ISTANBUL: Some 55 tonnes of EU-funded medical supplies entered northwestern Syria from Turkiye on Thursday, a UN health official said.
Part of an EU air bridge to Syria, the supplies crossed Turkiye’s southern Cilvegozu border post and were taken to a warehouse in the northwestern city of Idlib, Mrinalini Santhanam of the World Health Organization said.
“There’s one more air bridge, and it is planned for February,” she said, adding that it was “still in the planning stages” with talks “to determine the volume and the scale.”
The supplies, distributed to Idlib and the Aleppo region health care centers, are part of an EU humanitarian bridge announced by Brussels on Dec. 13.
The aim is to support Syria’s battered healthcare system following the ouster of Bashar Assad on Dec. 8.
Included in the shipment were 8,000 emergency surgical kits, anesthetic supplies, IV fluids, sterilization materials, and medications to prevent disease outbreaks, the WHO said.
The civil war, which broke out in 2011, devastated Syria’s health care system, with “almost half of the hospitals (there) not functional,” WHO planning analyst Lorenzo Dal Monte said in late December.
He said the 50-tonne shipment from Dubai included “mainly trauma and surgical kits.”
Another five tonnes of supplies were brought in from another stockpile in Demark, including emergency health kits as well as winter clothing and water purification tablets, the WHO said.
EU medical aid crosses into Syria from Turkiye
https://arab.news/2nke8
EU medical aid crosses into Syria from Turkiye
US withdrawing hundreds of troops from Syria, NYT reports
DAMASCUS: The United States has started drawing down hundreds of troops from northeastern Syria, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
The military is shuttering three of its eight small operating bases, reducing troop levels to about 1,400 from 2,000, the Times reported, citing two senior US officials.
Lebanon army chief reports 5,500 operations to seize weapons south of Litani River
- Cabinet identified 2,740 Israeli offences since the ceasefire agreement went into force between Hezbollah and Israel
- Cabinet extends UNIFIL mandate, ministers briefed on arms disposal operations
BEIRUT: Gen. Rudolph Haykal, commander of Lebanon’s Armed Forces, briefed a weekly Cabinet meeting on Thursday about the security situation along the border and the ongoing implementation of the UN Security Council resolution.
In the meeting at the Presidential Palace, he reported that since last November’s ceasefire agreement, army units south of the Litani River had carried out 5,500 weapons confiscation operations — 3,000 independently and 2,500 in cooperation with UNIFIL forces.
Three days ago, a Lebanese soldier was killed and three others were injured while conducting an engineering sweep in a Hezbollah tunnel in the Wadi Al-Azziyeh area of Tyre.
The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and in the presence of President Joseph Aoun, used the meeting to discuss what has been implemented south of the Litani River in line with UN Resolution 1701.
It also approved the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate in this area.
The Cabinet identified 2,740 Israeli offences since the ceasefire agreement went into force between Hezbollah and Israel.
Aoun informed the Cabinet that his meeting in Doha with the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, was “excellent.”
Aoun confirmed that “Qatar is set to renew its donation to support the salaries of the Lebanese army with an amount of $60 million, along with 162 military vehicles, to enable it to carry out its national duties of maintaining stability and securing borders across all Lebanese territories.”
Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said on Thursday at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting that the army commander presented a summary of the situation and heightened security measures carried out by the Lebanese army.
Morcos said that the army commander spoke of significant challenges regarding the army’s capabilities, noting that “repeated Israeli aggressions hinder the army’s deployment.”
He added: “We were briefed on how the army destroys some of the confiscated ammunition, especially since there are technical standards for carrying out this process.
“The army will continue to carry out its duties fully, but it needs support, particularly in light of the security and military challenges caused by Israel.”
Marcos quoted Salam, who emphasized “the necessity to complete judicial appointments as soon as possible,” and that “the judicial independence law will be added to the next meeting's agenda.”
Salam updated ministers on his recent meeting with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa in Damascus, where they discussed control of the Lebanese-Syrian border, strategies to combat smuggling, the cases of missing individuals in Syrian prisons, and a request for information regarding the Beirut Port explosion.
Salam also asked Al-Sharaa about the extradition of those responsible for the mosque bombings in Tripoli and the assassination of Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt.
Industry Minister Joe Issa El-Khoury said after the Cabinet session that ministers from the Lebanese Forces party proposed establishing a timeline for the handover of illegal weapons, Lebanese and non-Lebanese, within six months.
