An Israeli strike that damaged the Damascus International Airport in June made it impossible for the United Nations to fly in aid deliveries to needy Syrians for around two weeks, the UN’s Syria commission said on Wednesday.
Commissioner Lynn Welchmann told reporters in Geneva that the Israeli strike “led to considerable damage to infrastructure and the closure of the airport for nearly two weeks or 13 days.”
That “meant the suspension of UN deliveries of humanitarian assistance which is extremely serious,” she said.
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Israeli strike on Damascus airport in June halted aid for nearly two weeks — UN
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Israeli strike on Damascus airport in June halted aid for nearly two weeks — UN
Egyptian FM repeats call for two-state solution
- Sameh Shoukry took part in a ministerial coordination meeting involving Arab and European countries
- Meeting, which discussed recognition of a Palestinian state, was held on the sidelines of the two-day WEF special meeting in Riyadh
CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign minister has repeated his call for a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue.
Sameh Shoukry on Monday took part in a ministerial coordination meeting involving Arab and European countries.
The meeting, which discussed recognition of a Palestinian state, was held on the sidelines of the two-day World Economic Forum special meeting in Riyadh.
Shoukry called on the international community to pressure Israel into ending its occupation of the Palestinian territories, and to support the legitimate and inalienable rights of Palestinians, said Ahmed Abu Zeid, the ministry’s spokesman.
Given the violence in Gaza and tensions in the West Bank, international parties must “assume their legal and human responsibilities to find a serious political horizon to establish a two-state solution and bring just and comprehensive peace to the region,” Shoukry added.
The foreign minister described the two-state solution as the “only path” toward peace between Palestinians and Israelis, as well as stability and coexistence among the peoples of the region.
IAEA chief Grossi to visit Iran May 6-8, Mehr says
- Grossi will meet Iranian officials in Tehran before participating in the International Conference of Nuclear Sciences and Technologies held in Isfahan
- Enrichment to 60 percent brings uranium close to weapons grade
DUBAI: International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi is scheduled to visit Iran to take part in a nuclear conference from May 6-8 and meet Iranian officials, Iran’s Mehr news agency said on Tuesday.
“Grossi will meet Iranian officials in Tehran before participating in the International Conference of Nuclear Sciences and Technologies held in Isfahan,” the agency reported.
The IAEA chief said in February that he was planning a visit to Tehran to tackle a “drifting apart” in relations between the agency and the Islamic Republic.
Grossi said the same month that while the pace of uranium enrichment by Iran had slowed slightly since the end of last year, Iran was still enriching at an elevated rate of around 7 kg of uranium per month to 60 percent purity.
Enrichment to 60 percent brings uranium close to weapons grade, and is not necessary for commercial use in nuclear power production. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons but no other state has enriched to that level without producing them.
Under a defunct 2015 agreement with world powers, Iran can enrich uranium only to 3.67 percent. After then-President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of that deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, Iran moved well beyond the deal’s nuclear restrictions.
The IAEA said the 2015 nuclear deal was “all but disintegrated.”
‘We are with them’: Lebanon students rally for Gaza
- “We are Palestine’s neighbors. If we do not stand with them today, who will?” asked AUB student Zeina
- Some students also carried banners declaring solidarity with south Lebanon, where Israel and Hamas-ally Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since October
BEIRUT: Hundreds of university students in Lebanon protested on Tuesday against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, inspired by recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have rocked US and European campuses, AFP correspondents said.
Dozens of students gathered at the prestigious American University of Beirut (AUB), some wearing the traditional Arab keffiyeh scarf that has long been a symbol of the Palestinian cause, an AFP photographer said.
“We are Palestine’s neighbors. If we do not stand with them today, who will?” asked AUB student Zeina, 23, declining to provide her surname.
“Around the world, students my age, from our generation, are the ones raising their voices,” she added.
The Gaza war began after Palestinian militant group Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attacks on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Hamas also took some 250 hostages. Israel estimates that 129 remain in Gaza, including 34 believed to be dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive, aimed at destroying Hamas, has killed at least 34,535 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
The protests came as Hamas said it was considering a plan for a 40-day ceasefire and the release of scores of hostages in exchange for larger numbers of Palestinian prisoners.
Some students also carried banners declaring solidarity with south Lebanon, where Israel and Hamas-ally Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since October.
The protests came as similar demonstrations swept universities across the United States, posing a challenge to administrators trying to balance free speech with complaints that the rallies have veered into anti-Semitism.
Footage of police in riot gear called in by universities to break up the rallies has circulated worldwide, recalling the protest movement that erupted during the Vietnam War.
“We renew our demand to stop the American-backed Israeli genocide against Palestinians and urgently demand to stop Zionist (Israeli) attacks” on south Lebanon, a female student told the crowd at AUB, praising “the global student movement supporting our people.”
At the nearby Lebanese American University, dozens of students gathered, raising Palestinian flags and burning an Israeli one.
“We want to convey a message to our people in Gaza: we are with them... We have not forgotten them,” Lara Qassem, 18, told AFP.
In Lebanon, at least 385 people have been killed in months of cross-border violence, mostly fighters but also including 73 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
Israel says 11 soldiers and nine civilians have been killed in the country’s north.
Arab-European ministerial statement: We endorse efforts toward achieving a Gaza ceasefire
RIYADH: A joint statement from Arab and European foreign ministers highlighted critical priorities in addressing the ongoing conflict in Gaza, following a meeting in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday.
The statmenet called for the urgent need to halt all unilateral violations in Palestinian territories. It also called for the release of prisoners and hostages, putting an end to the war in Gaza and all illegal unilateral actions and violations in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.
The meeting was chaired by Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
It was also attended by foreign ministers and representatives from Bahrain, Portugal, the European Union, Algeria, Jordan, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, Turkey, the Arab League, Slovenia, France, Palestine, Qatar, Egypt, and the United Kingdom.
Ministers reiterated their support for efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Gaza. They emphasized the importance of establishing a unified Palestinian government in both the West Bank and Gaza.
Recognizing the significance of internal unity among Palestinians, the ministers have called for concerted efforts to overcome divisions and work towards a common goal of self-governance and statehood.
The statement also called for adopting a reliable and irreversible path towards implementing the two-state solution.
Arab and European foreign ministers were gathered in Riyadh on the sidelines of a two-day World Economic Forum special meeting.
Israel police say Turk shot dead after stabbing officer in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM: A Turkish national stabbed and moderately wounded an Israeli police officer in annexed east Jerusalem before being shot dead on Tuesday, police said.
Police said that a “terrorist armed with a knife arrived in the Old City of Jerusalem, on the Herod’s Gate Ascent street, charged at a border police officer and stabbed him with a knife.”
It said another officer at the scene “neutralized the terrorist” and the attacker was later pronounced dead.
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