KAHRAMANMARAS: The United Nations denounced Sunday the failure to deliver desperately needed aid to war-torn regions of Syria, while warning the death toll of more than 33,000 from the earthquake that also struck Turkiye is set to rise far higher.
A UN convoy with supplies for northwest Syria arrived via Turkiye, but the agency’s relief chief Martin Griffiths said much more was needed for millions whose homes were destroyed.
“We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn’t arrived,” Griffiths said on Twitter.
Assessing the damage in southern Turkiye on Saturday, when the toll stood at 28,000, Griffiths had told Sky News he expected the death toll to “double or more” as chances of finding survivors fade with every passing day.
Supplies have been slow to arrive in Syria, where years of conflict have ravaged the health care system, and parts of the country remain under the control of rebels battling the government of President Bashar Assad, which is under Western sanctions.
A 10-truck UN convoy crossed into northwest Syria via the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing, according to an AFP correspondent, carrying shelter kits including plastic sheeting, ropes and screws and nails, as well as blankets, mattresses and carpets.
Bab Al-Hawa is the only point for international aid to reach people in rebel-held areas of Syria after nearly 12 years of civil war, after other crossings were closed under pressure from China and Russia.
The World Health Organization chief met Assad in Damascus on Sunday and said the Syrian leader had voiced readiness for more border crossings to help bring aid into the rebel-held northwest.
“He was open to considering additional cross-border access points for this emergency,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
Assad said he looked forward to further “efficient cooperation” with the UN agency to improve the shortage in supplies, equipment and medicines, his presidency said.
UN special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, was also in Damascus on Sunday carrying a message to set aside politics.
“We are mobilizing funding and we are trying to tell everyone to put politics aside,” he said.
“This is a time to unite behind a common effort to support the Syrian people.”
Assad had also thanked the United Arab Emirates for providing “huge relief and humanitarian aid” with pledges of tens of millions of dollars in aid as well.
But security concerns prompted the suspension of some rescue operations, and dozens of people have been arrested for looting or trying to defraud victims in the aftermath of the quake in Turkiye, according to state media.
An Israeli emergency relief organization said Sunday it had suspended its earthquake rescue operation in Turkiye and returned home because of a “significant” security threat to its staff.
Miraculous tales of survival still emerged, though experts caution that hopes for finding people alive in the devastation dim with each passing day.
Almost 160 hours after the quake, several more people were rescued, including an eight-year-old boy in Gaziantep, and a 63-year-old woman in Hatay, state media reported.
The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkiye and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.
Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the WHO said as it appealed Saturday for $42.8 million to cope with immediate health needs after dozens of hospitals were damaged.
Turkiye’s disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organizations are working on search-and-rescue efforts, along with 8,294 international rescuers.
But, in many areas, rescue teams said they lacked sensors and other advanced search equipment, leaving them reduced to carefully digging through the rubble with shovels or only their hands.
“If we had this kind of equipment, we would have saved hundreds of lives, if not more,” said Alaa Moubarak, head of civil defense in Jableh, northwest Syria.
Syria’s transport ministry has said 62 aid planes had landed in Syria this week with more on the way in coming days, in particular from Saudi Arabia.
After days of grief and anguish, anger in Turkiye has been growing over the poor quality of buildings as well as the government’s response to the country’s worst disaster in nearly a century.
Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the earthquake.
Three people were put behind bars by Sunday and seven more have been detained — including two developers who were trying to relocate to the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
Officials and medics said 29,605 people had died in Turkiye and 3,581 in Syria from last Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake, bringing the confirmed total to 33,186.
UN admits aid failure for Syria as quake toll hits 33,000
https://arab.news/mbg84
UN admits aid failure for Syria as quake toll hits 33,000
- “We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn’t arrived,” Griffiths said
Gaza war deaths pass 46,000
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants
GAZA: Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday that more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, with no end in sight to the 15-month conflict.
The ministry said a total of 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded. It has said women and children make up more than half the fatalities, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians.
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. It blames Hamas for their deaths because it says the militants operate in residential areas.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now packed into sprawling tent camps along the coast with limited access to food and other essentials. Israel has also repeatedly struck what it claims are militants hiding in shelters and hospitals, often killing women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.
All Jordanians living in Los Angeles are fine, Foreign Ministry says
- At least 5 people have been killed by wildfires raging in and around the US city; more than 100,000 forced to flee homes
LONDON: The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said on Thursday that all Jordanian nationals living in Los Angeles, California, are “fine” as deadly wildfires continue to rage through neighborhoods in several areas in and around the US city.
The fires have claimed at least five lives, more than 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes, and hundreds of buildings have burned down.
The ministry sent its sincere condolences to the victims, the American people and the US government, the Jordan News Agency reported.
Japan grants Sudan about $1 million in food aid
- The statement underscored the urgency of the situation in Sudan
- The humanitarian situation has significantly worsened as the fighting areas have expanded
TOKYO: Japan, in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP), decided to grant Sudan 150 million yen (nearly $1 million) as ‘food aid’ to improve the situation in that country, the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo stated.
Suzuki Satoshi, Japan’s Ambassador to International Organizations in Rome, and Ms. Rania Dagash-Kamara, Assistant Executive Director of the Partnerships and Innovation Department, World Food Programme, signed and exchanged notes regarding the grant aid in Rome on January 8th.
