Latest news with #IsraeliAirstrikes
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan condemns Israeli airstrikes in Syria, calls UNSC to act on Gaza, Kashmir
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned recent Israeli airstrikes in Syria, calling them 'unprovoked' and a 'dangerous escalatory path,' as the country's foreign minister chaired high-level UN Security Council meetings in New York under Pakistan's ongoing presidency. Tensions have escalated sharply between Syria and Israel this month after sectarian violence erupted in Syria's Druze-majority region of Sweida, resulting in scores of deaths and prompting a fragile ceasefire. In response, Israel launched airstrikes it says were aimed at protecting the Druze community and demilitarizing southern Syria. 'Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms the Israeli attacks against the Syrian Arab Republic in contravention of international law and principles of the UN Charter,' the Foreign Office said in its weekly briefing. 'These unprovoked attacks mark a dangerous escalatory path being pursued by Israel in the region with impunity,' the statement added. 'Pakistan expresses its full support for the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity of Syria and calls on the international community to prevent Israel from its acts of aggression that continue to undermine the peace and stability in the entire region.' Separately, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who is also Pakistan's deputy prime minister, is currently on a visit to New York and Washington to represent Pakistan during its rotating presidency of the UN Security Council. His engagements have included meetings with the UN Secretary-General, President of the General Assembly, and ministers from Austria, the UK, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan. Earlier this week, Dar presided over a Security Council debate on multilateralism and the peaceful settlement of disputes. In his remarks, he 'highlighted selective application of international law as untenable from Gaza to Jammu and Kashmir' and called for respect for international agreements such as the Indus Water Treaty 'to preserve peace and cooperation,' the foreign office briefing said. On the same day, the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2788 under Pakistan's presidency, urging 'greater use of UN Chapter 6 tools, including negotiations, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, and resort to regional and sub-regional organizations, as well as good offices of the Secretary General, and calls for inclusive diplomacy.' Dar also addressed the Security Council's quarterly debate on the Middle East, where he condemned Israel's continued military offensive in Gaza. 'Delivering Pakistan's national statement, the DPM condemned systematic targeting of hospitals, schools, UN facilities, aid convoys, and refugee camps as deliberate acts of collective punishment and fragile violation of international humanitarian law,' the foreign office said. Dar called the Palestinian issue 'a litmus test for the credibility of the United Nations' and urged the Council to act for 'immediate ceasefire, unimpeded aid access, end to occupation and forced displacement, renewed and reinforced international support for UNRWA, implementation of the Arab and OIC-led reconstruction plan for Gaza, and revival of the two-state solution.' The Foreign Office also reiterated Pakistan's longstanding position on Palestine, stating: 'We firmly believe that the only just solution to the Palestinian question is the creation of an independent, viable, sovereign, and contiguous Palestinian state along the pre-June 1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Syria's interim president says protecting Druze a 'priority'
In his first televised statement Sharaa addressed Druze citizens saying "we reject any attempt to drag you into hands of an external party." Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Thursday that protecting Druze citizens and their rights is "our priority," as Israel vowed to destroy Syrian government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria. In his first televised statement after powerful Israeli air strikes on Damascus on Wednesday, Sharaa addressed Druze citizens saying "we reject any attempt to drag you into hands of an external party." "We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction," he said. He added that the Syrian people are not afraid of war and are ready to fight if their dignity is threatened. Israel's airstrikes blew up part of Syria's defense ministry and hit near the presidential palace as it vowed to destroy government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria and demanded they withdraw. The attacks marked a significant Israeli escalation against Sharaa's Islamist-led administration. They came despite his warming ties with the US and his administration's evolving security contacts with Israel. Describing Syria's new rulers as barely disguised jihadists, Israel has said it will not let them move forces into southern Syria and vowed to shield the area's Druze community from attack, encouraged by calls from Israel's own Druze minority. The US said the fighting