JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said Wednesday it had killed six militants in an updated toll from an exchange of fire in Gaza the day before, accusing them of violating the ceasefire in the territory.
The military said in a statement late on Tuesday that it had killed two of six militants it had identified adjacent to its troops in western Rafah and that tanks had fired on them.
It said they were killed in an ensuing exchange of fire, including aerial strikes, while troops continued to search for the rest.
In a statement on Wednesday, the military said that “following searches that were conducted in the area, it is now confirmed that troops eliminated the six terrorists during the exchange of fire.”
It said the presence of the militants adjacent to troops and the subsequent incident were a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
A security source in Gaza reported late on Tuesday that Israeli forces had “opened fire west of Rafah city.”
Under a truce that entered into force in October following two years of war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces in Gaza withdrew to positions behind a demarcation known as the “yellow line.”
The city of Rafah is located behind the yellow line, under Israeli army control. The area beyond the yellow line remains under Hamas authority.
Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating the ceasefire.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, which operates under Hamas authority, at least 165 children have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire began on October 10.
The UN children’s agency UNICEF said on Tuesday that at least 100 children — 60 boys and 40 girls — had been killed since the truce.
Israeli forces have killed a total of at least 447 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the ministry.
The Israeli army says militants have killed three of its soldiers during the same period.
Israel army says killed six Gaza militants despite ceasefire
https://arab.news/bsnfa
Israel army says killed six Gaza militants despite ceasefire
- The military said that it had killed two of six militants it had identified adjacent to its troops in western Rafah and that tanks had fired on them
In major policy shift on Syria, UN Security Council lifts sanctions on Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham
- Move reflects evolving Syrian political landscape in the post-Assad era, ending a global freeze on assets, travel ban and arms embargo
NEW YORK CITY: The UN Security Council on Friday removed Al-Nusra Front, the militant group that evolved into Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, from its so-called Daesh and Al-Qaeda Sanctions List.
The move signals a major shift in international policy toward Syria’s evolving political landscape in the post-Assad era, and ends a global freeze on assets, travel ban and arms embargo that have been imposed on the group since 2014.
Al-Nusra Front and Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham were led by Ahmad Al-Sharaa, formerly Abu Mohammed Al-Julani, who is now Syria’s president and was a leading figure in the offensive that toppled the Assad regime.
The consensus decision by the Security Council’s sanctions committee was announced by the UK, which holds the presidency of the Security Council this month and was acting in the absence of the chair of the committee. It followed a request by the new Syrian authorities to delist “Al-Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant.”
The decision means measures that were applied to Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham under Security Council Resolution 2734, adopted in 2024, no longer apply. As a result, UN member states are notrequired to freeze the group’s funds, restrict the movement of its representatives, or block the supply or transfer of arms and related materiel.
Al-Nusra Front was added to the sanctions list for its ties to Al-Qaeda and involvement in the financing and execution of militant activities during the war in Syria. The UN initially continued to treat the group’s successor organization, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, as a listed alias.
Al-Sharaa has said the group severed all prior transnational jihadist links and is now solely focused on local Syrian matters.
