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Ya Libnan
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Syria and Israel agree to ceasefire as new clashes rock Druze heartland
Syrian Kurdish women demonstrate in the northeastern city of Qamishli in support of the Druze in Sweida. © Delil Souleiman, AFP The US envoy to Syria said early Saturday that Israel and Syria had agreed to a ceasefire following Israel's intervention this week in fighting between Syrian government forces and rival armed groups. The announcement came as renewed clashes erupted between Druze groups and Bedouin clans and Damascus said it would send troops back in to quell the fighting. Armed Bedouins gather in the village of Al-Mazraa outside Syria's Sweida as clashes flare with Druze fighters on July 18, 2025. © Bakr Alkasem, AFP Washington- The United States said early Saturday that it had negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Syria 's government as new clashes erupted in Syria's Druze heartland following violence that prompted massive Israeli strikes. At least 718 people have died since Sunday in violence between the Druze and Bedouins, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, drawing questions over the authority of Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa . Israel intervened Wednesday with major strikes in the heart of the capital Damascus, including hitting the army's headquarters. Tom Barrack, the US pointman on Syria, said in the early hours of Saturday in the Middle East that Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'have agreed to a ceasefire' negotiated by the United States. Barrack, who is US ambassador to Ankara, said the deal was backed by Turkey , a key supporter of Sharaa, as well as neighbouring Jordan . 'We call upon Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbours,' he wrote on X. The United States on Wednesday announced an earlier deal in which Sharaa pulled government forces out of Sweida, the southern hub of the Druze minority. Sharaa said the mediation helped avert a 'large-scale escalation' with Israel but his office accused Druze fighters of violating it. A n armed Bedouin walks past a burnt out vehicle in the Syrian village of Al-Mazraa, outside Sweida. © Bakr Alkasem, AFP In the corridors of the Sweida National Hospital, a foul odour emanated from the swollen and disfigured bodies piled up in refrigerated storage units, an AFP correspondent reported. A small number of doctors and nurses at the hospital worked to treat the wounded arriving from the ongoing clashes, some in the hallways. Omar Obeid, a doctor at the government hospital, told AFP that the facility has received 'more than 400 bodies' since Monday morning. 'There is no more room in the morgue. The bodies are in the street' in front of the hospital, added Obeid, president of the Sweida branch of the Order of Physicians. The UN's International Organization for Migration on Friday said that 79,339 people have been displaced since Sunday, including 20,019 on Thursday alone. Tribal back-up Tribal reinforcements from across Syria gathered in villages around Sweida on Friday to reinforce local Bedouin, whose longstanding enmity towards the Druze erupted into violence last weekend. Bedouin fighters watch on as a building goes up in smoke in the village of Al-Mazraa outside Sweida. © Omar Haj Kadour, AFP Anas al-Enad, a tribal chief from the central city of Hama, said he and his men had made the journey to the village of Walgha, northwest of Sweida, because 'the Bedouin called for our help and we came to support them'. An AFP correspondent saw burning homes and shops in the village, now under the control of the Bedouin and their allies. Israel, which has its own sizable Druze community, said Friday that it was sending support valued at nearly $600,000, including food and medical supplies, to Druze in Sweida. Israel has vowed to defend the Druze community, although some diplomats and analysts say its goal is to weaken the military in Syria, its historic adversary, seeing it at a weak point since Sharaa's Sunni Islamists toppled Bashar al-Assad , an Iranian ally, in December. UN demands independent probe Rayan Maarouf, editor-in-chief of local news outlet Suwayda 24, said the humanitarian situation was 'catastrophic'. 'We cannot find milk for children,' he told AFP. Bedouin and tribal fighters at the western entrance of Syria's Druze heartland, Sweida. © Bakr Alkasem, AFP UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for an end to the bloodshed and 'independent, prompt and transparent investigations into all violations'. The International Committee for the Red Cross warned that health facilities were overwhelmed, with power cuts impeding the preservation of bodies in overflowing morgues. 'The humanitarian situation in Sweida is critical. People are running out of everything,' said Stephan Sakalian, the head of ICRC's delegation in Syria. 'Hospitals are increasingly struggling to treat the wounded and the sick, and families are unable to bury their loved ones in dignity,' he said. The latest violence erupted Sunday after the kidnapping of a Druze vegetable merchant by local Bedouin triggered tit-for-tat abductions, the Britain-based Observatory said. (FRANCE 24 with AFP) √
Straits Times
18-07-2025
- Straits Times
‘Mass grave': Medics appeal for aid at last working hospital in Syria's Sweida
