Israel forces north Gaza's last functioning hospital to close
NewsFeed Israel forces north Gaza's last functioning hospital to close
Israeli forces have issued evacuation orders for five areas of northern Gaza including the Al Awda hospital. The hospital's director told Al Jazeera that Israel had threatened to kill everyone in the building if it wasn't evacuated.
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Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Saudi Arabia says it will jointly fund Syria state salaries with Qatar
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud has said that the kingdom and Qatar will offer joint financial support to state employees in Syria. His statements came on Saturday during a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shibani in Damascus. The two Gulf nations have been among the most important regional supporters of Syria's new authorities, who ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December after nearly 14 years of war. Saturday's statement did not provide details on the exact amount of the support for Syria's public sector. However, it comes after Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh said earlier in May that Qatar was going to provide Syria with $29m per month for an initial three months to pay civilian public sector worker salaries. The Reuters news agency had also reported that the United States had given its blessing to the Qatari initiative, which came a few days before President Donald Trump announced that sanctions on Syria imposed during the al-Assad regime would be lifted. The European Union has since also lifted sanctions on Syria. Further evidence of Saudi Arabian and Qatari support came in mid-May, when it was announced that the two countries had paid off Syria's debt to the World Bank, a sum of roughly $15m. Syria's new government, led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, has sought to rebuild the country's diplomatic ties and convince wary Western states that he has turned his back on past ties with groups such as al-Qaeda. The Syrian leader has repeatedly disavowed extremism and expressed support for minorities, but incidents of violence that has led to hundreds of deaths continue to cause international trepidation – even as the government and al-Sharaa denounce the killings. Syria's new government has also made a concerted effort to solidify ties to Gulf Arab states who have begun to play a pivotal role in financing the reconstruction of Syria's war-ravaged infrastructure and reviving its economy. On Tuesday, the European Union announced it had adopted legal acts lifting all economic restrictive measures on Syria except those based on security grounds. It also removed 24 entities from the EU list of those subject to the freesing of funds and economic resources, including the Central Bank of Syria. And after Saudi Arabia and Qatar cleared Syria's debt to the World Bank, the US-based financial institution said that it would restart operations in the country following a 14-year pause. The World Bank has begun to prepare its first project in Syria, which will focus on improving electricity access – a key pillar for revitalising essential services like healthcare, education, and water supply. It also marked the start of expanded support to stabilise Syria and boost long-term growth. Syria's gradual re-integration into the global economy is in large part due to Trump's dramatic shift in Washington's policies towards the country. After announcing the lifting of US sanctions on May 13, Trump also became the first US president in 25 years to meet with a Syrian counterpart. The US had already removed a $10m reward for the capture of al-Sharaa, and the Syrian president has been able to travel internationally and meet world leaders, including in Saudi Arabia and France. Still, there is a lot to be done. A February report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that at current growth rates, Syria would need more than 50 years to return to the economic level it had before the war, and it called for massive investment to accelerate the process. The UNDP study said nine out of 10 Syrians now live in poverty, one-quarter are jobless and Syria's gross domestic product 'has shrunk to less than half of its value' in 2011, the year the war began.
Al Jazeera
5 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Iran increases stockpile of enriched Uranium by 50 percent, IAEA says
The United Nations nuclear watchdog says Iran has increased its stockpile of highly enriched, near weapons-grade uranium by 50 percent in the last three months. The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Saturday comes as nuclear deal negotiations are under way between the United States and Iran, with Tehran insisting its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. The IAEA said as of May 17, Iran had amassed 408.6kg (900.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 percent – the only non-nuclear weapon state to do so, according to the UN agency – and had increased its stockpile by almost 50 percent to 133.8kg since its last report in February. The wide-ranging, confidential report seen by several news agencies said Iran carried out secret nuclear activities with material not declared to the IAEA at three locations that have long been under investigation, calling it a 'serious concern' and warning Tehran to change its course. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, reaffirmed the country's longstanding position, saying Tehran deems nuclear weapons 'unacceptable'. 'If the issue is nuclear weapons, yes, we too consider this type of weapon unacceptable,' Araghchi, Iran's lead negotiator in the nuclear talks with the US, said in a televised speech. 'We agree with them on this issue.' But the report, which was requested by the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors in November, will allow for a push by the United States, Britain, France and Germany to declare Iran in violation of its non-proliferation obligations. On Friday, US President Donald Trump said Iran 'cannot have a nuclear weapon'. 'They don't want to be blown up. They would rather make a deal,' Trump said, adding: 'That would be a great thing that we could have a deal without bombs being dropped all over the Middle East.' In 2015, Iran reached a deal with the United Kingdom, US, Germany, France, Russia, China and the European Union, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It involved the lifting of some sanctions on Tehran in return for limits on its nuclear development programme. But in 2018, then US President Trump unilaterally quit the agreement and reimposed harsh sanctions. Tehran then rebuilt its stockpiles of enriched uranium. In December last year, the IAEA said Iran was rapidly enriching uranium to 60 percent purity, moving closer to the 90 percent threshold needed for weapons-grade material. Western nations say such intensive enrichment should not be part of a civilian nuclear programme, but Iran insists it is not developing weapons. Hamed Mousavi, professor of political science at Tehran University, told Al Jazeera the IAEA findings could indicate a possible negotiation tool for Iran during its ongoing nuclear talks with the US. 'I think both sides are trying to build leverage against the other side. From the Iranian perspective, an advancement in the nuclear programme is going to bring them leverage at the negotiation table with the Americans,' he said. On the other side, he said, the US could threaten more sanctions and may also refer the Iranian case to the UN Security Council for its breach of the 2006 non-proliferation agreement. However, he added that Iran has not made the 'political decision' to build a possible bomb. 'Enriching up to 60 percent [of uranium] – from the Iranian perspective – is a sort of leverage against the Americans to lift sanctions,' Mousavi said.
Al Jazeera
7 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Arab ministers condemn Israel's ‘ban' on planned West Bank visit
The foreign ministers of five Arab countries who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend have condemned Israel's decision to block their plans. The ministers condemned 'Israel's decision to ban the delegation's visit to Ramallah [on Sunday] to meet with the president of the State of Palestine, Mahmud Abbas', the Jordanian foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were expected to take part in the meeting alongside Turkiye. Israel late on Friday said it will not allow the meeting of Arab foreign ministers, who would have required Israeli consent to travel to the occupied West Bank from Jordan because Israel controls the Palestinian territory's borders and airspace. 'The Palestinian Authority – which to this day refuses to condemn the October 7 massacre – intended to host in Ramallah a provocative meeting of foreign ministers from Arab countries to discuss the promotion of the establishment of a Palestinian state,' the Israeli official said late on Friday. 'Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security.' The Israeli move came ahead of an international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, due to be held in New York on June 17-20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood. Israel has come under increasing pressure from the United Nations and European countries which favour a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, under which an independent Palestinian state would exist alongside Israel. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that recognising a Palestinian state was not only a 'moral duty but a political necessity'. Last week, Israeli forces opened fire near a diplomatic convoy near Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, triggering an international outcry. The convoy included diplomats from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Russia and China. The Israeli military claimed its soldiers fired 'warning shots' after the group deviated from an agreed-upon route. Israel has also allowed the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, with the government announcing plans to establish 22 new settlements, including retroactively legalising a number of unauthorised outposts. The move has been condemned by Palestinian officials and global human rights groups. The International Court of Justice declared last July that Israel's longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, at least 972 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and settlers across the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 were taken captive. Since then, at least 54,381 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip and 124,054 wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Strip's Government Media Office has updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
