UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations chief said Tuesday he was “deeply alarmed” by the intensifying conflict between Israel and Hamas, while the UN refugee agency appealed for the divided Security Council to act.
The 15-member Council has not adopted any resolution on the three-week-long war in the Middle East, rejecting four drafts.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the escalating fighting included “ground operations by the Israel Defense Forces accompanied by intense air strikes, and the continued rocket fire toward Israel from Gaza.”
“Civilians have borne the brunt of the current fighting from the outset,” he said in his statement.
“I repeat my utter condemnation of the acts of terror perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October. There is never any justification for the killing, injuring and abduction of civilians. I appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of those civilians held hostage by Hamas.
“I condemn the killing of civilians in Gaza and I am dismayed by reports that two-thirds of those who have been killed are women and children.”
Guterres also underlined his fears “about the risk of a dangerous escalation beyond Gaza.”
As fierce fighting raged Tuesday, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees urged the UN Security Council to unite and back a cease-fire.
“A humanitarian cease-fire can at least stop this spiral of death and I hope that you will overcome your divisions and exercise your authority in demanding one,” Filippo Grandi told the Security Council in New York.
Grandi later told reporters that bringing help into Gaza was the most important humanitarian goal.
“Palestinians do not want to leave Gaza. They want aid to come into Gaza and that should be the priority,” he said.
Some Security Council draft texts have been blocked by the United States because they did not mention Israel’s right to defend itself, while one was stymied by Russia and China in particular because it did not clearly call for a cease-fire.
Israel launched its most intense military campaign ever on Gaza after suffering the bloodiest attack in its history when Hamas gunmen on October 7 killed some 1,400 people in a brutal cross-border raid, according to Israeli officials.
Israeli warplanes on Tuesday kept up a relentless barrage of strikes on Gaza, where the Hamas-run health ministry said that at least 8,525 people had been killed, including over 3,500 children.
UN alarmed as Middle East war intensifies
https://arab.news/jc6vv
UN alarmed as Middle East war intensifies
- Antonio Guterres: ‘Civilians have borne the brunt of the current fighting from the outset’
Syrian authorities arrest member of elite army unit linked to Assad’s brother
- 4th Armoured Division has been accused of human rights violations and drug smuggling during Syria’s civil war
LONDON: Syrian authorities arrested Nidal Ali Suleiman, a former member of an elite military unit during the regime of Bashar Assad, the Interior Ministry announced on Sunday.
Internal security forces in the Al-Ghab area, in coordination with the Anti-Terror Branch in Hama, arrested Suleiman, who is suspected of involvement in fighting in the Hama region. He is also accused of smuggling weapons to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and taking part in drug trafficking activities.
The 4th Armoured Division was an elite formation of the Syrian Arab Army established in the 1980s. From 2018 until the collapse of the Assad regime, the unit was commanded by Maher Assad, brother of the former president. The division has been accused of committing human rights violations, and was involved in drug manufacturing and smuggling during the civil war from 2011 to 2024.
Maher Assad is believed to have fled to Russia following the collapse of the regime.
Since December 2024, the new government in Damascus has arrested several Assad-era army officers for alleged crimes committed against Syrians during the conflict.
Last week, authorities in Hama detained three people accused of involvement in an armed group linked to remnants of the Assad regime.
Authorities said they remain committed to protecting citizens, maintaining civil peace, and enforcing the law against anyone who jeopardizes the security and stability of the country, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
