Category: MUSLIM TODAY

MAKKAH — The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has announced that Feb. 14 will be the deadline for Hajj affairs offices in various countries to finalize their contracts for services related to this year’s Hajj season.

The ministry said that these contracts must be completed through the Nusuk Masar platform, designated for Hajj pilgrims from abroad, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

To ensure the best services for pilgrims, the ministry highlighted the importance of adhering to regulations set by the relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia, including requirements for air and ground transportation.

It also urged compliance with security, health and procedural guidelines outlined in the Hajj agreement between the ministry and the pertinent offices in various countries, the SPA added.

The ministry said that after the deadline, no additional contracts will be accepted, and the actual quotas for pilgrims from various countries will be determined.

The visa issuance process will commence immediately afterward, the SPA reported.

The ministry requested Hajj offices to educate their pilgrims about the necessity of following Hajj regulations and instructions, ensuring that they obtain visas and permits through official channels.

Pilgrims also need to carry identification documents, such as the Nusuk Card, from the moment of their arrival in the Kingdom.

AN

KABUL – The Taliban’s acting deputy foreign minister called on his senior leadership to open schools for Afghan girls, among the strongest public rebukes of a policy that has contributed to the international isolation of its rulers.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, who previously led a team of negotiators at the Taliban’s political office in Doha before U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, said in a speech at the weekend that restrictions on girls and women’s education was not in line with Islamic Sharia law.

“We request the leaders of the Islamic Emirate to open the doors of education,” he said, according to local broadcaster Tolo, referring to the Taliban’s name for its administration.

“In the time of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the doors of knowledge were open to both men and women,” he said.

“Today, out of a population of forty million, we are committing injustice against twenty million people,” he added, referring to the female population of Afghanistan.

The comments were among the strongest public criticism in recent years by a Taliban official of the school closures, which Taliban sources and diplomats have previously told Reuters were put in place by the supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada despite some internal disagreement.

The Taliban have said they respect women’s rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture.

They made a sharp u-turn on promises to open high schools for girls in 2022, and have since said they were working on a plan for the schools to re-open but have not given any timeline.

They closed universities to female students at the end of 2022.

The policies have been widely criticised internationally, including by Islamic scholars, and Western diplomats have said any path towards formal recognition of the Taliban is blocked until there is a change on their policies towards women.

A Taliban administration spokesman in the southern city of Kandahar where Haibatullah is based did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Stanekzai’s remarks.

REUTERS

TEHRAN — Iranian lawmakers have asked to amend a bill that would impose tougher penalties on women who refuse to wear the mandatory hijab, local media reported on Wednesday.

The bill, already approved in parliament but not yet submitted to the government for final confirmation, has stirred a heated debate in Iran more than two years since nationwide protests erupted in part over the Islamic republic’s dress code for women.

Shahram Dabiri, Iran’s vice president for parliamentary affairs, has requested to hold off on sending the bill for approval, according to news agency ISNA.

“We requested that the law of chastity and hijab not be referred to the government,” Dabiri was quoted by ISNA as saying, adding that “the parliament speaker requested an amendment to the bill.”

Dabiri did not specify the nature of the amendment or provide a timeline for the process.

Lawmakers in September 2023 had approved the bill, officially the “Law on Supporting the Family through the Promotion of the Culture of Chastity and Hijab.”

It has since won the approval of the Guardian Council, a body empowered to vet legislation.

The bill was initially meant to be referred to President Masoud Pezeshkian in December.

Pezeshkian, who could sign it into law, has expressed “reservations” about the text, citing numerous “ambiguities.”

The 74-article bill tightens restrictions over women’s public attire and threatens action against businesses who fail to enforce the dress code, according to the text carried by local media.

It also imposes hefty penalities of up to 10 years in prison or fines equivalent to more than $6,000 for promoting “nudity” or “indecency.”

Since the early years of the republic following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women in Iran have been required by law to cover their head and neck.

In late 2022, a wave of protests erupted following the death in custody of 22-year-old Iranian-Kurd Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code.

The months-long unrest saw hundreds of people, including dozens of security personnel, killed. Thousands of demonstrators were arrested.

AN-AFP

AL-QUSAYR, Syria — Penduduk Qusayr di tengah Syria akhirnya pulang ke tanah air selepas pemergian pejuang Hizbullah, yang membantu tentera Bashar Assad merampas bandar itu sedekad lalu dan pergi dengan kejatuhannya.

Kebanyakan rumah kini hancur, selepas bertahun-tahun di bawah kawalan kumpulan bersenjata Lubnan, sekutu utama Assad yang telah menubuhkan pangkalan tentera dan kem latihan di sana.

“Kebanyakan kawasan di bandar Qusayr adalah terlarang kepada kami,” kata penduduk berusia 22 tahun Ali Khleif.

“Malah penduduk tempatan yang memiliki kedai dan pertubuhan di situ dilarang masuk.”

Tentera Syria merampas semula Qusayr, dekat sempadan Lubnan, pada Jun 2013 selepas serangan hebat diketuai pejuang Hizbullah.

Qusayr telah digunakan oleh pemberontak sebagai titik transit untuk senjata dan pejuang dari Lubnan, dan secara strategik penting bagi kerajaan Syria kerana ia dekat dengan jalan utama menghubungkan Damsyik ke pantai.

Hizbullah menggunakan bangunan “sebagai gudang senjata dan peluru,” kata Khleif.

“Selepas pembebasan, penduduk kembali ke kedai dan tanah mereka” dan telah menuntutnya semula, katanya.

“Kami akan mula membinanya semula.”

Hizbullah mengakui pada 2013 ia berperang di Syria untuk menyokong Damsyik, dua tahun selepas perang meletus apabila Assad secara kejam menindas pemberontakan pro-demokrasi.

Kini di Qusayr, bekas pos Hizbullah telah digeledah.

Imej bekas ketua kumpulan itu Hassan Nasrallah, yang terbunuh pada September dalam serangan besar Israel di pinggir bandar selatan Beirut, telah dikerat dan dimusnahkan.

Pertempuran 2013 bagi Qusayr memaksa ribuan orang melarikan diri, termasuk ramai penduduk Lubnan di kawasan itu, yang mengekalkan hubungan rapat dengan Lembah Bekaa Lubnan di seberang sempadan.

Pejuang Hizbullah meninggalkan kawasan itu dengan kejatuhan Assad minggu lalu, selepas pemberontak pimpinan Islamis melancarkan serangan kilat, menawan ibu negara pada 8 Disember.

Peguam Ayman Soweid, 30, berkata “semasa pendudukan Hizbullah di Qusayr, bandar kami dianggap sebagai jambatan darat untuk mengangkut senjata, khususnya dari Syria dan Iran, melalui Iraq, melalui kami ke Lubnan.”

Serangan Israel juga berulang kali melanda kawasan Qusayr.

Israel, yang telah melakukan ratusan serangan di Syria sejak 2011, terutama menyasarkan tentera dan kumpulan disokong Iran termasuk Hizbullah, jarang mengulas mengenai serbuan individu tetapi berulang kali berkata ia tidak akan membenarkan Iran meluaskan kehadirannya di negara itu.

Di tempat lain di Qusayr, Samar Harfouch, 38, sedang meninjau timbunan runtuhan.

