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☆ Rafah airstrikes: Israeli attacks kill more than 100 in Rafah as international alarm mounts over anticipated ground offensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Smoke billows during Israeli bombardment over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2024. In a statement Monday, Hamas condemned what it said was a “horrific massacre” by Israel against civilians in Rafah. ‘The dead are better than us’For the more than one million Palestinians in the southern city, the expected push into Rafah is causing alarm and fear. Rafah is the last major population center in Gaza not occupied by the Israeli military. Olfat Hamdan said she had witnessed dead bodies on the streets of Gaza City, noting that “nobody was able to drag them or move them.”“What have I seen?

Persons: Abu Yousef Al, Rafah’s, Fernando Simon Marman, Louis Har, Nir Yitzhak, Smoke, Said Khatib, Danial Hagari, …, Jens Laerke, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Stéphane Dujarric, Israel’s, Netanyahu, Joe Biden “, Israel, ” Netanyahu, We’re, ”, ‘, ” Mohammad Jamal Abu, Khan Younis, El, ” Mahmoud Khalil Amer, Al, Tal, ” Abdul Kareem Al, Qaseer, Olfat Hamdan Organizations: CNN, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Najjar Hospital, Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency Shin Bet, Police, Getty, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Human Rights, United Nations, UN, United Kingdom, Sunday, UN’s Security, Maxar Technologies, ABC News, IDF, “, Hamas, of Health Locations: Palestine, Gazan, Rafah, Shaboura, Gaza, AFP, Sheba Tel Hashomer, Israel, Israeli, Hamas’s, ”, Aqsa, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United, Saudi, Gaza City, Al Shati, “, People, Tal El Hawa, Khan

☆ Five-year-old Palestinian girl found dead after being trapped in car with dead relatives
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Abeer Salman | Khader Al Za Anoun | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A 5-year-old Palestinian girl who was trapped in a car with her dead relatives after it came under Israeli fire in Gaza last month has been found dead. “The occupation deliberately targeted the Red Crescent crew despite obtaining prior coordination to allow the ambulance to reach the location to rescue the girl Hind,” read the statement. Soon after the incident, CNN gave the Israeli military details about the incident last Friday, including coordinates provided by the Palestine Red Crescent Society. We’re in the car, the tank is right next to us,” Layan screams, amid intense gunfire in the background. Alone, terrified and trapped in the car with the bodies of her relatives around her, Hind made a desperate call for help.

Persons: Hind Rajab, Tal Al, Khader Al Za’anoun, PRCS, Hind, ”, Hamadeh, ” Layan, Layan, “, Wissam Hamada Organizations: CNN, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Israeli Army, Red Crescent, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Gaza, Palestine, Gaza City, Palestinian

☆ Israeli Tanks Renew Push Towards Biggest Hospital Still Working in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

GAZA/DOHA/TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israeli tanks on Friday mounted a new push into southern Gaza's main city, which is sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven there by Israeli bombardment, once more approaching the enclave's biggest functioning hospital. Twelve people were killed in Israeli strikes on a residential building near the largely non-functioning Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in the north of the enclave, Palestinian health officials said. Israeli forces have made limited withdrawals from northern Gaza this month, saying operations there were largely complete. But Palestinians in the southern Gaza City suburb of Tel Al-Hawa said Israeli tanks pushed back into the neighbourhood, forcing people taking shelter in some schools there to evacuate and head south. The Islamic Jihad militant group said it had fought with Israeli forces in the Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi refugee camps in central Gaza and in Khan Younis, while Hamas's armed wing said its fighters had clashed with Israeli forces in several areas across Gaza overnight and on Friday morning.

Persons: Khan Younis, Hawa, Benjamin Netanyahu, NETANYAHU, Netanyahu, Matthew Miller, A'Hed's, Hani Bseiso, Bseiso, Nidal al, Ibraheem Abu, Henriette Chacar, Kevin Liffey, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Reuters, Hospital, Nasser Hospital, Shifa, Islamic Jihad, . State Department, UNICEF Locations: GAZA, DOHA, TEL AVIV, Gaza's, Gaza, Gaza City, Tel Al, United States, Israel, Jordan, That's, Tel Aviv, Palestinian, Gaza . Washington, Al, Mughrabi, Doha, Ibraheem, Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

The documentary, which will air this Sunday on “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper,” exposes an RSF-led campaign to enslave men and women in El Geneina, the largest city controlled by the paramilitary group in Sudan’s Darfur region. Several former Darfuri abductees told CNN that fighters from the RSF and their Arab militia allies hurled racist abuse at them during their captivity. ‘They flogged us with whips’Another woman told CNN she and the female members of her family were raped in captivity for four days. Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/ReutersCNN also found evidence of the enslavement of males as part of the attack on El Geneina. They felt his biceps because they said they “wanted a strong one,” he told CNN.

Persons: Chad CNN — Mahdi, “, ” Mahdi, “ I’d crouch, –, Anderson Cooper, ”, Zohra Bensemra, El Geneina, Wagner —, Khalid, Alex Platt, —, Mahdi, abductees, Raghm, ’ ”, ’, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Wagner Organizations: Chad CNN, CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Red Cross, Reuters, Chadian, El, Industrial School, Strategic Initiative, Women, Unit, CNN Rights, Darfur —, Human Rights, Reuters CNN Locations: Chad, West Darfur, El, El Geneina, Darfur, Sudan's Darfur, Ourang, Adre, Russian, Sudan —, Sudan, Horn of Africa, Khartoum, “

☆ A UNESCO World Heritage site with thousands of people living inside it
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Shalbha Sarda | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

It's life as usual in Jaisalmer Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that thousands of people call home. Jaisalmer Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Rajasthan, India. But today, the fort attracts other types of outsiders – hundreds of thousands of travelers who come to the location, which was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013, along with five other forts in Rajasthan. But unlike the others, Jaisalmer Fort boasts a royal palace as well as public temples, shops, hotels, cafes and homes. Struggles of a 'living fort'But Jaisalmer Fort's status as a "living fort" isn't without consequence, said heritage specialist Kavita Jain.

Persons: Chaitanya Raj Singh, Sanjay Vasu, Didier Marti, Vasu, King Rawal Jaisal, Kavita Jain, Asheesh Srivastava, Shri Girdhar Smarak, Srivastava Organizations: UNESCO, Heritage, Indian National Trust for Art, Cultural Heritage Locations: Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan, India, Jaisalmer, Pakistan

☆ Israeli defense minister says people in Gaza can end the war faster by killing Hamas leader themselves
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called on people in Gaza to kill the Hamas leader themselves. AdvertisementAdvertisementIsrael's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that people in Gaza could end Israel's invasion sooner by killing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar themselves. Sinwar, who helped found Hamas' security apparatus, was elected to be the group's leader in the Gaza Strip in 2017. AdvertisementAdvertisementBefore taking on his role as Hamas leader, Sinwar spent over two decades in an Israeli prison for the murder of two Israeli soldiers and Palestinians he viewed as collaborators. He pledged that at the end of the war "there will be no more Hamas in Gaza.

Persons: Yoav Gallant, Yahya Sinwar, Israel, Gallant, —, Gallat, Sinwar, Mustafa Dalul, Sabra Tel Organizations: Israel's, Service, Hawa Battalion, Israel's Defense Forces Locations: Gaza, Israel

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghans fleeing Pakistan to avoid arrest and deportation are sleeping in the open, without proper shelter, food, drinking water and toilets once they cross the border to their homeland, aid agencies said Sunday. Pakistan set Oct.31 as a deadline to leave the country or else they'd be arrested as part of a new anti-migrant crackdown. Afghans leave Pakistan from two main border crossings, Torkham and Chaman. The Taliban say they have committees working “around the clock” to help Afghans by distributing food, water and blankets. Concerns have risen among the humanitarian community about the impoverished country being unable to support or integrate those currently forced to leave Pakistan.

Persons: Torkham, Kayal Mohammad, Hawa, ”, “, ” Thamindri Da Silva, Arshad Malik, ” Malik, Pope Francis Organizations: Associated Press, “ Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Peshawar

A spokesman for the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Israeli forces had struck the camp overnight, killing at least 47 people. In a separate attack, 21 Palestinians from one family, including women and children, were killed in strikes overnight, the health ministry said. 'NO WORDS'"We demand that you stop them from committing these crimes immediately," Abbas told Blinken, urging an "immediate ceasefire" from Israel. The Palestinian health ministry said three Palestinians were killed in the incident, which it described as clashes with Israeli forces. Another Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Hebron, the ministry said.

