Syria urges UN to stop Israeli aggression against neighbors

Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Minister Bassam Al-Sabbagh addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, US, Sept. 30, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 30 September 2024
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Syria urges UN to stop Israeli aggression against neighbors

  • Foreign Minister Bassam Al-Sabbagh blames US for allowing Israel to operate with impunity
  • Demands return of occupied Golan Heights, warns states to stop interfering in his country’s domestic affairs

LONDON: Syria’s foreign minister on Monday urged the world to do more to end Israeli aggression towards its neighbors, blaming the US for hindering international peace and security.

Bassam Al-Sabbagh made the comments to the UN General Assembly in a wide-ranging address in which he also defended his government’s record during Syria’s civil war, hit out at interference in its domestic affairs by foreign states, and demanded the return of Syrian territory occupied by Israel.

“For more than a decade, Syria has experienced unparalleled suffering,” he said. “It fell victim to a fierce terrorist war, direct attacks on its territories that continue to this day, a multifaceted and stifling economic blockade, and … unprecedented political and media incitement campaigns. 

“Billions of dollars were spent to erode the development progress that Syria has worked over decades to achieve.

“Billions more were spent to spread chaos and undermine security and stability, and to force millions of Syrians to leave their homes only to become internally displaced or refugees in other countries.

“Despite everything, we’ve remained faithful to our strong beliefs, our firm positions and to the choices we made as a nation.

“Syria never hesitated to protect and defend its people, and never faltered in its war on terrorism.”

He said the way his government was treated on the international stage “revealed the true intentions of the collective West, which completely contradict the principles and purposes that form the pillars and foundation and function of (the UN).”

Al-Sabbagh was unequivocal in his condemnation of Israel’s “expansionist and racist occupation and ongoing aggression,” blaming the US for preventing the UN Security Council “from fulfilling its responsibility to confront threats to international peace and security.”

He told the UNGA: “The ongoing Israeli occupation of Arab territory since 1967, including the Syrian Arab Golan (Heights) and the genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity it commits, are a glaring example of the failure of this organization.”

Al-Sabbagh added: “Since Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has continued to commit bloody and terrorist crimes, adding another chapter to its seven decade-long criminal record over the past months.

“The occupying forces and settler gangs have been carrying out savage aggression on the Palestinian people and committing a genocide before the eyes of the whole world, which has claimed the lives of more than 42,000 Palestinians, most of whom are children and women.

“The Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemns the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, and renews its solidarity with a legitimate struggle to liberate their occupied land and establish an independent state on their entire national territory with Jerusalem as its capital, while ensuring the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions.

“The Israeli occupying forces … have chosen to drag the region into a serious escalation while benefiting from the immunity, impunity and unlimited support provided by certain countries, in particular the US.

“In a clear case of hypocrisy and double standards, Israeli forces have scaled up their attacks on countries in the region, including my country, Syria, targeting vital civilian facilities, residential buildings and even diplomatic premises, resulting in the death of dozens of civilians, significant material damage and hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syrians.”

Al-Sabbagh also touched upon developments in Lebanon, saying: “Two weeks ago, the Israeli occupation authorities committed an unprecedented crime against Lebanese by using the means of communication as a tool to kill unarmed civilians in a collective manner. 

“A few days ago, the Israeli occupation authorities targeted the southern suburb of Beirut with a treacherous and cowardly (act of) aggression, destroying an entire residential block using tons of explosives … to assassinate Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah.”

Al-Sabbagh added: “This large-scale Israeli aggression … is pushing the region to the brink of a dangerous escalation and confrontation whose consequences can’t be predicted, and causing disastrous effects on peace and security, not only in our region but also beyond it. 

“The Syrian Arab Republic calls on all member states of the UN to work towards ending the Israeli aggression against Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, and hold the occupation authorities accountable for their crimes, as well as prevent impunity.

“The Syrian Republic reiterates that the Golan is an occupied Syrian territory and that its inhabitants are Syrian Arab citizens who are, and will always be, an integral part of the people of Syria.”

Al-Sabbagh condemned foreign interference in Syria, demanding that other states take steps to repatriate their citizens currently imprisoned in the country for affiliation with terrorist organizations.

“The crimes and attacks of the Israeli occupying forces against Syria can’t be seen in separation from the subversive role played by certain Western countries, especially the US,” he said. 

“These countries have continued to violate Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity by illegally deploying their military forces inside Syria’s territory, allowing their officials to sneak into Syria and supporting separatist militia and terrorist groups.

“These countries have also worked to exacerbate the humanitarian situation of the Syrian people by depriving them of the benefit of their resources as a result of their systematic looting of Syria’s national riches and by imposing inhumane, unilateral coercive measures.”

He added: “Syria is healing from the wounds of what it has been exposed and subjected to — it looks to the future with a sense of hope and optimism.

