GENEVA: The rebel-controlled east of Syria’s Aleppo has officially been declared a “besieged area,” following a months-long government offensive and a lack of access for aid workers, the UN said Wednesday.
Half of the estimated 275,000 Syrians besieged in eastern Aleppo want to leave, the UN said as food supplies are running thin and people are driven to burning plastic for fuel.
Food prices are rising and supplies are running out. Mothers were reportedly tying ropes around their stomachs or drinking large amounts of water to reduce the feeling of hunger and prioritize food for their children, the UN said.
“An assessment conducted in eastern Aleppo city concluded that 50 percent of the inhabitants expressed willingness to leave if they can,” the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in an update on the Aleppo situation.
United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) spokesman Jens Laerke said eastern Aleppo now met all three criteria used to define an area as besieged. That includes military encirclement, lack of humanitarian access and the lack of free movement for civilians.
The UN estimates that there are 275,000 people in eastern Aleppo under siege, Laerke said. The west of the city is controlled by the government and has continued to receive relief supplies.
Once Syria’s economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been devastated by the country’s brutal five-year civil war, with the suffering intensifying since regime troops cut off the last supply route in July.
UN declares east Aleppo ‘besieged’
UN declares east Aleppo ‘besieged’
Gaza civil defense says 5 killed in Israeli shelling of shelter
- Bassal said the “five martyrs have been recovered as a result of the Israeli shelling of the shelter at the Gaza Martyrs School“
- “Shortly after identification, the troops fired at the suspicious individuals to eliminate the threat,” the military said
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli shelling on a school-turned-shelter killed five people on Friday, while the military said it had fired at “suspicious individuals.”
Spokesman for the agency, Mahmud Bassal, told AFP that “five martyrs have been recovered as a result of the Israeli shelling of the shelter at the Gaza Martyrs School,” in the Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City.
When asked by AFP about the incident, the Israeli military said that “during operational activity in the area of the Yellow line in the northern Gaza Strip, a number of suspicious individuals were identified in command structures west of the Yellow line.”
Under the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Israeli forces have withdrawn to positions east of the so-called Yellow Line.
“Shortly after identification, the troops fired at the suspicious individuals to eliminate the threat,” the military said, adding that it was “aware of the claim regarding casualties in the area, and the details are under review.”
“The (Israeli military) regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to mitigate harm to the extent possible,” it said.
The ceasefire, which came into effect in October, remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was to meet officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye in Florida on Friday, hoping to salvage efforts to reach the second stage of the deal.
“Our people expect these talks to result in an agreement to put an end to ongoing Israeli lawlessness, halt all violations and compel the occupation to abide by the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement,” Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim told AFP.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Thursday that at least 395 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the territory since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10.
Israel has also repeatedly accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire, with the military reporting three soldiers killed in the territory since the truce entered into force.
