistic that it will all be restored. We only need the money,” said Bassil Al-Zaher, an engineer who is restoring part of the souk.
At the Halawiya Madrasa, part of the dome has already caved in. It was once a Byzantine cathedral, built on the site of a Roman temple, and was converted to a mosque by a Muslim ruler during the Christian Crusades. With more rain, the rest of the dome will fall, an engineer there said.
From the roof of the restored Saqatiyeh section of the souk, damaged minarets can be seen punctuating the Old City’s skyline.
The 18th-century Kemaliyeh mosque, the Mamlouk-era Siffahiyeh mosque and the 14th-century Tawashi mosque have all suffered considerable damage.
Viewed from close up, it is hard to see how the 16th-century Adliyeh mosque’s minaret is still standing. The hollow interior and tightly wound spiral stairs inside are clearly visible through a monstrous shell hole on its west side.
“The best solution is to rebuild it because it is not straight. Even if there’s a small earthquake, it would collapse,” said Zaher.
Lack of money
Work on mosques is the domain of the Ministry of Awqaf or Islamic endowments, and it lacks the money for major repairs.
At the medieval Mehmindar Mosque, the minaret above the door is now a stump. In the courtyard two men, the imam and a friend, were hauling large stones to one side to clear the floor.
The mosque’s dome is also shattered, with only a corner left. They have spent three months clearing and sorting the stones and have no idea when or if the minaret will be rebuilt.
Each covered street in the Old City seems to harbor a dozen alleys, each alleyway hidden stone courtyards ringed by mosques or shops, with olive and lemon trees growing in the center.
Down one street, under a high vaulted ceiling, most shops were empty, their floors covered in debris and their walls scorched. But a man sat at a table in one, singing Qur'anic verses, his melodic voice echoing softly through the souk.
Near Bab Al-Nasr, one of the historic gates into the Old City, few of the traders have reopened their stalls. Metal shutters hang down and the streets are quiet.
A local group worked in this area to clear debris and restore parts of the old gateway and nearby buildings, including two large, protruding, wooden windows.
The UN Development Project is also at work, providing traders with aid to clear shops and buy fittings and stock.
Ahmed Sabbagh’s pistachio shop has been in his family for generations. He has just reopened it.
But in the Attariyeh souk, the destruction is almost complete. The roofs have collapsed and old thoroughfares where traders once shouted their wares are now narrow, overgrown lanes between neatly stacked piles of stone under a hot white sky.
Lebanon assures Jordan of solidarity after foiled threats to national security
After arrest of 16 suspects ‘planning acts of chaos and sabotage,’ Beirut is ‘fully prepared’ to cooperate by sharing info about 2 who reportedly trained in Lebanon, says PM Nawaf Salam
Palestinian Authority condemns the ‘terrorist plots’ and says ‘attempts to target and weaken Jordan are targeting and weakening Palestine’
Updated 10 sec ago
Arab News
LONDON: Lebanon’s prime minister expressed solidarity with Jordan following the arrest on Tuesday of several suspects accused of involvement in plots to compromise Jordanian national security.
During a telephone conversation with his counterpart, Jafar Hassan, Nawaf Salam pledged Lebanon's full cooperation in efforts to tackle threats to Jordan’s security and stability.
Earlier, the Jordanian General Intelligence Department arrested 16 people suspected of “planning acts of chaos and sabotage,” the Jordan News Agency reported. Two of the suspects, Abdullah Hisham and Muath Al-Ghanem, were believed to have visited Lebanon to coordinate with a senior leader in the Muslim Brotherhood and receive training, the agency added.
Salam said Lebanese authorities were “fully prepared” to cooperate with their Jordanian counterparts by providing information about individuals suspected of involvement in the plots who received training in Lebanon, the country’s National News Agency reported.
“Lebanon refuses to be a base or a launching pad for any action that would threaten the security of any brotherly or friendly country,” the prime minister added.
In a message posted on social media platform X, Lebanese MP Fouad Makhzoum said the case affects Lebanon’s relations with Arab and other foreign countries, and urged the government to clarify the circumstances surrounding the suspects’ training.