Persons: Gazans, Mahmoud Abbas, Antony Blinken, Jonathan, Saeed al, Abbas, Blinken, WAFA, Israel, Pope Francis, Matthew Miller, Mohammed Salem, Benjamin Netanyahu, Crescent, Gaza's Tal Al, David Satterfield, Cindy McCain, Mc Cain, Abu Dis, Nidal al, Ali Sawafta, Simon Lewis, Dan Williams, Yusri Mohamed, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Clauda Tanos, Michael Perry, Ingrid Melander, William Mallard, Alexander Smith, Conor Humphries Organizations: U.S, West Bank, Israel, U.S . State Department, Gaza, Reuters, United Arab Emirates, Hamas, REUTERS, Palestinian, Food, Thomson Locations: GAZA, RAMALLAH, Egypt, Ramallah, Israel, Rafah, Gaza, U.S, Qatar, Saudi, Jordan, Amman, United States, Palestinian, Al, Quds, Gaza's, Gaza City, Jerusalem, Hebron, Ismailia, Cairo

CNN —Israeli ground forces are closing in on Gaza City, the largest and most densely packed population center in the Palestinian enclave, satellite imagery and videos from open and official sources suggest. “IDF forces encircle Gaza from the air, land and sea, surrounding the city of Gaza and its surroundings,” Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said on Friday. Satellite imagery and footage have also shown Israeli forces on Salah al-Din Road, a highway running the length of the strip, seemingly blocking anyone still in Gaza City from moving south. The urban area encompassing Gaza City is home to nearly 2 million people living in an 88-square-mile expanse, which equates to about 21,000 people per square mile. A man sits on debris as Palestinians conduct a search and rescue operation after the second bombardment to the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, on November 1.

Persons: ” Daniel Hagari, “, Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, –, Salah al, Yousif Al Saifi, Israel, Ali Jadallah, Benjamin Netanyahu, Miri Eisin, ” Eisin, Al, Beit Hanoun, Qassam, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Israel Ziv, ”, Dr, Abu, Sittah, Tal Al, Katie Polglase, Andrew Carey, Tamar Michaelis, Allegra Goodwin, Mike Pratt Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Hamas, European Space Agency, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Getty, Qassam Brigades, Tanks, Al, Quds Hospital, Palestinian Red Crescent Society Locations: Gaza City, Gaza, Gaza’s, Beit Hanoun, Ramallah, Israel, Anadolu, Wadi Gaza, Miri, Israeli, Al Shati, Beit, Al, Quds, Hawa

☆ Surgery without drugs, patients piling up: Gaza’s hospitals overwhelmed as power run out
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —In Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, a dazed and drowsy woman sits on the floor with a bleeding leg. “The situation in hospitals is miserable… (it) makes you weep,” Rajaa Musleh, a 50-year-old woman sheltering at Al-Shifa, told CNN on Thursday. ‘Overloaded’Hospital staff are exhausted, Dr. Alaa Shitali, a medical officer at Al-Shifa’s emergency department, told CNN Tuesday. “And the doctors are left to treat them with limited pain control, (as they are) running out of anesthetic drugs.” she told CNN. Hospitals in the besieged and heavily battered enclave are “hanging by a thread,” the UN said Monday, adding that around 10 hospitals in Gaza are still operational.

