World
At least 50 people killed in Israeli strikes on homes, camps in Gaza
At least 50 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza, Palestinian medics say, as Israeli tanks push into northern parts of the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza.
Medics said at least 20 people were killed and others wounded in an Israeli attack on Wednesday on a tent encampment in al-Mawasi near Khan Younis. The Palestinian Civil Defence said the attack set several tents housing displaced families ablaze.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said the death toll was expected to rise.
Patients who are in the hospital were “expected to lose their lives simply because there is no medical care, medical supplies and insufficient medical staff,” Mahmoud said.
“This is not the first time we’ve seen this happening. There’s a growing frustration among the displaced population in the al-Mawasi evacuation zone,” he said. “The Israeli military ordered them in the initial weeks of this genocidal war to evacuate in order to avoid being bombed, but they repeatedly find themselves the victims of these unpredictable attacks.”
At least 10 people were killed in an Israeli air strike that hit three houses in Gaza City, the Civil Defence said. Many victims were still trapped under the rubble with rescue operations under way.
Medics said 11 people were killed in three air strikes on areas in central Gaza, including six children and a medic. Five of the dead had been queueing outside a bakery, they said.
A further nine Palestinians were killed by tank fire in Rafah near the border with Egypt, medics said.
‘Extremely urgent’
Israeli forces also fired on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza for the fifth straight day, hospital Director Hussam Abu Safiya said. Three of his medical staff had been wounded, one critically, on Tuesday night, he said.
“Drones are dropping bombs filled with shrapnel that injure anyone that dares to move,” Abu Safiya said. “This situation is extremely urgent.”
He said more than 100 patients inside the besieged hospital are at risk of death and Israeli forces are preventing access to the nearby al-Awda Hospital.
Residents in the north’s main three towns – Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoon – said Israeli forces have blown up dozens of houses.
Palestinians said Israel’s army is trying to drive people out of the northern edge of Gaza by issuing threats that if residents do not flee, they risk death and by carrying out bombardments to create a buffer zone. The Israeli military has besieged the area since it began a renewed ground offensive there nearly two months ago.
The siege has worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis amid a looming famine.
Hamas said the bombings of homes in Beit Lahiya and the targeting of Kamal Adwan Hospital are “an insistence on the ongoing war” and “genocide” in Gaza.
The group said in a statement that Israel is showing it plans to keep disregarding international law “in light of the shameful failure of the international system to put an end to these horrific crimes”.
Hamas said Israeli actions “are carried out under the full cover and protection of the American administration and some Western capitals”.
In the Khan Younis area, residents told the Reuters news agency that Israeli tanks advanced a day after the military issued new evacuation threats, saying there had been rocket launches by Palestinian groups from the area.
With shells crashing near residential areas, families left their homes on Wednesday and headed westwards towards al-Mawasi, which was designated by the Israeli military as a “safe zone” but has since repeatedly come under attack.
Palestinian and United Nations officials said there are no safe areas left in Gaza and almost all of its 2.3 million residents have been displaced multiple times.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 44,500 Palestinians, injured many others and reduced much of the enclave to rubble since it began in October last year.
Israel agreed to a ceasefire with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah last week that has halted most fighting in a conflict that has unfolded in Lebanon in parallel with the Gaza war.
But the war in Gaza has ground on with only a single ceasefire more than a year ago that lasted for one week.
World
Iconic Notre Dame cathedral reopens for the first time since 2019
Paris’ iconic Notre Dame cathedral reopens five years after it was nearly destroyed by a devastating fire five years ago. 1,500 dignitaries, including sitting heads of states and royal figures attended the historic ceremony.
The iconic Notre Dame cathedral rises from the ashes.
The gothic architectural masterpiece was closed for five years, undergoing restoration work after a devastating fire almost destroyed it in 2019.
The restoration, a remarkable achievement in just five years for a structure that took nearly two centuries to build was seen as a moment of triumph for French President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious timeline. It’s a moment of respite air for Macron who’s been battling domestic political challenges, after the collapse of his country’s government just a few days ago.
The celebration was attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including US President-elect Donald Trump, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US First Lady Jill Biden and Prince William of Britain’s Royal Family.
The ceremony was initially planned to begin on the forecourt was moved inside due to bad weather. But the unusually harsh December winds howling could not stop the Notre Dame’s resurrection. But nothing could diminish from the significance of the moment, as choirs sang psalms inside the luminous nave, and the cathedral’s organ, silent for nearly five years, erupted with an interplay of melodies.
Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich opened the ceremony with three resounding knocks on the cathedral’s doors, wielding a specially designed crosier carved from the fire-scorched beams. And just like that, the cathedral was officially reopened for worship.
Observers and attendees see the event as Macron’s, who turned it into a diplomatic gathering, highlighting France’s ability to come together in unity on the international stage despite internal political chaos.
Outside the cathedral’s iconic western facade, the word “MERCI” (thank you in French) was projected
The French president reiterated his gratitude as he addressed the nation at the ceremony. He expressed his gratitude to firefighters and first responders; who saved the UNESCO accredited World Heritage Site from total collapse, and the personnel who worked tirelessly for years to bring the cathedral to its former glory.
World
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World
Syrian insurgents reach gates of Damascus, threatening decades-long Assad regime
Insurgents’ stunning march across Syria accelerated Saturday with news that they had reached the gates of the capital and that government forces had abandoned the central city of Homs. The government was forced to deny rumors that President Bashar Assad had fled the country.
The loss of Homs was a potentially crippling blow for Assad. It stands at an important intersection between Damascus, the capital, and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus — the Syrian leader’s base of support and home to a Russian strategic naval base.
The pro-government Sham FM news outlet reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third-largest city, without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies withdrew from the city, adding that rebels entered parts of it.
The insurgency announced later Saturday that it had taken over Homs. The city’s capture was a major victory for the rebels, who have already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, as well as large parts of the south, in a lightning offensive that began Nov. 27. Analysts said rebel control of Homs would be a game-changer.
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The rebels’ moves around Damascus, reported by the monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters.
For the first time in the country’s long-running civil war, the government now has control of only three of 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Latakia and Tartus.
The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations. In their push to overthrow Assad’s government, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian army.
The rapid rebel gains, coupled with the lack of support from Assad’s erstwhile allies, posed the most serious threat to his rule since the start of the war.
The U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called Saturday for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.” Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad’s chief international backer, said he feels “sorry for the Syrian people.”
In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands went to Syria’s border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country.
Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told The Associated Press, and those still open ran out of staples such as sugar. Some were selling items at three times the normal price.
“The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions.
“People are worried whether there will be a battle (in Damascus) or not.”
It was the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a yearslong siege. The U.N. said it was moving noncritical staff outside the country as a precaution.
Assad’s status
Syria’s state media denied social media rumors that Assad left the country, saying he was performing his duties in Damascus.
He has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia is busy with its war in Ukraine. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad’s forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria. Separately, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser said the Biden administration had no intention of intervening there.
Pedersen said a date for talks in Geneva on the implementation of a U.N. resolution, adopted in 2015 and calling for a Syrian-led political process, would be announced later. The resolution calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with U.N.-supervised elections.
Later Saturday, foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, along with Pederson, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha Summit to discuss the situation in Syria.
In a statement, the participants affirmed their support for a political solution to the Syrian crisis “that would lead to the end of military activity and protect civilians.” They also agreed on the importance of strengthening international efforts to increase aid to the Syrian people.
The insurgents’ march
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were marching toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he added.
A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus.
HTS controls much of northwest Syria and in 2017 set up a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s image, cutting ties with al-Qaida, ditching hard-line officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance.
The shock offensive began Nov. 27, during which gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central city of Hama, the country’s fourth-largest city.
Opposition activists said Saturday that a day earlier, insurgents entered Palmyra, which is home to invaluable archaeological sites had been in government hands since being taken from the Islamic State group in 2017.
To the south, Syrian troops left much of the province of Quneitra, including the main Baath City, activists said.
Syrian Observatory said government troops have withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces.
The Syrian army said in a statement that it carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists.” The army said it was setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area,” apparently to defend Damascus from the south.
The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since conflict broke out in March 2011.
Diplomacy in Doha
The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey, meeting in Qatar, called for an end to the hostilities. Turkey is a main backer of the rebels.
Qatar’s top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to take advantage of the lull in fighting in recent years to address the country’s underlying problems. “Assad didn’t seize this opportunity to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people,” he said.
Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised by how quickly the rebels have advanced and said there is a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity.” He said the war could “damage and destroy what is left if there is no sense of urgency” to start a political process.
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