1000+ unique media and news posts every 24 hours…
Palestinian officials say at least 29 people were killed, including four medical staff, when Israeli attacks ravaged the area around one of the last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza.
Palestinian officials say at least 29 people were killed, including four medical staff, when Israeli attacks ravaged the area around one of the last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza.
Elsewhere in the region, Lebanon said it is closing all its land border crossings with Syria except the main one connecting Beirut to the Syrian capital Damascus. Jordan also closed a border crossing with Syria due to the security situation on the Syrian side.
Syrian rebels have done that entered the central cities of Rastan and Talbiseh, just north of the central city of Homs, bringing them closer to Syria’s third largest city. A day earlier, jihadist-led opposition fighters captured the central city of Hamathe fourth largest in Syria.
Israel’s war against Hamas has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million people, often multiple times. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. and taking about 250 people hostage.
Israel’s blistering retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,600 PalestiniansMore than half were women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were fighters. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
___
Here’s the latest:
BEIRUT – The Syrian army withdrew from much of the south Syria On Saturday, more parts of the country, including two provincial capitals, came under the control of opposition fighters, the military and an opposition war monitor said.
The realignment away from Daraa and Sweida provinces came as the Syrian army sent large numbers of reinforcements to defend the main central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as insurgents approached the suburbs.
The rapid advance of the insurgents marks a stunning turnaround in Syria’s fortunes President Bashar Assadwhich appears to be largely alone, with former allies engaged in other conflicts.
Its main international backer, Russia, is busy with its war in Ukraine, and Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to bolster its forces, has been weakened by years of conflict with Israel. Iran, meanwhile, has seen its allies across the region deteriorated by regular Israeli airstrikes.
JERUSALEM – Israeli security forces killed a Palestinian man Saturday morning after he attacked them at a border crossing in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, police said.
The man shot fireworks at security forces at the checkpoint and threatened them with a knife, the police statement said. According to an Associated Press reporter, the man was wearing a T-shirt with a symbol of the Islamic State militant group.
Israeli fire at least 700 Palestinians killed in the West Bank since the war between Israel and Hamas began last year, Palestinian health officials said. During that time, Palestinian militants have carried out a number of attacks on soldiers at checkpoints and in Israel.
DOHA, Qatar – Qatar’s prime minister says he has seen new momentum in efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza since the US presidential election, with the new Trump administration seeking an end to the conflict before she comes to power.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a key mediator in the ceasefire, declined to give details of the negotiations but told an international conference in Doha that the differences between the sides are not major.
Qatar, which has served as a mediator during the 14-month war, suspended its efforts last month in frustration at the lack of progress. But Sheikh Mohammed said his government has taken action again in recent days after both sides noted a new willingness to reach an agreement.
“We felt after the elections that the momentum is coming back,” he told the Doha Forum on Saturday.
He said he has been in contact with both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration and found that while there are some differences in approach, both are pursuing the same goal: ending the war.
“We have seen a lot of encouragement from the new government to reach an agreement even before the president comes to office,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
He declined to discuss details, saying he wanted to “protect the process” but expressed hope for a deal “as soon as possible.”
“If you look at the gaps and the disagreements, they are not something substantial that really affects the agreement,” he said.
CAIRO – At least 29 people were killed, including four medical staff, when Israeli attacks ravaged the area around one of the last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza, Palestinian officials said.
1000+ unique media and news posts every 24 hours…