Persons: Rajaa, ”, Musleh, Mustafa Hassona, Alaa, “, Shitali, Tanya Haj, Hassan, Gaza’s, Israel, Sobhi Skaik, Skaik, Khan, Ahmad Hasaballah, Atef Al Kahlout, Ali Jadallah, Bashar Morad, Morad, ” Morad, ” Musleh Organizations: CNN, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, UN’s, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Getty, Palestinian Ministry of Health, ’ Hospital, Al, of Health, Nasser Medical Hospital, Israel Defense Forces, Care International, Quds Hospital, The, Care, UN, Palestinian, Crescent, Palestinian Red Crescent Society Locations: Al, Gaza, Anadolu, Ramallah, Gaza City, Israel, Turkish, Palestinian, Hamas, Khan Younis, GAZA, Quds, Tel al, The Geneva

A screengrab taken from video shows ruins of the Saqallah family compound after the blast on October 19. A view of the Saqallah family compound before the strike. From left, Doctors Omar Saqallah, Saed Saqallah and Ameed Saqallah were among the 42 relatives killed on October 19. They’re just ordinary people: doctors and grandmothers and grandfathers and uncles and aunts and children,” Abu Shaban said. Until the killing stops, Abu Shaban says his family still reels: “I’m still in this nightmare.

Persons: Tariq Hamouda, Manal, it’s, they’re, Hamouda, Tariq Hamouda “, ” Hamouda, ”, Tariq Hamouda Israel, Eyad Abu Shaban, “, “ It’s, ” Abu Shaban, Essam Abu Shaban, Layla Saqallah, Ahmed, Abu Shaban, –, Omar Saqallah, Saed, Ameed Saqallah, Tariq, – Saed, Omar, Ameed, Khorsheed, Sen, Amy Klobuchar’s, “ We’ve, haven’t Organizations: CNN, Palestinian, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian Ministry of Health, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Boca, Community, Islamic Locations: Gaza, Maple Grove , Minnesota, Israel, Sheikh Ejleen, Gaza City, Hamouda, Israeli, Minnesota, Ramallah, South Florida, Tel El Hawa, Boca Raton, Grove, Brooklyn, Amy Klobuchar’s Minnesota

Palestinians walking among the rubble in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City on Monday. As the Israeli tanks started rolling near Gaza City on Monday, the whispers began to spread — terrifying in their specificity, terrifying in their vagueness. I don’t want them to go through this.”Israel has warned for weeks that civilians in northern Gaza, including those in Gaza City, should evacuate south to avoid the violence. The New York Times has verified that the video was filmed this morning south of Gaza City on Salah Al-Din Road. “They call us directly and they warn us, telling us to leave and evacuate now, but the bombardments are relentless,” Ms. ElSayed told Al Jazeera.

Persons: Motaz, hunkered, Salah Al, Youssef Al Saifi, Hamda, Mr, Israel, ” Bilal Assabti, “, Daniel Hagari, Jamal Azzam, ”, Assabti, “ We’ve, Youmna ElSayed, ElSayed, Ms, Al Jazeera, Christoph Koettl, Neil Collier Organizations: Credit, New York Times, Times, Turkish Palestinian Friendship Hospital, Al Locations: Tel, Gaza City, Gaza, Palestinian, Turkish, “, ”, Al Jazeera

Despite the intensified IDF ground operation, Hamas continued to fire rockets from Gaza. Alarms indicating incoming fire were activated in a number of areas around the Gaza perimeter overnight and early Tuesday. Abed Khaled/APThe Israeli military said Monday its troops killed four prominent Hamas operatives as part of its expanded ground operations in Gaza. One hostage – a female Israeli soldier – was rescued Monday during ground operations in Gaza, the IDF said. A source involved with her identification told CNN Louk’s death was announced after forensic examiners found a bone fragment from her skull.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Philippe Lazzarini, ” Lazzarini, Lisa Doughten, ” Doughten, Abed Khaled, Netanyahu, Israel, ” “, ”, UNRWA’s, Samir, Lazzarini, ” Young, Khan, Mohammed Salem, Riyad Al, Maliki, ” Al, Tal, Al, “, Gaza’s, Sobhi Skaik, Yelena Trupanob, Daniel Aloni, Kirsht, Daniel Hagari, –, Jonathan Conricus, Ori Megidish, Conricus, Shani Louk Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, UN, Israeli, UN Relief and Works Agency, Security Council, ”, Hamas, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, CNN, IDF, Palestinian Ministry of Health, UN Security Council, Protect Journalists, Palestinian Authority’s, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Monday, Nova Locations: Gaza, Jerusalem, Israel, United States, “, Ramallah, Khan Younis, Palestine, Tal Al Hawa, Gaza City, Quds, Al, Palestinian, Qatar, Egypt

