BEIRUT: Airstrikes struck a center of Syria’s rescuers known as the White Helmets in a rebel-held area in the country’s center, killing eight volunteers, opposition activists said Saturday.
The airstrike was one of the deadliest against the rescuers who operate in opposition-held areas and who have garnered world attention for operating in extreme conditions, pulling survivors out of recently struck areas. The volunteers have often been targeted by government airstrikes, in what are known as ‘double tap’ attacks, as they work to rescue others.
The local White Helmets in the central Hama province said an air raid on one of their centers in Kfar Zeita killed eight members of the team. The group said five bodies were lifted from the rubble and the rescuers continued to look for the others.
The Britain-based opposition monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the number of those killed is likely to rise as the search mission continues.
It was not clear who carried out the airstrikes, as Syrian government and Russia aircraft have targeted opposition-held areas. The central Hama province have been scene to intense violence in recent weeks, as the government attempts to push back a rebel offensive.
Separately Saturday, Syria’s military said its troops and allied fighters repelled an attack by the Daesh group on a strategic area held by the government in southern Aleppo province.
The attack took place in Khanaser, southeast Aleppo — a strategic region that links Aleppo with central and western Syria. The area has changed hands many times during the conflict. But last year, government troops and allied fighters wrested control of Khanaser from Daesh.
The military media arm said Daesh attacked Um Mayyal village near a mountain range in Khanaser and other areas.
The Observatory said Daesh fighters launched the attack on military posts in the area, triggering intense clashes and leaving many casualties.
Daesh-affiliated Aamaq news agency claimed Daesh fighters killed 30 government soldiers in the attack.
Near the capital, hundreds of Syrians from the rebel-held suburbs of eastern Ghouta near Damascus protested against infighting between the insurgent groups that began Friday and left dozens killed in the area.
The infighting came amid an intensified government offensive in the area near Damascus, which the rebels have controlled for years but has been increasingly squeezed by government advances.
“God rid us of all leaders,” the protesters chanted, criticizing the head of the insurgent groups for diverting their weapons from the front line with the government.
The infighting is pitting the powerful Army of Islam group against Al-Rahman Corps and Al-Qaeda-linked group the Levant Liberation Committee, or Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham. Each side blames the other for triggering the fighting in the power struggle over control of eastern Ghouta. Some activists have called on Army of Islam to rid eastern Ghouta of the powerful Al-Qaeda-linked group.
The Observatory said shots were fired at the protesters in one area, leaving five injured.
In 24 hours of fighting, the Observatory said at least 38 insurgents from the warring sides were killed. Damascus-based Shaam News Network put the number at 60, in addition to six civilians killed because of the clashes.
For the past three years, the government has been unable to regain control of the eastern suburbs of Damascus. But in recent weeks, an intensified offensive points to a new determination to retake the area.
On Saturday, activists reported a heavy air campaign against the area’s Qaboun neighborhood.
Airstrike in Hama, Syria kills 8 White Helmets rescuers
Airstrike in Hama, Syria kills 8 White Helmets rescuers
Libya demands improvements after leaked photos show tiny cell of Muammar Qaddafi’s son in Beirut
- Hannibal Qaddafi has been held in Lebanon since 2015 after he was kidnapped from neighboring Syria
- Qaddafi was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information about the fate of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa Al-Sadr
BEIRUT: Leaked photographs of the son of Libya’s late dictator Muammar Qaddafi and the tiny underground cell where he has been held for years in Lebanon have raised concerns in the north African nation as Libyan authorities demand improvements.
The photos showed a room without natural light packed with Hannibal Qaddafi’s belongings, a bed and a tiny toilet. “I live in misery,” local Al-Jadeed TV quoted the detainee as saying in a Saturday evening broadcast, adding that he is a political prisoner in a case he has no information about.
Two Lebanese judicial officials confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that the photographs aired by Al-Jadeed are of Qaddafi and the cell where he has been held for years at police headquarters in Beirut. Qaddafi appeared healthy, with a light beard and glasses.
