US envoy for Syria arrives in Damascus for historic visit
The US envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, arrived at the ambassador's residence in the Syrian capital on Thursday, in the first official visit since the US embassy there closed in 2012, a year after Syria's conflict broke out.
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Red Cross chief declares Gaza ‘worse than hell on earth'
LONDON: The situation in Gaza has become 'worse than hell on earth,' the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross has said. 'Humanity is failing in Gaza,' Mirjana Spoljaric told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Wednesday. 'We cannot continue to watch what is happening.' The ICRC, a global organization assisting people affected by conflict, has about 300 staff in Gaza. It runs a field hospital in Rafah that was swamped with casualties in recent days after witnesses described Israeli troops opening fire on crowds trying to access food aid. Spoljaric said that the situation in the territory was 'surpassing any acceptable legal, moral and humane standard.' 'The fact that we are watching a people being entirely stripped of its human dignity should really shock our collective conscience.' "The fact that we are watching people being entirely stripped of their human dignity should really shock our collective conscience." Mirjana Spoljaric, ICRC President, shared with @BowenBBC about the dire situation for civilians in Gaza and made a call for leaders to act now — ICRC (@ICRC) June 4, 2025 She called on world leaders to do more to bring the conflict to an end because the consequences would haunt them and 'reach their doorsteps.' Israel's devastating military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 54,000 people since October 2023, mostly women and children. The offensive was launched after a Hamas-led attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and seized dozens of hostages. Spoljaric said that while every state had a right to defend itself, there could be 'no excuse for depriving children from their access to food, health and security.' She added: 'There are rules in the conduct of hostilities that every party to every conflict has to respect.' International condemnation of Israel has increased in recent weeks after its military pushed to take full control of Gaza after severing all food and aid supplies to the territory's population. Late last month, some aid deliveries resumed after Israel set up a new aid system that bypassed the UN and is now run by a newly formed US organization. Operations at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's three aid delivery sites were paused on Wednesday after dozens of Palestinians were killed by gunfire near one of the sites.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
‘This is the Final Solution': Norman Finkelstein clashes with Israeli general over Gaza
To die of hunger... or die trying to get food? The UN has described the new aid delivery regime in Gaza as a 'death trap.' Over consecutive days - civilians have been killed waiting for food aid. Israel, with the backing of the US, is delivering aid through a private company - bypassing traditional humanitarian groups. For days, Gazans have reported being shot at as they scramble to access the limited supplies. Israel denies firing at innocent civilians. It's the latest escalation in a seemingly endless humanitarian crisis. And it could just be the last straw for some of Israel's supporters. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - who we'll hear from shortly - now believes Israel is committing war crimes. The senseless deaths are adding to already mounting pressure on Israel... There's a distinct change in some of the language we're hearing - even from Tel Aviv's staunchest allies. The rhetoric - and public opinion - is certainly starting to change. On Counterpoints we'll ask: If Israel is weaponizing food and if that was always part of its war plan? Will this force the US to renew a push for peace? And if we can expect more Israeli allies to speak out?
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Pressure Mounts on Netanyahu as Opposition Moves to Dissolve Parliament
A member of Israel's right-wing coalition threatened to quit the cabinet on Wednesday and support an opposition motion to dissolve parliament tabled for next week, piling pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Latest opinion polls suggest that Netanyahu's coalition would lose power if an election was held today, with many voters unhappy over the continued war in Gaza prompted by the attack by Hamas on southern Israel in October 2023. United Torah Judaism, one of two ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition, said it would withdraw from the government unless it secured last-minute concessions formalizing an exemption for ultra-Orthodox men from military service. The opposition party Yesh Atid, led by former prime minister Yair Lapid, put forward a parliamentary vote for next week to topple the government, even as the Israeli army continues battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It would require the support of 61 out of the 120 members of the parliament to succeed. "This Knesset (parliament) is finished. It has nowhere to go," Lapid said. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has remained silent on the looming crisis. A spokesperson for United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf told Reuters the party would vote in favor of dissolving parliament unless exemption legislation was passed. With a week until the vote, Netanyahu and his allies still have time to negotiate over an issue that has dogged the coalition for months. A source close to the government said, on condition of anonymity, that negotiations within the coalition were continuing. Netanyahu's coalition of secular right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties holds an 8-seat majority in parliament. United Torah Judaism has 7 seats while its ally, Shas, the other ultra-Orthodox party, has 11. BETTING ON A BLUFF The coalition is sharply divided over whether young ultra-Orthodox men who are studying in religious seminaries should be exempt from mandatory military service. Failing to pass an exemption risks a walkout by ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, while approving it could trigger a protest exit by secular parties. Coalition member Ohad Tal of Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party criticized Goldknopf for threatening to trigger elections and called on the ultra-Orthodox lawmaker to resign. He urged others to negotiate a new arrangement but that a blanket exemption from military service could no longer stand. Former Knesset member Ofer Shelah said Netanyahu was likely betting the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were bluffing, given the polls suggested they faced defeat in any early election. In March, ultra-Orthodox lawmakers threatened to bring down the government over the same issue, but time passed without any action. Resentment over the informal exemption given to religious seminary students is growing and lawmakers from the ruling coalition and opposition ranks say it is no longer tenable. Netanyahu won election in 2022 and does not have to return to the polls until 2026. Historically, few Israeli governments serve a full term. He has faced widespread criticism for failing to prevent the surprise October 2023 Hamas attack that killed roughly 1,200 people, and is facing growing calls from protesters and families of hostages still held in Gaza to end the war to secure their release. But some in his coalition say the war must continue until Hamas is eradicated. Political analysts say that the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers could simply quit the government to protest their failure to secure concessions, without toppling the ruling coalition.
