YARMUK: When Syrian authorities said they would allow returns to the war-ravaged Yarmuk camp for Palestinian refugees in southern Damascus, Issa Al-Loubani rushed to sign up and quickly started repairing his home.
Hundreds of former residents have already requested permission to go back to the settlement, home to 160,000 Palestinian refugees and some Syrian families before the conflict broke out in 2011.
More than 400 families have returned in the last few months because they cannot afford to rent homes elsewhere after years of displacement, the United Nations said in early November.
Loubani, who first left in 2012, is determined to join their ranks even if the windows of his wrecked apartment are still covered with plastic sheeting.
“Our flat needs major work, but it’s better than paying rent,” said Loubani, who has been living in a Damascus apartment with his wife and daughter.
“We still need electricity, running water, and to clear rubble from the streets” before moving back in, the 48-year-old Palestinian refugee told AFP from Yarmuk.
Syrian government and allied forces retook the camp in 2018 from the Daesh group.
But two years on, reconstruction has been slow and the scars of war remain visible.
The walls of Loubani’s building are pockmarked with bullet holes.
Neighbouring blocks have had their facades blown off or seen their balconies cave.
Some structures have collapsed entirely following years of bombardment and heavy fighting.
Loubani’s wife, Ilham, finds an old photo from their wedding in the rubble-strewn alley.
“That’s Umm Walid,” she says, pointing to one of the guests in the picture.
Founded in 1957 with tents for Palestinians who fled or were ousted from their homes with the establishment of Israel, Yarmuk grew into a bustling neighborhood.
In 2012, around 140,000 residents fled as clashes raged.
Those who stayed faced severe shortages of food and medicine under a withering years-long government siege.
IS entered the area in 2015, bringing further suffering to remaining residents until jihadists were forced out three years later.
This month, the Damascus municipality said residents could register to return to Yarmuk if their homes were structurally sound.
Some 600 families have already signed up, said Mahmoud Al-Khaled, a Palestinian who heads a committee that clears rubble in the camp.
But the civil engineer who grew up in Yarmuk said less than half of the buildings were currently safe for reoccupation.
The 430 families that have already returned despite difficult living conditions rely heavily on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Around 75 percent of UNRWA’s 23 premises in Yarmuk, including 16 schools, need to be completely rebuilt, and all three of its health centers have been destroyed.
To compensate, the organization sends a mobile health clinic to the camp once a week and provides buses to transport children to schools in Damascus.
A month ago, Syrian Shehab Al-Din Blidi returned to his home — one of the few apartments in Yarmuk largely spared by the fighting.
Its cosy living room with bright paint and upholstered armchairs stands in stark contrast with the wasteland outside.
“If we had waited for electricity, water and sewage to return, we would have perhaps” had to wait for a year before coming back, Blidi said.
With little outside help, he said it was up to residents to fend for themselves.
“Reconstruction requires efforts from several countries,” Blidi said.
“In the meantime, we have to make do.”
The 60-year-old has managed to secure some electricity for his flat through a long cable connected to a power source beyond the camp.
With no running water, he buys large bottles from outside Yarmuk and stores them at home.
But for camp residents displaced to Idlib — the last major opposition bastion, in northwestern Syria — returning is nearly impossible.
“No one in the (opposition-held) north can register to return or even reach Yarmuk,” said Ahmad Khormandi, who left the camp when IS entered in 2015.
He and his family now live in a displacement camp in Idlib province near the border with Turkey.
The 43-year-old Palestinian told an AFP correspondent in northwestern Syria that he fears arrest if he returns to Yarmuk.
But even if he were allowed back, he said, returning to live in his home would be impossible.
“I don’t have the means to fix my house,” he said.
In Syria, Yarmuk residents plan return to war-torn Palestinian camp
https://arab.news/8z5dg
In Syria, Yarmuk residents plan return to war-torn Palestinian camp
- Hundreds of former residents have already requested permission to go back to the settlement
- It was previously home to 160,000 Palestinian refugees and some Syrian families before the conflict broke out in 2011
UK MPs demand Ukraine-style visa route for Gazans
- Letter to PM: ‘The same generosity should be extended to Palestinian families’
- Death toll ‘likely to be exponentially higher’ than official figure due to collapse of local govt, health systems
LONDON: MPs in the UK are calling on the government to launch a visa system for Palestinians in Gaza with family already living in Britain.