A person who is usually in contact with Qaddafi, a Libyan citizen, said the photos were taken in recent days. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media outlets.
Qaddafi has been held in Lebanon since 2015 after he was kidnapped from neighboring Syria, where he had been living as a political refugee. He was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information about the fate of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa Al-Sadr, who went missing during a trip to Libya in 1978.
The fate of Al-Sadr has been a sore point in Lebanon. His family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume Al-Sadr, who would be 95 now, is dead.
A Libyan delegation visited Beirut in January to reopen talks with Lebanese officials on the fate of Al-Sadr and the release of Qaddafi. The talks were aimed at reactivating a dormant agreement between Lebanon and Libya, struck in 2014, for cooperation in the probe of Al-Sadr. The delegation did not return to Beirut as planned.
The leaks by Al-Jadeed came after reports that Qaddafi was receiving special treatment at police headquarters and that he had cosmetic surgeries including hair transplants and teeth improvements. Al-Jadeed quoted him as saying: “Let them take my hair and teeth and give me my freedom.”
Qaddafi went on a hunger strike in June last year and was taken to a hospital after his health deteriorated.
Libya’s Justice Ministry in a statement Sunday said Qaddafi is being deprived of his rights guaranteed by law. It called on Lebanese authorities to improve his living conditions to one that “preserves his dignity,” adding that Lebanese authorities should formally inform the ministry of the improvements. It also said Qaddafi deserves to be released.
After he was kidnapped in 2015, Lebanese authorities freed him but then detained him, accusing him of concealing information about Al-Sadr’s disappearance.
Al-Sadr was the founder of the Amal group, a Shiite militia that fought in Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war and later became a political party that is currently led by the country’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Many of Al-Sadr’s followers are convinced that Muammar Qaddafi ordered Al-Sadr killed in a dispute over Libyan payments to Lebanese militias. Libya has maintained that the cleric, along with two traveling companions, left Tripoli in 1978 on a flight to Rome.
Human Rights Watch issued a statement in January calling for Qaddafi’s release. The rights group noted that Qaddafi was only 2 years old at the time of Al-Sadr’s disappearance and held no senior position in Libya as an adult.
French FM in Beirut submits new peace proposal
- ‘We are working to avoid Lebanon being ravaged by a regional war,’ says Stephane Sejourne
BEIRUT: The French foreign minister has submitted a new peace proposal in Beirut aimed at ending months of violence between Hezbollah and Israel.
Stephane Sejourne met officials in Beirut on Sunday, calling on the warring parties to abide by UN Resolution 1701.
After the talks, he said: “War exists even if not explicitly named. Civilians are paying the price, and no one is interested in the continuing escalation. This is the message I conveyed here, and this is the message I will convey on Tuesday to Israel.”
The minister discussed an amendment to a proposal Paris had presented to Lebanon for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
UN Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the brutal Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006, is widely viewed as the most suitable framework for ending the latest conflict.
However, Hezbollah has persisted with linking its strikes on Israel to events in the Gaza Strip, while the Lebanese state has reminded Israel of its obligation to Resolution 1701 following repeated violations.
On Monday, reports said that a French technical team would bring the revised French initiative to Lebanese authorities within 48 hours. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was notified by Sejourne about the update.
The proposal will be delivered to Lebanon through diplomatic channels, said the French minister, who left Lebanon on Sunday night following his visit.
The revised version of the French initiative contains several pillars, including the cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army under UN Resolution 1701.
It also calls for the safe return of Israelis to northern settlements and Lebanese citizens to border towns in the south.
Additionally, the initiative calls for deploying more Lebanese military forces across border areas and strengthening the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL.
The earlier version of the French peace plan, sent to Lebanon in mid-March, called for Hezbollah and its allies to retreat 10-12 km from the border. It also urged Israel to avoid “air violations.”