Dia berkata dia kembali pada Sabtu hanya untuk mendapati rumahnya musnah.

“Ini adalah rumah saya, dan ini adalah rumah saudara lelaki suami saya – tiga rumah,” katanya kepada AFP, juga menunjukkan lebih banyak rumah saudara terdekat.

“Semua musnah,” katanya.

“Dua belas rumah menjadi runtuhan.”

AN-AFP

KABUL — For Saja, studying nursing at a health care institute in Kabul was her last lifeline to make something of herself after women were banned from universities in Afghanistan two years ago.

But the Taliban government has crushed this ambition by ordering, according to multiple sources, the exclusion of Afghan women from medical training, sparking panic across institutions.

When she heard the news, Saja, who had been at university before women were barred, said it felt like “reliving the same nightmare.”

“This was my last hope to do something, to become something,” said Saja, not her real name.

“Everything has been taken away from us for the crime of being a girl.”

The authorities have made no official comment or confirmation, nor have they responded to the numerous condemnations and calls to reverse a decision that further blocks women’s access to education.

Since their 2021 return to power, the Taliban government has imposed reams of restrictions on women, making Afghanistan the only country to ban girls from education after primary school.

Directors and employees of health training centers have told AFP they were informed in recent days of the order, issued by the Taliban supreme leader and passed down verbally by the health ministry, to expel women students until further notice.

Institutes across the country — which many women had turned to after the university ban — were given a few days to organize final exams.

But without an explicit announcement or document clarifying the rules, confusion reigns.

Some institutions told AFP they would operate as normal until they received written orders, while others closed immediately or scrambled to hold exams before shuttering.

“Everyone is confused, and no one is sharing what is really happening,” said Saja, who was in her first year at a private institute.

“We have been given two or three exams each day… even though we already finished our exams a few months back,” said the 22-year-old, adding they had to pay fees to sit the exams.

“We received a lot of concerned messages from students and teachers wanting to know what is going on and asking ‘is there any hope?’” said the director of a Kabul private institute with 1,100 students, of which 700 were women.

“No one is happy,” he told AFP from his office steps away from women’s classrooms, where the last lesson on the board advised how to manage stress and depression in patients.

According to a source within the health ministry, 35,000 women are currently students in some 10 public and more than 150 private institutes offering two-year diplomas in subjects including nursing, midwifery, dentistry and laboratory work.

The Norwegian Afghanistan Committee (NAC) non-governmental organization, which trains 588 women in institutes managed in collaboration with the health ministry, was verbally informed classes were “temporarily suspended.”

This has to be taken “equally seriously as a written document,” said NAC country director Terje Magnusson Watterdal, adding that “there are a lot of people high up within the current government that are quite opposed to this decision.”

He hopes, at the minimum, public institutes will reopen to women.
International organizations like the United Nations, which has said Afghan women are victims of a “gender apartheid,” have already warned of devastating consequences of the plan, in a country where maternal and infant mortality are among the world’s highest.

If implemented, the reported new ban “will undoubtedly lead to unnecessary suffering, illness, and possibly deaths of Afghan women and children, now and in future generations, which could amount to femicide,” UN experts warned Monday.

Midwifery students are especially passionate about their studies, according to Magnusson Watterdal.

“So many of these young women have been motivated to become a midwife because they have lost a mother or an aunt or a sister in childbirth,” he said.

“It’s not just a profession that you choose, it’s a vocation. So, of course, there’s great desperation” among students and staff.

Small protests have been held in parts of Afghanistan, according to sources and images circulated on social media.

Assal, another student using a pseudonym, received an expedited diploma last week, but has little hope of finding a job in a country where unemployment is widespread and opportunities for women are increasingly limited.

“I wanted to practice medicine and study further,” the 20-year-old told AFP.

“They had already taken everything from us. Next thing we won’t even be allowed to breathe.”

AN-AFP, Dec 10, 2024

LONDON — In the tumultuous landscape of the Syrian conflict, one figure has remained persistently prominent: Abu Mohammed Al-Golani. Now, with the fall of the Bashar Assad regime after 13 gruelling years of civil war, he has emerged as kingmaker.

As leader of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist group long active in Syria’s northwest, Al-Golani has evolved from a shadowy militant figure with a $10 million bounty on his head into a revolutionary nationalist and widely recognized political actor.

Born Ahmad Hussein Al-Shar’a in 1981 in Idlib, Al-Golani’s journey into militancy began during the 2003 Iraq war, where he joined the insurgency against US forces and fell in with networks associated with Al-Qaeda.

By 2011, as Syria was plunged into civil war, Al-Golani returned to his home country to establish Jabhat Al-Nusra as Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate, which quickly gained a reputation for its battlefield prowess and hardline tactics.

A pivotal shift occurred in 2016 when Jabhat Al-Nusra broke ties with Al-Qaeda, rebranding first as Jabhat Fatah Al-Sham and later as HTS. This strategic realignment was designed to more closely integrate the group with the local opposition and distance it from its extremist roots.

“The Syrian opposition has a huge image problem,” Nadim Shehadi, an economist and political adviser who has held positions in academia and think tanks in Europe and the US, told Arab News.

“At one stage it had even lost confidence in itself. It has been described as fundamentalist and associated with Al-Qaeda and Daesh on the one hand and its leadership gave the impression of fragmented and corrupt.

“The regime and its supporters and allies were masters of disinformation and were successful in convincing the world that there was no credible alternative and that after it will come chaos. Russian and Iranian sponsored media played an important role.”

Under Al-Golani’s leadership, HTS aimed to present itself not only as a militant organization but as a legitimate governing entity. In Idlib, which remained under HTS control over the course of the conflict, the group established the Syrian Salvation Government.

This governance structure allowed the group to take on civil administrative roles, providing services and infrastructure repairs, while ensuring some level of order in an area scarred by conflict.

Al-Golani’s public appearances and outreach efforts showcase his ambition to redefine HTS as a nationalist force, engaging with local communities and presenting the group as a viable alternative to both the Assad regime and foreign terrorist organizations.

In 2021, Al-Golani conducted interviews with various media outlets, including Western platforms, aiming to shift perceptions of HTS and express a willingness to engage with broader political processes.

This strategy reflected a calculated attempt to distance his group from operating as a purely extremist entity while emphasizing its commitment to local governance and plurality.

“Al-Golani is trying to change his image with a surprisingly efficient social media campaign focusing on HTS itself as much as on his own personality,” said Shehadi.

“We see them forgiving regime soldiers and releasing prisoners. This is far more effective than one promoting him as a leader or a personality. It would be an emulation of the Assads.

“They are specifically countering rumors about the persecution of minorities. It feels like a professionally run strategic communications campaign. Except for the odd slip here and there.”

Experts view these efforts as indicative of Al-Golani’s understanding that governance and political legitimacy can provide stability and potentially foster reconciliation.

“Al-Golani’s outreach reflects an ambition to redefine HTS as a nationalistic force, seeking to align with local and possibly even regional interests,” said Lina Khatib, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House.

Syria’s neighbors are still unsure what to make of Al-Golani. The perspectives of Arab governments concerning HTS are complex and multifaceted, with the spectrum of opinions ranging from staunch opposition to cautious engagement.