would stop soon. "We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria. We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media. The United Nations Security Council will meet on Thursday to address the conflict, diplomats said. "The council must condemn the barbaric crimes committed against innocent civilians on Syrian soil," said Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon. "Israel will continue to act resolutely against any terrorist threat on its borders, anywhere and at any time." Warplanes over Damascus The Syrian Network for Human Rights said 169 people had been killed in this week's violence. Security sources put the toll at 300. Reuters could not independently verify the tolls. Reuters reporters heard warplanes swoop low over the capital Damascus and unleash a series of massive strikes on Wednesday afternoon. Columns of smoke rose from the area near the defense ministry. A section of the building was destroyed, the ground strewn with rubble. An Israeli military official said the entrance to the military headquarters in Damascus was struck, along with a military target near the presidential palace. The official said Syrian forces were not acting to prevent attacks on Druze and were part of the problem. "We will not allow southern Syria to become a terror stronghold," said Eyal Zamir, Israel's military chief of staff. Sharaa faces challenges to stitch Syria back together in the face of deep misgivings from groups that fear Islamist rule. In March, mass killings of members of the Alawite minority exacerbated the mistrust. Druze, followers of a religion that is an offshoot of Islam, are spread between Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Following calls in Israel to help Druze in Syria, scores of Israeli Druze broke through the border fence on Wednesday, linking up with Druze on the Syrian side, a Reuters witness said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military was working to save the Druze and urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border. The Israeli military said it was working to safely return civilians who had crossed. Israeli Druze Faez Shkeir said he felt helpless watching the violence in Syria. "My family is in Syria - my wife is in Syria, my uncles are from Syria, and my family is in Syria, in Sweida, I don't like to see them being killed. They kicked them out of their homes, they robbed and burned their houses, but I can't do anything," he said. Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Children among 20 people reported killed overnight by Israeli strikes on Gaza – Middle East crisis live
Update: Date: 2025-07-09T07:11:28.000Z Title: Opening summary Content: Hello and welcome to the Guardian's continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. Gaza civil defence has said 20 people, including at least six children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes overnight. Agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP the first hit a tent housing displaced people in Khan Younis in the south shortly after midnight local time (9pm GMT Tuesday) and the second struck a camp in the north soon afterwards. Elsewhere, medical officials, humanitarian workers and doctors in Gaza say they have been overwhelmed by almost daily 'mass casualty incidents' as they struggle to deal with those wounded by Israeli fire on Palestinians seeking aid. As reported by the Guardian's Jason Burke, doctors describe many of the casualties they are treating describe being shot as they try to reach distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a secretive US- and Israel-backed organisation that began handing out food in late May. 'The scenes are truly shocking – they resemble the horrors of judgment day. Sometimes within just half an hour we receive over 100 to 150 cases, ranging from severe injuries to deaths … About 95% of these injuries and deaths come from food distribution centres – what are referred to as the 'American food distribution centres',' said Dr Mohammed Saqr, director of nursing at Gaza's Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. In other developments: AP News reports that an Israeli report released Tuesday accuses Hamas of using sexual violence as a weapon of war during its Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. The findings are based on survivor and witness testimonies, first responder accounts, and forensic evidence. The report says that many victims may have been killed, silencing them and complicating investigations. It asks for new legal approaches to prosecuting sexual violence in conflict, suggesting evidence beyond victim testimony and holding all attackers jointly responsible. Hamas denies the allegations. This comes as Israel and Hamas are negotiating a ceasefire. Reporters were told that the anticipated agreement would involve a 60-day ceasefire, with the release of ten live hostages and nine deceased individuals. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US president Donald Trump to discuss any potential ceasefire deal options. Netanyahu said the meeting was focused around freeing hostages held in Gaza, and stressed his determination to 'eliminate' the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas.