While in Beirut, Sejourne advised Berri to prioritize the election of a president before finalizing negotiations on the situation in the south.
Establishing a governing authority and ensuring presidential involvement in negotiations with Israel was “important,” he said.
Berri presented Sejourne with a map from the Scientific Research Institute that detailed the extensive damage and losses caused by Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon.
The map said that Israeli phosphorus bombings had affected “an area of 10 million sq meters.”
In addition, since the low-level conflict began last October, 1,000 housing units have been destroyed and thousands partially damaged.
Israeli operations have caused “significant harm to the environment and agriculture,” an infographic said.
After his talks in Lebanon, the French foreign minister said: “The crisis has lasted a long time. We are working to avoid Lebanon being ravaged by a regional war.
“We call on all parties to exercise restraint, and we reject the worst scenario in Lebanon, which is war.”
The UNIFIL operational region in Lebanon saw no activity on Sunday morning, after months of hostilies between Hezbollah and Israel in the area.
It coincided with Sejourne’s visit to UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, where he was briefed on the border situation by commander Gen. Aroldo Lazaro.
Sejourne also inspected the work of French peacekeepers serving with UNIFIL.
Meanwhile, Israeli military drones launched two missiles toward Aita Al-Shaab on Monday.
Other Israeli military drones raided Khiam, following a night of heavy shelling on Lebanese border villages, including Aita Al-Shaab, Kfarkila, Tayr Harfa, Naqoura and Jabal Blat.
Hezbollah said it targeted “a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Ruwaizat Al-Alam site with artillery shells.”
Residents in southern Lebanon have claimed that the Israeli army is deploying “a new type of heavy artillery.”
One resident told Arab News: “The whole region shakes and the ground trembles under our feet from the border until Nabatieh as if they were using seismic, thermobaric missiles.”
The morning Israeli strikes were a response to the interception of “over 30 missiles launched from southern Lebanon toward the Galilee panhandle and the upper Galilee,” according to Israeli media.
The Al-Qassam Brigades — the military wing of Hamas — said in a statement that its Lebanon branch had targeted the headquarters of Israel’s 769th Eastern Brigade.
The group launched a salvo of rockets from southern Lebanon, describing the attack as a response to “Israel’s massacres in Gaza and the West Bank.”
US opposes ICC probe as Israel fears arrest warrants
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that any ICC decisions would not affect Israel’s actions but would set a dangerous precedent
- Israeli officials are worried the court could issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and other top officials for alleged violations in Gaza
WASHINGTON: The United States said Monday it opposed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into Israel’s conduct in Gaza, amid reports that Israeli officials fear the Hague-based tribunal could soon issue arrest warrants.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly raised the issue with US President Joe Biden in a call at the weekend.
“We’ve been really clear about the ICC investigation, that we don’t support it, we don’t believe that they have the jurisdiction,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing.
The New York Times quoted Israeli officials as saying that Netanyahu himself could be among those charged. The court was also weighing charges against leaders of Hamas, it said.
Jean-Pierre would not confirm a report by news outlet Axios that Netanyahu had asked Biden in their call Sunday to prevent the court from sending out warrants for Israeli officials.
“The primary focus of that call was obviously the hostage deal and getting to a ceasefire, getting humanitarian aid into Gaza,” she added.
The spokeswoman also declined to comment on reports that Washington had reached out to the ICC to warn that the issuing of any warrants could derail moves to reach the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
The ICC has not commented on the reports. But a series of Israeli officials has in recent days said any attempt by the court to take any action against Israel would be “outrageous.”
“Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense,” Netanyahu said on X on Friday.
“While the ICC will not affect Israel’s actions, it would set a dangerous precedent that threatens the soldiers and officials of all democracies fighting savage terrorism and wanton aggression.”
Foreign minister Israel Katz said his country would “not bow our heads or be deterred” by the legal threat.