Many Arab countries officially condemn extremist groups, especially those with Islamist roots. However, the geopolitical realities often force these nations to engage pragmatically.

Countries such as Turkiye have interacted with HTS, long recognizing its influence over bordering Idlib and its potential role as a counterbalance to both the Assad regime and the Kurdish forces in control of northeast Syria.

However, many remain wary of the group’s true intentions, fearing the emergence of a regime akin to the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“Is Al-Golani’s pragmatism genuine, and more importantly, is it widely accepted within the ranks of his group?” Ammar Abdulhamid, Syrian-American pro-democracy activist, said in a series of posts on X.

“Can he maintain enough influence to contain radical factions advocating for the imposition of Sharia law or pushing for aggressive campaigns against Israel and Saudi Arabia?”

Israel in particular is acutely aware of the potential threat posed by the collapse of the Assad regime and the emergence of a powerful hostile force on its doorstep.

“With Israel now actively bombing military bases and airports and creating a buffer zone inside Syrian territories, how will Al-Golani respond?” asked Abdulhamid.

“He will likely face pressure from radical groups to take action or at least issue a defiant statement. However, even rhetorical escalation risks inviting further strikes and dragging Syria into a broader conflict it cannot afford.”

He added: “Will Al-Golani eventually pursue peace with Israel, if not now, then at some point in the future?”

There is also the question of how he will handle ongoing crises within Syria itself, such as that playing out between Turkiye and Turkish-backed opposition groups and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which control the Kurdish-majority Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

“How does he plan to handle the Kurdish issue, knowing that Turkish-backed factions are dedicated to fighting the Kurds?” said Abdulhamid. “With battles ongoing and the potential for further escalation, navigating this remains a critical and delicate challenge.”

He added: “These challenges will test Al-Golani’s leadership, his pragmatism, and his ability to balance internal and external pressures.

“They will also shape his vision for Syria’s future. The Syrian people, as well as regional neighbors and the international community, will need clear reassurances on all these fronts.”

Although it is officially classified as a terrorist organization by several nations, HTS will now play a crucial role in the dynamics of the region, complicating the response of Arab states eager to restore some measure of stability to Syria.

“Abu Muhammad Al-Golani remains a figure surrounded by skepticism, even as he attempts to reshape his public image,” Faisal Ibrahim Al-Shammari, a political analyst and commentator, told Arab News.

“While his rhetoric and actions in recent years signal a departure from his extremist beginnings, it is difficult to fully separate his current persona from his well-documented past.

“The skepticism stems from his history with Al-Qaeda and his role in creating Al-Nusra Front, which terrorized Syria during its affiliation with the global terror network. Rebranding as HTS might appear as a strategic pivot, but is it a genuine ideological transformation or simply an act of convenience to appeal to international observers?

“Yet, hope cannot be entirely discounted. Leaders evolve under pressure, and contexts change. If Al-Golani is sincere in his stated commitment to a more inclusive and democratic Syria, this shift would be a remarkable turn. But history warns us against naivety. True change must be proven by sustained action, not just rebranding or tactical concessions.

“The question of trust lingers. Can someone with a history of extremism and violence truly reform? The optimist would say yes, given the right circumstances. The realist, however, must insist on vigilance, demanding not just words but concrete actions that demonstrate a commitment to peace, justice, and inclusion.

“Until then, hope must be tempered with caution, as the stakes for Syria and the region are far too high to afford misplaced trust.”

Abu Mohammad Al-Golani’s journey from militant to political actor illustrates the adaptability required in the complex Syrian context. His efforts to maintain relevance amid a chaotic landscape have hinged on navigating both local dynamics and regional geopolitical interests.

His future, and that of his organization, will depend on the broader regional approach to Syria’s enduring crisis, marked by shifting allegiances, and intricate political calculations.

His legacy will ultimately be shaped by these complex interplays, as regional stakeholders grapple with the implications of HTS’s evolving role in national and regional affairs.

AN, Dec 9, 2024

DAMSYIK – Anggota penyelamat Syria menggeledah sebuah penjara yang sinonim dengan kekejaman terburuk pemerintahan presiden terguling Bashar Assad, ketika orang ramai di ibu negara berpusu-pusu ke dataran tengah pada Isnin untuk meraikan kebebasan negara mereka.

Assad melarikan diri dari Syria ketika militan masuk ke ibu negara, membawa kepada penghujung yang menakjubkan pada Ahad lima dekad pemerintahan kejam oleh klannya ke atas sebuah negara yang dilanda perang paling maut pada abad ini.

Dia menyelia tindakan keras terhadap gerakan demokrasi yang tercetus pada 2011, mencetuskan perang yang membunuh 500,000 orang dan memaksa separuh negara meninggalkan rumah mereka.

Inti sistem pemerintahan yang Assad warisi daripada bapanya Hafez adalah kompleks penjara dan pusat tahanan yang kejam yang digunakan untuk menghapuskan perbezaan pendapat dengan memenjarakan mereka disyaki keluar daripada barisan parti pemerintah Baath.

Pada Isnin, penyelamat dari Syrian White Helmets berkata mereka mencari pintu rahsia atau ruang bawah tanah di penjara Saydnaya, mencari mana-mana tahanan yang mungkin terperangkap.

“Kami sedang berusaha dengan sepenuh tenaga untuk mencapai harapan baharu, dan kami mesti bersedia menghadapi yang terburuk,” kata organisasi itu dalam satu kenyataan.

Aida Taha, berusia 65 tahun, berkata dia “bersiar-siar di jalanan seperti orang gila” untuk mencari abangnya, yang ditahan pada 2012.

Dia berkata dia pergi ke Saydnaya, di mana dia percaya beberapa banduan masih berada di bawah tanah.

“Penjara itu mempunyai tiga atau empat tingkat bawah tanah,” kata Taha.

“Mereka mengatakan bahawa pintu tidak akan terbuka kerana mereka tidak mempunyai kod yang betul.”

“Kami sudah cukup lama ditindas, kami mahu anak-anak kami kembali,” tambahnya.

Walaupun Syria telah berperang selama 13 tahun, kejatuhan kerajaan akhirnya berlaku dalam beberapa hari, dengan serangan kilat dilancarkan oleh Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).

Berakar dari cabang Al-Qaeda di Syria, HTS dilarang oleh kerajaan Barat sebagai kumpulan pengganas.

Walaupun masih belum dapat dilihat bagaimana HTS beroperasi sekarang setelah Assad telah tiada, ia telah berusaha untuk menyederhanakan imejnya dan untuk memastikan ramai minoriti agama Syria bahawa mereka tidak perlu takut.

Di tengah-tengah Damsyik pada Isnin, di sebalik semua ketidakpastian untuk masa depan, kegembiraan itu dapat dirasai.

“Ia tidak dapat digambarkan, kami tidak pernah menyangka mimpi ngeri ini akan berakhir, kami dilahirkan semula,” Rim Ramadan, 49 tahun, seorang penjawat awam di kementerian kewangan, memberitahu AFP.

“Kami takut selama 55 tahun bercakap, walaupun di rumah, kami pernah mengatakan dinding ada telinga,” kata Ramadan, ketika orang ramai membunyikan hon kereta mereka dan pemberontak melepaskan senjata mereka ke udara.

