GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Israeli air strikes hit the home of Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas’ political wing in the Gaza Strip, the army said Sunday, but without saying if he was killed.
“Among the targets struck are the residences of Yahya Sinwar, Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau in Gaza, as well as of his brother, Muhammad Sinwar, Head of Logistics and Manpower for Hamas,” Israel’s army said in a statement, releasing a video showing plumes of smoke and intense damage.
“Both residences served as military infrastructure for the Hamas terror organization.”
Witnesses confirmed to AFP a strike had hit Sinwar’s house.
Sinwar, a former commander of Hamas’s military branch, served more than two decades in an Israeli jail before he was released in 2011 as a part of a prisoner exchange.
First elected as the head of Hamas’s political wing in Gaza in 2017, he was re-elected in March, extending his tenure as the Islamist movement’s de facto leader in the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave.
Hamas overall chief Ismail Haniyeh is currently based in Qatar.
The army said it had also carried out strikes targeting Hamas tunnel systems.
As of 07:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) Sunday, Israel’s army said that Palestinian militants in Gaza had fired some 2,900 rockets toward Israel.
The army said 450 rockets fell short inside Gaza, while Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system has intercepted approximately 1,150 rockets.
Israel strikes house of Hamas political chief in Gaza Strip
https://arab.news/vw2m6
Israel strikes house of Hamas political chief in Gaza Strip
- Yahya Sinwar is the Islamist movement’s de facto leader in the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave
Syrian authorities bust smuggling ring, tighten border controls
- Smugglers' boat collides with rocks as it attempted to flee pursuing as Coast Guard vessels
- The boat was about to illegally transport passengers from the Syrian coast of Tartus coast to Cyprus
DAMASCUS: Syrian Coast Guard forces have arrested members of a human smuggling network operating in the western town of Tartus, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported Saturday.
Authorities pounced on the smugglers as they were about to transport passengers from the Tartus coast to Cyprus by illegal means, the state media said, citing a statement from the General Authority of Ports and Customs.
"The operation resulted in the arrest of all those involved, including the organizers of the trip," said the report, adding that the smugglers' boat attempted to escape as Coast Guard vessels surrounded it, but collided with rocks.
No details were made available on how many suspects were arrested and how many passengers were rescued. Criminal charges are being prepared against the arrested suspects, SANA said.
New restrictions on commercial transit
In a separate move to regulate trade and border security, the ports and customs authority has issued a new policy restricting truck access at land crossings and seaports.
Commercial trucks will now only be permitted entry for loading or unloading upon presentation of an original receipt from the Ministry of Transport’s freight office.
The transfer of cargo between Syrian and non-Syrian vehicles must now take place strictly within designated customs yards at border crossings.
Trucks passing through Syria in transit remain permitted, provided they are under a mandatory customs escort between entry and exit points.
