CAIRO: Evacuations from the Gaza Strip into Egypt for foreign passport holders and Palestinians needing medical treatment resumed through the Rafah crossing on Thursday after being suspended for a day, Egyptian security and medical sources said.
Departures from Rafah, the only crossing to the besieged enclave that does not border Israel, had been paused on Wednesday due to what the US State Department referred to as an unspecified security issue.
Evacuations from Gaza through Rafah began on Nov. 1 for an estimated 7,000 foreign passport holders, dual nationals and their dependents, as well as a limited number of people needing urgent medical treatment.
Several dozen foreign passport holders and dependents, along with 12 medical evacuees, were crossing the border on Thursday, the security and medical sources said.
Rafah is also the only entry point for humanitarian aid going into Gaza. On Wednesday, 106 trucks carrying food medicines and water crossed into Gaza, bringing the total number of aid trucks that have entered since Oct. 21 to 756, according to the United Nations.
Before the war in Gaza erupted on Oct. 7 an average of more than 400 trucks carrying aid and other supplies were entering Gaza daily.
Aid officials say at least 100 truckloads are needed daily to meet growing humanitarian needs, and that deliveries have been hampered by a cumbersome inspection system and security challenges distributing the aid.
Evacuations from Gaza Strip resume through Egypt’s Rafah crossing
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Evacuations from Gaza Strip resume through Egypt’s Rafah crossing
- Departures from Rafah had been paused on Wednesday due to what the US State Department referred to as an unspecified security issue
- Several dozen foreign passport holders and dependents, along with 12 medical evacuees, were crossing the border on Thursday
Thousands join anti-government rally in Jerusalem
- Relatives of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza joined the rally outside the parliament in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM: Thousands of protesters massed in Jerusalem on Wednesday, chanting slogans against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who they accuse of undermining democracy and resuming Gaza strikes without regard for hostages.
Protesters shouted “You are the head, and you’re to blame” as well as “The blood is on your hands” at the demonstration near parliament, the largest to take place in Jerusalem for months.
The demonstration was organized by anti-Netanyahu opposition groups protesting the premier’s move to sack Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency.
Following Netanyahu’s announcement to dismiss Bar, which threatened to trigger political crisis, Israel launched a wave of overnight strikes on Gaza, by far the deadliest since the start of a fragile ceasefire in January.
Relatives of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza joined the rally outside the parliament in Jerusalem.
“We hope all people from Israel will join this movement and we will not stop until we restore democracy and freedom for the hostages,” said Zeev Berar, 68, from Tel Aviv.
“At this rate we won’t have a country left, not a democratic one. It will be a dictatorship,” student Roni Sharon, 18, told AFP.
Some in the crowd brandished banners reading: “We are all hostages.”
Relatives of the hostages in the Gaza Strip have said the decision to resume strikes could “sacrifice” their loved ones.
Of the 251 hostages seized during the unprecedented October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
The demonstrators in Jerusalem also accuse Netanyahu of using the war against Hamas to distract from domestic political concerns.
The prime minister has so far refused to set up a national commission of inquiry into Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, while his bid to dismiss Bar threatened to plunge Israel back into deep political crisis.
Netanyahu’s government recently also moved to oust Israel’s attorney general and government judiciary adviser, Gali Baharav-Miara, a fierce defendant of the judiciary’s independence.
A 2023 judicial reform project aimed at curbing the supreme court’s powers fractured the country and sparked major protests — before coming to an abrupt halt with Hamas’s October 7 attack.
“The last two years have been a nightmare for us,” said Yael Baron, 55, from the city of Modiin.
“I feel as though we are in the 99th minute and time is running out to save the country, the oxygen is running out for us, like democracy is running out.”
Hostages’ kin are terrified they won’t return after Israel resumes fighting
- Nearly 60 families have relatives still held in Gaza
- About two dozen of them are believed to be alive
TEL AVIV: When a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began two months ago, Herut Nimrodi knew it would take time before her son was released from captivity in Gaza. The 20-year-old soldier was meant to be part of the second phase of the deal winding down the war.
But with Israel’s surprise bombardment of Gaza, she fears he might not come home at all.
“I really wanted to believe that there is still a chance to reach a second stage without renewing this war. But it feels like my building of hope has collapsed, and I have no idea what to do next,” Nimrodi said.
