JERUSALEM: Israel has helped a former soldier leave Brazil after legal action was initiated against him by a group accusing Israelis of war crimes in the Gaza Strip based in part on soldiers’ social media posts.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday said it had helped the former soldier safely leave Brazil on a commercial flight after what it described as “anti-Israel elements” sought an investigation last week. It warned Israelis against posting on social media about their military service.
The Hind Rajab Foundation, named for a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza, said Brazilian authorities had launched an investigation into the soldier after it filed a complaint based on video footage, geolocation data and photographs showing him taking part in the demolition of civilian homes.
The foundation described the move as a “pivotal step toward accountability for crimes committed in Gaza” during nearly 15 months of war.
There was no immediate comment from Brazilian authorities. Brazilian media reported Saturday that the investigation was ordered by an on-call federal judge in Brazil’s Federal District. The decision was issued on Dec. 30 but first reported over the weekend.
Israel has faced heavy international criticism over its war against Hamas in Gaza, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. The International Court of Justice is separately investigating genocide allegations.
The Brazil case raised the prospect that rank-and-file Israeli troops could also face prosecution while traveling abroad.
Israel adamantly rejects the international allegations, saying its forces in Gaza are acting in accordance with international law and that any violations are punished within its judicial systems. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths, saying the militant group conceals tunnels and other infrastructure in residential buildings, necessitating their demolition.
Throughout the war, Israeli soldiers have posted numerous videos from Gaza that appear to show them rummaging through homes and blowing up or burning residential buildings. In some, they chant racist slogans or boast about destroying the Palestinian territory.
The military has pledged to take disciplinary action in what it says are a handful of isolated cases.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 45,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials. They say women and children make up over half the dead but do not distinguish between civilians and militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed five people in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza and four in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to health workers. Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 88 people had been killed in the past 24 hours.
The war has caused widespread destruction in Gaza and displaced around 90 percent of the population of 2.3 million people, with many forced to flee multiple times.
Israeli forces kill Palestinian security member
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed a member of the Palestinian security services, calling him a wanted militant.
Israel’s paramilitary Border Police said Sunday they carried out an operation in Meithaloun village overnight to arrest Hassan Rabaiya. They said he was killed in a shootout while trying to escape.
Israeli authorities released helmet-cam footage that showed the police shooting the suspect and blowing up what police said was an explosives lab in his home.
The Palestinian security services identified Rabaiya as a first lieutenant in its Preventive Security force, saying he was killed while “performing his national duty.”
Meithaloun is near the West Bank city of Jenin, an epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. The Palestinian Authority has been waging a rare crackdown on militants in Jenin, angering many Palestinians.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters. But Israel has long accused it of inciting violence and turning a blind eye to militants, while Palestinian critics view it as a corrupt and ineffective body that aids the occupation.
The West Bank has seen a surge of violence during the war in Gaza. Israel captured both Gaza and the West Bank, as well as east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.
Israel warns that ceasefire in Lebanon is at risk
Israel’s defense minister warned Sunday that the truce that ended more than a year of fighting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah is at risk.
Israel Katz said the agreement requires Hezbollah to withdraw to the north of the Litani River and Lebanese troops to eliminate militant infrastructure in the buffer zone — “something that hasn’t happened yet.”
“If this condition is not met, there will be no agreement, and Israel will be forced to act on its own to ensure the safe return of the residents of (Israel’s) north to their homes,” he said.
Both sides have accused the other of violating the ceasefire agreement. Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it calls Hezbollah targets, accusing the militant group of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed.
The deal struck on Nov. 27 required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon. It gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.
Hezbollah, severely degraded after Israeli strikes, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline.
Israel helps former soldier leave Brazil over investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza
https://arab.news/jcx6k
Israel helps former soldier leave Brazil over investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza
- The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint of alleged war crimes based on video footage, geolocation data and photographs
- Israel adamantly rejects the international allegations, saying its forces in Gaza are acting in accordance with international law
Syrian army pushes into Aleppo district after Kurdish groups reject withdrawal
- Two Syrian security officials told Reuters the ceasefire efforts had failed and that the army would seize the neighborhood by force
ALEPPO, Syria: The Syrian army said it would push into the last Kurdish-held district of Aleppo city on Friday after Kurdish groups there rejected a government demand for their fighters to withdraw under a ceasefire deal.