They suggested that the process could start with the Palestinian refugee camps.
In 2006, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1701 to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
The resolution called for the withdrawal of weapons from south of the Litani River and the deployment of the Lebanese army in coordination with UNIFIL.
The war between Israel and Hezbollah reignited in October 2023.
It escalated into a ground war in September 2024, resulting in more than 4,000 deaths and about 17,000 injuries, along with the Israeli occupation of five strategic hills in the south and the displacement of 90,000 people from the border area.
According to Army Command data, the total number of Lebanese army casualties during the recent war was 43 soldiers, including 18 killed at their posts and 24 killed in their homes or en route to them.
Coinciding with the Cabinet session, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said that Lebanon “is still living under continuous Israeli aggression, resulting in martyrs and injuries.”
Fadlallah said his organization has accepted the full authority of the Lebanese state through its institutions, primarily the army, in areas south of the Litani, and that Hezbollah cooperated and coordinated with the army on security measures.
He maintained that “Israel violates all commitments” while “political decisions restrict the army from fulfilling its duty to protect Lebanese citizens and territory.”
The Hezbollah MP said that “stopping aggression, liberating territory and prisoners, and reconstruction must come first” before discussing defense strategies.
He said: “Only when these issues are resolved and the state fully takes on its responsibilities — when our people are no longer harmed, our land is no longer occupied, and our homes are no longer in ruins — can we address other concerns.”
He said that Hezbollah “remains open to dialogue with those who recognize Israel as an enemy and prioritize Lebanese sovereignty over external demands.”
During the Cabinet session, Israeli reconnaissance aircraft were reported in Lebanese airspace over Beirut.
Simultaneously, military drones struck a motorcyclist near the border town of Aitaroun, killing Ali Abdulnabi Hijazi.
Israeli forces also reportedly fired upon Council for South Lebanon assessment teams surveying damage in Mays Al-Jabal, although no casualties were reported.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said that operations against Hezbollah’s efforts to rebuild capabilities or establish military positions under civilian cover will continue.
He said that Hezbollah exploited civilian infrastructure for military purposes and used Lebanese residents as human shields.
Aid groups: Thousands of children in Gaza are malnourished amid Israel’s blockade
- Thousands of children are malnourished, and most people are only eating one meal every other day, the UN says
- Humanitarian aid is the primary food source for 80 percent of the population, the World Food Program said
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Aid groups are raising new alarm over Israel’s blockade of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where no food or other supplies have been allowed in for more than six weeks.
Thousands of children are malnourished, and most people are only eating one meal every other day, the United Nations says.
Israel ended a ceasefire last month and renewed its bombardment, killing hundreds of people and seizing large parts of the territory to pressure Hamas to accept changes to the deal that would speed the release of hostages. Israeli strikes overnight into Thursday killed at least 23 people, including a family of 10.
A strike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed five children, four women and a man from the same family, all of whom suffered severe burns, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Strikes in northern Gaza killed 13 people, including nine children, according to the Indonesian Hospital.
The Israeli military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because it operates in residential areas. There was no immediate comment on the latest strikes.
Nearly all rely on charity kitchens
The UN humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said that almost all of Gaza’s more than 2 million people now rely on charity kitchens supported by aid groups, which can prepare just 1 million meals a day.
Other food distribution programs have shut down for lack of supplies, and the UN and other aid groups have been sending their remaining stocks to the charity kitchens.
The only other way to get food in Gaza is from markets. But prices are spiraling and shortages are widespread, meaning humanitarian aid is the primary food source for 80 percent of the population, the World Food Program said in its monthly report for April.
“The Gaza Strip is now likely facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the 18 months since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023,” OCHA said.
Most people in Gaza are now down to one meal a day, said Shaina Low, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council. “It’s far lower than what is needed,” she said.
Water is also growing scarce, with Palestinians standing in long lines to fill jerry cans from trucks. Omar Shatat, an official with a local water utility, said people are down to six or seven liters per day, well below the amount the UN estimates is needed to meet basic needs.
More hungry children, and they are harder to reach
In March, more than 3,600 children were newly admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition, up from around 2,000 the month before, according to OCHA, which said “the rapid deterioration of the nutrition situation is already visible.”
