‘Israel is calling the shots in many ways' says Al Jazeera reporter
As fighting continues between factions in southern Syria and the country's army faces threats from Israel if it intervenes, Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr says Israel's posture poses a major challenge to the Syrian government.
Video Duration 01 minutes 57 seconds 01:57
Video Duration 00 minutes 31 seconds 00:31
Video Duration 01 minutes 05 seconds 01:05
Video Duration 01 minutes 33 seconds 01:33
Video Duration 02 minutes 03 seconds 02:03
Video Duration 00 minutes 34 seconds 00:34
Video Duration 02 minutes 45 seconds 02:45
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Syria, Israel hold talks in Paris over conflict in southern Syria's Suwayda
Syrian and Israeli officials have held talks in Paris mediated by the United States, according to a Syrian official, in the wake of an eruption of sectarian violence compounded by Israeli military intervention in southern Syria. The meeting on Saturday was held to address recent security developments around the southern Druze-majority city of Suwayda, which has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks between Bedouins and Druze fighters. Israel intervened in the conflict, striking government buildings in Damascus and government soldiers in Suwayda province, saying it was doing so to protect the Druze. The Syrian official told Al Jazeera Arabic that Damascus's delegation at the Paris meeting emphasised that the unity and sovereignty of Syria are nonnegotiable and Suwayda and its people are an integral part of Syria. It also rejected any attempt to exploit segments of Syrian society for partition, the official said. The source said the Syrian delegation held Israel responsible for the recent escalation and demanded the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the points they had recently advanced to during the unrest. 'Honest and responsible' Syria's state-run Ekhbariya TV, quoting its own diplomatic source, reported that the meeting did not result in any final agreements but the parties had agreed to continue talks aimed at maintaining stability. The TV source described the dialogue as 'honest and responsible' in the first confirmation from the Syrian side that talks had taken place. On Friday, US envoy Tom Barrack said officials from both countries spoke about de-escalating the situation in Syria during talks on Thursday. Hundreds of people have been reported killed in the fighting in Suwayda, which also drew in government forces. Israel, which carried out air strikes, during this month's violence, has regularly struck Syria and launched incursions into its territory since longtime former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December. Last week's fighting underlined the challenges interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa faces in stabilising Syria and maintaining centralised rule. Syria's government announced a week ago that Bedouin fighters had been cleared out of Suwayda and government forces were deployed to oversee their exit from the entire province. The announcement came after al-Sharaa ordered a new ceasefire between Bedouin and Druze groups after a separate US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military attacks on Syria. The diplomatic source, who spoke to Ekhbariya TV, said the meeting on Saturday involved initial consultations aimed at 'reducing tensions and opening channels of communication amid an ongoing escalation since early December'.
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Israel says it's distributing aid in Gaza, so why are people starving?
One hundred twenty-seven people, 85 of them children, have died from hunger or malnutrition as a result of Israel's siege of Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked all aid to Gaza in March, claiming that it was to pressure Hamas into accepting a ceasefire that Israel broke unilaterally later that month. This week, the Israeli government has blamed the United Nations for the situation, even accusing its aid agency of working with Hamas to restrict food from getting to people. This was not the first time Israel blocked aid from entering Gaza. In March 2024, Israel stopped UN aid convoys from reaching northern Gaza as it attempted to starve the population there into fleeing. In September, 15 international aid organisations said Israel was blocking 83 percent of Gaza's aid. In both instances, Israel denied blocking aid, blaming either UN inefficiency or Hamas for aid not reaching people in areas it has claimed to control for much of the war. So, what has Israel said, and does it accept that a man-made famine is under way in Gaza? Here's what we know. So is there no aid system in Gaza now? After receiving much criticism over the increased threat of famine that its siege had inflicted on Gaza, Israel, along with its US ally, backed the creation of the GHF in May. The GHF was intended to replace the UN and international aid agencies, which have operated some 400 aid distribution points across Gaza, with four erratically operated distribution points in Gaza's centre and south. Since May, the Israeli military and private contractors, understood to be American, have killed more than 1,000 people trying to access food at GHF distribution points. There are still some limited UN aid distribution operations, but they are so severely restricted that their effect cannot be felt. Does Israel accept that there's starvation in Gaza? It does not. On Friday, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which is responsible for coordinating aid into Gaza, contradicted the claims of numerous aid agencies, asserting that 'there is no famine in the Gaza Strip'. However, it said, there were 'pockets' across Gaza where people had 'issues of access to food'. So Israel claims that there's enough aid being distributed? Not so much. Israel claims that shortfalls are occurring because much of the aid lies 'rotting in the sun' because the UN has not distributed it. Israel's military radio, Kan, recently reported that the Israeli army has burned or buried some 1,000 trucks' worth of aid that it deemed spoiled or expired. David Mencer, a spokesperson for Netanyahu's office, told the BBC on Friday that the UN in Gaza is a 'billion-dollar racket' and accused the UN of working with Hamas to 'restrict … aid to its own people'. Mercer did not provide any reason as to why the UN might do that, or any evidence to back his claims. Is the UN working with Hamas? Not according to the UN itself. On Wednesday, addressing the UN Security Council, Israel's ambassador, Danny Danon, accused UN aid chief, Tom Fletcher, as well as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, of somehow being affiliated with Hamas. Danon provided no evidence. Responding in writing the following day, Fletcher said, 'I expect the Israeli authorities to immediately share any evidence that led them to make such claims.' In January 2024, Israel accused another UN aid body, the UN Relief and Works Agency, of working with Hamas. An independent review into Israel's allegations concluded in April 2024 that it had provided no evidence to support its claim. Is Hamas stealing aid? Not according to Israel's military and its principal ally, the US. Citing unnamed Israeli military officials, The New York Times reported on Saturday that the UN aid operation was relatively reliable and less vulnerable to interference than others, adding that there was no evidence Hamas regularly stole from the UN. An internal report by the US's development agency, USAID, in late June also concluded that there was no evidence of the systematic looting of US-provided aid by Hamas. So far, the only evidence of aid being systematically looted points to criminal gangs now partnering with Israel and the GHF. So, why isn't aid reaching people in Gaza? Months of Israel's siege have led to the effective breakdown of Gaza's society, with food convoys at risk of being overwhelmed by starving, desperate crowds, the UN says. To deliver aid to where it is needed, the UN would need the support of the Israeli military. On Wednesday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said half of the 16 food distribution requests submitted to the Israeli military had been refused. 