The violence in Aleppo has brought into focus one of the main faultlines in Syria as the country tries to rebuild after a devastating war, with Kurdish forces resisting efforts by President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s Islamist-led government to bring their fighters under centralized authority.
At least nine civilians have been killed and more than 140,000 have fled their homes in Aleppo, where Kurdish forces are trying to cling on to several neighborhoods they have run since the early days of the war, which began in 2011.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Standoff pits government against Kurdish forces
• Sharaa says Kurds are ‘fundamental’ part of Syria
• More than 140,000 have fled homes due to unrest
• Turkish, Syrian foreign ministers discuss Aleppo by phone
ِA ceasefire was announced by the defense ministry overnight, demanding the withdrawal of Kurdish forces to the Kurdish-held northeast. That would effectively end Kurdish control over the pockets of Aleppo that Kurdish forces have held.
CEASEFIRE ‘FAILED,’ SECURITY OFFICIALS SAY
But in a statement, Kurdish councils that run Aleppo’s Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafiyah districts said calls to leave were “a call to surrender” and that Kurdish forces would instead “defend their neighborhoods,” accusing government forces of intensive shelling.
Hours later, the Syrian army said that the deadline for Kurdish fighters to withdraw had expired, and that it would begin a military operation to clear the last Kurdish-held neighborhood of Sheikh Maksoud.
Two Syrian security officials told Reuters the ceasefire efforts had failed and that the army would seize the neighborhood by force.
The Syrian defense ministry had earlier carried out strikes on parts of Sheikh Maksoud that it said were being used by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to launch attacks on the “people of Aleppo.” It said on Friday that SDF strikes had killed three army soldiers.
Kurdish security forces in Aleppo said some of the strikes hit a hospital, calling it a war crime. The defense ministry disputed that, saying the structure was a large arms depot and that it had been destroyed in the resumption of strikes on Friday.
It posted an aerial video that it said showed the location after the strikes, and said secondary explosions were visible, proving it was a weapons cache.
Reuters could not immediately verify the claim.
The SDF is a powerful Kurdish-led security force that controls northeastern Syria. It says it withdrew its fighters from Aleppo last year, leaving Kurdish neighborhoods in the hands of the Kurdish Asayish police.
Under an agreement with Damascus last March the SDF was due to integrate with the defense ministry by the end of 2025, but there has been little progress.
FRANCE, US SEEK DE-ESCALATION
France’s foreign ministry said it was working with the United States to de-escalate.
A ministry statement said President Emmanuel Macron had urged Sharaa on Thursday “to exercise restraint and reiterated France’s commitment to a united Syria where all segments of Syrian society are represented and protected.”
A Western diplomat told Reuters that mediation efforts were focused on calming the situation and producing a deal that would see Kurdish forces leave Aleppo and provide security guarantees for Kurds who remained.
The diplomat said US envoy Tom Barrack was en route to Damascus. A spokesperson for Barrack declined to comment. Washington has been closely involved in efforts to promote integration between the SDF — which has long enjoyed US military support — and Damascus, with which the United States has developed close ties under President Donald Trump.
The ceasefire declared by the government overnight said Kurdish forces should withdraw by 9 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Friday, but no one withdrew overnight, Syrian security sources said.
Barrack had welcomed what he called a “temporary ceasefire” and said Washington was working intensively to extend it beyond the 9 a.m. deadline. “We are hopeful this weekend will bring a more enduring calm and deeper dialogue,” he wrote on X.
TURKISH WARNING
Turkiye views the SDF as a terrorist organization linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party and has warned of military action if it does not honor the integration agreement.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking on Thursday, expressed hope that the situation in Aleppo would be normalized “through the withdrawal of SDF elements.”
Though Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda commander who belongs to the Sunni Muslim majority, has repeatedly vowed to protect minorities, bouts of violence in which government-aligned fighters have killed hundreds of Alawites and Druze have spread alarm in minority communities over the last year.
The Kurdish councils in Aleppo said Damascus could not be trusted “with our security and our neighborhoods,” and that attacks on the areas aimed to bring about displacement.
Sharaa, in a phone call with Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Friday, affirmed that the Kurds were “a fundamental part of the Syrian national fabric,” the Syrian presidency said.
Neither the government nor the Kurdish forces have announced a toll of casualties among their fighters from the recent clashes.
