GAZA CITY: At least 13 Israeli and foreign hostages held in the northern Gaza Strip have been killed in Israeli air strikes in the past 24 hours, Hamas’s armed wing said Friday.
In a surprise assault early Saturday, Hamas militants stormed Israeli communities near the Gaza border and fired barrages of rockets, in an attack that claimed more than 1,200 lives.
Israel says Hamas has taken more than 150 people hostage, including both civilians and security forces.
“Thirteen prisoners... including foreigners” were killed in five locations targeted by Israeli fighter jets, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.
Israel has rained air and artillery strikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip — a densely populated enclave of 2.4 million people — flattening buildings and killing more than 1,500 people.
According to the Hamas media office in Gaza, at least 500 children are among the dead.
The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades had warned this week that “every targeting of our people without warning will be met with the execution of one of the civilian hostages.”
Hamas says 13 hostages killed in Israel strikes on Gaza
https://arab.news/6zvyh
Hamas says 13 hostages killed in Israel strikes on Gaza
- Israel says Hamas has taken more than 150 people hostage
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.