“If the warrants are issued, they will harm the commanders and soldiers of the IDF (Israeli army) and provide a morale boost to the terrorist organization Hamas and the axis of radical Islam led by Iran against which we are fighting,” Katz said over the weekend.
Neither the United States nor Israel is a member of the ICC.
But the ICC opened a probe in 2021 into Israel as well as Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups for possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has said the investigation now extends to hostilities since Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel.
The ICC is the world’s only independent court set up to probe the gravest offenses by individual suspects, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
It has previously issued warrants for national leaders — most recently Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine.
Although the prospects of actual arrest remain slim in such cases, warrants can make it difficult for leaders to travel abroad.
Suspected Houthi missiles hit commercial ship in Red Sea
- US military destroys new barrage of militia drones
- CENTCOM says actions taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer
AL-MUKALLA: Missiles thought to have been fired by Houthi forces in Yemen targeted a commercial ship in the Red Sea on Monday as the US military destroyed a new barrage of Houthi drones.
UK Maritime Trade Operations said that it received an alarm about an explosion in the proximity of a commercial ship 87 km northwest of Yemen’s western town of Al-Mokha, but that the ship and the crew were safe.
“Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to (us),” UKMTO said on X.
Ambrey, a UK maritime security service, identified the target ship as a Malta-flagged cargo vessel that was hit by three missiles while travelling from Djibouti to the Gulf.
The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for Monday’s strike, although they often only take credit several hours, sometimes even days, after an attack.
Since November, the Iran-backed Houthis have seized one commercial ship, sunk another, and launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and remotely operated and explosives-laden boats at commercial and navy vessels in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.
The Yemeni militia claims that the assaults are aimed only against Israel-bound and Israel-linked ships to push Israel to allow humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip.
In response to the Houthi’s ship campaign, the US formed a coalition of marine forces to protect critical maritime channels off Yemen and began strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
The US Central Command said that its forces on Sunday intercepted five drones launched by the Houthis over the Red Sea that were aimed at the US, its allies, and international commercial and naval ships.
“These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US coalition and merchant vessels,” CENTCOM said on X on Monday morning.
At the same time, the Houthi-run Saba news agency reported that the group’s armed forces carried out more than 83 strikes on 103 ships affiliated with Israel and its allies, as well as shooting down three US military MQ-9 Reaper drones between November 19, 2023, and April 26, 2024.
In a 39-page report on campaign against shipping in the Red Sea, the Houthis claimed that their strikes killed two American marines, two Filipinos, and one Vietnamese sailor while injuring four marines from the US-led marine task force.
During the campaign, the Houthis captured one ship, set fire to four, sunk two others, and damaged scores more, according to the report.
Despite a recent escalation in the number of strikes, since late last month the Houthis have drastically curtailed missile and drone attacks on ships.
The decrease in assaults has caused US military generals and analysts to surmise that the Houthis may have run out of weaponry and that the US-led air campaign reduced their military capabilities.
Jordan welcomes UK delegation to introduce weather forecasting project
- Project aims to provide meteorological data and early warnings to refugee-hosting communities
AMMAN: Jordanian Transport Minister Wesam Altahtamouni welcomed a delegation from the British Embassy in Amman and the British Meteorological Office on Monday.
The meeting came as part of the UK Foreign Ministry’s efforts to implement the Jahez project, which aims to provide meteorological data and early warnings to refugee-hosting communities, Jordan News Agency reported.
Jahez, which will span three to five years, aims to develop proactive plans and long-term strategies, enhance monitoring and forecasting systems, and implement resilience-building measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The collaboration will involve Jordan’s ministries of transport, environment, planning, water and irrigation, as well as relevant municipalities.
Helen Ticehurst from the British Meteorological Office explained the British Meteorological Office’s operations and the objectives of Jahez.
The project also focuses on climate finance for countries hosting refugees.
Altahtamouni praised the British delegation for its willingness to provide technical assistance, leveraging the expertise of the British Meteorological Office in proactive weather forecasting and climate change adaptation.
