Category: 2. Middle East

(Reuters) -Bloodshed in Sweida left at least 321 people dead, the Syrian Network for Human Rights said on Friday, in a new toll.

A Syrian minister said that the government has recovered 87 bodies, but he did not indicate if it was the entire toll from recent violence between Bedouin tribes and the Druze minority in and around the city in the south of the country.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily, Writing by Ahmed Elimam, Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

ROME (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Pope Leo on Friday, the Vatican said, a day after an Israeli strike on Gaza’s sole Catholic church killed three people and injured several more.

During the call, the pope renewed his appeal for a ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza, and expressed his concern over the “dramatic” humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave, a Vatican statement said.

Leo also stressed the urgent need to protect places of worship, the…

A 53-year-old Palestinian man has died in an Israeli prison just one week after his arrest from the town of Rummana, near Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Detainees’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) announced Thursday, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

Samir Mohammad Yousef Al-Rifai, a father of five, was taken from his home by Israeli occupation forces on July 10 and was scheduled to appear…

Central and southern Gaza are facing one of the worst humanitarian crises, with over 1.5 million Palestinians at serious risk of severe thirst. Most water desalination plants have almost completely stopped working due to fuel shortages, as temperatures continue to rise to record levels.

The water crisis has worsened recently after the Israeli occupation authorities shut down the “Mekorot” water pipeline — one of Gaza’s main sources of fresh water since…

GAZA (Reuters) -Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the highest ranking Catholic official in Jerusalem, entered Gaza on Friday to bring humanitarian aid and comfort to victims of Israel’s strike on the sole Catholic church of the Palestinian enclave.

Three people died and several were injured in the strike on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City a day earlier. Photos released by the church showed its roof had been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and that windows…

Armed tribes supported by Syria’s Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters outside Sweida Friday a day after government troops withdrew from the Druze-majority city, the warring parties and a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported “clashes west of Sweida pitting tribal fighters and Bedouin supported by the authorities on one side, against Druze fighters on the other”.

Combatants on both sides confirmed the clashes and AFP correspondents reported…

Israeli settlers continued their organised attacks on Palestinian towns and properties on Thursday, entering a historic church in Ramallah with a herd of cattle and chasing shepherds in Hebron.

In the central West Bank, settlers stormed the historic St George Church (al-Khader) in the town of Taybeh, east of Ramallah, marking the third violation of the church in one week.

Residents said that around 80 cows were brought by settlers into the church compound, in an…

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA (Reuters) -The United Nations refugee agency expressed concern on Friday about the impact of hostilities in Syria’s southern city of Sweida on its aid operations, and urged all sides to allow more humanitarian access.

Syria’s government sent troops this week to the predominantly Druze city to quell fighting between Bedouins and Druze, but the violence grew until a fragile ceasefire took hold.

“The situation in Sweida is very concerning. It is very difficult for us…

ANKARA (Reuters) -The European Union has eased rules for Turks to use its open-border Schengen area, the bloc’s ambassador to Ankara said on Friday, calling for the urgent revival of negotiations on visa-free travel for Turks.

For years, Turks have complained about the EU’s visa system. The EU has said the processes – managed by accredited visa agencies – have been slow due to the high number of applications and that it is discussing possible workarounds with Ankara.

Ambassador Thomas Hans…

Two of the most senior Christian leaders in the Holy Land travelled to Gaza on Friday after Israeli fire killed three at the Palestinian territory’s only Catholic church, provoking international condemnation.

The rare visit came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “deeply regrets” the strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and blamed a “stray” round.

Israel strictly controls access to the territory, where the civil defence agency on Friday reported that further Israeli…