Author: Middle east Editor

Humanitarian aid to North Gaza, where Israel launched a ground offensive on October 6, has largely been blocked for the past 66 days, the United Nations said on Tuesday. That has left between 65,000 and 75,000 Palestinians without access to food, water, electricity or health care, according to the UN. In the north, Israel has continued its siege on Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya with Palestinians living there largely denied aid, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. Recently, it said, about 5,500 people were forcibly displaced from three schools in Beit Lahiya to Gaza…

Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of Syria’s main Islamist rebel group, has announced plans to publicly name senior officials from Bashar al-Assad’s regime who were involved in the torture of political prisoners. He also stated that rewards will be offered for information about army and security officers accused of committing war crimes.

Israeli warplanes have carried out extensive air strikes across Syria, including in the capital, Damascus, according to Syrian state media and monitoring groups. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that more than 100 strikes targeted military facilities over the past two days.

The White Helmets, Syria’s renowned rescue group, announced the conclusion of their search for hidden cells or detainees at the notorious Saydnaya military prison. The operation, which involved K9 units and experts familiar with the facility, did not uncover any concealed areas or detainees.  

Hundreds of Syrian refugees gathered at two border crossings in southern Turkey on Monday, as they attempt to make their return home following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Videos shared on social media showed the refugees waiting at the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar border gates on Monday, which correspond to the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salameh gates on the Syrian side of the border. Many arrived with their belongings, and were draped in blankets and coats. Others camped by border barriers, warming themselves with makeshift fires. One Syrian interviewed by Turkish media said that he was “very happy” that he is…

Christopher Doyle talks about the one thing that’s even more important than supplying humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali said Sunday he was ready to “cooperate” with any leadership chosen by the people, after rebels said “tyrant” President Bashar al-Assad had fled the country. The leader of the Islamist Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, ordered forces not to approach official institutions in Damascus, saying they would remain under the prime minister until they were “officially” handed over. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions have pressed a lightning offensive since November 27, sweeping swathes of the country from regime control, including major cities Aleppo, Hama and Homs. Provinces in the…

Syrian state television aired a video statement by a group of men saying that president Bashar Assad has been overthrown and all detainees in jails have been set free.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said early on Sunday that the government is ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government. “I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country,” Mr Jalili said in a video statement. He said he would go to his office to continue work in the morning and called on Syrian citizens not to deface public property. He did not address reports that president Bashar Assad had left the country. The announcement comes as the…

After 24 years, the bloody rule of Syria’s ruler Assad apparently ends this Sunday. He is said to have already left the country. His head of government wants to give up power. The rebels are already calling on Syrian refugees to return to a “free Syria”. In view of the advance of Islamist fighters into the Syrian capital Damascus, Prime Minister Mohamed al-Jalali has declared his willingness to hand over power on Sunday. He is ready to hand over the reins of government to “any leadership that determines the Syrian people” and is ready for any process for the transfer…

In Sednaya, the Assad regime imprisoned and tortured thousands of people. Now the militias want to have liberated the notorious prison, and the first video recordings are circulating online. Syria: Syrian militias report liberation of Sednaya torture prison

The Syrian government appeared to have fallen early on Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a lightning rebel offensive.

The Syrian government appeared to have fallen early on Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a lightning rebel offensive. The head of a Syrian opposition war monitor said president Bashar Assad had left the country for an undisclosed location, fleeing ahead of insurgents who said they had entered Damascus after a stunning advance across the country. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said the government was ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government. “I am in my house and I have not…

The head of a Syrian opposition war monitor says Syria’s President Bashar Assad has left the country to an undisclosed location. Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told The Associated Press that Mr Assad took a flight from Damascus early on Sunday. Mr Abdurrahman’s comments came after Syrian insurgents said they had entered Damascus, capping a stunning advance across the country, as residents of the capital reported sounds of gunfire and explosions. There was no immediate statement from the Syrian government. The insurgents also announced they had entered the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital…

Syrian insurgents said early on Sunday they had entered Damascus as residents of the capital reported sounds of gunfire. There was no immediate official statement from the Syrian government. The insurgents also announced they had entered the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital and “liberated our prisoners” there. The night before, opposition forces had taken the central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as government forces abandoned it. The government denied rumours that president Bashar Assad had fled the country. The loss of Homs represented a potentially crippling blow for Mr Assad. It stands at an important intersection…

