Israel attacks on Gaza reproductive centers ‘genocidal’: UN probe

Update Israel attacks on Gaza reproductive centers ‘genocidal’: UN probe
A Palestinian flag flutters amid the ruins of buildings in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 4, 2025, amid the ongoing truce between Israel and Hamas. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 2 min 39 sec ago
Follow

Israel attacks on Gaza reproductive centers ‘genocidal’: UN probe

Israel attacks on Gaza reproductive centers ‘genocidal’: UN probe
  • Hamas said the UN's report confirmed that Israel had committed genocide and humanitarian violations against the Palestinian people during the war.
  • The commission found that Israeli authorities have destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive health care
  • The United Nations’ genocide convention defines that crime as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group

GENEVA: A United Nations investigation concluded Thursday that Israel committed "genocidal" acts in Gaza, specifically through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive health care facilities. The UN Commission of Inquiry said Israel "intentionally attacked and destroyed" Gaza’s main fertility center and simultaneously imposed a siege, blocking aid, including medication essential for safe pregnancies, deliveries, and neonatal care.

“The destruction of reproductive health care in Gaza has inflicted long-term damage on the Palestinian population, amounting to two categories of genocidal acts,” said Navi Pillay, the commission’s chair, noting that these actions fit the UN’s definition of genocide under its convention. According to the commission, the Israeli actions deliberately aimed to “prevent births within the group” and “inflicted conditions calculated to bring about its physical destruction.”

The report detailed the destruction of maternity hospitals, wards, and the Al-Basma IVF Center, Gaza’s primary fertility clinic, which was shelled in December 2023. The attack reportedly destroyed around 4,000 embryos stored at the clinic, which served thousands of patients. The commission found no credible evidence that the building was used for military purposes and concluded that the attack was “a measure intended to prevent births among Palestinians in Gaza.”

In response to the report, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem echoed the commission’s findings, calling the actions “genocidal acts” and a clear violation of international humanitarian law. “The atrocities committed by the occupation (Israel) are too horrific to be fully captured in this report, underscoring the urgent need to expedite the prosecution of its leaders for these crimes and ensure their swift trial at the International Criminal Court,” Qassem said. Hamas had previously launched attacks on Israel, which led to Israel's ongoing military actions in Gaza following the Hamas assault on October 7, 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the UN report, calling the allegations "false and absurd." He said the report was part of a political agenda aimed at tarnishing Israel’s image.

The commission's findings, supported by testimonies from victims and witnesses of sexual violence, added that Israel’s actions against Palestinian women and girls during the conflict amounted to crimes against humanity. Women have suffered complications due to the lack of access to reproductive health services, and the Israeli forces’ actions have included forced public stripping, sexual harassment, and assault.


Lebanon seeks to firm up state authority by naming new army chief, top security officials

Updated 9 sec ago
Follow

Lebanon seeks to firm up state authority by naming new army chief, top security officials

Lebanon seeks to firm up state authority by naming new army chief, top security officials
The appointments also come after Lebanese political faction in January overcame a crippling, two-year deadlock, electing a president, Joseph Aoun
The new appointees include army chief, Gen. Rudolph Haikal

BEIRUT: Lebanon appointed a new army chief and heads of three security agencies on Thursday as the government seeks to firm up state authority, especially in the country’s south, following the militant Hezbollah group’s devastating war with Israel.
The appointments also come after Lebanese political faction in January overcame a crippling, two-year deadlock, electing a president, Joseph Aoun, a former army chief, and forming a new government under Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
A US-brokered ceasefire went into effect in late November, halting nearly 14 months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. The militants began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after a deadly Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes in Lebanon, and the two sides became locked in an escalating conflict that became a full-blown war last September.
In announcing the new appointments, Aoun also said that five Lebanese nationals detained by Israeli troops during the fighting have been released following indirect negotiations.
Morgan Ortagus, deputy special envoy for Middle East in the Trump administration, told Lebanon’s Al Jadeed television on Tuesday that the five were a mix of soldiers and civilians. Ortagus said she was confident Lebanon and Israel would resolve outstanding territorial disputes.
The new appointees include army chief, Gen. Rudolph Haikal; head of State Security agency, Brig. Gen. Edgar Lawandos, and Brig. Gen. Hassan Choucair, who was named head of General Security. Brig. Gen. Raed Abdullah was named head of Internal Security Forces.
Lebanon would also recruit 4,500 soldiers this year to help further increase its military’s presence in its southern region.