“All solidarity with Jordan in the face of malicious attempts to undermine its stability,” he added.
During a telephone call with Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, Lebanon’s former prime minister, Najib Mikati, similarly expressed his solidarity with Amman.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the “terrorist plots” and said they represented an attempt to undermine national security. The president’s office said “attempts to target and weaken Jordan are targeting and weakening Palestine,” the Palestinian News Agency reported.
What happened to the Palestinian doctors detained by Israeli forces in Gaza?
Palestinian medical workers recount abuse, starvation, and torture in Israeli detention facilities
Rights groups say Israeli attack on health infrastructure violate international humanitarian law
Updated 17 min 26 sec ago
ANAN TELLO
LONDON: Rights groups say Israel is deliberately targeting Gaza’s health system, with at least 160 Palestinian medics currently detained having been seized from hospitals. Recently released doctors have described targeted attacks and systematic abuse.
Healthcare Workers Watch, a Palestinian watchdog, reported in February that 162 medical staff are being held by Israeli authorities, including 20 doctors and some of Gaza’s most senior physicians.
The whereabouts of 24 healthcare workers are unknown after they were forcibly removed from hospitals during Israel’s military operation, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, following the deadly Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that triggered the conflict.
Muath Alser, director of Healthcare Workers Watch, said the detention of medical workers represented a violation of international law, which had exacerbated civilian suffering by stripping Palestinians of essential medical expertise and care.
“Israel’s targeting of the healthcare workforce in this manner is having a devastating impact on the provision of healthcare to Palestinians, with extensive suffering, countless preventable deaths, and the effective eradication of whole medical specialities,” Alser told The Guardian.
Israeli soldiers stand by a truck packed with bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainees in Gaza on Dec. 8, 2023. (AP)
The destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure has been widely documented. A December 2024 report by the UN Human Rights Office revealed that the enclave’s healthcare system had been brought to the brink of collapse by repeated raids.
Hospitals have been damaged — both directly and indirectly by Israeli airstrikes and combat operations — putting staff and patients at risk. More than 1,000 health workers have been killed, according to the UN.
On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike destroyed parts of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, Gaza City’s last fully functional hospital. Witnesses said the strike destroyed the intensive care and surgery departments.
Israel said it targeted the hospital because it contained a “command and control center used by Hamas,” but did not provide any evidence. Governments worldwide condemned the attack, including Saudi Arabia, which described the bombing as a “heinous crime.”
IN NUMBERS
1,057+ Palestinian health workers have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
25% Gaza’s wounded with life-changing injuries who require ongoing rehabilitation.
(Source: OCHA)
Amid growing concerns over Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law, which is designed to protect hospitals, clinics, ambulances, and their staff, Gaza’s health sector is struggling to meet the overwhelming demand.
According to the World Health Organization, just 16 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remained partially operational as of January, with fewer than 1,800 beds available for tens of thousands of patients.
Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for the West Bank and Gaza, has warned that “the health sector is being systematically dismantled,” citing shortages of medical supplies, equipment, and personnel.
Since October 2023, at least 50,900 Palestinians have been killed and more than 115,688 injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities. As of September 2024, a quarter of the wounded had suffered life-changing injuries.
The WHO also verified that 297 healthcare workers in Gaza had been detained by the Israeli military since October 2023 but had no details on who was still being held. Healthcare Workers Watch reports that 339 have been detained.
The whereabouts of 24 healthcare workers are unknown after they were forcibly removed from hospitals during Israel’s military operation. (AFP)
Several organizations have shared testimonies from recently released Palestinian doctors describing systematic raids, arrests, and allegations of torture.
Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, in a report released in February, said many medical workers had been seized while on duty and held for months without charge under Israel’s Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law, which allows indefinite detention without evidence.
Several accounts from released detainees include details of physical violence, sexual abuse, verbal insults, and degrading treatment.
For instance, Dr. Khaled Alser, 32, a surgeon arrested at Nasser Hospital, said: “On the day of my arrest, the army ordered the evacuation of the hospital. There was a battalion outside, and they forced us to strip in front of everyone and walk naked for about 30 meters.”
