Ambulance strike kills paramedic in southern Lebanon

A military drone in Naqoura deliberately struck an ambulance, killing a paramedic and injuring one other person. (X/@sawtlebnan)
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Updated 31 May 2024
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Ambulance strike kills paramedic in southern Lebanon

  • Critics rap Mikati government for spending $1 million of public money on war compensation
  • Hezbollah launches attacks with Burkan rockets, assault drones hit targets

BEIRUT: A series of attacks by Hezbollah on Friday targeted multiple Israeli military sites with heavy Burkan missiles and suicide drones.
The strikes followed Israeli raids on Aitaroun, Houla, and the pro-Hezbollah border village of Maroun Al-Ras overnight on Thursday and into the early hours.
As aerial attacks on Lebanese targets continued, two Hezbollah members were killed. A military drone in Naqoura deliberately struck an ambulance, killing a paramedic and injuring one other person.
While ambulances and ambulatory units in Odaisseh, Blida, and Hanin have previously been targeted by artillery shelling, this is the first time an Israeli drone has targeted a medical vehicle.
In separate statements, Hezbollah said it struck the Branit barracks — headquarters of the Israeli army’s 91st division — with heavy Burkan missiles, “hitting it directly and destroying part of it.”
The group also targeted “the Baghdadi outpost with heavy Burkan missiles, hitting it directly,” as well as “a building used by the enemy’s soldiers in the Al-Manara settlement.”
Hezbollah said it also attacked Iron Dome launchpads in the Al-Zaoura bunker and a building used by Israeli soldiers in the Shomera settlement.
The two Hezbollah members who died were named as Samer Kamel Yassin, aged 42, and 54-year-old Hussein Mohammed Atwi, both from Houla.
Israeli media said two missiles landed in western Galilee without triggering sirens and claimed a building in Metula was hit when an anti-armor missile launched from Lebanon landed in the area.
Sirens sounded in several northern settlements warning of possible drone infiltration. The explosion of air interception rockets was heard over the Marjayoun Valley in southern Lebanon and Israel launched shells toward Al-Wazzani and raided Naqoura.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X: “Israeli military raids targeted four Hezbollah military buildings in Aitaroun and Markaba in southern Lebanon.”
The Israeli airstrikes, which have been ongoing for 237 days, have caused extensive damage to homes and buildings in the border towns, leaving the areas 90 percent uninhabited.
The number of displaced people who have relocated to Beirut’s southern suburbs has reached around 100,000.
The Cabinet has approved $1 million (93 billion Lebanese pounds) in compensation for civilian victims and aid for the displaced. However, the decision has sparked political protests.
Critics have condemned the government for spending so much public money on compensation for a war the Lebanese people did not choose while it struggles to pay public sector and military salaries.
They said Hezbollah “decided on its own to launch its rockets at Israel on Oct. 8 from the south, dragging Lebanon into the war.”
Objections came from the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel, MP Nadim Gemayel, and other figures.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has repeatedly stated that Lebanon, suffering from an economic crisis, cannot bear the burdens of the southern war.
Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri expressed his deep concern weeks ago about “the extent of the destruction along the southern border, with initial estimates indicating massive losses.”
He noted: “The conditions for rebuilding what was destroyed by the Israeli attacks accompanying the 2006 war may not be the same today.”
On Thursday, Amos Hochstein, senior adviser for energy and investment to the US president, said in an interview with Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that he did not expect everlasting peace between Hezbollah and Israel.
“A land border agreement between Israel and Lebanon implemented in phases, by removing some of the motivations for conflict, and establishing recognized borders for the first time between the two countries, could dampen the simmering and deadly conflict between the two countries,” he said.