Syrian leader signs constitution placing country under Islamist group’s rule for 5 years

Syrian leader signs constitution placing country under Islamist group’s rule for 5 years
Updated 10 min 5 sec ago
Follow

Syrian leader signs constitution placing country under Islamist group’s rule for 5 years

Syrian leader signs constitution placing country under Islamist group’s rule for 5 years
  • Former HTS leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa is now the country’s interim president
  • A new committee to draft a permanent constitution will be formed, but it is unclear if it will be more inclusive of Syria’s political, religious, and ethnic groups

DAMASCUS: Syria’s interim president on Thursday signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase.
The country’s interim rulers have struggled to exert their authority across much of the country since the Islamist former insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, led a lightning insurgency that overthrew former leader Bashar Assad in December.
Former HTS leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa is now the country’s interim president — a decision that was announced after a meeting of the armed groups that took part in the offensive against Assad. At the same meeting, the groups agreed to repeal the country’s old constitution and said a new one would be drafted.
While many were happy to see an end to the Assad family’s dictatorial rule of over 50 years in the war-torn country, religious and ethnic minorities have been skeptical of the new Islamist leaders and reluctant to allow Damascus under its new authorities to assert control of their areas.
Abdulhamid Al-Awak, one of the seven members of the committee Al-Sharaa tasked to draft the temporary constitution, told a press conference Thursday that it will maintain some previsions from the previous one, including the stipulation that the head of state has to be a Muslim, and Islamic law is the main source of jurisprudence.
However, Al-Awak, a constitutional law expert who teaches at the Mardin Artuklu University in Turkiye, also said the temporary constitution includes provisions that enshrine freedom of expression and the press. The constitution will “balance between social security and freedom” during Syria’s shaky political situation, he said.
A new committee to draft a permanent constitution will be formed, but it is unclear if it will be more inclusive of Syria’s political, religious, and ethnic groups.
Al-Sharaa on Monday reached a landmark pact with the US-backed Kurdish-led authorities in northeastern Syria, including a ceasefire and a merging of their armed forces with the central government’s security agencies.
The deal came after government forces and allied groups crushed an insurgency launched last week by gunmen loyal to Assad. Rights groups say that hundreds of civilians — mostly from the Alawite minority sect to which Assad belongs — were killed in retaliatory attacks by factions in the counter-offensive.
A key goal of the interim constitution was to give a timeline for the country’s political transition out of its interim phase. In December, Al-Sharaa said it could take up to three years to rewrite Syria’s constitution and up to five years to organize and hold elections.
Al-Sharaa appointed a committee to draft the new constitution after Syria held a national dialogue conference last month, which called for announcing a temporary constitution and holding interim parliamentary elections. Critics said the hastily-organized conference was not inclusive of Syria’s different ethnic and sectarian groups or civil society.
The United States and Europe have been hesitant to lift harsh sanctions imposed on Syria during Assad’s rule until they are convinced that the new leaders will create an inclusive political system and protect minorities. Al-Sharaa and regional governments have been urging them to reconsider, fearing that the country’s crumbling economy could bring further instability.


Israel sends aid to Syrian Druze as clerics prepare for historic visit

Israel sends aid to Syrian Druze as clerics prepare for historic visit
Updated 25 min 14 sec ago
Follow

Israel sends aid to Syrian Druze as clerics prepare for historic visit

Israel sends aid to Syrian Druze as clerics prepare for historic visit

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: Israel has sent 10,000 humanitarian aid packages to Syria’s Druze community while also strengthening ties with the group, as a delegation of Druze clerics prepares for a historic visit to Israel.

The aid, including basic goods such as oil, flour, salt, and sugar, was delivered to the conflict-affected southern province of Suwayda, Israel’s Foreign Ministry reported on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Syrian Druze clerics is preparing to visit Israel this Friday, marking the first such visit since 1948.

The group, invited by Israel's Druze community, will visit the Tomb of Nabi Shuaib in the Galilee and meet with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community.

The visit has faced strong opposition within Syria's Druze community, with some members expressing disapproval of the trip.

 


Russian says military base in Syria sheltering 8,000 displaced

Russian says military base in Syria sheltering 8,000 displaced
Updated 13 March 2025
Follow

Russian says military base in Syria sheltering 8,000 displaced

Russian says military base in Syria sheltering 8,000 displaced
  • The Russian airbase at Hmeimim has sheltered over 8,000 locals fleeing violence

MOSCOW: Russia is sheltering at its Hmeimim military air base in western Syria more than 8,000 Syrians who fled a wave of sectarian mass killings, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman said Thursday.
“The Russian air base at Hmeimim has opened its doors to local residents fleeing from the pogroms... Our military have given refuge to more than 8,000 people,” Maria Zakharova told reporters at a regular briefing.


Israeli airstrike targets Palestinian Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus

Israeli airstrike targets Palestinian Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus
Updated 13 March 2025
Follow

Israeli airstrike targets Palestinian Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus

Israeli airstrike targets Palestinian Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus
  • The Syrian monitor says at least one dead in Israel strike

DAMASCUS: Israeli aircraft struck a building in Damascus on Thursday, Syria's state news agency SANA reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, confirmed the attack, stating that two missiles hit the building, killing at least one person. The airstrike took place in an area where Palestinian leaders are known to reside.

According to two Syrian security sources, the target of the Israeli strike was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization headquarters. One of the sources identified the victim as a Palestinian person. However, the Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack, though an Israeli army radio military correspondent confirmed that an Israeli aircraft had targeted the Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus.