GAZA STRIP: Israel’s army dropped thousands of leaflets over war-torn Gaza City on Wednesday urging all residents to flee a heavy offensive through the main city of the besieged Palestinian territory.
The leaflets, addressed to “everyone in Gaza City,” set out designated escape routes and warned that the urban area, which had a pre-war population of over half a million, would “remain a dangerous combat zone.”
The warning came as Israeli troops, backed by tanks and aircraft, have fought Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in the heaviest combat the city has seen in months in the war raging since October 7.
The United Nations said the latest evacuations “will only fuel mass suffering for Palestinian families, many of whom have been displaced many times.”
“The civilians must be protected,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.
An Israeli government spokesman said the aim was “to put civilians out of harm’s way” as troops battle militants “where they are.”
One woman carrying her scant belongings through the ruins, Umm Nimr Al-Jamal, told AFP on Tuesday that “this is the 12th time” her family has had to flee.
“How many times can we endure this? A thousand times? Where will we end up?“
The upsurge in fighting, bombardment and displacement came as talks were to resume in Qatar toward a truce and hostage release deal in the war now grinding on into its 10th month.
Hamas official Hossam Badran, asked about the increased military operations, told AFP that Israel was “hoping that the resistance will relinquish its legitimate demands” in truce negotiations.
But “the continuation of massacres compels us to adhere to our demands,” he said.
Heavy fighting also raged in Gaza’s far-southern Rafah, where witnesses told AFP that Israeli tanks had rumbled into the city center and unleashed intense fire on buildings.
Across Gaza, deadly strikes have hit four schools used as shelters in four days, killing at least 49 people according to medics and officials in the Hamas-run territory, and sparking rebukes from France and Germany which both labelled the attacks “unacceptable.”
“We call for these strikes to be fully investigated,” said the French foreign ministry, highlighting a deadly strike on Tuesday on a school near the southern city of Khan Yunis.
“It is unacceptable that schools, especially those housing civilians displaced by the fighting, should be targeted.”
Israel said the strikes had targeted militants hiding in schools.
In Gaza City’s eastern district of Shujaiya, where major battles raged since an Israeli evacuation order on June 27, a spokesman for the civil defense agency said there was widespread “destruction.”
Shujaiya has become a “ghost city,” said Mahmud Bassal.
Bassal as well as witnesses said Israeli troops have withdrawn from the area, though the military told AFP its forces were “still operating” there.
Meanwhile, an Israeli delegation led by spy chief David Barnea arrived in Doha for truce talks, said a source with knowledge of the sensitive negotiations.
CIA director William Burns was also expected in the Qatari capital after holding talks in Cairo on Tuesday.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile met US President Joe Biden’s special envoy for the Middle East, Brett McGurk.
Netanyahu “emphasized his commitment” to a proposed truce plan, “as long as Israel’s red lines are preserved,” his office said.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 42 the military says are dead.
Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 38,295 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Israeli lawmakers that 60 percent of Hamas fighters had been “eliminated or wounded” during the war.
Israel has imposed a punishing siege on Gaza’s 2.4 million people, eased only by sporadic aid deliveries.
Aid group Doctors Without Borders has warned of “critical” shortages of medical supplies in Gaza, with no resupply for more than two months.
Independent UN rights experts on Tuesday accused Israel of carrying out a “targeted starvation campaign,” a claim strongly rejected by Israel.
Relatives of Israeli hostages, who have piled pressure on Netanyahu demanding swift action to rescue their loved ones, began a four-day march from Tel Aviv to the seat of government in Jerusalem.
“We want all of Israel to come out with us” and “remind Netanyahu that... he needs to sign a deal to bring them back and stop this terrible war,” said Ayala Metzger, daughter-in-law of hostage Yoram Metzger who died in captivity.
Since the start of the Gaza war, Israeli forces have also traded regular fire with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, allies of Hamas, sparking fears of a broader regional conflagration.
As the cross-border clashes have intensified, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday his group would end the attacks if fighting in Gaza ends.
“If a ceasefire is reached, and we all hope for that... our front will cease fire without any discussion.”
Israeli army orders evacuation of battle-torn Gaza City
https://arab.news/pne4d
Israeli army orders evacuation of battle-torn Gaza City
- Deadly strikes have hit four schools used as shelters in four days across Gaza
- Latest evacuations ‘only fuel mass suffering for Palestinian families,’ UN says
Syrian, UAE presidents hold talks in Abu Dhabi
- President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes second trip to Gulf after visiting Saudi Arabia in February
- UAE leader reaffirms support for Syrian rebuild efforts
LONDON: President Ahmed Al-Sharaa of the Syrian Arab Republic arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday for talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
The sheikh wished Al-Sharaa success in leading Syria and in fulfilling his people’s hopes for development, security and stability, the Emirates News Agency reported.