Sixty-seven politicians have written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper asking for a Gaza Family Scheme mirroring the Ukraine Family Scheme established in 2022 to help refugees escape the war with Russia. It allowed Ukrainians to live and work in the UK for up to three years.
“We believe that the same generosity should be extended to Palestinian families,” said the letter, seen by Sky News.
Signatories include 35 Labour MPs and members of the House of Lords, as well as several people currently suspended from the governing party, including its former leader Jeremy Corbyn and former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.
All four sitting members of the Green Party have also signed, alongside former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron and the Bishop of Chelmsford Dr. Guli Francis-Dehquani.
The letter accuses Israel of “shattering the temporary ceasefire agreement” with Hamas in Gaza, and of conducting a “campaign of bombardment and military assaults, and targeting of people accessing humanitarian aid.”
MP Marsha de Cordova, who helped organize the letter alongside the Gaza Families Reunited campaign, told Sky News that the Ukraine visa scheme “was the right response to a brutal war,” and that establishing one for Gazans “would be an extension of those same principles, showing that this government is steadfast in its commitment to helping families experiencing the worst horrors of war.
“It is time for the government to act now to help British Palestinians get their loved ones to safety, enabling them to rebuild their lives.”
The letter said the proposed scheme would let Palestinians reunite with “people they may never see again unless urgent action is taken,” and many Gazans trying to reach the UK “struggled to navigate the immigration system.”
It added that efforts to secure visas have been made “impossible due to the destruction of the visa application centre in Gaza and blockade of the Rafah crossing.”
The letter said the death toll in Gaza, reported by Palestinian authorities as numbering at least 53,000 people, “is likely to be exponentially higher” due to the collapse of local government and health systems in the enclave.
Ghassan Ghaben, spokesperson for Gaza Families Reunited, told Sky News: “Family unity is an undeniable human right.”
He urged more MPs, including Conservatives, to add their names to efforts to help get Palestinians to the UK, saying: “We are still waiting for the new government to do the right thing. We, as Palestinians in the UK, simply want the opportunity to bring our loved ones from Gaza to safety, until it is safe to return.”
A government spokesperson told Sky News: “The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable. Since day one, we have been clear that we need to see an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages cruelly detained by Hamas, better protection of civilians, significantly more aid consistently entering Gaza, and a path to long-term peace and stability.
“There are a range of routes available for Palestinians who wish to join family members in the UK.”
Israel steps up Gaza bombardment ahead of White House talks on ceasefire
- Israel’s Dermer due in US for talks on Gaza, Iran, wider deals
- Israeli tanks push into Gaza City suburb, residents say
CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Palestinians in northern Gaza reported one of the worst nights of Israeli bombardment in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders on Monday, while Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration.
A day after US President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month-old war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals.
But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave there was no sign of fighting letting up.
“Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes,” said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City. “In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions.”
Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said.
At least 38 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, health authorities said, including 10 people killed in Zeitoun and at least 13 killed southwest of Gaza City. Medics said most of the 13 were hit by gunfire, but residents also reported an airstrike.
The Israeli military said it struck militant targets in northern Gaza, including command and control centers, after taking steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.
There was no immediate word from Israel on the reported casualties southwest of Gaza City.
The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. The military ordered people there to head south, saying that it planned to fight Hamas militants operating in northern Gaza, including in the heart of Gaza City.
NEXT STEPS
A day after Trump called to “Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,” Israel’s strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu’s, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said.
In Israel, Netanyahu’s security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza.
On Friday, Israel’s military chief said the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said that mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but that no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks.
A Hamas official said that progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel has agreed to a US-proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage deal, and put the onus on Hamas.
“Israel is serious in its will to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza,” Saar told reporters in Jerusalem.
Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, speaking in Jerusalem on Monday alongside her Israeli counterpart, told reporters that Vienna was very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which she described as “unbearable.”
“Let me be frank, the suffering of civilians is increasingly burdening Israel’s relations with Europe. A ceasefire must be agreed upon,” she said, calling for the unconditional release of hostages by Hamas and for Israel to allow the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israel says it continues to allow aid into Gaza and accuses Hamas of stealing it. The group denies that accusation and says Israel uses hunger as a weapon against the Gaza population.
