GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency reported on Friday that the death toll from an Israeli air strike the day before on a house in the north of the Palestinian territory had risen to 23.
“Civil defense teams recovered 11 bodies last night and this morning following the Israeli bombing that targeted a residential house ... in Jabalia,” Mohammed Al-Mughayyir, an official with the agency, told AFP.
“This is in addition to the 12 victims recovered at the time of the attack yesterday,” he added.
Gaza’s northern area of Jabalia has repeatedly been a focus Israel’s military offensive since the start of the war on October 7, 2023 following Hamas’s attack on Israel.
The military has returned to the district several times after announcing it had been cleared of militants, saying Hamas fighters had regrouped there.
In another strike in the area on Thursday, Israel hit what was previously a police station, rescuers said.
The toll from that attack has risen to 11, Mughayyir said, after initially announcing that nine people had been killed.
The military said on Thursday that it had struck a Hamas “command and control center” in the area of Jabalia, without specifying the target.
Israeli strikes continued on Friday, with the civil defense agency reporting that at least five people — a couple and their three children — had been killed when their tent was struck in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Yunis.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that the deceased woman had been pregnant.
Since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18 after the collapse of a two-month ceasefire with Hamas, at least 1,978 people have been killed in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll of the war to 51,355, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Rescuers say death toll from Israeli strike on north Gaza home rises to 23
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Rescuers say death toll from Israeli strike on north Gaza home rises to 23
- Gaza’s civil defense agency reported on Friday that the death toll from an Israeli air strike the day before on a house in the north of the Palestinian territory had risen to 23
- Gaza’s northern area of Jabalia has repeatedly been a focus Israel’s military offensive
Efforts to heal Syria’s ‘deep divisions’ arduous but ‘not insurmountable,’ UN chief says on anniversary of Assad’s fall
- Antonio Guterres hails ‘end of a decades-old system of repression,’ Syrians’ ‘resilience and courage’— Transition offers opportunity to ‘forge a nation where every Syrian can live securely, equally, and with dignity’
NEW YORK: Efforts to heal Syria’s “deep divisions” will be long and arduous but the challenges ahead are “not insurmountable,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday as he marked the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime.
A surprise offensive by a coalition of rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied militias rapidly swept through regime-held areas in late November 2024. Within days, they seized key cities and ultimately captured the capital Damascus.
On Dec. 8 last year, as regime defenses collapsed almost overnight, then-President Bashar Assad fled the Syrian Arab Republic, ending more than 50 years of brutal rule by his family.
“Today marks one year since the fall of the Assad government and the end of a decades-old system of repression,” Guterres said, praising the “resilience and courage” of Syrians “who never stopped nurturing hope despite enduring unimaginable hardship.”
He added that the anniversary was both a moment of reflection on the sacrifices made in pursuit of “historic change,” and a reminder of the difficult path ahead for the country.
“What lies ahead is far more than a political transition; it is the chance to rebuild shattered communities and heal deep divisions,” he said, adding that the transition offers an opportunity to “forge a nation where every Syrian — regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or political affiliation — can live securely, equally, and with dignity.”
Guterres stressed that the UN will continue supporting Syrians as they shape new political and civic institutions.
“The challenges are significant, but not insurmountable,” he said. “The past year has shown that meaningful change is possible when Syrians are empowered and supported in driving their own transition.”
He added that communities across the country are building new governance structures, and that “Syrian women continue to lead the charge for their rights, justice, and equality.”
Though humanitarian needs remain “immense,” he pointed to progress in restoring services, widening aid access, and creating conditions for the return of refugees and displaced people.
Transitional justice efforts are under way, he added, alongside broader civic engagement. Guterres urged governments to stand firmly behind a “Syrian-led, Syrian-owned transition,” saying support must include respect for sovereignty, removal of barriers to reconstruction, and robust funding for humanitarian and economic recovery.
“On this anniversary, we stand united in purpose — to build a foundation of peace and prosperity and renew our pledge to a free, sovereign, united, and inclusive Syria,” he added.
