Byzantine tomb complex discovered underneath ravaged city
A 1,500-year-old Byzantine tomb complex has been discovered in Maarat al-Numan, Idlib, northern Syria, by a construction worker.
The discovery occurred as residents return to rebuild following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in 2024, revealing stone openings that led to the ancient graves.
The tomb complex includes two burial chambers, each containing six stone tombs, with a cross etched into one stone column, indicating its Byzantine-era origin.
Idlib, rich in archaeological sites, holds a third of Syria's monuments, but years of war have caused significant damage through bombing, looting, and unauthorised digging.
Local residents hope the discovery and restoration of antiquities will spur economic renewal and tourism, with calls for fair compensation to property owners where ruins are found.
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Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Israel used drones to 'spray irritant substance' over Greta Thunberg's 'freedom flotilla' before boarding and detaining the activists - who will be 'made to watch footage of Hamas October 7 atrocities'
Israel used drones to spray an irritant substance on Greta Thunberg's 'freedom flotilla' before boarding and detaining the activists, the organising group has claimed. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said the ship was surrounded and sprayed with a 'white irritant substance' shortly before the IDF descended overnight. 'Communications are jammed, and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio,' the coalition wrote on Telegram, assessing that the Madleen had come 'under assault' in international waters. Images showed the deck splattered with an unidentified white liquid. Activist Yasmin Acar, among the 12 on board, said it had been deployed by Israel and was affecting her eyes. Israel 'forcibly intercepted' the British-flagged vessel at 3.02am local time this morning, some 100 miles from the coast of Gaza, the FFC said in a statement. The crew, including climate activist Thunberg, had spent the night on the Mediterranean Sea, shadowed by speedboats and drones, before being intercepted. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz argued the blockade - in place for years - was needed to prevent militants importing weapons into Gaza. He congratulated the military on its 'quick and safe takeover' of the ship this morning after Israeli commandos seized the vessel. After diverting the boat, Israel's foreign ministry posted a picture of the activists all in orange life jackets being offered water and sandwiches. Katz said that the crew were safe and unharmed, and would be taken to the Israeli Port of Ashdod where they would be shown a video of Hamas 's October 7 atrocities. Activist Yasmin Acar, among the 12 on board, said it had been deployed by Israel and was affecting her eyes In comments shared on social media today, Katz said it was 'appropriate' the crew now see 'what atrocities [Hamas] committed against women, the elderly and children, and against whom Israel is fighting to defend itself'. The video of Hamas' attacks reportedly contains 43 minutes of 'uncensored' footage of 'people being massacred and bodies mutilated during the onslaught', according to the Times of Israel. The Israeli foreign ministry also derided what it called the 'selfie yacht' carrying 'celebrity' activists, adding that the aid onboard would be transferred to Gaza through what it called 'real humanitarian channels'. The 12 activists had left Italy on June 1, aiming to bring awareness of food shortages in Gaza, which the UN has called the 'hungriest place on Earth', after 21 months of war. The UN has warned the territory's entire population is at risk of famine. But the Israeli government had vowed to prevent the 'unauthorised' Madleen from breaching the naval blockade of Gaza, urging it to turn back. The FFC had said earlier that the ship had come 'under assault' miles from Gaza - in international waters - and was being sprayed with an unidentified white substance. 'Quadcopters are surrounding the ship, spraying it with a white paint-like substance,' the coalition wrote on Telegram. 'Communications are jammed, and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio.' Huwaida Arraf, the co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, told Al Jazeera that crew members had said their eyes were burning from the substance. 'We don't know what that chemical was. Some people reported that their eyes were burning,' they said. After losing communication with the vessel, the FFC posted pre-recorded videos from the crew. In her video, Thunberg said: 'If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel.' The FFC said that Israel had acted with 'total impunity'. It said that the cargo, containing baby formula, food and medical supplies, had been 'confiscated'. Israel said that the aid on board would be 'transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels'. The foreign ministry stressed that all crew members were 'safe and unharmed'. It said that it expected the activists to return to their home countries. Arraf, a human rights attorney and Freedom Flotilla organiser, pushed back: 'Israel has no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard the Madleen.' 'This seizure blatantly violates international law and defies the (International Court of Justice's) binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.' Israel has come under criticism for apprehending the group of activists in international waters. Francesca Albanese, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said the British government must 'urgently seek full clarification' about the ship's status and work to 'secure the immediate release' of the vessel and crew. 'The Madleen must be allowed to continue its lawful humanitarian mission to Gaza,' she said. MailOnline approached the Foreign Office for comment. Protestors amassed outside the FCDO offices in London today. One held a sign that read: 'Israel attacks UK boat. UK does nothing.' Ellie Chowns, Green Party Foreign Affairs spokeswoman and MP for North Herefordshire, said: 'The UK Government cannot remain silent while international waters are turned into a battleground and humanitarian actors are criminalised. 'The forced interception of the Madleen, a British-flagged vessel, is utterly unacceptable. Unarmed civilian crew were seized by Israeli military forces while sailing in international waters, their life-saving cargo taken, and international law trampled. 