He said detainees were left naked for hours before being moved to overcrowded rooms in houses, where they were handcuffed with plastic zip ties for five days and interrogated.
“I was next to my medical colleagues when they took them, tortured and beat them, and later released some while arresting others,” he added.
FASTFACTS
As of Sept. 24, 2024, at least three Palestinian physicians have died in Israeli custody.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh died under torture in Israeli custody in May 2024.
(Source: MAP)
Twenty of the 24 medical workers visited by PHRI lawyers said they were arrested while on duty in direct violation of international laws protecting medical staff from interference.
In addition, prison authorities employed brutal interrogation methods. One 60-year-old emergency coordinator and ambulance driver said he was tortured with loud music, beatings, and threats.
“I was interrogated in the ‘Disco Room’ for a week, where the volume was always deafening,” he said. “They beat me so badly during one session that my tooth filling fell out.
“They poured cold water on me, struck me on the head with a cellphone, and beat me half to death. They threatened to harm my family and parents.”
Israel said it targeted Al-Ahli Arab Hospital on Sunday because it contained a “command and control center used by Hamas,” but did not provide any evidence. (AFP)
Similarly, a 38-year-old nurse said he was suspended by his wrists from the ceiling, his legs forced backward, and left in that position for hours.
“They humiliated me and spat on me,” he told the PHRI. “During the interrogation in Ofer Prison, they extinguished cigarettes on my head and poured coffee over me. I was brutally beaten.”
International humanitarian law strictly prohibits physical or psychological abuse during interrogations. Article 32 of the Fourth Geneva Convention bars acts that cause physical suffering or extermination of protected persons, including medical personnel.
“Health workers should be protected to do their work,” a WHO spokesperson told Arab News. “Anyone in detention must have their human and legal rights respected.”
A 38-year-old nurse said he was suspended by his wrists from the ceiling, his legs forced backward, and left in that position for hours during interrogation at Ofer Prison. (AFP)
Israel has accused Hamas and other militant groups of using hospitals as command centers. Under international humanitarian law, hospitals lose protected status if they are used for military purposes.
The deliberate denial of food was also said to be commonplace in Israel’s detention facilities.
The report said all 24 medical professionals interviewed suffered severe malnutrition, as prison authorities provided inadequate meals — in terms of quality and quantity — that also ignored preexisting health conditions like diabetes, causing lasting damage.
One doctor described the food as lacking vitamins and a balanced diet, weakening the detainees’ immune systems. PHRI confirmed this by consulting a clinical nutritionist for an expert assessment of conditions at Ofer Prison near Ramallah.
Compounding health issues from violent treatment and extreme malnutrition in custody, the testimonies highlighted a severe lack of medical care, even for those with preexisting conditions.
Hospitals have been damaged — both directly and indirectly by Israeli airstrikes and combat operations — putting staff and patients at risk. (AFP)
The Israeli Prison Service, in a statement to the American broadcaster CNN following the release of PHRI’s report, denied knowledge of abuse against Palestinian medical workers inside its facilities and claimed it acted according to local law.
In the same vein, the Israeli Defense Forces told the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle it “operates in accordance with international law and does not detain medical workers due to their work as such.”
It denied withholding medical treatment or food and said that “any mistreatment of detainees, whether during detention or interrogation, is strictly prohibited and constitutes a violation of Israeli and international law, and of IDF regulations.”
The IDF added that any mistreatment would be investigated.
International human rights organizations and UN agencies have documented Israel’s actions in Gaza, accusing it of war crimes.
Amnesty International said in December that “Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.”
In October 2024, a UN Commission on Detainee Treatment report found that Israeli security forces deliberately killed, detained, and tortured medical personnel, targeted medical vehicles, and tightened the siege on Gaza, restricting permits for medical treatment.
“These actions constitute the war crimes of wilful killing and mistreatment and of the destruction of protected civilian property and the crime against humanity of extermination,” it added.
Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in August that Israel’s “mistreatment of Palestinian healthcare workers has continued in the shadows.”
She called for a thorough investigation into “the torture and ill-treatment of doctors, nurses, and paramedics, including by the International Criminal Court.”