UN Security Council blasts parallel authority move in Sudan, calls for ceasefire and political talks

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UN Security Council blasts parallel authority move in Sudan, calls for ceasefire and political talks

  • Rapid Support Forces, one of the warring military factions in Sudan, says it will establish a governing authority in territories it controls
  • Council members express ‘grave concern’ that such unilateral action could worsen fragmentation of the nation and exacerbate already dire humanitarian crisis

NEW YORK CITY: The UN Security Council on Tuesday strongly rejected a recent announcement by one of the warring military factions in Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces, that it will establish a parallel governing authority in the territories it controls, warning that the move threatens the country’s territorial integrity and risks further escalation of the ongoing conflict.

The 15-member council expressed “grave concern” about the implications of such unilateral action and said it could worsen the fragmentation of the nation and exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis.

“The Security Council reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan,” council members said in a statement, adding that any actions that undermine these principles jeopardize not only the future of Sudan but broader regional peace and stability.

They urged all parties in Sudan to immediately resume negotiations with the aim of securing a lasting ceasefire agreement and creating the conditions for a political resolution to the conflict. This process should be inclusive of all Sudanese political and social groups and lead to a credible, civilian-led transitional government tasked with guiding the country toward democratic elections, council members added.

A conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, rival military factions of the country’s military government, plunged Sudan into civil war in April 2023.

The Security Council statement highlighted Resolution 2736, which was adopted by the council in June 2024 and demands that the RSF lift its siege of El-Fasher and halt all fighting in and around the region, where famine and extreme food insecurity threaten millions.

Council members expressed “grave concern” about reports of a renewed RSF offensive there and called for unhindered humanitarian access.

On Wednesday, the UN’s high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, condemned a recent large-scale attack by RSF forces on El-Fasher and the nearby Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced persons, in which at least 57 civilians were killed, including 40 displaced individuals.

The attack, part of a series of assaults on the camp, has intensified fears of ethnically motivated persecution as the RSF seeks to assert control over the area. Turk highlighted the dire humanitarian conditions caused by the ongoing siege and repeated attacks, describing them as serious violations of international humanitarian law.

He also cited testimonies from survivors of previous RSF attacks, including reports of killings, widespread sexual violence, enforced disappearances and torture. He called on the international community to exert pressure to help end such abuses, and stressed the importance of ensuring that those responsible for them are held accountable to break the cycle of violence in Sudan.

The Security Council also condemned recent attacks in the Kordofan region, which have resulted in high numbers of civilian casualties. Members urged all parties involved in the conflict to

protect civilians, abide by the rule of international humanitarian law, and facilitate safe conditions for humanitarian operations to take place.

They called on both sides to uphold their commitments under the 2023 Jeddah Declaration, and to ensure accountability for serious violations of international law. Council members also urged all UN member states to avoid any external interference that might fuel conflict and instability.

The Security Council reaffirmed its full support for the UN secretary-general’s envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, commending his efforts to foster dialogue among the warring parties and civil society with the aim of achieving a sustainable peace.


Syrian Red Crescent delivers humanitarian relief to Sweida

Updated 13 August 2025
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Syrian Red Crescent delivers humanitarian relief to Sweida

  • Twenty-one trucks delivered medical supplies, food assistance and fuel to vulnerable families in the southern Sweida governorate
  • Several humanitarian organizations made contributions to the humanitarian mission, including the World Food Programme and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees

LONDON: The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered humanitarian relief to the southern governorate of Sweida via the Bosra Al-Sham crossing, as part of efforts to assist vulnerable families in addressing humanitarian and livelihood challenges.

Twenty-one trucks delivered medical supplies, assistance and fuel to Sweida, including food baskets, bottled water, flour, petroleum derivatives and seven kidney dialysis machines to support the health sector.

SARC received contributions from its Lebanese counterpart, the UN Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the SANA news agency reported.

Separately, SARC provided humanitarian assistance to vulnerable families in several villages throughout the Sweida countryside, with support from UNHCR, the Qatari Red Crescent and the Danish Red Cross.