Nearly 60 families have relatives still held in Gaza. About two dozen hostages are believed to be alive.
During the ceasefire’s first phase, which began in January, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. But since that phase ended early this month, the sides have not been able to agree on a way forward.
Israel’s renewed airstrikes threaten to end the fragile deal.
Nimrodi’s son, Tamir, was abducted from his army base when Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. She’s had no sign of life. He hasn’t been declared dead by Israel.
“It’s so sad that this is the only solution that they could find,” she said, lamenting the government’s decision.
The strikes have Tuesday killed hundreds and shattered a relative calm — along with hopes of ending the war that has killed over 48,000 Palestinians.
The return to fighting could deepen the painful debate in Israel over the fate of the remaining hostages.
Netanyahu and his hard-line governing partners believe renewing the war will put pressure on Hamas to free them and move Israel closer to its goal of destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.
But most hostage families, and large parts of the Israeli public, believe such goals are unrealistic. They say time is running out, particularly after the recent releases of emaciated-looking hostages who later described harsh conditions in captivity.
Hamas accused Netanyahu of upending the ceasefire and exposing the hostages “to an unknown fate.”
Families of hostages called on supporters to protest with them outside Israel’s parliament.
Some families who already know their relatives in Gaza are dead called the government’s decision unacceptable.
“This is not only a disaster in every way, shape or form on how the hostages keep suffering, being chained to walls, starved, abused, but also the death toll that keeps rising on the Gazan side,” Udi Goren said.
His cousin Tal Haimi was killed on Oct. 7 and his body was taken into Gaza. Goren said the international community must pressure Hamas, Israel and the mediators — the US, Egypt and Qatar — to end the war.
“Returning to fighting? Did you listen to a word of what we, the returnees released in the last deal, have been saying to you?” former hostage Omer Wenkert wrote on Instagram.
Romi Gonen, among the first hostages to be freed in the ceasefire’s first phase, said she would never forget what it felt like in captivity to hear the bombs after previous ceasefire talks collapsed and realize she wouldn’t be freed any time soon.
“I beg you, the people of Israel, we must continue to fight for them,” she said on Instagram.
Sylvia Cunio, whose two sons are held hostage, accused Israel’s leaders of not having a heart.
“It isn’t right to continue the fighting. I want my children back home already. If he wants to kill me, the prime minister, let him do that already because I won’t get through this,” she said on local radio.
Nimrodi said she’s worried the airstrikes might not only harm her son and the other hostages but also make their living conditions worse.
The last time she saw Tamir, he was a funny teenager who rode horses and loved learning about geology and astronomy, she said. The two had a similar humor and used to talk about everything.
While she’s terrified of what’s to come, she said she won’t stop fighting to see him again.
“Please, keep strong, survive,” she said, addressing him. “So there’s a chance for us to meet once more.”
Iran celebrates ancient fire festival ahead of Persian New Year
- To celebrate, people light bonfires, set off fireworks and send wish lanterns floating off into the night sky
TEHRAN: Iran’s fire festival offers a great opportunity to show the world what life looks like in the country.
Known as “Chaharshanbe Souri” in Farsi, the festival comes in the hours just before the Wednesday before Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year.
To celebrate, people light bonfires, set off fireworks and send wish lanterns floating off into the night sky.
Others jump over and around fires, chanting “My yellow is yours, your red is mine,” invoking the replacement of ills with warmth and energy.
The fire festival also features an Iranian version of trick-or-treating, with people going door to door and being given a holiday mix of nuts and berries, as well as buckets of water. It’s not necessarily an easy assignment though.
Here in Iran, some people remain sensitive about having their photograph taken, particularly women who aren’t wearing Iran’s mandatory headscarf.
The joy sometimes overcomes safety concerns as smoke fills the air and fireworks explode at random overhead. There are injuries every year and sometimes deaths. Being careful is necessary as a piece of a burning firecracker might injure one in a crowd.
Nowruz marks the start of spring. Soon, leaves will sprout again.