At the same time, aid groups’ ability to treat malnourished children is hampered by Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations, which resumed on March 18.
In March, the number of children under 5 that aid workers could supply with nutrient supplements fell 70 percent from February, down to 22,300 children – a fraction of the 29,000 children they aim to reach. Only 60 percent of the 173 treatment sites are operating, and demand for the dwindling supplies is rising, OCHA said.
“Humanitarians have been forced to watch people suffer and die while carrying the impossible burden of providing relief with depleted supplies, all while facing the same life-threatening conditions themselves,” said Amande Bazerolle, the emergency coordinator in Gaza for Doctors Without Borders.
“This is not a humanitarian failure — it is a political choice, and a deliberate assault on a people’s ability to survive, carried out with impunity,” she said in a statement.
Israel says the blockade is a pressure tactic
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that preventing humanitarian aid is one of the “central pressure tactics” used against Hamas, which Israel accuses of siphoning off aid to maintain its rule.
Israel is demanding that Hamas release more hostages at the start of any new ceasefire and ultimately agree to disarm and leave the territory. Katz said that even afterward Israel will continue to occupy large “security zones” inside Gaza.
Hamas is currently holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive. It says it will only return them in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting truce, as called for in the now-defunct ceasefire agreement reached earlier this year.
Hani Almadhoun, co-founder of Gaza Soup Kitchen, said his kitchen has food for about three more weeks.
“But food is loosely defined. We have pasta and rice but nothing much beyond that. No fresh produce. There is no chicken or beef. The only thing we have is canned meat,” he said. He said 15-20 percent of the people who come to his kitchen for food leave empty-handed.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel has rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food production capabilities. The war has displaced around 90 percent of the population, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent camps and bombed-out buildings.
Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to mark Passover holiday
- Settlers entered the site through the Mughrabi Gate in groups and performed Jewish prayers
- Israeli forces implemented strict security measures, preventing Palestinians from entering
LONDON: Thousands of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Compound in the Old City of East Jerusalem to mark the Jewish holiday of Passover on Thursday.
The Jerusalem Governorate, a body affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, said that Israeli settlers entered the site through the Mughrabi Gate in groups and performed Jewish prayers at the site. Settlers also toured Bab Al-Rahma on the eastern wall of the compound, which was a site of conflict between Israeli police and Muslim worshippers in 2019.
Passover is observed from April 12 to 20, when Jewish communities commemorate the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.
Far-right Israeli lawmaker Zvi Sukkot, from the Religious Zionism Party, performed in Al-Aqsa the Talmudic ritual known as “epic prostration,” in which the worshipper bows low to the ground in a display of humility and reverence.
Thousands of Jewish worshippers performed the Priest’s Blessing at the Western Wall, a plaza outside the western wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, on the fifth day of Passover.
Israeli forces implemented strict security measures, turning the Al-Aqsa area into a military zone and preventing Palestinians from entering, the Wafa news agency reported.
On Tuesday, Israeli authorities closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, south of the occupied West Bank, as part of security measures during Passover.
The closure meant Palestinians were barred from accessing the site for two days as Israeli settlers celebrated Passover, Wafa added.
Clashes in Sudan’s El-Fasher kill 57: medical source
- The violence came just days after the RSF killed over 400 people in attacks on El-Fasher
- The RSF has ramped up its attacks on the Darfur city following the army’s recapture of Khartoum
PORT SUDAN: Clashes between Sudanese paramilitaries and the regular army have killed at least 57 civilians in the besieged Darfur city of El-Fasher, a medical source and a volunteer aid group said Thursday.
The local resistance committee, a volunteer aid group, said the civilians were killed on Wednesday in clashes and shelling of the city by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the army since April 2023.
The violence came just days after the RSF killed over 400 people in attacks on North Darfur’s capital of El-Fasher and nearby displacement camps, according to the United Nations.
El-Fasher, which the RSF has besieged for nearly a year, is the last major urban stronghold in Darfur still under army control and a strategic target for the paramilitary.
The RSF has ramped up its attacks on the Darfur city following the army’s recapture of the capital Khartoum last month.
The war, which entered its third year on Tuesday, has killed tens of thousands, uprooted 13 million and created what the UN describes as the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.
It has also fractured the country in two, with the army holding the center, north and east while the RSF controls nearly all of Darfur and, along with its allies, parts of the south.