The statement underscored the urgency of the situation in Sudan, where armed conflict between the national army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April 2023.
The humanitarian situation has significantly worsened as the fighting areas have expanded and become protracted.
According to the WFP, several regions in Sudan are at risk of famine, approximately half of the population is facing acute food insecurity, and hunger-related deaths have been recorded.
At the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) held in August 2022, Japan announced its commitment to “responding to the food crisis and supporting sustainable agricultural production.” This cooperation is a concrete step in realizing this commitment.
The Republic of Sudan has an area of approximately 1.88 million square kilometers (about five times the size of Japan), a population of approximately 50.04 million, and a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $880, according to the 2023 World Bank data.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, respected army chief
- Aoun has since 2017 headed the army, an institution that serves as a rare source of unity in Lebanon
- The man of few words was able to count on his good relations across the divided Lebanese political class to see him elected
BEIRUT: Joseph Aoun, Lebanon’s army chief who was elected president on Thursday, is a political neophyte whose position as head of one of the country’s most respected institutions helped end a two-year deadlock.
Widely seen as the preferred pick of army backer the United States, he is perceived as being best placed to maintain a fragile ceasefire and pull the country out of financial collapse.
After being sworn in at parliament, Aoun said “a new phase in Lebanon’s history” was beginning.
Analysts said Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday and is considered a man of “personal integrity,” was the right candidate to finally replace Michel Aoun — no relation — whose term as president ended in October 2022, without a successor until now.
A dozen previous attempts to choose a president failed amid tensions between Hezbollah and its opponents, who have accused the Shiite group of seeking to impose its preferred candidate.
Aoun has since 2017 headed the army, an institution that serves as a rare source of unity in a country riven by sectarian and political divides.
He has navigated it through a blistering financial crisis that has drastically slashed the salaries of its 80,000 soldiers, forcing him to accept international aid.
Since late November, he oversaw the gradual mobilization of the armed forces in south Lebanon after a ceasefire ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Under the truce, the Lebanese army has been deploying progressively alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as Israeli forces withdraw, a process they have to finish by January 26.
Speaking on Thursday, Aoun said the state would have “a monopoly” on arms.
The general with broad shoulders and a shaved head has stepped up talks with visiting foreign dignitaries since becoming army chief.
The man of few words was able to count on his good relations across the divided Lebanese political class to see him elected.
Aoun “has a reputation of personal integrity,” said Karim Bitar, an international relations expert at Beirut’s Saint-Joseph University.
He came to prominence after leading the army in a battle to drive out Daesh from a mountainous area along the Syrian border.
“Within the Lebanese army, he is perceived as someone who is dedicated... who has the national interest at heart, and who has been trying to consolidate this institution, which is the last non-sectarian institution still on its feet in the country,” Bitar told AFP.
Aoun was set to retire in January last year, but has had his mandate extended twice — most recently in November.
Mohanad Hage Ali, from the Carnegie Middle East Center, noted that “being the head of US-backed Lebanese Armed Forces, Joseph Aoun has ties to the United States.”
“While he maintained relations with everyone, Hezbollah-affiliated media often criticized him” for those US ties, he told AFP.
Washington is the main financial backer of Lebanon’s army, which also receives support from other countries including Qatar.
An international conference in Paris last month raised $200 million to support the armed forces.
The military has been hit hard by Lebanon’s economic crisis, and at one point in 2020 it said it had cut out meat from the meals offered to on-duty soldiers due to rising food prices.
Aoun, who speaks Arabic, English and French, hails from Lebanon’s Christian community and has two children.
By convention, the presidency goes to a Maronite Christian, the premiership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim and the post of parliament speaker goes to a Shiite Muslim.
Aoun is Lebanon’s fifth army commander to become president, and the fourth in a row.
Military chiefs, by convention, are also Maronites.
Egypt top diplomat meets PLO, urges Palestinian unity
- During his meeting with the PLO delegation in Cairo, Badr Abdelatty “reaffirmed Egypt’s supportive stance toward the Palestinian Authority”
CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign minister met a Palestine Liberation Organization delegation Thursday, calling for “unity” and the strengthening of the Palestinian Authority amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
The conflict began after the Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering massive retaliation.
During his meeting with the PLO delegation in Cairo, Badr Abdelatty “reaffirmed Egypt’s supportive stance toward the Palestinian Authority,” his office said in a statement.
The minister also reiterated “Egypt’s rejection of any plans to displace Palestinians from their lands,” it added.
Last month, Egypt hosted talks between rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas to discuss bringing post-war Gaza under PA control.
Fatah, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank under the PA, dominates both the PA and the PLO, an internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people.
It has been excluded from Gaza since Hamas seized control in 2007.
On Thursday, Abdelatty also discussed with the PLO delegation Egypt’s efforts to end the Gaza war, reach a ceasefire agreement and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been engaged in months of talks to cement a truce in Gaza, but so far to no avail.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that a Gaza ceasefire remained close but added it may not happen before President Joe Biden hands over to Donald Trump.
“I hope that we can get it over the line in the time that we have,” said Blinken, who leaves office with Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Hamas said at the end of last week that indirect negotiations in Doha had resumed, while Israel said it had authorized negotiators to continue the talks in the Qatari capital.
A previous round of mediation in December ended with both sides blaming the other for the impasse, with Hamas accusing Israel of setting “new conditions” and Israel accusing Hamas of throwing up “obstacles” to a deal.