UN: ‘No parallel' to Gaza's ‘horrific' destruction
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has renewed urgent calls for an immediate Gaza ceasefire, warning the humanitarian crisis has reached 'horrific proportions.' Guterres said the level of death and destruction in Gaza has 'no parallel in recent times.'
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Attacks on Palestinians intensifying in occupied West Bank: UN rights body
Israeli settlers and security forces have intensified their killings, attacks and harassment of Palestinians in recent weeks in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the United Nations human rights office warns. The violence also includes the demolitions of hundreds of homes and forced mass displacement of Palestinians as well as annexations of more land in violation of international law, Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday. The UN body's warning came as the Palestinian death toll in the West Bank inches closer to 1,000 since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and Israeli forces launched their genocidal campaign in Gaza, where more than 58,000 Palestinians have been killed. At least 964 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank since that day, according to the UN. At least 2,907 home demolitions were also carried out by Israel during the same period. The UN issued its warning on Tuesday on the heels of the killing of 20-year-old United States citizen Sayfollah Mussallet, who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in Sinjil town, northeast of Ramallah, on Friday. 'Israel must immediately stop these killings, harassment and home demolitions across the occupied Palestinian territory,' Al-Kheetan said in a separate statement published on the OHCHR website. 'As the occupying power, Israel must take all feasible measures to ensure public order and safety in the West Bank.' Since January, there have been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties, which is a 13 percent increase over the same period last year, the OHCHR said. In January, Israel also launched a major military operation called 'Iron Wall', forcibly displacing 30,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, the agency added. The OHCHR also accused Israeli forces of firing 'live ammunition at unarmed Palestinians', including those trying to go back to their homes in the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams. The intensity of violence by settlers and Israeli forces has so alarmed Palestinians that many, including residents in the Old City of Hebron, have been forced to turn their homes into cages, putting up barbed wire on their windows to protect themselves. Hebron resident Areej Jabari told Al Jazeera that despite the protective wire, her family still feels unsafe. 'Barbed wire can't protect from all the wire that settlers throw at us and from bullets and tear gas often fired by Israeli forces,' she said. Parts of Hebron, where about 35,000 Palestinians and 700 Israeli settlers live, are under Israeli military control. Jabari said that when she tried to document one of the attacks, Israeli forces broke into her residence, broke the glass windows, and seized her camera and its memory card. The OHCHR said Israeli forces have often used unnecessary or disproportionate force, including lethal force, against Palestinians 'who did not pose an imminent threat to life'. The youngest of the victims has been two-year-old Laila al-Khatib, who was shot in the head by Israeli forces in January while she was inside her house in Ash-Shuhada village in Jenin governorate. On July 3, 61-year-old Walid Badir was shot and killed by Israeli forces, reportedly while he was cycling home from prayers and passing through the outskirts of the Nur Shams camp. In June, the UN said it recorded the highest monthly injury toll of Palestinians in more than two decades with 96 Palestinians injured in Israeli settler attacks. Al-Kheetan said Israel is obligated as an occupying force to protect Palestinians from settler attacks. He called for an 'independent and transparent' investigation into the killings. 'Those responsible must be held to account,' Al-Kheetan said. On Monday, top church leaders and diplomats from more than 20 countries also called on Israeli settlers to be held accountable during a visit to the predominantly Christian town of Taybeh after recent attacks in the West Bank village.