“However, the success of its efforts necessarily requires the collective West to stop politicizing humanitarian work and linking it to political conditionality.

“Donors need to fulfill their pledges in humanitarian funding and provide sustainable solutions for livelihoods and supporting resilience.”

Al-Sabbagh concluded: “My country reiterates its call for the immediate, full and unconditional lifting of unilateral coercive measures as they amount to collective punishment … and the flagrant violation of the UN Charter.”


Drone attack targets Tawke oilfield in Iraq’s Kurdistan

Updated 2 min 40 sec ago
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Drone attack targets Tawke oilfield in Iraq’s Kurdistan

BAGHDAD: A drone attack targeted Norwegian oil and gas firm DNO's oilfield in Tawke in the Zakho Administration area of northern Iraq on Thursday, according to the Kurdistan region's counter-terrorism service.
It is the second attack on the DNO-operated field amid a wave of drone attacks that began early this week.

PHOTO GALLERY: Massive demonstrations in Aleppo in rejection of foreign intervention in Syria’s internal affairs

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PHOTO GALLERY: Massive demonstrations in Aleppo in rejection of foreign intervention in Syria’s internal affairs

Israel’s airstrikes blew up part of Syria’s defense ministry and hit near the presidential palace as it vowed to destroy government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria and demanded they withdraw.

People took to the streets of Aleppo in rejection of foreign intervention in Syria’s internal affairs.


Two dead, several injured in raid on Catholic church in Gaza

Updated 26 min 55 sec ago
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Two dead, several injured in raid on Catholic church in Gaza

  • The strike damaged the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic Church inside the Palestinian enclave

GAZA CITY: Two women were killed and several people were injured following a strike which hit the Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, doctors at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City said on Thursday.
The strike damaged the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic Church inside the Palestinian enclave.
The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Israeli Defense Forces said it was looking into the matter.
Italy’s ANSA news agency said six people were seriously injured, while parish priest Father Gabriele Romanelli, who used to regularly update the late Pope Francis about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, suffered light leg injuries.
“Israeli raids on Gaza have also hit the Holy Family Church,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement.
“The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude,” she added.


Yemen’s Houthis claim missile attack on Israel airport

Updated 47 min 32 sec ago
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Yemen’s Houthis claim missile attack on Israel airport

  • Israel has carried out several air strikes on Yemen, including on the port city of Hodeida earlier this month

Yemen’s Houthis claimed a missile launched at Israel’s main civilian airport, after the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from the Arabian Peninsula country.
The Houthis targeted Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv with a “Zulfiqar ballistic missile” and drone, military spokesman Yehya Saree said late Wednesday.
In the video statement, he also announced drone attacks on military targets and the southern Israeli port of Eilat.
The Houthis have launched repeated missile and drone attacks against Israel since the Gaza war began in October 2023, sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.
In response, Israel has carried out several air strikes on Yemen, including on the port city of Hodeida earlier this month.
The Israeli military had said that “following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, one missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted.”
Early on Wednesday, pro-government forces in Yemen said they seized “750 tons of weapons” en route from Iran to the Houthis.
US Central Command hailed the operation, calling it “the largest seizure of Iranian advanced conventional weapons in their history.”
Tarek Saleh, who heads the Yemeni National Resistance Forces, said in a post on X that the seizure included “naval and air missile systems, an air defense system, modern radars, drones, monitoring devices, anti-tank missiles, B-10 artillery, tracking lenses, sniper rifles, ammunition, and military equipment.”
Earlier this month, the Houthis resumed deadly attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, targeting ships they accuse of having links to Israel, to force Israel to end the Gaza war.


Fire at mall in Iraq leaves at least 60 dead, officials say

Updated 17 July 2025
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Fire at mall in Iraq leaves at least 60 dead, officials say

  • “We have compiled a list of 59 victims whose identities have been confirmed, but one body was so badly burned that it has been extremely difficult to identify,” a city health official told Reuters

BAGHDAD: A massive fire in a hypermarket in Al-Kut city in eastern Iraq has left at least 60 people dead and 11 others missing, the city’s health authorities and two police sources told Reuters on Thursday.
Videos circulating on social media showed flames engulfing a five-story building in Al-Kut overnight as firefighters tried to contain the blaze.
Reuters could not independently verify the videos.
“We have compiled a list of 59 victims whose identities have been confirmed, but one body was so badly burned that it has been extremely difficult to identify,” a city health official told Reuters.
“We have more bodies that have not been recovered still under fire debris,” city official Ali Al-Mayahi told Reuters.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but the province’s governor said initial results from an investigation would be announced within 48 hours, the state news agency (INA)reported.
“We have filed lawsuits against the owner of the building and the mall,” INA quoted the governor as saying.