Forest fire sweeps through northern Morocco

Updated 13 August 2025
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Forest fire sweeps through northern Morocco

  • Reports say the fire devastated vast areas of woodland between Bab Taza and Derdara

RABAT: A major mountain forest fire close to the tourist city of Chefchaouen in northern Morocco was spreading on Wednesday, according to media and witnesses who spoke to AFP.
The fire has officially been declared a “major” one, a source told AFP, adding that Canadair firefighting aircraft were working to contain the flames.
Details on the extent of the fire, damage, or any victims or evacuations were not available.
According to news site Le360, two Canadair planes were operating “despite strong winds” in Chefchaouen province, home to 400,000 people, including 50,000 in the provincial capital.
Le360 reported that the fire had devastated “vast” areas of woodland between Bab Taza and Derdara, and had caused significant damage to orchards and fields near Karankha, before spreading to a nearby forest.
Strong winds have been sweeping through northern Morocco for two days, fanning the flames.
“The situation is catastrophic... The extent of the material damage seems quite large,” Aziz Makhlouf, a resident of the province, told AFP by phone.
“I haven’t seen such a fire in about 15 years,” he said, adding that there had been significant efforts by the authorities to combat the fire.
Videos shared online showed a sky darkened by smoke, the glow of flames in the mountains and residents fighting against the fire with buckets of water.
Reports in Moroccan media and on social networks said that fires had also broken out near Tetouan and Tangier, two other tourist destinations in the north of the country, which has been gripped by persistent drought since 2018.
As with much of western and southern Europe, Morocco has been gripped by heatwaves this summer, compounded by the strong, hot desert winds known as chergui, which blow in from the Sahara.


Recognizing Palestine cannot distract from Gaza ‘genocide’: UN special rapporteur

Updated 13 August 2025
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Recognizing Palestine cannot distract from Gaza ‘genocide’: UN special rapporteur

  • Francesca Albanese: World must take stronger action against Israel including total arms embargo, end to trade deals
  • Resolving ‘the question of Palestine in line with international law is possible and necessary’

LONDON: International momentum toward recognizing a Palestinian state should not distract UN members from bringing an end to the “genocide” in Gaza, Francesca Albanese has said.

The UN special rapporteur for the Occupied Territories told The Guardian that the extended debate about Palestinian statehood has yielded no political progress, instead enabling the spread of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

“The territory has been literally eaten out by the advancement of the annexation and colonization,” she said.

Recognition of a Palestinian state is “important,” but something so simple that “it’s incoherent that they’ve not done it already,” Albanese added.

Renewed global attention toward statehood should not “distract the attention from where it should be: the genocide,” she said, calling for a total arms embargo and a cessation of trade agreements with Israel.

“Ending the question of Palestine in line with international law is possible and necessary: End the genocide today, end the permanent occupation this year and end apartheid,” she added.

“This is what’s going to guarantee freedom and equal rights for everyone, regardless of the way they want to live — in two states or one state, they will have to decide.”

Albanese said growing worldwide angst over the destruction of Gaza is an “ultimate struggle” and a matter of “light and darkness.”

Despite inaction by Western countries, she sees hope in the “millions of people taking to the streets and asking for an end to the genocide.”

She added: “An entire new generation now speaks the language of human rights. For me, this is a success in and of itself.”

Her most recent report focused on the corporate power — “profiting from genocide” — behind Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“The occupation is profitable, and so is the genocide, and this is shocking, but it is to be known in order to be seen and to be stopped,” Albanese said.

“The power is not just with the prime ministers or with the governments. The power is with us, and we can start choosing through our wallet.”


Turkiye, Syria sign defense cooperation agreement after Ankara talks

Updated 13 August 2025
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Turkiye, Syria sign defense cooperation agreement after Ankara talks

  • Defense ministers sign a memorandum of understanding on military training and consultancy

ANKARA: The defense ministers of Turkiye and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding on military training and consultancy after talks in Ankara on Wednesday, Turkiye’s defense ministry said.
The neighbors had been negotiating a comprehensive military cooperation agreement for months, after the ousting of Bashar Assad in December.