☆ 'Is everyone alive?' Our family WhatsApp is where 17 relatives confirm they're OK
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Abeer Ayyoub | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

A week into the bombardment of Gaza, I set up a WhatsApp group for my Palestinian family to confirm each morning they're all still alive. Fatin, a Hebrew/Arabic translator, lives in the Al-Burij camp, very close to the Israeli border, and she's the only one outside of Gaza City. From Istanbul, Abdullah and I watched on Al Jazeera as places with cherished memories in Gaza City were destroyed live on air. AdvertisementAdvertisementMy parents live in a five-story building in the middle of Gaza City that my father had built 40 years ago. She told me that Israel had announced that 1 million civilians in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, should evacuate within 24 hours.

Persons: Ne'ama, I've, Abdullah, Siham, Yazmina, squinting, Maria, Ascia, Fatin, Tal Al, it's, Muhammad Ghanem, — Hussam, Hatem —, Hazem, we'd, Israel, —, Hazam's, Farah, Yasmeen, Sophia, Hammoud, he'd, Hanadi, Waleed Organizations: Hamas, Al, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Gaza, Gaza City, Europe, Jordan, Turkey, Istanbul, Israel, Jazeera, Al Jazeera, Al, Hawa, Gaza's, Siham

☆ Family of Al Jazeera Gaza journalist, Wael Al-Dahdouh, killed in Gaza strike, says broadcaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Kevin Flower | Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Al Jazeera said its bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Al Dahdouh, lost his wife, son, daughter, and grandson in what it said was an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday. “Members of the family of our colleague Wael Al Dahdouh, including his wife, son, and daughter, were martyred in an Israeli bombing,” Al Jazeera wrote in an on-air message. An emotional Al Dahdouh was seen in a video crying as he stood over his son’s body, wrapped in a white sheet. His son Mahmoud was 15 years old, and his daughter Sham was seven years old, Al Jazeera reported. Al Jazeera anchor Abdisalam Farah announced the deaths on air, visibly struggling to keep his composure and tearing up.

Persons: CNN — Al Jazeera, Wael Al Dahdouh, ” Al Jazeera, Al, Adam, Al Jazeera, Al Dahdouh, Mahmoud, Sham, Abdisalam Farah, Tal El Hawa, Al Dahdouh’s, “, Wael Dahdouh, CPJ, Roshdi Sarraj, Melwani, Pierre Meilha, Sophie Jeong Organizations: CNN, IDF, Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Palestinian Ministry of Health, International Press Institute, Protect Journalists, French, Radio France, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Gaza, Israeli, Al, Al Aqsa, Al Jazeera, Tal, Ramallah, Gaza City, Zahra, Lebanese

☆ Travel news: Amsterdam will increase its tourist tax in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —This week in travel news: An ancient Italian site, a hefty European tourist tax and a bunch of bears in Alaska all got bigger. Norbert Eisele-Hein/imageBROKER/Shutterstock An Indian icon: The Hawa Mahal is part of the larger City Palace complex in the middle of Jaipur. According to Indian authorities in charge of the monument, roughly 1 million people visit Hawa Mahal each year. To experience its cooling effects firsthand, head inside Jaipur's City Palace -- it's located on the edge of the palace grounds. Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto/Getty Images India's stunning Hawa Mahal Prev NextThe Hawa Mahal isn’t just one of India’s most beautiful buildings – it was also way ahead of its time in terms of sustainability.

Persons: It’s, Grazer, F, Jimenez, Alaska’s, Grazer “, She’ll, Jeffrey Pfefferle, Leon McNaught, Pfefferle, they’ve, “, ”, Norbert Eisele, Hein, imageBROKER, Hawa, Vishal Bhatnagar, Elena Odareeva, what's, Sanjay Sharma, Kavita Jain, Lola Fdez, Jain, Mickey Mousing, – Organizations: CNN, Amsterdam, Bear, &, Grazer, CNN Travel, UNESCO, Heritage, Adobe, KS, IKEA Locations: Alaska, overtourism Amsterdam, Europe, ”, Amsterdam, Italy, American, Sicilian, Mussomeli, Zhangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Fujian province, Indian, Jaipur, Jaipur's, Nogales, Kenya, Swedish

Trucks carrying aid from the UN World Food Programme (WFP), following a deadly earthquake, are parked at Bab al-Hawa crossing, Syria, February 20, 2023. Syria's mission to the United Nations in New York confirmed the extension. Following the earthquake, the United States and the European Union issued sanctions waivers to pave the way for more aid into Syria. U.S. authorizations facilitating the work of aid groups and the United Nations remain in effect, the spokesperson said. 'READY TO RESUME OPERATIONS'The United Nations had also been using the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Turkey to deliver aid to millions in northwest Syria since 2014 with authorization from the U.N. Security Council.