“Kami rasa kami hidup dalam mimpi,” tambahnya.

Semasa serangan dilancarkan pada 27 November, pemberontak merampas bandar demi bandar daripada kawalan Assad, membuka pintu penjara di sepanjang jalan dan membebaskan beribu-ribu orang, kebanyakan mereka ditahan atas tuduhan politik.

Kumpulan media sosial turun dengan rakyat Syria berkongsi imej tahanan yang dilaporkan dibawa keluar dari penjara bawah tanah, dalam usaha kolektif untuk menyatukan semula keluarga dengan orang tersayang mereka, beberapa daripada mereka telah hilang selama bertahun-tahun.

Yang lain, seperti Fadwa Mahmoud, yang suami dan anak lelakinya hilang, menghantar panggilan untuk mendapatkan bantuan mencari saudara mereka yang hilang.

“Di mana kamu, Maher dan Abdel Aziz, sudah tiba masanya untuk saya mendengar berita anda, oh Tuhan, tolonglah kembali, biarkan kegembiraan saya menjadi lengkap,” tulis Fadwa, dirinya bekas tahanan.

Presiden AS Joe Biden berkata Assad harus “bertanggungjawab” ketika dia menyebut kejatuhannya sebagai “peluang bersejarah” untuk rakyat Syria.

“Kejatuhan rejim adalah tindakan asas keadilan,” katanya.

Tetapi dia juga mengingatkan bahawa kumpulan Islamis garis keras dalam pakatan pemberontak yang menang akan menghadapi penelitian.

“Beberapa kumpulan pemberontak yang menumbangkan Assad mempunyai rekod keganasan dan pencabulan hak asasi manusia mereka sendiri,” kata Biden.

Amerika Syarikat (AS) telah mengambil perhatian terhadap kenyataan baru-baru ini oleh pemberontak yang mencadangkan mereka mengamalkan postur lebih sederhana, tetapi Biden berkata: “Kami akan menilai bukan sahaja kata-kata mereka, tetapi tindakan mereka.”

Amnesty International juga menggesa pelaku pencabulan hak untuk menghadapi keadilan, dengan ketuanya Agnes Callamard menggesa pasukan menggulingkan Assad untuk “melepaskan diri daripada keganasan masa lalu.”

“Sebarang peralihan politik mesti memastikan akauntabiliti bagi pelaku pelanggaran serius dan menjamin bahawa mereka yang bertanggungjawab dipertanggungjawabkan,” kata ketua hak PBB Volker Turk pada Isnin.

Bagaimana Assad mungkin menghadapi keadilan masih tidak jelas, terutama selepas Rusia enggan pada Isnin untuk mengesahkan laporan oleh agensi berita Rusia bahawa dia telah melarikan diri ke Moscow.

Kedutaan Syria di Moscow menaikkan bendera pembangkang, dan Kremlin berkata ia akan membincangkan status pangkalannya di Syria dengan pihak berkuasa baharu.

Rusia memainkan peranan penting dalam mengekalkan kuasa Assad, campur tangan secara langsung dalam perang bermula pada 2015 dan menyediakan perlindungan udara kepada tentera di darat ketika ia berusaha untuk menumpaskan pemberontakan.

Iran, satu lagi sekutu utama Assad, berkata ia menjangkakan hubungan “mesra” dengan Syria akan diteruskan, dengan menteri luarnya berkata presiden yang digulingkan itu “tidak pernah meminta” bantuan Tehran menentang serangan militan.

Turkiye, dari segi sejarah penyokong pembangkang, menyeru kerajaan baharu yang “inklusif” di Syria, ketika situasi yang tidak dapat diramalkan mula mereda.

“Ia bukan hanya rejim Assad yang jatuh, ia juga persoalan tentang apa yang menggantikannya?” kata Aron Lund, pakar di badan pemikir Century International.

Walaupun perang Syria bermula dengan tindakan keras terhadap protes demokrasi akar umbi, ia berubah dari semasa ke semasa dan menarik kumpulan jihad dan kuasa asing yang menyokong pihak lawan.

Israel, yang bersempadan dengan Syria, menghantar tentera ke zon penampan selepas kejatuhan Assad, dalam apa yang digambarkan oleh Menteri Luar Gideon Saar sebagai “langkah terhad dan sementara.”

Saar juga berkata negaranya telah menyerang “senjata kimia” di Syria, “agar ia tidak jatuh ke tangan pelampau.”

Di utara Syria, serangan dron Turki di kawasan yang dikuasai Kurdish membunuh 11 orang awam, enam daripadanya kanak-kanak, menurut pemantau perang Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

AN-AFP, 9 Dis 2024

GAZA — Berdepan dengan kekurangan makanan utama selepas hampir 14 bulan perang, rakyat Palestin menggambarkan hari yang panjang memburu tepung dan roti di Semenanjung Gaza dilanda konflik.

Setiap pagi orang ramai berkumpul di luar beberapa kedai roti yang dibuka di wilayah Palestin, ketika orang ramai berusaha untuk mendapatkan sekantong roti di tempat pengedaran.

Sejak meletusnya perang di Gaza tahun lalu, badan amal dan pertubuhan bantuan antarabangsa telah berulang kali memberi amaran tentang tahap krisis kelaparan bagi hampir dua juta orang.

Penilaian disokong Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) bulan lalu memberi amaran tentang kebuluran yang melanda di utara Semenanjung Gaza di tengah-tengah bantuan makanan yang hampir terhenti selepas Israel melancarkan serangan di kawasan itu.

Barangan keperluan seperti air, hasil segar dan ubat-ubatan juga terhad.

Penduduk Gaza di seluruh wilayah telah memberitahu AFP dalam beberapa bulan kebelakangan ini bagaimana mereka bangun pada waktu fajar hanya untuk memastikan mereka boleh mendapatkan sedikit tepung atau roti, dengan ketersediaan semasa mencecah paras terendah sepanjang masa.

Di bandar selatan Khan Yunis, jurugambar AFP melihat berpuluh-puluh orang di tempat pengedaran, badan bertindih antara satu sama lain.

Di atas kepala masing-masing, semua orang cuba menghulurkan tangan sejauh mungkin untuk meraih roti bulat.

Seorang kanak-kanak kecil, mukanya dipenuhi air mata, memerah duit syiling di antara jari-jarinya ketika dia melalui kerumunan orang dewasa.

“Saya berjalan kira-kira lapan kilometer (lima batu) untuk mendapatkan roti,” kata Hatem Kullab, seorang pelarian Palestin yang tinggal di kawasan kejiranan khemah sementara, kepada AFP.

Ia adalah di tengah-tengah salah satu daripada kerumunan ini bahawa dua wanita dan seorang kanak-kanak telah mati dipijak dalam rempuhan di sebuah kedai roti di bandar Gaza tengah Deir el-Balah pada Jumaat.

“Bagi mendapatkan sebuku roti, anda memerlukan lapan hingga 10 jam sehari penuh,” kata abang kepada salah seorang wanita yang terbunuh, menggambarkan pengalaman pahit kakaknya ketika dia cuba mendapatkan roti untuk memberi makan kepada 10 ahli keluarga.

