GAZA: The International Committee of the Red Cross’s (ICRC) head urged Israelis and Palestinians on Wednesday to find a political solution so violence like last month’s hostilities at Gaza Strip border might be prevented.
On his first visit to Gaza in four years, Robert Mardini toured areas devastated by Israeli bombardments during the 11 days of fighting, including a road where 42 people were killed.
“It is really heart-breaking to see and to hear about the people who paid the ultimate cost of this escalation — women, children, civilians who were living safely in their apartments and were caught in this rubble that we see behind us,” he told Reuters.
“I hope this is the last time I am coming to witness yet again the results and the humanitarian impact of yet again another cycle of violence and escalation.”
Gaza medical officials said Israeli air strikes killed 253 Palestinians. Rockets and missiles fired by Palestinian factions killed 13 people in Israel.
“What is really needed is political leadership on all sides to avoid that people yet again are in the line of fire because of yet again another round of escalation,” Mardini said.
“Political leadership to find a sustainable solution that is more sustainable than what we have been witnessing over the past decade and more.”
Asked whether he would discuss the prospects of a new prisoners’ swap deal while the region, Mardini said the ICRC stood ready to help the parties should there be a deal.
“We have repeatedly offered our services as a neutral intermediary, so we will be renewing this offer yet again,” he said.
Standing by the rubble of the houses of Kolak family, which lost 22 members in Israeli air strikes, Mardini spoke to some survivors.
“My grandfather died, my father died, his (father’s) son died, his grandchild died, a dynasty was martyred,” said Wasim Al-Kolak, 31, urging international prosecution of Israel.
Red Cross chief urges Israel, Palestinians to end cycle of violence
https://arab.news/mv27a
Red Cross chief urges Israel, Palestinians to end cycle of violence
Syrian government vows to protect Kurds in Aleppo, accuses SDF of planting explosives
- Kurdish-led group targeting neighborhoods with mortars, machine guns, Ministry of Defense says
- Army declares Ashrafieh, Sheikh Maqsoud ‘closed military zone’ after hundreds of civilians evacuated
LONDON: The Syrian government on Wednesday affirmed its commitment to protect all citizens, including Kurds, as armed tensions in Aleppo between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces continued for a fourth day.
The Ministry of Defense accused the SDF of planting explosives on roads and setting booby traps in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, and bombarding them with mortar shells and heavy machine gun fire.
The army designated the two neighborhoods a “closed military zone” after the Syrian Arab Red Crescent evacuated 850 civilians from the area.
The government said in a statement that the SDF played no role in the city’s security and military affairs.
“This confirms that the exclusive responsibility for maintaining security and protecting residents falls upon the Syrian state and its legitimate institutions, in accordance with the constitution and applicable laws,” it said.
Protecting all citizens, including Kurds, was a non-negotiable responsibility upheld without discrimination based on ethnicity or affiliation, it said.
It also rejected any portrayal of its security measures as targeting a specific community, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
“The authorities concerned stress that those displaced from areas of tension are exclusively civilians, all of them Kurdish citizens who left their neighborhoods out of fear of escalation,” the statement said.
“They sought refuge in areas under the control of the state and its official institutions, which clearly demonstrates the trust of Kurdish citizens in the Syrian state and its ability to provide them with protection and security and refutes claims alleging that they face threats or targeted actions.”
The government called for the withdrawal of armed groups from Aleppo.
At least three civilians and a Syrian soldier have been killed and dozens more injured in Aleppo since Tuesday. Authorities have accused the SDF of targeting medical and educational facilities.
The escalation in violence has dealt a blow to an agreement between the two sides that was meant to be implemented by the end of last year.
The Syrian government reached an agreement with the SDF in March that included plans to integrate the group’s military, territory and natural resources, including oil fields, into the new government in Damascus.