Asharq Al-Awsat
07-07-2025
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Ten Wounded, Including a Child, in Israeli Strikes on South Lebanon
Ten people, including a young child, were injured in two Israeli airstrikes carried out on Sunday in southern Lebanon, Lebanon's Health Ministry said on Monday. According to a statement made by the Public Health Emergency Operations Center, 'nine civilians were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Burj Rahal in the district of Tyre'. Also, an Israeli airstrike on the town of Zrariyeh in the Sidon district left a child critically wounded. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said an Israeli military unit crossed into Lebanese territory after midnight, moving from the Khallat Wardeh border area toward the vicinity of Aita al-Shaab. It has taken position there. Despite a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel that aimed at ending over a year of conflict, Israel continues to target various parts of Lebanon particularly in the south often claiming they target Hezbollah fighters or positions associated with the group. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah agreed to withdraw from areas south of the Litani River - approximately 30 kilometers from the Israeli border - and dismantle its military infrastructure there. In exchange, the Lebanese Army and United Nations peacekeepers (UNIFIL) were to strengthen their presence in the region. Israel, for its part, was required to withdraw from territories it occupied during the conflict. However, it has maintained control over five strategic highlands, which Lebanon continues to demand be vacated.
CTV News
04-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Dozens of Palestinians killed by airstrikes or shootings while waiting for aid
Smoke rises from Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) DEIR al-BALAH, Gaza Strip —Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza early on Friday, while a hospital said another 20 people died in shootings while waiting for aid. Meanwhile, the U.N. human rights office says it has recorded 613 killings within the span of a month in Gaza near humanitarian convoys and as Palestinians try to reach aid at distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organization since it first began operations in late May. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the rights office was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings. But she said 'it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points' operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. In a message to The Associated Press, Shamdasani said that of the total tallied, 509 killings were 'GHF-related,' meaning at or near its distribution sites. 'Information keeps coming in,' she added. 'This is ongoing and it is unacceptable.' The GHF has denied any serious injuries or deaths on its sites and says shootings outside their immediate vicinity are under the purview of Israel's military. The Israeli military also issued new evacuation orders Friday in northeast Khan Younis and urged Palestinians to move west ahead of planned military operations against Hamas in the area. The new evacuation zones pushed Palestinians into increasingly smaller spaces by the coast. 20 killed Friday near aid distribution sites More deaths reported near aid distribution sites occurred overnight Friday, according to officials in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. At least three Palestinians were killed near aid sites in Rafah, which is close to two operated by GHF. Another 17 were killed waiting for trucks to pass by in eastern Khan Younis in the Tahliya area. Of the 15 Palestinians killed in Friday's strikes, eight were women and one was a child, the hospital said. The strikes hit the Muwasi area, where many displaced Palestinians are sheltering in tents. Israel's military said it was looking into Friday's reported strikes. The military, whose forces are deployed on the roads leading to the aid distribution sites, has previously said it fires warning shots to control crowds or at Palestinians who approach its troops. UN investigates shootings near aid sites Shamdasani originally told a U.N. briefing the recent spate of killings were recorded both at GHF sites and near humanitarian convoys. She later clarified to the AP that the killings in the vicinity of GHF distribution points were 'at or near their distribution sites.' The count from the rights office, which used a strict methodology to verify such figures, was based in part on information from hospitals that receive dead bodies, she said. Also Friday, Israel's military said a soldier was killed in combat in the north of Gaza and it was investigating. Over 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began, including more than 400 during the fighting in Gaza. Efforts ongoing to halt to war The recent killings took place as efforts to halt the 21-month war appeared to be moving forward. 'We'll see what happens. We're going to know over the next 24 hours,' U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One late Thursday when asked if Hamas had agreed to the latest framework for a ceasefire. Hamas said Friday that it was holding discussions with leaders of other Palestinian factions to discuss a ceasefire proposal presented to it by Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Hamas said it will give its final response to mediators after the discussions have concluded. Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. The Health Ministry in Gaza said the number of Palestinians killed in the territory has passed 57,000. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says more than half of the dead are women and children. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages. According to Palestinian witnesses and Gaza's Health Ministry, several hundred people have been killed or wounded by Israeli troops when trying to reach the aid sites since they opened in May. The military has repeatedly said it's fired only warning shots, denies deliberately firing towards civilians, and says it's looking into reports of civilian harm. Wafaa Shurafa And Samya Kullab, The Associated Press Kullab reported from Jerusalem. Julia Frankel contributed.