He also reaffirmed the UAE’s support for Syria’s efforts to rebuild and commitment to its unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, which he said were essential to the broader region.
Al-Sharaa was welcomed at Al-Bateen Airport by Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and other senior officials. Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani, who visited the UAE earlier this year, was also present at the meeting.
Al-Sharaa visited Saudi Arabia in February on his first foreign trip since assuming the presidency in January. The Syrian leader is keen to strengthen ties with Arab and Western governments and turn a new page in his nation’s diplomatic relations following the collapse of the Assad regime in December.
Last week, Syria and South Korea formally established diplomatic relations and agreed to open embassies in each other’s countries. Syria was the only UN member without diplomatic ties to South Korea.
Israeli military says missile fired from Yemen
- “Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel… it has been determined that one missile was launched from Yemen,” Israeli military said
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said a missile was launched from Yemen on Sunday and was likely intercepted, shortly before the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, after review, it has been determined that one missile was launched from Yemen,” the military said.
“Interception attempts were carried out, and the missile was likely successfully intercepted,” it added.
AFP journalists in Jerusalem heard the sirens, which were followed by muffled blasts.
In a separate statement issued in Hebrew, the military had said that “apparently, two missiles were launched from Yemen.”
Israeli police said sirens were also activated in Tel Aviv.
Yemen’s Houthis later claimed responsibility for missile fire at Israel.
In a statement, the group said it had carried out a “military operation with two ballistic missiles... targeting the Sdot Micha base in the area east of occupied Ashdod, and the other... targeting Ben Gurion Airport.”
The Iran-backed group has regularly fired missiles and drones on Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 following an attack on Israel by Hamas militants.
The Houthis, who have also targeted shipping vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Armed faction in southern Syria to integrate into government forces
DAMASCUS: A powerful armed faction in southern Syrian Arab Republic led by defected military officer Ahmed Al-Awdeh announced on Sunday that it was dissolving itself and integrating into the government’s armed forces.
The Eighth Brigade, the most prominent armed faction in southern Syria, announced its dissolution and placed its weapons and personnel at the disposal of the Syrian Defense Ministry, according to a statement read by the official spokesman on Sunday in a video recording.
“We, members, soldiers and officers of what was previously known as the Eighth Brigade, officially announce the dissolution of this formation and handing over all its military and human capacities to the Defense Ministry,” said Col. Mohamed Al-Hourani.
“This decision stems from our commitment to national unity and enhancing security and stability and adherence to state sovereignty,” said Hourani.
The Eighth Brigade is part of the Southern Operations Room, a coalition of armed groups, also led by Awdeh, from the southern province of Daraa formed on Dec. 6 to help topple Bashar Assad.
Assad was toppled two days later following a lightning offensive by rebels led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS.
Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who led HTS, has since been named Syria’s interim president and appointed a cabinet last month.
The SOR was notably absent from a Dec. 25 meeting during which other militant factions agreed to disband and join a future army.
Awdeh’s forces, including the Eighth Brigade, held on to their weapons and maintained their presence on the ground.
Sunday’s announcement comes after two days of unrest between the forces of the Eighth Brigade and those of the new authorities.
Israel PM says Macron ‘gravely mistaken’ in promoting Palestinian state
- “President Macron is gravely mistaken in continuing to promote the idea of a Palestinian state in the heart of our land,” Netanyahu said
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday lashed out at French President Emmanuel Macron over his plans to recognize a Palestinian state.
“President Macron is gravely mistaken in continuing to promote the idea of a Palestinian state in the heart of our land — a state whose sole aspiration is the destruction of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
He was addressing Macron’s remarks earlier this week in which he said that France could recognize a Palestinian state within months.
“To this day, not a single figure in Hamas or the Palestinian Authority has condemned the horrors of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” Netanyahu said, referring to the October 7, 2023 attack led by Hamas on Israel.
He described this as “a silence that reveals their true attitude toward the Jewish state.
“We will not endanger our existence over illusions detached from reality, and we will not accept moral lectures about establishing a Palestinian state that would threaten Israel’s survival — especially not from those who oppose granting independence to Corsica, New Caledonia, French Guiana, and other territories, whose independence would pose no threat to France whatsoever.”
His remarks echoed those of his son Yair, who struck out at Macron in an earlier post on X.
“Screw you!” Yair Netanyahu wrote in English late on Saturday.
