Latest news with #militaryoperations
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
US did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria, State Dept says
Bruce declined to say whether Washington supports Israel carrying out such military operations when it deems necessary. The United States did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria, the State Department said on Thursday, adding that Washington made clear its displeasure after tensions escalated and worked quickly to stop it. On Wednesday, Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus, while also hitting government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze - part of a small but influential minority that also has followers in Lebanon and Israel. "Regarding Israel's intervention and activity ... the United States did not support recent Israeli strikes," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters at a regular news briefing. "We are engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between the two sovereign states." Bruce declined to say whether Washington supports Israel carrying out such military operations when it deems necessary. "I won't speak to future conversations or past ones. What we're dealing with now is this particular episode, what was required, and I think we've been very clear about our displeasure, certainly that the president has, and we've worked very quickly to have it stopped," she said. US condemned violence in Syria She added that the United States condemns violence in Syria and said Washington was actively engaging all constituencies in Syria to navigate toward calm and continued discussions on integration and called on the Syrian government to lead the path forward. Solve the daily Crossword
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Israel orders central Gaza evacuations as ceasefire talks stall
The Israeli military published new evacuation warnings for areas of central Gaza on Sunday, in one of the few areas where the military has rarely operated with ground troops. The evacuation cuts access between the city of Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow enclave. The announcement comes as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that expanding Israeli military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas to negotiate, but negotiations have been stalled for months. Earlier this month, the Israeli military said it controlled more than 65 per cent of the Gaza Strip. Also on Sunday, 65 Palestinians were killed, many while attempting to seek aid, according to local hospitals. Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiyah told the Associated Press that the hospital since Sunday morning had received 48 people who were killed and 150 who were wounded while seeking aid from trucks expected to enter Gaza from the Zikim Crossing, on the northern border between Gaza and Israel. He confirmed that at least 40 people of those killed were fatally shot. It is unclear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs or both. However, that death toll is likely to increase, said Abu Selmiyah. In southern Gaza, Nasser hospital said 17 Palestinians were killed and 69 wounded around aid distribution sites in the southern city of Rafah. The area of Gaza under the evacuation order is where many international organizations attempting to distribute aid are located. The United Nations has been in contact with the Israeli authorities to clarify whether UN facilities in southwestern Deir al-Balah are included in Sunday's evacuation order, according to a UN official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The official said in previous instances UN facilities were spared from evacuation orders. The evacuation announcement reaches from a previously evacuated area all the way to the coast and will severely hamper movement for aid groups and civilians in Gaza. Military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned that the military will attack 'with intensity' against militants. He called for residents, including those sheltering in tents, to head to the Muwasi area, a desolate tent camp on Gaza's southern shore that the Israeli military has designated a humanitarian zone. Pope Leo also called for an end to the 'barbarity of war' on Sunday as he spoke of his profound pain over an Israeli strike on the sole Catholic church in Gaza after three people died and several were injured on Thursday. 'I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, of indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population,' he said. Israeli strike on Gaza church kills at least three, wounds priest who was close to Pope Francis Catholic and Greek Orthodox leaders enter Gaza, express solidarity after Israeli strike on church Gaza's population of more than 2 million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Hamas triggered the 21-month war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain, but fewer than half are thought to be alive. Israel's military offensive that followed has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many militants are among the dead but says more than half of the dead have been women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government but the UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organization that represents many of the families of hostages, condemned the evacuation announcement and demanded that Netanyahu and the Israeli military explain what they hope to accomplish in the area of central Gaza, accusing Israel of operating without a clear war plan. 