“Penderitaan yang dilalui kakak saya dialami oleh semua rakyat Palestin,” kata Jameel Fayyad kepada AFP, mengkritik apa yang disifatkannya sebagai pengurusan kedai roti yang lemah.

Kemarahan Fayyad sebahagian besarnya ditujukan kepada Israel, tetapi dia juga menyalahkan Program Makanan Sedunia (WFP) dan “peniaga yang ingin membuat wang di belakang orang.”

Penduduk Palestin dari Semenanjung Gaza memberitahu wartawan AFP bahawa adalah amat sukar untuk mencari beg tepung seberat 50 kilogram (110 paun) yang akan bertahan beberapa minggu sebelum perang.

“Tiada tepung, tiada makanan, tiada sayur-sayuran di pasar,” kata Nasser Al-Shawa, 56, yang seperti kebanyakan penduduk, terpaksa meninggalkan rumahnya kerana pengeboman dan tinggal bersama anak-anak dan cucunya di tengah Gaza.

Shawa, yang kini tinggal di rumah rakannya di Deir el-Balah, berkata beg seberat 50 kilogram berharga antara 500 dan 700 shekel ($137 dan $192). Sebelum perang, harganya sekitar 100 shekel.

Di Gaza di mana lebih separuh daripada bangunan telah musnah, pengeluaran hampir terhenti. Kilang tepung, gudang menyimpan tepung dan kedai roti industri tidak dapat berfungsi kerana ia telah rosak teruk akibat serangan.

Bantuan kemanusiaan semakin mengalir tetapi kumpulan bantuan telah berulang kali menyelar banyak kekangan dikenakan ke atas mereka oleh Israel, yang dinafikan negara itu.

Dalam tamparan terbaharu, agensi PBB yang menyokong pelarian Palestin (UNRWA) mengumumkan pada Ahad ia menghentikan penghantaran bantuan ke Gaza melalui titik lintasan utama dengan Israel.

UNRWA berkata penghantaran telah menjadi mustahil, sebahagiannya disebabkan oleh rompakan oleh kumpulan samseng.

Bagi Layla Hamad, yang tinggal di dalam khemah bersama suami dan tujuh anaknya di Al-Mawasi di selatan Gaza, keputusan UNRWA adalah “seperti peluru di kepala.”

Dia berkata keluarganya kerap menerima “kuantiti kecil” tepung daripada UNRWA.

“Setiap hari, saya fikir kita tidak akan bertahan, sama ada kerana kita akan dibunuh oleh pengeboman Israel atau kelaparan,” katanya. “Tiada pilihan ketiga.”

Majoriti syarikat swasta yang dimiliki Israel pada masa lalu membenarkan membawa masuk makanan ke Gaza berkata mereka tidak lagi mampu berbuat demikian.

Peperangan di Gaza meletus selepas serangan Hamas pada 7 Oktober 2023, ke atas Israel selatan, yang mengakibatkan kematian 1,208 orang, kebanyakannya orang awam, menurut pengiraan AFP berdasarkan data rasmi.

Kempen ketenteraan balas dendam Israel di Gaza telah membunuh sekurang-kurangnya 44,502 kematian, juga kebanyakan orang awam, menurut data daripada kementerian kesihatan Gaza dikendalikan Hamas yang dianggap PBB boleh dipercayai.

AN-AFP

KABUL — Dengan musim menuai safron sedang berlangsung di Afghanistan, peniaga tempatan menjangkakan hasil yang lebih baik berbanding tahun-tahun sebelumnya, mencetuskan harapan bahawa eksport tanaman berharga itu, yang dikenali tempatan sebagai “emas merah,” akan membantu meningkatkan ekonomi negara yang terjejas.

Afghanistan ialah pengeluar safron kedua terbesar di dunia, selepas Iran.

Pada Jun, Institut Rasa Antarabangsa berpangkalan di Belgium menamakan safron Afghan sebagai yang terbaik di dunia bagi tahun kesembilan berturut-turut.

Safron adalah rempah yang paling mahal di dunia, dijual sekitar $2,000 sekilogram. Eksportnya menyediakan mata wang asing kritikal kepada Afghanistan, di mana sekatan dikenakan AS telah menjejaskan ekonomi dengan teruk sejak Taliban mengambil alih pada 2021.

Dengan hasil safron tahun ini dijangka melebihi 50 tan – kira-kira dua kali ganda daripada musim 2023 dan 2022 – kerajaan dan Kesatuan Safron Kebangsaan Afghanistan sedang berusaha untuk meningkatkan eksport.

“Tuaian safron tahun ini bagus. Dalam tempoh sembilan bulan pertama (tahun 2024), Afghanistan mengeksport sekitar 46 tan safron ke negara yang berbeza,” kata jurucakap Kementerian Perindustrian dan Perdagangan Abdulsalam Jawad Akhundzada kepada Arab News (AN).

“Di mana-mana peniaga kami ingin mengeksport safron, kami menyokong mereka melalui koridor udara dan memudahkan penyertaan peniaga Afghanistan dalam pameran nasional dan antarabangsa.”

Dikenali telah ditanam selama sekurang-kurangnya 2,000 tahun, safron sangat sesuai dengan iklim kering Afghanistan, terutama di Herat, di mana 90 peratus safron Afghanistan dihasilkan.

Kebanyakan perdagangan safron juga berpusat di wilayah itu, yang hujung minggu lalu merasmikan Pusat Dagangan Safron Antarabangsanya bagi memudahkan eksport.

“Pusat baharu itu telah ditubuhkan mengikut piawaian global dan akan membawa syarikat pemprosesan dan perdagangan utama ke satu tempat, menyediakan satu tempat untuk petani memperdagangkan produk mereka dalam keadaan terbaik,” Mohammad Ibrahim Adil, ketua Kesatuan Safron Kebangsaan Afghanistan, memberitahu AN.

Pasaran eksport utama kesatuan itu ialah India, di mana safron adalah bahan biasa dalam makanan, diikuti oleh GCC (negara teluk) — terutama Arab Saudi dan UAE.

“Eksport safron membawa mata wang asing yang sangat diperlukan ke Afghanistan, menyumbang dengan ketara kepada penstabilan kitaran kewangan di negara itu,” kata Qudratullah Rahmati, timbalan ketua kesatuan safron.

Kesatuan itu menganggarkan safron menyumbang kira-kira $100 juta kepada ekonomi Afghanistan setahun.

Kira-kira 95 peratus pekerja dalam industri safron adalah wanita, menurut kesatuan itu.

“Pengeluaran safron menyokong banyak keluarga, terutama wanita, semasa fasa penuaian dan pemprosesan melalui peluang pekerjaan jangka pendek dan panjang. Terdapat sekitar 80-85 syarikat safron berdaftar di Herat. Yang kecil menggaji empat hingga lima orang manakala yang lebih besar mempunyai sehingga 80 kakitangan tetap,” jelas Rahmati.

Menuai safron adalah kerja yang sukar dan memakan masa. Bunga-bunga itu dipetik sendiri, dan stigma oren kecilnya dipisahkan untuk dikeringkan. Kira-kira 440,000 stigma diperlukan untuk menghasilkan satu kilogram rempah wangi.

Musim menuai biasanya bermula pada Oktober atau November dan berlangsung hanya beberapa minggu.

