Category: 2. Middle East

A humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza with 16 people on board left crippled by a drone attack was rescued by Maltese forces, local media reported today.

Citing a government statement, public broadcaster TVM announced that a tugboat with firefighting equipment provided the Freedom Flotilla ship with assistance after it made an SOS distress call.

BREAKING: At 00:23 Maltese time, a #FreedomFlotilla ship was subjected to a drone attack. The front of the vessel…

A group of activists organising an aid boat for Gaza said it was attacked on Friday by drones in international waters off Malta as it headed towards the Palestinian territory.

The Maltese government and Cypriot rescuers said they had responded to a distress call from the vessel, while Malta said all crew members were safe and made no mention of an alleged attack.

The activists said they suspected Israel could be behind the incident, and Cyprus’s rescue agency said it had been informed by the…

Israel said it carried out an air strike near Syria’s presidential palace in Damascus on Friday, warning the country’s new Islamist rulers against targeting the Druze minority.

The dawn strike came hours after top Druze clerics and armed factions reaffirmed their loyalty to Syria, rejecting any call for secession.

The Druze leaders urged the government to empower the interior ministry and judiciary in Sweida province — their stronghold — by appointing officials from the local population.

The…

Syria’s Islamist rulers on Friday denounced an air strike near the presidential palace as a “dangerous escalation”, as Israel called it a “clear message” not to harm the Druze minority.

The dawn strike came hours after senior Druze clerics and armed factions reaffirmed their loyalty to Damascus and rejected any call for secession.

They also urged the authorities to appoint local officials to official posts in their Sweida province stronghold.

The statement followed sectarian clashes between…

Israel launched more than 20 air strikes inside Syria late Friday, a war monitor said, following up an attack near the presidential palace in Damascus which was condemned as a “dangerous escalation” by the country’s Islamist rulers.

The strikes came amid Israeli warnings to the Damascus government not to harm the Druze minority, following recent sectarian clashes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 20 new strikes hit military targets across Syria in the “heaviest” assault…

Israeli occupation forces yesterday issued demolition notices for 106 homes and buildings in Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, giving residents 24 hours to remove their belongings.

The Israeli army attached maps to the notices showing the targeted properties in red, demanding that citizens clear their homes within a day.

Tulkarm Governor Abdullah Kamil confirmed that the occupation plans to demolish 58 buildings in Tulkarm camp and 48 homes in Nur Shams camp….

Humanitarians on Friday described horrific scenes of starving, bloodied children and fights over water in Gaza, two months into Israel’s full blockade on aid, with dire warnings that aid operations are on the brink of total collapse.

The Norwegian Refugee Council’s humanitarian access manager in Gaza, Gavin Kelleher, said “thousands of people will die” if nothing is done, as other aid agencies called for urgent international action.

“The humanitarian response in Gaza is on the verge of total…

Riyad Mahrez has vowed Al Ahli will “fight for every second” to deliver a first Asian Champions League trophy for the Saudi club, when they contest the final against Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale on Saturday.

Al Ahli, effectively the home team since the final stages have taken place in Jeddah, are competing in the showpiece for a second time in the Champions League era having lost to South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai in 2012.

However, they remain unbeaten in this season’s competition.

Speaking on…

On a torn-up road near the refugee camp where she once lived, Saja Bawaqneh said she struggled to find hope 100 days after an Israeli offensive in the occupied West Bank forced her to flee.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced in the north of the territory since Israel began a major “anti-terrorist operation” dubbed “Iron Wall” on January 21.

Bawaqneh said life was tough and uncertain since she was forced to leave Jenin refugee camp — one of three targeted by the offensive…

Two months into Israel’s full blockade on aid into Gaza, humanitarians described Friday horrific scenes of starving, bloodied children and people fighting over water, with aid operations on the “verge of total collapse”.

The United Nations and the Red Cross sounded the alarm at the dire situation in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, demanding international action.

“The humanitarian response in Gaza is on the verge of total collapse,” the International Committee of the Red Cross warned in…