Persons: Mahmoud Hassano, Salam, Eri Kaneko, Emma Forster, U.N, Farhan Haq, Cross, Suhair Zakkout, Bashar al, Assad, Michelle Nichols, Jonathan Oatis 私 Organizations: UN, Food Programme, REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Government, European Union, EU, U.S . Treasury, . Security, International Committee Locations: Bab, Syria, WASHINGTON, BEIRUT, U.S, Turkey, Damascus, Al Ra'ee, New York, United States, Norwegian, overcompliance, Moscow, Washington

☆ UN raises concerns over Syria aid route from Turkey, cites 'unacceptable issues'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The United Nations has not used the Bab al-Hawa crossing since the Security Council authorization expired on Monday. "The United Nations and its implementing partners must continue to engage with relevant state and non-state parties as operationally necessary." "The United Nations will need to engage to clarify any additional modalities for the delivery of humanitarian aid in north-west Syria," OCHA wrote. "Any such modalities must not infringe on the impartiality (based on needs alone), neutrality, and independence of the United Nations' humanitarian operations," it said. "We had pre-positioned a lot of material in the area (northwest Syria) before the deadline.

Persons: Bab, OCHA, Cross, Bashar al, U.N, Stephane Dujarric, Assad, Michelle Nichols, Josie Kao, Diane Craft Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United, Security, Security Council, Reuters, Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations, Syria Government, International Committee, ICRC, Syrian Government, Thomson Locations: United Nations, Syria, Turkey, United, Syrian, Damascus, Russia, Moscow, Washington

☆ Syria Authorizes U.N. Use of Border Crossing for Aid, Giving Itself Oversight
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | More About Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Syria announced on Thursday that it would give state approval for the United Nations to deliver humanitarian aid into rebel-held northern areas through a contentious border crossing with Turkey, effectively giving President Bashar al-Assad’s government control over all aid deliveries to the northern areas of the country. Until two days ago, the U.N. and other international aid agencies had access to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing based on a 2014 mandate from the Security Council. Syria’s government abided by the resolution and was not involved in the aid deliveries, but attempts by the Council this week to extend the authorization failed. In a letter submitted to the United Nations and the Security Council, Syria said it would allow the United Nations access to the crossing for six months “in full cooperation and coordination” with the Syrian government. Aid agencies have said their convoys traveling inside the country between government-held territory and rebel-held areas face hurdles and slowed movement.

Persons: Bashar al, Bab Organizations: United Nations, Security, Security Council Locations: Syria, Turkey

☆ Syria aid: Russia slammed as 'inhumane' after blocking UN cross-border aid operation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Mohammed Tawfeeq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The United States, France and the United Kingdom have condemned Russia’s move to block the proposed extension of a United Nations’ cross-border operation that delivers aid to millions of people in Syria from Turkey. The decision means that UN agencies and humanitarian partners are not authorized to continue using the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Syria-Turkey border to provide humanitarian aid to people in the rebel-held area in northwest Syria. Russia had submitted a draft which provided for a six-month extension but it was voted down by France, the UK and the US. More than 4 million people rely on aidRussia and Syria have argued the humanitarian operation violates Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, saying food and other aid should be delivered from inside the country. The Syrian regime praised Russia’s decision, saying it vetoed “a Western UNSC draft resolution violating Syria’s sovereignty under the pretext of delivering cross-border aid,” Syrian state-run SANA news said on Tuesday.

