Category: 2. Middle East

Thousands gathered outside Downing Street on Friday evening in an emergency protest under the banner “Stop Arming Israel – Words Are Not Enough,” demanding an immediate halt to the UK’s arms exports to Israel. The mass mobilisation was organised by leading advocacy groups including the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB), Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA), Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, and the Campaign…

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday announced immediate sanctions relief for Syria, a move that comes less than two weeks after President Donald Trump said he would be taking steps to normalize relations with the country’s new government. 

The details of the partial sanctions relief were first reported by Al-Monitor. 

The Treasury Department has issued General License 25, which it said in a news release would “facilitate activity across all sectors of the Syrian economy”…

The Gaza Municipality on Friday warned of an imminent total collapse of water and sanitation systems in the city due to the shortage of fuel supplies and Israel’s targeting of critical infrastructure, Anadolu reports.

Speaking to Anadolu, Hosni Mehanna, the municipality spokesperson, said Gaza is approaching a phase of “mass thirst” and a comprehensive health and environmental disaster affecting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

“We urgently appeal…

More than 400 lawyers called on the Dutch Bar Association (NOvA) to speak out against Israel’s “ongoing violations of international humanitarian law” in Gaza, Anadolu reports.

In a joint letter Thursday, titled “Lawyers for Peace,” 432 Dutch lawyers urged NOvA to assess the situation in Gaza and to bring the issue before the association of European national bars (CCBE).

Lawyers expressed their “deep shock” at the ongoing violence against civilians…

The deputy permanent representative of Palestine to the UN on Friday called on the international community to “dare and do what is necessary” to stop the genocide in the Gaza Strip, urging immediate action to protect civilians, Anadolu reports.

“We must dare and do what is necessary to end the genocide and break the siege. Maybe then we can save the survivors. Save Gaza, so we may all be saved by Gaza. Save Gaza, save the children of Gaza, so we may all be…

At least 53,822 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023, the Health Ministry said on Friday, Anadolu reports.

A ministry statement said that 60 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, while 185 people were injured, taking the number of injuries to 122,382 in the Israeli onslaught.

“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

The Israeli…

The United Nations chief said Friday that Palestinians were enduring “the cruelest phase” of the war in Gaza, where more than a dozen food trucks were looted following the partial easing of a lengthy Israeli blockade.

Aid was just beginning to trickle back into the war-torn territory after Israel announced it would allow limited shipments to resume as it pressed a newly expanded offensive aimed at destroying Hamas.

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 16 people killed in “Israeli…

The United Arab Emirates registered a sizzling 50.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, the highest on record for May, following weeks of sweltering temperatures in the desert nation acutely vulnerable to climate change.

Worshippers at Friday prayers reported feeling faint and some residents appeared unsteady on their feet, even in a country that is accustomed to extreme temperatures.

The highest temperature was recorded in an area of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the oil-rich Gulf state that lies in one…