'Enough! The Israeli people overwhelmingly want an end to the fighting and a comprehensive agreement that will return all of the hostages,' the forum said. On Saturday night, during the weekly protest, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Tel Aviv to the branch of the U.S. Embassy, demonstrating for an end to the war. On Sunday morning, ambulances in front of three major hospitals in Gaza sounded their alarms simultaneously in an urgent appeal to shed light on the hunger crisis in the territory. The health ministry posted pictures on social media of doctors holding paper signs about malnourished children and lack of medication. Zaher al-Wahidi, one of the spokespeople at the health ministry, said that at least nine children under 5 years old have died of malnutrition as of Sunday since the Israel's imposed aid entry blockade in March. He explained that tracking the number of people dying of starvation is hard because some could be suffering from other medical conditions that could be worsened when compounded with severe hunger. In northern Gaza, Shifa Hospital director Abu Selmiyah said that the hospital recorded 79 people who died of malnutrition in the past month. Israeli bombardments continued to pound the Gaza Strip overnight. Large explosions in northern Gaza were visible from Israel as plumes of fire shot into the sky. With a report from Reuters
Fox News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Evening Edition: Israeli Airstrikes Target Syrian Military Sites
Israel launching airstrikes in Syria, specifically in the southern Druze city of Suwayda but also in the capital of Damascus, as brutal fighting between Syrian government forces and local armed groups increases. It is a significant escalation of military operations in Syria as Israel has said they are committed to protecting the Druze minority and maintaining a demilitarized zone at it's border with Syria. Following the airstrikes, word of a possible peace deal between Israel and Syria have emerged but will it end the fighting? FOX's Eben Brown speaks with Ahmad Shawari, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on Middle East affairs, who says the possibilities of peace could be far down the road since the Syrian revolution may not even be over just yet. Click Here To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
BreakingNews.ie
16-07-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Clashes rage in Syrian city as Israel launches strike on Damascus
Clashes have raged in the Syrian city of Sweida after a ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups collapsed and as Israel threatened to escalate its involvement. The Israeli army said that it struck near the entrance to the Syrian Ministry of Defence in Damascus. Advertisement Israel has launched a series of air strikes on convoys of government forces in southern Syria since the clashes erupted and has beefed up forces on the border, saying that it is acting to protect the Druze religious minority. Syria's Defence Ministry had earlier blamed militias in Sweida for violating a ceasefire agreement that had been reached on Tuesday, causing Syrian army soldiers to return fire and continue military operations in the Druze-majority province. 'Military forces continue to respond to the source of fire inside the city of Sweida, while adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents, prevent harm, and ensure the safe return of those who left the city back to their homes,' the statement said. Government soldiers stand next to confiscated items stolen during clashes in Sweida city (Omar Albam/AP) A rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups ousted Syria's long-time despotic leader Bashar Assad in December, bringing an end to a nearly 14-year civil war. Since then, the country's new rulers have struggled to consolidate control over the territory. Advertisement The primarily Sunni Muslim leaders have faced suspicion from religious and ethnic minorities. The fears of minorities increased after clashes between government forces and pro-Assad armed groups in March spiralled into sectarian revenge attacks in which hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority, to which Assad belongs, were killed. The latest escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province. Government forces that intervened to restore order have also clashed with the Druze while reports have surfaced of members of the security forces carrying out extra-judicial killings, looting and burning civilian homes. Advertisement No official casualty figures have been released since Monday, when the Syrian Interior Ministry said 30 people had been killed. The UK-based war monitor, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said more than 250 people had been killed as of Wednesday morning, including four children, five women and 138 soldiers and security forces. The observatory said at least 21 people were killed in 'field executions'. The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Israeli soldiers stand guard as Syrian Druze protest near the Israeli-Syrian border (Leo Correa/AP) More than half the roughly one million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed in 1981. Advertisement In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the military. In Syria, the Druze have been divided over how to deal with the country's new leaders, with some advocating for integrating into the new system while others have remained suspicious of the authorities in Damascus and pushed for an autonomous Druze region. On Wednesday, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the Israeli army 'will continue to attack regime forces until they withdraw from the area — and will also soon raise the bar of responses against the regime if the message is not understood'.
Washington Post
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Israel threatens to escalate involvement in Syria as a ceasefire collapses
DAMASCUS, Syria — Clashes raged in the southern Syrian city of Sweida on Wednesday after a ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups collapsed and Israel threatened to escalate its involvement in support of the Druze religious minority. Syria's Defense Ministry blamed militias in Sweida for violating a ceasefire agreement that had been reached Tuesday, causing Syrian army soldiers to return fire and continue military operations in the Druze-majority province.