Find out what's new on ST website and app. A health worker and other men walk amid the bodies of victims laid out for identification in a hospital yard in Sweida on July 17. SWEIDA - In the last barely-functional hospital in Sweida, bodies are overflowing from the morgue, staff said, amid violence that has wracked the Druze-majority southern Syrian city for nearly a week. 'It's not a hospital anymore, it's a mass grave,' said Ms Rouba, a member of the medical staff at the city's sole government hospital, weeping as she appealed for aid. Dr Omar Obeid, who heads the Sweida division at Syria's Order of Physicians, said the facility has received 'more than 400 bodies since Monday morning', including women, children and the elderly. 'There's no more space in the morgue, the bodies are out on the street' in front of the hospital, he continued. Fighting erupted on the night of July 13 between Druze fighters and local Bedouin tribes before Syrian government forces intervened on Tuesday with the stated intention of quelling the violence. But in the subsequent events, those government forces were accused of grave abuses against the minority, according to rights organisations, witnesses and Druze groups. The government forces withdrew from the city on July 17 following threats from Israel, which has vowed to protect the Druze. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Critical infrastructure in S'pore under attack by cyber espionage group: Shanmugam Singapore What is UNC3886, the group that attacked Singapore's critical information infrastructure? Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Asia Indonesia court jails former trade minister for 4½ years in sugar graft case Singapore Singapore police in contact with Indonesian authorities over baby trafficking allegations Singapore NTU upholds zero grade for student accused of using AI in essay; panel found 14 false citations or data Singapore 7-year-old girl, cabby taken to hospital after vehicle pile-up in City Hall area Singapore Former NUH male nurse charged after he allegedly molested man at hospital In the hospital on July 18, corridors were engulfed by the stench of the dead bodies, which had bloated beyond recognition, an AFP correspondent said. Visibly overwhelmed, the handful of medical personnel remaining at the facility nonetheless rushed to do their best to offer care to the seemingly endless stream of wounded, many of them waiting in the hallways. 'There are only nine doctors and medical staff left, and they are working nonstop,' said Ms Rouba, who preferred not to give her full name. 'No water, no electricity' 'The situation is very bad, we have no water and no electricity, medicines are starting to run out,' Ms Rouba continued. 'There are people who have been at home for three days and we can't manage to rescue them,' she said. 'The bodies are on the streets and no one can go out to get them. Yesterday, five big cars filled with bodies arrived at the hospital. 'There are women, children, people whose identities are unknown, cut-off arms or legs.' The United Nations on July 18 urged an end to the bloodshed, demanding 'independent, prompt and transparent investigations into all violations'. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the violence has claimed the lives of nearly 600 people since July 13. Dr Omar Obeid told AFP that three of his colleagues were killed, including one who was 'shot dead in his house, in front of his family'. Another was killed at point-blank range in her car as she drove through a security checkpoint, he said. The third, 'surgeon Talaat Amer was killed while he was at the hospital on July 15 in a blue surgical gown to perform his duty', Dr Obeid said. 'They shot him in the head. Then they called his wife and told her: your husband was wearing a surgical cap – it's red now.' AFP
Int'l Business Times
18-07-2025
- Health
- Int'l Business Times
'Mass Grave': Medics Appeal For Aid At Last Working Hospital In Syria's Sweida
In the last barely-functional hospital in Sweida, bodies are overflowing from the morgue, staff said, amid violence that has wracked the Druze-majority southern Syrian city for nearly a week. "It's not a hospital anymore, it's a mass grave," said Rouba, a member of the medical staff at the city's sole government hospital, weeping as she appealed for aid. Dr Omar Obeid, who heads the Sweida division at Syria's Order of Physicians, said the facility has received "more than 400 bodies since Monday morning", including women, children and the elderly. "There's no more space in the morgue, the bodies are out on the street" in front of the hospital, he continued. Fighting erupted Sunday night between Druze fighters and local Bedouin tribes before Syrian government forces intervened on Tuesday with the stated intention of quelling the violence. But in the subsequent events, those government forces were accused of grave abuses against the minority, according to rights organisations, witnesses and Druze groups. The government forces withdrew from the city on Thursday following threats from Israel, which has vowed to protect the Druze. In the hospital on Friday, corridors were engulfed by the stench of the dead bodies, which had bloated beyond recognition, an AFP correspondent said. Visibly overwhelmed, the handful of medical personnel remaining at the facility nonetheless rushed to do their best to offer care to