'I echo the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's demands: the immediate release of these civilians, unfettered delivery of vital baby formula, food and medical supplies to Gaza, and full accountability for these flagrant violations.' An Israeli officer at the Super Nova Festival in Re'im, Israel, after it was attacked by Hamas on October 7, 2023 The Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen, organised by the international NGO Freedom Flotilla Coalition, anchored off Catania, Italy, on June 1 Critics have branded the interception 'state piracy' and condemned the lack of action from the crew members' respective governments. Mouin Rabbani, a non-resident fellow at the Qatar-based Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, told Al Jazeera: 'This is not only an act of state piracy. It's in direct violation of the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice.' Spain summoned Israel's charge d'affaires in protest of the interception, according to El Pais, citing a source at the Spanish Foreign Ministry. French Foreign Minister Jeal-Noel Barrot said France wants to 'facilitate the rapid return' of six French nationals travelling with the group. Turkey slammed Israel for the interception, describing it as a 'heinous attack'. 'The intervention by Israeli forces on the 'Madleen' ship.. while sailing in international waters is a clear violation of international law,' it said, describing it as a 'heinous attack' by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Turkey's foreign ministry said there were Turkish nationals among those on board, without identifying them. The Freedom Flotilla's website said the boat was carrying 12 people from seven countries, including Turkey. 'The international community's justified reaction to Israel's genocidal policies, which use hunger as a weapon in Gaza and prevent the delivery of humanitarian aid, will continue,' the ministry added, saying Israel would manage to 'silence the voices defending human values'. Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies. It recently allowed humanitarian deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But humanitarian agencies have criticised the GHF and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defence agency. It said Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday, including five civilians hit by gunfire near an aid distribution centre.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Israel says it will screen 7 October attacks to Greta Thunberg and other activists after Gaza-bound aid boat 'diverted'
The Israeli military will show Greta Thunberg and other activists footage of the 7 October attacks after a Gaza-bound aid boat was diverted to Israel, the country's defence minister has said. Early on Monday, the Israeli foreign ministry said that the British-flagged yacht Madleen - operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) - "is safely making its way to the shores of Israel". All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry added, sharing footage of the activists being handed sandwiches and water. In a statement via his spokesperson, defence minister Israel Katz said that he has instructed the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to screen footage of the 7 October attacks for those aboard when they arrive at Ashdod Port. "Antisemitic Greta and her Hamas -supporting friends should see exactly what the Hamas terrorist organisation - which they came to support and act on behalf of - truly is," he said. "They should see the atrocities committed against women, the elderly, and children, and understand whom Israel is fighting to defend itself." He commended the IDF for its "swift and safe takeover" of the vessel, and said the Israeli military "will continue its just and moral fight against the Hamas murderers until their defeat, the release of all hostages, and the full restoration of Israel's security". Israel's foreign ministry said earlier that those aboard the Madleen "are expected to return to their home countries" and that the humanitarian aid aboard the ship would be transferred to Gaza through established channels. Ms Thunberg was "safe and in good spirits" while en route to Israel, it added, calling the vessel "the 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities'". The FFC claimed the passengers on the yacht had been "kidnapped by Israeli forces" and released pre-recorded messages from them after previously saying that the "Israeli army had boarded" the vessel. Climate campaigner Ms Thunberg, 22, was one of a dozen activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily on 1 June on a mission aiming to break Israel's sea blockade. In a statement later on Monday, Hamas condemned the detention of the Madleen crew, calling it a "flagrant violation of international law". The group also said: "We salute the free solidarity activists of various nationalities who steadfastly confronted the threats and affirmed that Gaza is not alone." "The detention of Madeleine (sic) will not silence the voices of the free," it added, "nor will it halt the growing tide of global solidarity with Gaza". Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, who is of Palestinian descent, was also on the boat. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israel's policies towards Palestinians. Ms Hassan wrote on X as the FFC's yacht was allegedly surrounded by other vessels: "The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2am." The diversion of the Madleen came after Mr Katz said that he had instructed the IDF to prevent the vessel from reaching the shore and to "take whatever measures necessary". Addressing Ms Thunberg and the other activists on Sunday, he said: "You should turn back - because you will not reach Gaza." Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month after a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas and preventing the group from importing arms. But humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless there is an end to the blockade and the 20-month war, which began after a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, that killed more than 1,200 people. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel's military campaign. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters. 2:38 An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group's vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship. Francesca Albanese, United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, also urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade. She said on social media: "Madleen's journey may have ended, but the mission isn't over.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Trump expected to speak with Israel's Netanyahu, White House official says
WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump planned to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, a White House official said. The call comes as Trump has been trying to accelerate aid into Gaza and has been trying to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program.