AN

KABUL — Checking imported books, removing texts from libraries and distributing lists of banned titles — Taliban authorities are working to remove “un-Islamic” and anti-government literature from circulation.

The efforts are led by a commission established under the Ministry of Information and Culture soon after the Taliban swept to power in 2021 and implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or sharia.

In October, the ministry announced the commission had identified 400 books “that conflicted with Islamic and Afghan values, most of which have been collected from the markets.”

The department in charge of publishing has distributed copies of the Qur’an and other Islamic texts to replace seized books, the ministry statement said.

The ministry has not provided figures for the number of removed books, but two sources, a publisher in Kabul and a government employee, said texts had been collected in the first year of Taliban rule and again in recent months.

“There is a lot of censorship. It is very difficult to work, and fear has spread everywhere,” the Kabul publisher told AFP.

Books were also restricted under the previous foreign-backed government ousted by the Taliban, when there was “a lot of corruption, pressures and other issues,” he said.

But “there was no fear, one could say whatever he or she wanted to say,” he added.
“Whether or not we could make any change, we could raise our voices.”

AFP received a list of five of the banned titles from an information ministry official.

It includes “Jesus the Son of Man” by renowned Lebanese-American author Khalil Gibran, for containing “blasphemous expressions,” and the “counterculture” novel “Twilight of the Eastern Gods” by Albanian author Ismail Kadare.

“Afghanistan and the Region: A West Asian Perspective” by Mirwais Balkhi, an education minister under the former government, was also banned for “negative propaganda.”

During the Taliban’s previous rule from 1996 to 2001, there were comparatively few publishing houses and booksellers in Kabul, the country having already been wracked by decades of war.

Today, thousands of books are imported each week alone from neighboring Iran — which shares the Persian language with Afghanistan — through the Islam Qala border crossing in western Herat province.

Taliban authorities rifled through boxes of a shipment at a customs warehouse in Herat city last week.

One man flipped through a thick English-language title, as another, wearing a camouflage uniform with a man’s image on the shoulder patch, searched for pictures of people and animals in the books.

“We have not banned books from any specific country or person, but we study the books and we block those that are contradictory to religion, sharia or the government, or if they have photos of living things,” said Mohammad Sediq Khademi, an official with the Herat department for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (PVPV).

“Any books that are against religion, faith, sect, sharia… we will not allow them,” the 38-year-old told AFP, adding the evaluations of imported books started some three months ago.

Images of living things — barred under some interpretations of Islam — are restricted according to a recent “vice and virtue” law that codifies rules imposed since the Taliban returned to power, but the regulations have been unevenly enforced.

Importers have been advised of which books to avoid, and when books are deemed unsuitable, they are given the option of returning them and getting their money back, Khademi said.

“But if they can’t, we don’t have any other option but to seize them,” he added.

“Once, we had 28 cartons of books that were rejected.”

Authorities have not gone from shop to shop checking for banned books, an official with the provincial information department and a Herat bookseller said, asking not to be named.

However, some books have been removed from Herat libraries and Kabul bookstores, a bookseller told AFP, also asking for anonymity, including “The History of Jihadi Groups in Afghanistan” by Afghan author Yaqub Mashauf.

Books bearing images of living things can still be found in Herat shops.

In Kabul and Takhar — a northern province where booksellers said they had received the list of 400 banned books — disallowed titles remained on some shelves.

Many non-Afghan works were banned, one seller said, “so they look at the author, whose name is there, and they are mostly banned” if they’re foreign.

His bookshop still carried translations of Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Gambler” and fantasy novel “Daughter of the Moon Goddess” by Sue Lynn Tan.

But he was keen to sell them “very cheap” now, to clear them from his stock.

AN-AFP

LOS ANGELES, United States — A rare inside account of the Taliban authorities’ impact on Afghan women hits screens next week with the smartphone-filmed documentary “Bread & Roses.”

Produced by actress Jennifer Lawrence (“The Hunger Games“) and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, this feature-length film immerses the viewer in the daily struggles endured by half the population of Afghanistan since the withdrawal of US troops paved the way for Taliban leaders to seize power.

“When Kabul fell in 2021 all women lost their very basic rights. They lost their rights to be educated, to work,” Lawrence told AFP in Los Angeles.

“Some of them were doctors and had high degrees, and then their lives were completely changed overnight.”

The documentary, which debuted at Cannes in May 2023, was directed by exiled Afghan filmmaker Sahra Mani, who reached out to a dozen women after the fall of Kabul.

She tutored them on how to film themselves with their phones — resulting in a moving depiction of the intertwined stories of three Afghan women.

We meet Zahra, a dentist whose practice is threatened with closure, suddenly propelled to the head of protests against the Taliban government.

Sharifa, a former civil servant, is stripped of her job and cloistered at home, reduced to hanging laundry on her roof to get a breath of fresh air.

And Taranom, an activist in exile in neighboring Pakistan, who watches helplessly as her homeland changes.

“The restrictions are getting tighter and tighter right now,” Mani told AFP on the film’s Los Angeles red carpet.

And hardly anyone outside the country seems to care, she said.

“The women of Afghanistan didn’t receive the support they deserved from the international community.”

Since their return to power, Taliban officials have established a “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan, according to the United Nations.

Women are gradually being erased from public spaces: Taliban authorities have banned post-secondary education for girls and women, restricted employment and blocked access to parks and other public areas.

A recent law even prohibits women from singing or reciting poetry in public.

The Taliban authorities follow an austere brand of Islam, whose interpretations of holy texts are disputed by many scholars.

“The Taliban claim to represent the culture and religion while they’re a very small group of men who do not actually represent the diversity of the country,” Yousafzai, an executive producer of the film, told AFP.

“Islam does not prohibit a girl from learning, Islam does not prohibit a woman from working,” said the Pakistani activist, whom the Pakistani Taliban tried to assassinate when she was 15.

The documentary captures the first year after the fall of Kabul, including moments of bravery when women speak out.

“You closed universities and schools, you might as well kill me!” a protester shouts at a man threatening her during a demonstration.

These gatherings of women — under the slogan “Work, bread, education!” — are methodically crushed by Taliban authorities.

Protesters are beaten, some are arrested, others kidnapped.

Slowly, the resistance fades, but it doesn’t die: some Afghan women are now trying to educate themselves through clandestine courses.

Three years after the Taliban fighters seized power from a hapless and corrupt civilian administration, no countries have officially recognized their new government.

In the wake of Donald Trump’s re-election to the US presidency, Taliban leaders have made it known that they hope to “open a new chapter” in relations between Kabul and Washington, where a more transactional foreign policy outlook is expected to prevail.

For Mani, that rings alarm bells.

Giving up on defending the rights of Afghan women would be a serious mistake — and one the West could come to regret, she said.

The less educated Afghan women are, the more vulnerable their sons are to the ideology that birthed the Al Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001.

“If we are paying the price today, you might pay the price tomorrow,” she said.

“Bread & Roses” begins streaming on Apple TV+ on November 22.

AN-AFP, Nov 18, 2024

GAZA — Itimad al-Qanou, a Palestinian mother struggling to feed her seven children, feels abandoned by everyone.