The US has proposed a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians. Hamas would release the remaining hostages as part of a deal that guarantees ending the war.
The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that led to Israel’s single deadliest day.
Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the whole 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
More than 80 percent of the territory is now an Israeli-militarized zone or under displacement orders, according to the United Nations.
No injuries or pollution after explosion at oil tanker off Libya, says operator
- The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left Libya’s Zuetina port and was en route to Gibraltar
ATHENS: An oil tanker carrying about 1 million barrels of crude oil suffered an explosion off Libya on June 27 but no injuries or pollution were reported, a spokesperson for the operator TMS Tankers said on Monday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left Libya’s Zuetina port and was en route to Gibraltar when there was an explosion in the engine room, the operator said.
The vessel is now being towed to Greece where it is expected to arrive by July 2, it added.
Israel FM says Golan to ‘remain part of’ Israel in any Syria peace deal
- Golan Heights “will remain part of” Israel under any potential peace agreement with Syria, Israel's FM says
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Monday that the occupied Golan Heights “will remain part of” Israel under any potential peace agreement with Syria.
“In any peace agreement, the Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,” Saar told a news conference in Jerusalem, referring to the territory Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognized by the United Nations.
Iranian ambassador: Saudi Arabia played key role in preventing escalation
RIYADH: Nearly two years after Iran and Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic relations, Iran’s Ambassador to the Kingdom, Dr. Alireza Enayati, praised Riyadh’s role in reducing tensions and fostering dialogue.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Enayati described the progress as “equivalent to achievements that typically take years,” underscoring what he called the “deep roots and substance” of the relationship.
Enayati, who first served in Saudi Arabia as Iran’s consul in Jeddah in 1990 and later as chargé d’affaires in Riyadh, returned in 2023 as ambassador following the March agreement brokered by China to resume ties after seven years of rupture.
Commenting on recent Israeli strikes against Iran, Enayati called the attacks “blatant aggression,” noting that they took place while Tehran was engaged in indirect negotiations with Washington.
“Iran was attacked in the middle of the night, while people slept in their homes. It was our legitimate right under the UN Charter to respond decisively and demonstrate that while Iran does not seek war, it will defend itself with strength and resolve,” he said.
He emphasized that regional reactions to the escalation highlighted a spirit of solidarity.
“The first call our Foreign Minister received was from Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, condemning the attacks, followed by a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry,” he noted. “These positions were crowned by a phone call from His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to President Pezeshkian, expressing condemnation and solidarity, followed by President Pezeshkian’s call back to the Crown Prince and statements of support from several Gulf states.”
Enayati commended Riyadh’s efforts to de-escalate the crisis, describing Saudi Arabia’s role as “honorable” and “blessed.” He added, “In all our bilateral discussions, Iran has acknowledged the Kingdom’s constructive stance and its efforts to prevent further aggression. We welcome any role by our Saudi brothers, especially His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed, who has always stood by us.”
The ambassador pointed to the revival of travel and religious exchange as a sign of rapprochement. “This year alone, over 200,000 Iranians have performed Umrah, and when including Hajj pilgrims, the number exceeds 400,000 visitors to the Kingdom - an extremely positive indicator,” he said.
Enayati also highlighted the recent visit of Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman to Tehran, describing it as a “historic turning point” that shifted relations from routine to strategic. “The visit and the meetings with President Pezeshkian and the Supreme Leader left a strong impression that we are partners in building regional stability,” he said.
While acknowledging significant progress, Enayati stressed that economic and trade relations still require more effort. “We have agreements on trade, investment, culture, and youth reaffirmed in the Beijing accord,” he said, adding that talks are under way on agreements to avoid double taxation, promote mutual investment, and develop overland transport corridors linking Saudi Arabia and its neighbors to Central Asia.
Responding to criticism that Iran plays a destabilizing role, Enayati said: “We are not outsiders imposing our presence. We are part of the region, its people, and its culture. Differences in political perspectives do not erase our shared bonds. Dialogue is the only path forward, and there is no substitute.”
He concluded by emphasizing that genuine regional security must be anchored in development and economic cooperation rather than military competition. “When security moves beyond weapons and geopolitics to focus on prosperity and shared progress, everyone benefits,” he said.