A lawyer representing Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, whose detention by Israeli forces in December sparked international condemnation, said after visiting him in Ofer Prison that the doctor had been tortured, beaten, and denied medical treatment.
In addition, the accounts in PHRI’s report align with findings by other media and rights organizations, including a 2024 Human Rights Watch report that documented similar abuses. It said the detentions have worsened Gaza’s health crisis by limiting access to essential care.
A lawyer representing Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya (C), whose detention by Israeli forces in December sparked international condemnation, said after visiting him in Ofer Prison that the doctor had been tortured, beaten, and denied medical treatment. (AFP)
Likewise, interviews with The Guardian and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism revealed testimonies from eight senior Gaza doctors, detailing torture, beatings, starvation, and humiliation during months of detention.
Some believe they were singled out for extreme violence because they were doctors.
Dr. Issam Abu Ajwa was in the middle of performing emergency surgery on a patient at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza when Israeli soldiers came for him.
Describing his ordeal, he said: “One of the senior interrogators had given instructions that because I was a senior consultant surgeon, they should work hard to make sure that I lost (the use of my hands) and became unable to perform surgery.”
He added that he was handcuffed 24 hours a day, and interrogators used planks with chains to restrain his hands for hours at a time. “They said they wanted to make sure I could never return to work.”
None of the eight senior doctors were given an explanation for their detention, the report says. All were released without charge after months in custody.
Relatives and medics mourn by the body of Palestinian doctor Hani Al-Jaafarawi, Gaza’s ambulance and emergency teams chief during his funeral at Al-Ahli Arab hospital on June 24, 2024. (AFP)
In a statement to DW, the Israeli military rejected the allegations raised by The Guardian, saying: “During the fighting in the Gaza Strip, suspects of terrorist activities were arrested.”
It added: “The relevant suspects have been taken for further detention and questioning in Israel. Those who are not involved in terrorist activity are released back to the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.”
PHRI’s report found that Palestinian medical workers were primarily questioned about Israeli hostages, tunnels, hospital structures, Hamas activity, and fellow physicians — rarely about criminal activity or substantive charges.
The report said the interrogations appeared focused on “intelligence gathering rather than investigating alleged security offenses.”
It noted that after months in detention, most medical personnel were never formally charged and were denied legal representation.
Israeli military patrols near Al-Shifa Hospital compound in Gaza City on November 22, 2023. (AFP)
Naji Abbas, director of PHRI’s Department for Prisoners and Detainees’ Rights, said: “Through the testimonies, through our visits, we started to understand that the doctors were arrested mainly for collecting information.
“When you hear a doctor saying that he was forced to draw a map of the hospital, when he was asked about his colleagues … you can understand that there is a pattern of questioning … fishing for information,” he told Democracy Now, a left-leaning US news program.
In a statement within the February report, Abbas called the “unlawful detention, abuse, and starvation of Gaza’s healthcare workers” a “moral and legal outrage.”
He added that “medical professionals should never be targeted, detained, or tortured for providing life-saving care,” and demanded Israel “release all detained medical personnel immediately,” urging the international community to “demand accountability.”
What we know about Israel’s latest Gaza ceasefire proposal
A previous ceasefire, initiated on January 19, resulted in the release of 33 hostages in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, before it collapsed two months later
Updated 38 min 11 sec ago
AFP
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Nearly a month after Israel resumed its aerial and ground assaults across Gaza to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages in the territory, the Palestinian militant group says it had received a new ceasefire proposal from Israel.
A senior Hamas official told AFP that the group would “most likely” respond within 48 hours.
The proposal was delivered to the group’s delegation in Cairo over the weekend by Egyptian officials, who are mediating in the ceasefire talks.
Another senior Hamas official told AFP late on Monday that Israel had proposed a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 living hostages.
In return, Israel would free 1,231 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory, which it has been fully blockading since March 2.
During Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza, Palestinian militants abducted 251 hostages, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
A previous ceasefire, initiated on January 19, resulted in the release of 33 hostages in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, before it collapsed two months later.
The latest proposal also stipulates that any hostage release occur privately, in contrast to the previous releases involving public ceremonies in Gaza that drew widespread criticism in Israel.