US says ‘bridge proposal’ on table for Gaza ceasefire but window ‘closing fast’
- A State Department spokesperson said the proposal would also “see the release of five live hostages, including American Edan Alexander”
- “The opportunity is still there, but it’s closing fast“
WASHINGTON: The US State Department said on Wednesday there was still a bridge proposal that would extend the ceasefire” in Gaza but the opportunity for it was “closing fast.”
A State Department spokesperson said the proposal would also “see the release of five live hostages, including American Edan Alexander. It would also see the release of a substantial number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.”
“The opportunity is still there, but it’s closing fast.”
The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces have resumed ground operations in Gaza as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 48 Palestinians, according to local health workers. A day earlier, more than 400 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.
This shattered nearly two months of relative calm since a ceasefire went into effect between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza.
The State Department spokesperson said the proposal was “compelling” and that Washington stood with Israel.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies.
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed over 49,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while also triggering accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies. The assault has internally displaced nearly Gaza’s entire 2.3 million population and caused a hunger crisis.
Lebanese army begins securing border with Syria, closes illegal crossings
- Lebanese Army vehicles reached the town’s administrative border as established in official Lebanese state maps
- The development follows communications between the Syrian and Lebanese sides to halt armed clashes that began last Sunday
BEIRUT: The Lebanese army on Wednesday entered the town of Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali, on Lebanon’s eastern border with the Syrian Arab Republic.
Its vehicles reached the town’s administrative border as established in official Lebanese state maps.
According to these maps, the town is divided into two: one part in Syrian territory, inhabited by Lebanese citizens; and the other in Lebanese territory.
The development follows communications between the Syrian and Lebanese sides to halt armed clashes that began last Sunday as a result of disputes among smugglers in an area teeming with illegal crossings.
The conflict escalated on Monday after the killing of three Syrian gunmen, and evolved into a broader confrontation between Lebanese tribes and armed members of the new Syrian authorities.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the clashes and killings resulted in “the death of seven Lebanese citizens and the injury of 52 others.”
Additionally, property and buildings suffered heavy damage in the exchange of shelling between Syrian forces and Lebanese tribes.
Forces affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense entered the Syrian part of the Lebanese town on Monday night.
Negotiations between the Lebanese and Syrian sides over deployment zones, based on border maps between the two countries, delayed the Lebanese army’s deployment for several hours, when a Lebanese army convoy of 60 vehicles arrived on the outskirts of Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali.
An official source in the area said the Lebanese army’s deployment “was not smooth, as it faced protests related to the confiscation of weapons belonging to local clans. However, the situation soon returned to normal, allowing the army to continue its mission.
The Lebanese army command announced that its units “commenced implementing security measures in the Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali area of Hermel, including the deployment of patrols, to maintain security and ensure stability in the border region.”
It said the army has taken measures “to close illegal crossings between Lebanon and Syria,” adding: “As part of the efforts to monitor and secure the borders in light of the current situation, and to prevent infiltration and smuggling activities, a unit of the army has closed the illegal crossings, which include Al-Matlaba in the Qasr-Hermel area, as well as Al-Fatha, Al-Maarawiya, and Shahit Al-Hujairi in the Mashari’ Al-Qaa-Baalbek region.”
President Joseph Aoun monitored the security developments along the northeastern border through a series of communications with army chief Gen. Rodolphe Haikal.
According to the presidency, Haikal briefed the president on “the measures being implemented by the army to restore calm and stability to the area.”
Aoun underlined “the importance of consolidating the ceasefire, halting aggression, and controlling the borders adjacent to the villages.”
On Monday he said that the situation on the eastern and northeastern borders cannot persist and that “the army will not allow the chaos to continue.” He then ordered the Lebanese army to respond to the sources of fire.
Subsequently, communications between Lebanon and Syria intensified, including talks between the two countries’ foreign ministers to find solutions to the escalation in border incidents.
These efforts led to a ceasefire agreement between the intelligence services of the two countries after a call between Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa and his Syrian counterpart, Murhaf Abu Qasra.
Syrian media outlets on Tuesday night reported that “Syrian forces seized a Hezbollah operations room in Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali, which contained large quantities of weapons, ammunition, drugs and equipment used to manufacture counterfeit tobacco.”
After the army’s deployment, displaced families from Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali on Wednesday started preparing to return to their homes.
Hezbollah has firmly denied any involvement in the border clashes with Syria.