She sometimes feels that death is the best way to end her family’s suffering after a year of war that has turned Gaza into a bombed-out wasteland gripped by hunger.

“Let them drop a nuclear bomb and end it. We don’t want this life we’re living; we are dying slowly. Have mercy on us. Look at these children,” said the mother of three boys and four girls aged between eight and 18.

Children in their town of Deir al-Balah crowd at a charity site with empty pots, desperate for nourishment.
Aid workers distribute lentil soup from a pot. But it is never enough to stave off hunger and ease widespread panic.

Qanou says her family faces the Israeli airstrikes that have killed tens of thousands of people and flattened much of Gaza on the one side, and hunger on the other.

“No one is looking at us, no one cares about us. I ask the Arab countries to stand with us, at least to open the borders so food and supplies can reach our children,” she said.

“They are all liars; they are lying to the people. The United States is standing with Israel against us, they are all united against us.”

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid were allowed through the Erez crossing into northern Gaza on Monday.

The United States will decide this week on whether Israel has made progress toward improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and how Washington will respond.

FAMINE IMMINENT

Global food security experts said there is a “strong likelihood” that famine is imminent in parts of northern Gaza as Israel pursues a military offensive against Hamas militants there.

In response to the famine warning, the head of the U.N. Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, accused Israel of using hunger as a weapon.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that deals with Palestinian civilian affairs, on Sunday published a list of Israel’s humanitarian efforts over the past six months. It detailed plans for supporting Gaza residents as winter approaches.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon last month told the United Nations Security Council more than one million tons of aid had been delivered during the past year and he accused Hamas of hijacking the assistance. Hamas denies such allegations.

Aside from the hunger, Gazans say they have no place to go that is safe after repeated evacuations left them living in tent encampments until they need to move again to escape more strikes.

Some say their plight is even worse than the 1948 “Nakba” or Catastrophe when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were dispossessed of their homes in the war at the birth of the state of Israel.

“Conditions were better than what we face now. Now, we have no security, and no place,” said displaced Gazan Mohamed Abou Qaraa.

REUTERS

LONDON — At least 64 attacks targeting schools were reported in the Gaza Strip last month, averaging nearly two incidents per day, according to data from UNICEF and its partners released on Saturday.

The strikes in October led to an estimated 128 deaths, many of whom were children, the report added.

These schools, which often double as shelters for displaced families and children fleeing violence, have seen 226 attacks since the conflict began on Oct. 7 last year. Over one million children have been displaced in the past 14 months, facing unimaginable hardship and trauma, UNICEF said.

Schools should never be on the frontlines of war, and children should never be indiscriminately attacked while seeking shelter,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“The horrors we are seeing in Gaza are setting a dark precedent for humanity, one where children are hit with bombs at record numbers while looking for safety inside classrooms. Trauma and loss have become their daily norm.”

Nearly half of the attacks in October – 25 in total – were concentrated in northern Gaza, an area experiencing relentless bombardment, widespread displacement, and limited humanitarian aid.

Many of these schools also serve as critical malnutrition treatment points, providing essential services to those in need.

International Humanitarian Law designates schools as protected spaces. However, since the renewed hostilities in October 2023, more than 95 percent of Gaza’s schools have been partially or completely destroyed. UNICEF reports that 87 percent will need extensive reconstruction before they can be used again.

The plight of children in Gaza underscores the urgent need for adherence to international laws protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure, particularly in conflict zones where the most vulnerable bear the brunt of violence and devastation, UNICEF added.

AN, Nov 9, 2024

JERUSALEM — With virtually no food allowed into the northernmost part of Gaza for the past month, tens of thousands of Palestinians under Israeli siege are rationing their last lentils and flour to survive.

As bombardment pounds around them, some say they risk their lives by venturing out in search of cans of food in the rubble of destroyed homes.

Thousands have staggered out of the area, hungry and thin, into Gaza City, where they find the situation a little better.

One hospital reports seeing thousands of children suffering from malnutrition.

A nutritionist said she treated a pregnant woman wasting away at just 40 kilograms (88 pounds).

“We are being starved to force us to leave our homes,” said Mohammed Arqouq, whose family of eight is determined to stay in the north, weathering Israel’s siege. “We will die here in our homes.”

Medical workers warn that hunger is spiraling to dire proportions under a monthlong siege on northern Gaza by the Israeli military, which has been waging a fierce campaign since the beginning of October.

The military has severed the area with checkpoints, ordering residents to leave.

Many Palestinians fear Israel aims to depopulate the north long term.

On Friday, experts from a panel that monitors food security said famine is imminent in the north or may already be happening.

The growing desperation comes as the deadline approaches next week for a 30-day request the administration of President Joe Biden gave Israel: raise the level of humanitarian assistance allowed into Gaza or risk possible restrictions on US military funding.

The US says Israel must allow a minimum of 350 trucks a day carrying food and other supplies. Israel has fallen far short.

In October, 57 trucks a day entered Gaza on average, according to figures from Israel’s military agency overseeing aid entry, known as COGAT. In the first week of November, the average was 81 a day.

The UN puts the number even lower — 37 trucks daily since the beginning of October.

It says Israeli military operations and general lawlessness often prevent it from collecting supplies, leaving hundreds of truckloads stranded at the border.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Israel had made some progress by announcing the opening of a new crossing into central Gaza and approving new delivery routes.

But he said Israel must do more.

“It’s not just sufficient to open new roads if more humanitarian assistance isn’t going through those roads,” he said.

Israeli forces have been hammering the towns of Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabaliya refugee camp.

Witnesses report intense fighting between troops and militants.

A trickle of food has reached Gaza City.

However, as of Thursday, nothing entered the towns farther north for 30 days, even as an estimated 70,000 people remain there, said Louise Wateridge, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, speaking from Gaza City.

The government acknowledged in late October that it hadn’t allowed aid into Jabaliya because of military “operational constraints” in response to a petition by Israeli human rights groups.

On Saturday, COGAT said it allowed 11 trucks of food and supplies into Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya. But Alia Zaki, a spokeswoman for the WFP, said Israeli troops at a checkpoint forced the convoy to unload the food before it could reach shelters in Beit Hanoun.

It was not clear what then happened to the supplies.

Palestinians in the north described a desperate daily struggle to find food, water, and safety as strike-level buildings, sometimes killing whole families.

Arqouq said he goes out at night to search bombed-out buildings: “Sometimes you find a half-empty package of flour, canned food, and lentils.”

He said his family relies on help from others sheltering at a Jabaliya school, but their food is also running low.

“We are like dogs and cats searching for their food in the rubble,” said Um Saber, a widow.

She said she and her six children had to flee a school-turned-shelter in Beit Lahiya when Israel struck it.

Now they live in her father-in-law’s home, stretching meager supplies of lentils and pasta with 40 others, mostly women and children.

Ahmed Abu Awda, a 28-year-old father of three living with 25 relatives in a Jabaliya house, said they have a daily meal of lentils with bread, rationing to ensure children eat.

“Sometimes we don’t eat at all,” he said.

Lubna, a 38-year-old mother of five, left food behind when fleeing as strikes and drone fire pummeled the street in Jabaliya.
“We got out by a miracle,” she said from Beit Lahiya, where they’re staying.