“Yes to independence of New Caledonia! Yes to independence to French Polynesia! Yes to independence of Corsica! Yes to independence of the Basque Country! Yes to independence of French Guinea!” he added, apparently confusing it with French Guiana.
Macron, in an interview to France 5 broadcast on Wednesday, stated that France could take the step during a UN conference in New York in June, saying he hoped this would trigger a reciprocal recognition of Israel by Arab countries.
“We must move toward recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” Macron said.
“I will do it because I believe that at some point it will be right and because I also want to participate in a collective dynamic, which must also allow all those who defend Palestine to recognize Israel in turn, which many of them do not do.”
His remarks sparked a wave of criticism from right-wing groups in France, after which Macron appeared to clarify his initial remarks on Friday.
“I support the legitimate right of Palestinians to a state and to peace, just as I support the right of Israelis to live in peace and security, both recognized by their neighbors,” he said on X.
“I am doing everything I can with our partners to reach this goal of peace. We truly need it,” he said.
Relations between Israel and France have deteriorated in recent months.
France has long championed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including after the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel.
But formal recognition by Paris of a Palestinian state would mark a major policy switch and risk antagonizing Israel, which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.
France would be the most significant European power to recognize a Palestinian state, a move the United States has also long resisted. Hamas welcomed Macron’s statement.
Nearly 150 countries recognize a Palestinian state.
Last May, Ireland, Norway and Spain announced recognition, followed by Slovenia in June, moves partly fueled by condemnation of Israel’s bombing of Gaza that followed the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Frankly Speaking: Four months in, how is the change in Syria being seen?
- London-based Syria analyst Ghassan Ibrahim expresses cautious optimism about country’s post-Assad future, including relations with Israel
- Calls for lifting of sanctions which are “hurting ordinary people,” unpacks Al-Sharaa government’s evolving ties with Turkiye, Russia and Iran
RIYADH: As Syria navigates a precarious path away from the decades-long rule of the Assad dynasty, Ghassan Ibrahim, a London-based Syria analyst, says cautious optimism defines the moment.
Speaking on the latest episode of “Frankly Speaking,” the Arab News current affairs show that dives deep into regional developments with leading policymakers and analysts, Ibrahim discussed the challenges and opportunities facing the new transitional government of President Ahmad Al-Sharaa.
“Yes, I’m optimistic, but cautiously optimistic,” he said. “The situation in Syria is not that easy. President Bashar Assad, when he left, literally made sure that all the institutions in Syria were not functioning. He stayed in power until the last day. And after that, when he left, literally, he left the country on its knees.”
Four months into a new political chapter, Syria’s fledgling government faces enormous hurdles: institutional collapse, brain drain, poverty, insecurity and a sanctions regime that continues to paralyze the economy.
“There is big hope,” Ibrahim told “Frankly Speaking” host Katie Jensen, “but the question is: Where will they bring all these resources from, to make them function as in any other government around the world?”
The economic picture is bleak. Over 90 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line, and basic infrastructure has either collapsed or is running at a fraction of capacity. Ibrahim said the country’s rich natural resources — oil, gas, and minerals — remain largely idle. And a mass exodus of skilled professionals and entrepreneurs over the last 14 years has left a human capital vacuum.
“Literally, there is not any good environment to tell to the people come back — especially the talented ones, especially the investors, and as well, the people who can participate in the new reform,” he said.
Yet Ibrahim insists that the absence of large-scale sectarian violence after Assad’s fall is in itself a major achievement. “No one was thinking that Syria will end up after Assad leaves without a huge sectarian war,” he said.
Though there have been some flare-ups — most notably a wave of killings in the western coastal region in early March — Ibrahim said the response has so far avoided mass escalation.
“If we look at the full picture, it’s something promising, but requires a lot of work,” he added.
President Al-Sharaa’s first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia, and soon to the UAE, are not just symbolic, says Ibrahim — they are strategic.
“He tried to relocate Syria within a new alliance — an alliance of modernity, stability and open-minded policies,” he said, noting the president’s praise for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
Al-Sharaa’s upcoming visit to the UAE, he added, could prove essential in Syria’s reintegration with the region. “Syria needs now friends and brothers to help them, to lead, to guide them,” said Ibrahim. “The UAE is able through its wide network internationally to open the door, to reintroduce the new Syria to the world.”
He also said the visits send a reassuring message that Syria does not wish to destabilize the region. “Syria will be productive and active and be part of this kind of alliance between the regional powers,” he added.
On the horizon is a visit to Turkiye, a former adversary now positioned as a “typical friend,” in Ibrahim’s words. But the relationship is more complicated. While ties with Ankara could help stabilize Syria’s north and resolve Kurdish tensions, Ibrahim warned that Turkish involvement risks aggravating fears in Israel and reintroducing regional rivalries into Syrian soil.
