ICRC gains access to Syria's Sweida, calls for sustained humanitarian response
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Philippine, Indian navies begin first joint South China Sea patrols
MANILA: Indian Navy warships have begun patrolling areas of the disputed South China Sea with their Philippine counterparts for the first time, Manila's military said Monday. The two-day sail includes three Indian vessels and started Sunday, a day ahead of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos' scheduled trip to New Delhi for talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Philippines has heightened defense cooperation with a range of allies over the past year after a series of clashes in the contested waterway. Beijing claims nearly the entirety of the South China Sea despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. India's naval vessels arrived in Manila for a port visit late last week. The patrol 'started yesterday afternoon, then it's ongoing up to this moment... the activity at the moment is replenishment at sea,' Lt. Col. John Paul Salgado told AFP. While in India, Marcos is expected to sign pacts in such fields as law, culture and technology, according to Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Evangeline Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq, but all eyes will be on any potential defense agreements. The Philippines has previously purchased BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from India, a weapon which has a top speed of 3,450 kilometers (2,140 miles) per hour. India, which has engaged in border clashes with China in the Himalayas, is a member of the so-called Quad, a group that includes fellow democracies the United States, Japan and Australia. Beijing has repeatedly alleged that the four-way partnership, first conceived by late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, was created as a way of containing China.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Security Council to meet on Gaza hostages: Israeli ambassador
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The UN Security Council will hold an emergency session on the hostages in Gaza, Israel's ambassador said Sunday, as outrage built over their fate in the war-torn enclave, where experts say a famine is unfolding. Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, posted the announcement on social media amid anger over videos showing two of the hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas emaciated. Danon said that the Council 'will convene this coming Tuesday for a special emergency session on the dire situation of the hostages in Gaza.' The videos make references to the calamitous humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned a 'famine is unfolding.' Israel has heavily restricted the entry of aid into Gaza, while UN agencies, humanitarian groups and analysts say that much of what Israel does allow in is looted or diverted in chaotic circumstances. Many desperate Palestinians are left to risk their lives seeking what aid is distributed through controlled channels. Earlier Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross to get food to the hostages. In response, Hamas's armed wing said that it would allow the agency access to the hostages but only if 'humanitarian corridors' for food and aid were opened 'across all areas of the Gaza Strip.' The Al-Qassam Brigades said it did 'not intentionally starve' the hostages, but they would not receive any special food privileges 'amid the crime of starvation and siege' in Gaza. Over recent days, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have released three videos showing two hostages seized during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war. The images of Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, both of whom appeared weak and malnourished, have fueled renewed calls in Israel for a truce and hostage release deal.
Arab News
7 hours ago
- Arab News
Hamas says no special food privileges for Gaza hostages
GAZA CITY: The Palestinian militant group Hamas said Sunday that Israeli hostages would not receive any 'special privileges' in the food they are given compared to the rest of the Gazan population. '(Hamas) does not intentionally starve the captives, but they eat the same food our fighters and the general public eat. They will not receive any special privileges amid the crime of starvation and siege,' Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, wrote in a statement. The group added that it would only allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to provide aid to Israeli hostages on the condition that humanitarian corridors are opened to Gaza. '(We) are ready to respond positively (to) any request by the Red Cross to deliver food and medicine to enemy prisoners. However, we condition our acceptance on the opening of humanitarian corridors... for the passage of food and medicine... across all areas of the Gaza Strip,' Hamas's military wing wrote in a separate statement. The response came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested that the ICRC help provide food to the hostages held in Gaza, and after the agency issued a 'call to be granted access to the hostages' in a statement posted on X.