Persons: Russia’s, Matthew Miller, “, ”, ” Miller, Vassily Nebenzia, SANA, Bassam Sabbagh, ” SANA, Bashar al, Assad Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UN, State, United Nations Security, Western UNSC, “ Security Locations: United States, France, United Kingdom, Syria, Turkey, Russia, China, Western, Syrian, Syria’s

☆ Russian veto signals end of Turkey-based UN aid operation in Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia suggested that the council mandate for the aid operation could not be salvaged. Security Council votes on the issue have long been contentious - in both 2022 and 2020 the mandate expired, only to be renewed a day later. The Security Council initially authorized aid deliveries in 2014 into opposition-held areas of Syria from Iraq, Jordan and two points in Turkey. 'UTTER CRUELTY'Russia and Syria have argued that the aid operation violates Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. China abstained on the vote for the nine-month compromise renewal of the aid operation authorization drafted by Switzerland and Brazil, while the remaining 13 Security Council members voted in favor.

Persons: Vassily Nebenzia, Nebenzia, we're, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, U.N, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, Bashar al, Assad, Bassam Sabbagh, Sabbagh, Thomas, Michelle Nichols, Rami Ayyub, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Nations, . Security, Russia U.N, Security, United, United Nations, Reuters, Ten Security, U.S, Thomson Locations: Russia, Turkey, Syria, United States, Damascus, Moscow, Iraq, Jordan, China, United Nations, Switzerland, Brazil, Britain, France, Washington

☆ Russia makes rival push on approval of UN aid to Syria from Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, July 7 (Reuters) - Russia put forward a rival proposal on Friday for a six-month extension of U.N. Security Council approval for aid deliveries to northwestern Syria from Turkey, reviving a long-running fight with the United States and others who want a 12-month renewal. The United States wants the U.N. operation extended for 12 months and approval given to use three crossings. To be adopted, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, France or Britain. The Security Council initially authorized aid deliveries in 2014 into opposition-held areas of Syria from Iraq, Jordan and two points in Turkey. He also said the $5.4 billion U.N. aid appeal for Syria for 2023 is the largest in the world, but less than 12% funded.

Persons: Martin Griffiths, Bashar al, Assad, Michelle Nichols, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Security, United, The Security, Thomson Locations: Russia, U.N, Syria, Turkey, United States, Switzerland, Brazil, Swiss, China, France, Britain, Iraq, Jordan, Moscow, Washington

Life has become solitary confinement.” Some women went into hiding, fearing retribution after the Taliban seized power. When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, women were among the most profoundly affected. A Wrenching Change Afifa, 47, wishes more Afghan men would fight for women’s rights KABUL, Afghanistan — Walk around the capital, Kabul, and it often feels as if women have been airbrushed out of the city. When the Taliban seized power, girls’ schools remained open in a kind of limbo — neither officially sanctioned nor forbidden — for months. Zubaida, 20, teaches high school girls in secret “Regimes come and go all the time in Afghanistan.

☆ U.N. food-agency chief tells of 'apocalyptic' scenes in Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The head of the United Nation's World Food Programme (WFP) said on Saturday he was confronted with "apocalyptic" scenes as he visited earthquake-stricken areas in southern Turkey. Strong earthquakes, which began on Feb. 6, have struck both Turkey and neighbouring Syria, killing more than 50,000 people according to the latest figures released on Friday. "There is only one way to describe what I saw today: apocalyptic," WFP Executive Director David Beasley said after visiting the city of Antakya in Turkey's Hatay province. The WFP said Beasley visited a U.N. logistics hub where trucks are loaded with food and other emergency supplies before crossing over into northwest Syria. He stressed the urgency of scaling up food deliveries to Syria "through all routes - without any restrictions", and called for "all parties to facilitate access".

☆ After devastating quake, thousands of Syrians return home to war zone
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Khalil Ashawi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I haven't seen my family for four years, as I live alone in Turkey," Qramo said after crossing into Syria. Qramo, who had been living in the city of Gaziantep, said people were staying in tents in the cold and rain. In Gaziantep, Qramo said police had moved Syrians out of a mosque where they were sheltering to make way for Turkish families. Several Turks in other quake-hit towns and cities have accused Syrians of robbing damaged shops and homes. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck before dawn 11 days ago, killing more than 38,000 people in Turkey and 5,800 in Syria.

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