“We’ve noticed the involvement of Turkiye has caused two troubles somehow: With the Kurdish internally and with Israel,” he said.
The prospect of renewed conflict with Israel looms large. Southern Syria has seen a spike in Israeli airstrikes targeting what it says are weapons depots and military infrastructure. But Ibrahim said the new Syrian leadership is avoiding provocation.
“They are trying to, well, calculate the risk. They don’t want to behave like a militia. They want to be a state,” he said. “We’d rather leave some — there is some, I think, second-track diplomacy open now between Syria and Israel.”
According to Ibrahim, there is growing recognition in Damascus that stability with Israel is preferable to brinkmanship. “Israel, in the end of the day, will understand it’s not to their advantage to partition the country,” he added.
Iran, by contrast, remains a destabilizing force, he warned. “They invested the most in this war and they lost the biggest loss in this war. So, they won’t leave Syria to be a stable state without working on destabilizing it,” Ibrahim said.
He accused Tehran of supporting militias in Syria’s coastal regions and pushing for partition along sectarian lines, but added that its influence is waning. “They did not leave any good legacy behind them in Syria to let the Syrians feel they are welcome,” he said.
As Damascus distances itself from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ibrahim said the new government is signaling that it wants a reset. “Why don’t they stop exporting their revolution? Then the Syrians may consider normalization with Iran,” he added.
But without the lifting of US and European sanctions, Syria’s future remains hostage to its past.
“The sanctions at this moment are out of context,” said Ibrahim. While once meant to isolate the Assad regime, they now, in his view, cripple the new administration’s ability to govern.
“So, the sanctions now are literally just hurting ordinary Syrian people,” he said. “If the West wants to see Syria a normal state running in a normal manner without showing any kind of hostility, they have to help. And the way to help is literally lift the sanctions.”
He said that unless sanctions are lifted, growing popular frustration may spark unrest. “If they don’t see improvements soon, they will go to the streets and we will end up with another crisis this year,” he said.
The killings in Latakia and Tartous — reportedly sparked by loyalists of the former regime — exposed how fragile the situation remains.
“It was unjustified, it was some kind of war crime, it was not acceptable,” Ibrahim said. He defended President Al-Sharaa’s early policy of clemency toward Assad loyalists, but acknowledged that it may have inadvertently fueled revenge killings.
“There was an intention that if all Syrians want to close that chapter, they don’t want to go back to that moment of sectarian war,” he said. But the strategy also allowed hostile elements to regroup.
Even the composition of the new cabinet has drawn criticism, with some ethnic and religious minorities saying they were not consulted. Ibrahim said President Al-Sharaa is trying to walk a tightrope.
“Is it wrong to choose loyalists from different backgrounds as much as possible? Probably, this is not the ideal transitional government,” he said. “He wants a kind of unity in his government.”
Asked about reports that Turkiye is negotiating a defense pact that would place air defense systems in Syria, Ibrahim said Damascus has voiced its concerns directly.
“The Syrians don’t want to let their country be in a box — like a mailbox, with both sides sending messages through the Syrians,” he said.
According to Ibrahim, Syria is attempting to broker peace between Turkiye and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. A deal may even be in the works, potentially sponsored by the US.
“He does not want to enter in a proxy war on behalf of Turkiye to fight with the Syrian Democratic Forces,” Ibrahim said of Al-Sharaa. “And we may hear in the coming months some kind of like de-escalation agreement.”
While Syria seeks Western engagement, it is not abandoning ties with Moscow. Ibrahim called Russia a pragmatic partner that has kept channels open to both the former regime and the opposition.
“Probably, Russia may play a very vital role in striking a deal with Israel because the Russians have good relations with the Israelis,” he added.
Finally, Ibrahim addressed remarks by a former provincial governor in Syria to a Wall Street Journal reporter, warning that continued Israeli aggression could attract “holy warriors” from around the world.
“It’s probably the message was taken out of its context,” Ibrahim said. “There is a clear message from Damascus to around the world: Syria will not be a hub to attack any country, including Israel.”
Ibrahim pointed to Al-Sharaa’s use of the term “Israeli state” — a break from the Assad-era lexicon — as a sign of a new posture. “The Syrians look at normalization with Israel as an advantage for Syria and advantage for everyone,” he said.
Looking to the future, Ibrahim said: “All Syrians are looking at their country as a hub for stability and development — free trade, a Syria open for normalization with every normal country or normal state around the world, including Israel.”