The Syrian regime lost control Friday of the symbolic southern city of Daraa and most of the eponymous province, which was the cradle of the country’s 2011 uprising, a war monitor said. “Local factions have taken control of more areas in Daraa province, including Daraa city… They now control more than 90 percent of the province, as regime forces successively pulled out,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Syrian government loses control of southern city of Daraa In Daraa province, only the Sanamayn area is still in government hands, Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the British-based monitor with a…

Outgoing US administration fears revenge attacks against critics like former Republican legislator Liz Cheney.US President Joe Biden is considering whether to issue blanket pardons for current and former public officials who risk being targeted by President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration. The president has discussed the preemptive measure against potential revenge attacks with senior aides, but no decisions have yet been taken, according to sources who spoke anonymously to The Associated Press and Reuters news agencies on Thursday. The discussion picked up steam after Trump tapped Kash Patel, who has promised retribution against critics of the president-elect, for the role of…

Turkey hosts over three million Syrian refugees, many of whom are from Aleppo [Getty/file photo]Turkey said on Wednesday it expects many of the three million Syrian refugees currently on its soil to make steps toward their returns if rebels hold the city of Aleppo, which last week they seized from Damascus’ control. But a government minister cautioned the time may not yet be ripe for large scale population movements to Aleppo. “We know those from Aleppo love Aleppo very much. We meet them and they are extremely enthusiastic,” said Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. “But to those who say they…

Amnesty International has issued a powerful report accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The report, titled “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman”: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, is based on months of research, including witness testimonies, analysis of satellite imagery, and statements by Israeli officials.

Last Wednesday, Abbas suddenly announced that the Palestinian National Council chairman, Rawhi Fattouh, would be his temporary replacement if the position should become vacant. [Getty]Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip have differing opinions over Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s presidential decree that announced Palestinian National Council chairman, Rawhi Fattouh, as his successor. Speaking to The New Arab, several Palestinians have argued that Abbas does have a role to play to end the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, even if his actions may violate Palestinian laws. “In Gaza, nothing is adopting the law, and none of the Palestinian factions, including Hamas, abided…

Truong My Lan’s life could still be spared if she pays back three-quarters of the assets she embezzled.A Vietnamese court has rejected a real estate tycoon’s appeal, upholding the death sentence handed down for the embezzlement of $12bn. The court in Ho Chi Minh City ruled against Truong My Lan’s appeal in the case, which has raised concerns over the impact on the country’s economy due to the huge sums involved. The High People’s Court determined there was no basis to reduce Lan’s death sentence, local media reported. However, it also said that the sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment…

Israeli raids in the West Bank killed at least four Palestinians in Jenin [Getty/file photo]The Palestinian health ministry said the Israeli army killed four Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, as Israel’s violence in the Palestinian territories intensifies. The ministry updated the death toll from two earlier on Sunday, saying four people were killed “due to the occupation’s aggression on the village of Siir, Jenin district”, referring to Israel. The Palestinian Red Crescent said earlier on Sunday that Israeli forces had been “preventing our teams from reaching the bombing site” near Siir. “In the morning, the planes came…

Israel’s former defence minister Moshe Yaalon accuses Israel of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, sparking an outcry in the country. Yaalon, 74, was the head of the Israeli army between 2002 and 2005, just before Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. “The road we are being led down is conquest, annexation and ethnic cleansing,” Yaalon said in an interview on the private Democrat TV channel, which has since seen its funding dropped. Israeli Genocide in Gaza Divisions have crept in over the ICC arrest warrant Yaalon accuses Israel of ethnic cleansing Pressed on the “ethnic cleansing” appraisal, he continued: “What is…

Kosovo PM blames Serbia for explosion at canal supplying power plants as huge blast cuts off crucial water supplies to two plants, with fears much of the country could be left without power. Kosovo PM blames Serbia for explosion at canal supplying power plants A canal in Kosovo feeding two power plants that generate most of the nation’s electricity has been damaged in an explosion, with the prime minister calling it a “terrorist attack” by neighbouring Serbia. The incident occurred on Friday near the town of Zubin Potok in the north of the country, about 16km (10 miles) from the…

As part of its aid to Lebanon, Iraq will continue to supply oil for power generation. [Getty]Iraq reaffirmed its commitment to aiding Lebanon and Gaza in the aftermath of the recently brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Government spokesperson Basim al-Awadi described Iraq’s role as “pivotal and fundamental” in facilitating the ceasefire, which he called a critical step toward avoiding broader conflict in the region. Speaking to Iraq’s state television, Al-Iraqiya News, al-Awadi said, “The ceasefire in Lebanon is an important step that has steered us away from a full-scale war. It will also serve as a foundation for a ceasefire…