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Syria announces ceasefire in Druze city of Suwayda after deadly clashes
Syria defence ministry has announced a ceasefire in the Druze-majority city of Suwayda, saying an agreement has been reached with the city's 'notables and dignitaries' after days of deadly clashes with Bedouin tribes. 'To all units operating within the city of Suwayda, we declare a complete ceasefire,' Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra posted on X on Tuesday, shortly after the ministry deployed government forces to halt the violence that killed dozens since Friday. A curfew was also imposed on the city following the violence which spread across the Suwayda governorate, killing at least 99 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. The dead include 60 Druze, including four civilians, 18 Bedouin fighters, 14 security personnel and seven unidentified people in military uniforms, the monitor said. The Ministry of Defence reported 18 deaths among the armed forces. Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Suwayda, with violence occasionally erupting. Meanwhile, Israel launched air strikes on Suwayda on Tuesday after Syrian government forces entered the Druze city. Israel had vowed to protect Syria's Druze minority, which it sees as potential allies. The Druze spiritual leadership had earlier resisted any deployment of Syrian troops in the southern city, but then urged Druze fighters to lay down their arms and allow government forces in. On Tuesday afternoon, however, Druze political leadership changed course, with Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, who has been strongly opposed to the new leadership in Damascus, saying that Syrian troops had breached any arrangements by continuing to fire on residents. 'We are being subject to a total war of extermination,' he said in a recorded video statement, calling on all Druze 'to confront this barbaric campaign with all means available'. Earlier on Tuesday, Syrian military columns were seen advancing towards Suwayda, with heavy artillery deployed nearby. The Defence Ministry later said they had entered the city, and urged people to 'stay home and report any movements of outlaw groups'. It was the first time government forces were deployed to Suwayda since the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December and the formation of an interim government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The Druze religious sect is a minority group that originated as a 10th-century offshoot of a branch of Shia Islam. In Syria, the 700,000-strong community primarily resides in the southern Suwayda province and some suburbs of Damascus, mainly in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to the south. Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Deir Az Azor in Syria, said fighting in the city had been ongoing since Friday. 'It escalated and more than two dozen people were killed. The government sent its reinforcements and then there was an ambush of the government troops as well, where at least 18 soldiers we believe were either killed or wounded,' he said. Bin Javaid said the situation has been exacerbated by Israeli attacks on government positions in Syria. Israel, which has attempted to portray itself as a protector of the Druze in Syria and sees them as potential allies, bombed several Syrian tanks on Monday. 'There have been a number of attacks by Israel, and the Israelis have said that any movement of personnel or hardware in the south of Syria will continue to be monitored by the Israeli army and [they] will continue to attack them as well,' Bin Javaid said.
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Israeli aircraft strike Syria's Suwayda after gov't forces enter Druze city
Israel has launched air strikes on Syria's Suwayda after Syrian government forces entered the predominantly Druze city to end the deadly clashes with Bedouin tribes that have killed dozens of people. Shortly after the deployment of troops on Tuesday, Syria's Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra announced a ceasefire, saying an agreement has been reached with the city's 'notables and dignitaries'. 'To all units operating within the city of Suwayda, we declare a complete ceasefire,' Abu Qasra posted on X. A curfew was also imposed on the city in a bid to halt the violence, which erupted during the weekend and has since spread across the Suwayda governorate, killing at least 99 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. The dead include 60 Druze, including four civilians, 18 Bedouin fighters, 14 security personnel and seven unidentified people in military uniforms, the monitor said. The Ministry of Defence reported 18 deaths among the armed forces. The Druze spiritual leadership had earlier resisted any deployment of Syrian troops in the southern city, but then urged Druze fighters to lay down their arms and allow government forces in. On Tuesday afternoon, Druze political leadership changed course, with Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, who has been strongly opposed to the new leadership in Damascus, saying that Syrian troops had breached any arrangements by continuing to fire on residents. 'We are being subject to a total war of extermination,' he said in a recorded video statement, calling on all Druze 'to confront this barbaric campaign with all means available'. Israel, meanwhile, had vowed to protect the Druze, which it sees as potential allies. Earlier on Tuesday, Syrian military columns were seen advancing towards Suwayda, with heavy artillery deployed nearby. The Defence Ministry later said they had entered the city, and urged people to 'stay home and report any movements of outlaw groups'. It was the first time government forces were deployed to Suwayda since the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December and the formation of an interim government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The Druze religious sect is a minority group that originated as a 10th-century offshoot of a branch of Shia Islam. In Syria, the 700,000-strong community primarily resides in the southern Suwayda province and some suburbs of Damascus, mainly in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to the south. Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Suwayda, with violence occasionally erupting. Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Deir Az Azor in Syria, said fighting in the city had been ongoing since Friday. 'It escalated and more than two dozen people were killed. The government sent its reinforcements and then there was an ambush of the government troops as well, where at least 18 soldiers we believe were either killed or wounded,' he said. Bin Javaid said the situation has been exacerbated by Israeli attacks on government positions in Syria. Israel, which has attempted to portray itself as a protector of the Druze in Syria and sees them as potential allies, bombed several Syrian tanks on Monday. 'There have been a number of attacks by Israel, and the Israelis have said that any movement of personnel or hardware in the south of Syria will continue to be monitored by the Israeli army and [they] will continue to attack them as well,' Bin Javaid said.