The Hamas official said that the Israeli proposal calls for the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander on the first day of the ceasefire as a “gesture of goodwill.”
Alexander is the only living hostage to hold US citizenship.
On the second day, Hamas would exchange five more hostages for 66 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails and 611 Gazans detained during the current war.
On the third day, talks would begin over “day after” scenarios for when the war ends, including the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian factions in exchange for a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas has insisted that preserving its arms is a red line.
In the second week of the ceasefire, Hamas would release four more living hostages in exchange for 54 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and another 500 Gaza detainees.
Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan 11, said that the proposal also stipulates that Hamas release the bodies of 16 hostages on the 20th day of the ceasefire.
Hamas negotiators visited Cairo last week where they received the proposal, Suhail Al-Hindi, a member of the group’s political bureau, told AFP on Tuesday.
The official who spoke to AFP the day before said on Tuesday that “Hamas will most likely send its response to the mediators within the next 48 hours, as the movement is still conducting in-depth consultations... within its leadership framework, as well as with resistance factions, in order to formulate a unified position.”
He said that consultations were ongoing, and that Hamas was “keen to end the aggression and the war” but would require guarantees from Egypt, Qatar and US mediators that Israel would uphold its side of the deal.
“Hamas has no issue with the number of prisoners and is ready to release them all at once or in batches,” he added.
Israel has remained silent on the latest proposal.
However, the campaign group Tikva Forum of Hostages’ Families, which represents a small group of families of hostages advocating for the continuation of military pressure, said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had confirmed that the country was indeed seeking the release of 10 living captives.
According to the group, Netanyahu spoke with Ditza Or, the mother of hostage Avinatan Or, late on Monday and confirmed that Alexander was among those included in the proposed exchange.
She responded by saying that “there is a moral obligation to return everyone together in one stage and on one bus,” the group added.
Protests erupts in Tunisian town after three died in school wall collapse
For demonstrators, the tragedy reflects the deterioration of public service in Tunisia
Witnesses said protesters burned wheels, blocked roads, and smashed a government vehicle
Updated 41 min 15 sec ago
Reuters
TUNIS: Hundreds of Tunisians protested on Tuesday, demanding accountability, after three students died on Monday following a school wall collapse in the central town of Mazzouna, an incident that provoked widespread anger and accusations of negligence against officials.
The collapse of a dilapidated wall led to the death of three teenaged students preparing for their baccalaureate exams, and two others were seriously injured, the Civil Defense said.
For demonstrators, the tragedy reflects the deterioration of public service in Tunisia and the neglect of maintenance of the country’s aging infrastructure, amid a worsening economic and social crisis.
Witnesses said protesters burned wheels, blocked roads, and smashed a government vehicle. All shops and schools in the area were closed.
Protesters gathered near the National Guard headquarters in Mazzouna town, shouting slogans against social marginalization and demanding the dismissal of officials.
In Tunis, hundreds of young people also protested, raising anti-government slogans and demanding the government’s resignation, in a show of solidarity with the victims of the accident.
Authorities have opened an investigation into the incident. A judicial spokesperson said the school principal has been arrested.
Khamenei says Iran-US talks going well but may lead nowhere
Updated 15 April 2025
AFP
TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday he was satisfied with talks with arch-foe the US but warned they could ultimately prove fruitless.
Tehran and Washington are due to meet again in Muscat on Saturday, a week after top officials held the highest-level talks since the landmark 2015 nuclear accord collapsed.
US President Donald Trump, who pulled out of the deal during his first term, revived his “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign after returning to office in January.
In March, he sent a letter to Khamenei urging talks and warning of possible military action if Iran refused.
Saturday’s talks were “well carried out in the first steps,” Khamenei said, quoted by state television. “Of course, we are very pessimistic about the other side, but we are optimistic about our own capabilities.”
But he added that “the negotiations may or may not yield results.”
Despite having no diplomatic ties since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, both sides described the talks as “constructive.”
Iran insists discussions remain “indirect” and mediated by Oman.
On Monday, Trump again threatened to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities if no deal was reached, calling Iranian authorities “radicals” who should not possess nuclear weapons.