the seemingly endless stream of wounded, many of them waiting in the hallways. "There are only nine doctors and medical staff left, and they are working nonstop," said Rouba, who preferred not to give her full name. "The situation is very bad, we have no water and no electricity, medicines are starting to run out," Rouba continued. "There are people who have been at home for three days and we can't manage to rescue them," she said. "The bodies are on the streets and no one can go out to get them. Yesterday, five big cars filled with bodies arrived at the hospital. "There are women, children, people whose identities are unknown, cut-off arms or legs." The United Nations on Friday urged an end to the bloodshed, demanding "independent, prompt and transparent investigations into all violations". According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the violence has claimed the lives of nearly 600 people since Sunday. Omar Obeid told AFP that three of his colleagues were killed, including one who was "shot dead in his house, in front of his family". Another was killed at point-blank range in her car as she drove through a security checkpoint, he said. The third, "surgeon Talaat Amer was killed while he was at the hospital on Tuesday in a blue surgical gown to perform his duty", Obeid said. "They shot him in the head. Then they called his wife and told her: your husband was wearing a surgical cap -- it's red now."
L'Orient-Le Jour
18-07-2025
- Health
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Private hospitals ask for State help
Several representatives of the Lebanese private hospital sector called on the state Thursday to support institutions they describe as being at the end of their rope. After six years of crisis and war, also marked by the deadly explosion that destroyed much of Beirut and its port on Aug. 4, 2020, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic. "It's not just restaurants and hotels that are suffering, as we hear in the media [...] If a restaurant closes, ten others open right after. But if a hospital closes, 400 people are sent home, and no other hospital opens in its place," said Rima Bikhazi, director of Bikhazi Medical Group. It was at this facility in the Hamra district that the president of the Order of Physicians Elias Shlela, the president of the Hospital Owners' Syndicate Pierre Yared, and Abir Kurdi, president of the Order of Nurses, presented the sector's difficulties and grievances. The medical director of Bikhazi Medical Group also shared his testimony. "We call on the state [...] to think of us," insisted Bikhazi, calling for the development of a comprehensive support plan for private hospitals, in order to "protect a Lebanese medical system in danger." In addition to the cost of the destruction caused by Israeli bombings in South Lebanon, the Bekaa and also some parts of Beirut, and by the port explosion, other issues cited were: the price of energy, rising costs of medical supplies and medications, and the departure of part of the medical workforce from the country. "These are problems that have been going on for years," agreed Pierre Yared, who was elected a few weeks ago as head of the syndicate. The participants all made the same observation. They affirm that, "contrary to popular belief," in the words of Yared, hospitals face ever-increasing costs, which threatens their ability to invest in quality equipment, retain their most skilled staff, and replace those who have been poached abroad in recent years, both doctors and nurses, as emphasized by Shlela and Abir Kurdi. Shlela noted that the crisis had led to the appearance of medical deserts and warned that some doctors living in rural areas had also suffered heavily from the consequences of the crisis and war. Kurdi, for her part, explained that the departure of the most experienced nurses had also affected hospitals' ability to train their potential replacements. "The nurses who left have not been replaced," she added. Insurers were particularly singled out for "delays in payments" of several months for services covered by their clients' policies, which throws hospital finances out of balance. Contacted by L'Orient Today, the president of the Association of Insurance Companies of Lebanon (ACAL), Assad Mirza, said this problem was not systemic and affected only certain companies, with which hospitals are free to cut ties. Yared emphasized that his syndicate wants to address the situation directly and has begun a tour of officials, which started in Baabda with a visit to President Joseph Aoun, who expressed his support. He also urged Economy Minister Amer Bisat to strengthen oversight of insurers, since the Insurance Control Commission is attached to this ministry. Channels of discussion have also been opened with the management of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to review hospitalization rates, in order to obtain a uniform and up-to-date database, which would avoid disagreements with insurance companies over certain rates and how they are covered. Participants also asked the state to subsidize energy costs for hospitals, whether for fuel bills consumed by private generators or electricity paid to Électricité du Liban (EDL), to also subsidize medical supplies and medications, by reducing customs duties, and to open up access to subsidized loans so hospitals can renew their medical equipment.