'Bureaucratic … and other operational obstacles imposed by Israeli authorities; ongoing hostilities and access constraints within Gaza; and incidents of criminal looting, and more shooting incidents that have killed and injured people gathering to offload aid supplies along convoy routes' have limited efforts to deliver aid, Dujarric told reporters. What is the outcome of that? Starvation. As we noted above, 122 people, most of whom are children, have already died of starvation in Gaza. Death through hunger occurs over three stages. The first starts as early as a skipped meal; the second comes with any prolonged period of fasting when the body relies on stored fats for energy. The third, and often fatal, stage is when all stored fats have been depleted and the body turns to bone and muscle as sources of energy. It is, according to Dr Omar Abdel-Mannan, a British-Egyptian paediatrician and neurologist who has volunteered in Gaza, 'a very cruel, slow death'. Why have more children died than adults? Because their bodies are using less to do more. Children, especially infants and toddlers, have much less muscle and fat to draw on during famine, while their basic metabolism is working harder as they grow. The outcome is that they have a much-reduced buffer when food intake stops. What are the chances that Israel's siege might end? Nobody knows. Netanyahu's right-wing coalition has so far seemed immune to international outrage and internal dissent over its war on Gaza. It dismisses the accusations of engaging in crimes against humanity and disregarding international law as 'anti-Semitic' and 'blood libel'. In the minds of most analysts, the only power with the influence capable of restraining Israel in Gaza and the region is US President Donald Trump. However, predicting how the notoriously mercurial US president may behave is generally regarded as a job beyond the abilities of most analysts.
Al Jazeera
4 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
UK to airdrop aid in Gaza, evacuate children needing medical care
The United Kingdom says it is working with Jordan on 'forward plans' to airdrop aid into besieged Gaza and evacuate children needing medical care as Israel's forced starvation and bombardment of Palestinians fuel global outrage. Two infants on Saturday became the latest Palestinian children to die from malnutrition. The total number of starvation deaths in the territory has risen to more than 120, including more than 80 children. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed the proposal on Saturday in an emergency call with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. In a readout of the call, the UK government said the leaders had agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace,' according to Britain's Press Association. 'The prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance,' the readout said. Starmer's Labour government has been roundly accused at home of doing too little too late to alleviate the intense suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK have been protesting weekly against Israel's genocidal war since October 2023, making it clear they feel their voices aren't being heard. Public anger has been further stoked as police in the UK arrested more than 100 people at peaceful protests across the country last weekend that called for a ban on the campaign group Palestine Action to be reversed. Demonstrations took place on Saturday in Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Truro and London as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries. Starmer is also facing mounting pressure to recognise a Palestinian state as France has said it will do at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September. More than 200 British parliamentarians urged the prime minister to take this course of action this week. There has been further controversy over accusations the UK government has continued with arms sales to Israel despite stating it had scaled back weapons sales. A report in May found that UK firms have continued to export military items to Israel despite a government suspension in September amid allegations that the UK Parliament has been deliberately 'misled'. The report by the Palestinian Youth Movement, Progressive International and Workers for a Free Palestine revealed that the UK sent '8,630 separate munitions since the suspensions took effect, all in the category 'Bombs, Grenades, Torpedoes, Mines, Missiles And Similar Munitions Of War And Parts Thereof-Other'. 'Waiting for the green light to get into Gaza' In the meantime, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), said proposed airdrops of aid would be an expensive, inefficient 'distraction' that could kill starving Palestinians. Israel said on Friday that it will allow airdrops of food and supplies from foreign countries into Gaza in the coming days in response to critical food shortages caused by its punishing months-long blockade. But in a social media post, Lazzarini said the airdrops would 'not reverse the deepening starvation' and called instead for Israel to 'lift the siege, open the gates [and] guarantee safe movements [and] dignified access to people in need.' Airdrops, he said, are 'expensive, inefficient [and] can even kill starving civilians'. 'A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will,' he said, calling on Israel to allow the UN and its partners to operate at scale in Gaza 'without bureaucratic or political hurdles'. He said UNRWA has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt 'waiting for the green light to get into Gaza'. 'Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper and safer' than airdrops, he said, adding that it is also more dignified for the people of Gaza. More than 100 aid and human rights groups this week called on governments to take urgent action as a hunger crisis engulfs Gaza, including by demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid. In a statement signed and released on Wednesday by 109 organisations, including Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Doctors Without Borders (also known as MSF), the groups warned that deepening starvation of the population was spreading across the besieged enclave.