Her husband scavenged flour from destroyed homes after Israeli forces withdrew around nearby Kamal Adwan hospital, she said. It’s moldy, she said, so they sift it first.
Her young daughter, Selina, is visibly gaunt and bony, Lubna said.

The offensive has raised fears among Palestinians that Israel seeks to empty northern Gaza and hold it long-term under a surrender-or-starve plan proposed by former generals.

Witnesses report Israeli troops going building to building, forcing people to leave toward Gaza City.

On Thursday, the Israeli military ordered new evacuations from several Gaza City neighborhoods, raising the possibility of a ground assault there.

The UN said some 14,000 displaced Palestinians were sheltering there.

Food and supplies are also stretched for the several hundred thousand people in Gaza City.

Much of the city has been flattened by months of Israeli bombardment and shelling.

Dr. Rana Soboh, a nutrition specialist at Gaza City’s Patient Friend Benevolent Hospital, said she sees 350 cases of moderate to severe acute malnutrition daily, most from the north and also from Gaza City.

“The bone of their chest is showing, the eyes are protruding,” she said, and many have trouble concentrating.

“You repeat something several times so they can understand what we are saying.”

She cited a 32-year-old woman shedding weight in her third month of pregnancy — when they put her on the scale, she weighed only 40 kg.

“We are suffering, facing the ghost of famine hovering over Gaza,” Soboh said.

Even before the siege in the north, the Patient Friend hospital saw a flood of children suffering from malnutrition — more than 4,780 in September compared with 1,100 in July, said Dr. Ahmad Eskiek, who oversees hospital operations.

Soboh said staff get calls from Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya pleading for help: “What can we do? We have nothing.”

She had worked at Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north but fled with her family to Gaza City. Now, they stay with 22 people in her uncle’s two-bedroom apartment.

On Thursday, she had had a morsel of bread for breakfast and later a meal of yellow lentils.

As winter rains near, new arrivals set up tents wherever they can.

Some 1,500 people are in a UN school already heavily damaged in strikes that “could collapse at any moment,” UNRWA spokesperson Wateridge said.

With toilets destroyed, people try to set aside a classroom corner to use, leaving waste “streaming down the walls of the school,” she said.

She said that others in Gaza City move into the rubble of buildings, draping tarps between layers of collapsed concrete.

“It’s like the carcass of a city,” she said.

AN-AP, Nov 9, 2024

GENEVA — The UN condemned on Friday the staggering number of civilians killed in Israel’s war in Gaza, with women and children comprising nearly 70 percent of the thousands of fatalities it had managed to verify.

In a fresh report, the United Nations human rights office detailed the “horrific reality” that has unfolded for civilians in both Gaza and Israel since Hamas’s attack in Israel on October 7, 2023.

It detailed a vast array of violations of international law, warning that many could amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly even “genocide.”

“The report shows how civilians in Gaza have borne the brunt of the attacks, including through the initial ‘complete siege’ of Gaza by Israeli forces,” the UN said.

It also pointed to “the Israeli government’s continuing unlawful failures to allow, facilitate and ensure the entry of humanitarian aid, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and repeated mass displacement.”

“This conduct by Israeli forces has caused unprecedented levels of killings, death, injury, starvation, illness and disease,” it continued.

“Palestinian armed groups have also conducted hostilities in ways that have likely contributed to harm to civilians.”

The report took on the contentious issue of the proportion of civilians figuring among the now nearly 43,500 people killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Palestinian territory.

Due to a lack of access, UN agencies have since the beginning of the Gaza war relied on death tolls provided by the authorities in Hamas-run Gaza.

This has sparked accusations from Israel of “parroting… Hamas’s propaganda messages” but the UN has repeatedly said the figures are reliable.

Youngest victim aged one day

The rights office said it had now managed to verify 8,119 of the more than 34,500 people reportedly killed during the first six months of the war in Gaza, finding “close to 70 percent to be children and women.”

This, it said, indicated “a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality.”

Of the verified fatalities, 3,588 of them were children and 2,036 were women, the report said.

“We do believe this is representative of the breakdown of total fatalities — similar proportion to what Gaza authorities have,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told AFP.

“Our monitoring indicates that this unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians is a direct consequence of the failure to comply with fundamental principles of international humanitarian law,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

“Tragically, these documented patterns of violations continue unabated, over one year after the start of the war.”

His office found that about 80 percent of all the verified deaths in Gaza had occurred in Israeli attacks on residential buildings or similar housing, and that close to 90 percent had died in incidents that killed five or more people.

The main victims of Israeli strikes on residential buildings, it said, were children between the ages of five and nine, with the youngest victim a one-day-old boy and the oldest a 97-year-old woman.

The report said that the large proportion of verified deaths in residential buildings could be partially explained by the rights office’s “verification methodology, which requires at least three independent sources.”

It also pointed to continuing “challenges in collecting and verifying information of killings in other circumstances.”

Gaza authorities have long said that women and children made up a significant majority of those killed in the war, but with lacking access for full UN verification, the issue has remained highly contentious.

Israel has insisted that its operations in Gaza are targeting militants.

But Friday’s report stressed that the verified deaths largely mirrored the demographic makeup of the population at large in Gaza, rather than the known demographic of combatants.

This, it said, clearly “raises concerns regarding compliance with the principle of distinction and reflect an apparent failure to take all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects.”

AN-AFP

CAIRO — Israeli forces stepped up bombardment across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and ordered more evacuations, creating a fresh wave of displacement from northern Gaza, to which Palestinians fear they will not be able to return.

Palestinian health officials said at least 10 people had been killed and several others wounded in an Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced families in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City.

The Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas command center embedded inside the compound that previously served as a UN-run school. It accused Hamas of exploiting civilian facilities for military purposes, which the group denies.

As Israeli tanks advanced in Beit Lahiya, a month into a new push on northern Gaza, dozens of families streamed out. They arrived at schools and other shelters in Gaza City with whatever belongings and food they could bring.

Drones hovered overhead broadcasting evacuation orders, which were also carried on social media outlets and on audio and text messages sent to residents’ phones, one displaced man said.

“After they displaced most or all of the people in Jabalia, now they are bombing everywhere, killing people on the roads and inside their houses to force everyone out,” the man told Reuters via a chat app, giving only one name, Ahmed, for fear of repercussions.

Palestinian officials say Israel is carrying out a plan of “ethnic cleansing”.

Residents say no aid has entered Jabalia, Beit Lahiya or Beit Hanoun since the operation began on Oct 5.

The Israeli military says it was forced to clear Jabalia and start clearing nearby Beit Lahiya on Wednesday in order to take on Hamas militants who it says have regrouped there.

It denied press reports that people evacuated from northern Gaza would not be allowed to return and said it was continuing to allow aid into northern Gaza and the Jabalia area, where it said it was engaged in “intense combat”.

“The statement attributed to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) in the past 24 hours, claiming that residents of northern Gaza will not be allowed to return to their homes, is incorrect and does not reflect the IDF’s objectives and values,” it said.

It said 300 trucks of aid from the United Arab Emirates had arrived at the port of Ashdod and would be sent into Gaza via the Erez crossing in the north and Kerem Shalom in the south.

The army posted new evacuation orders to residents in neighbourhoods near and inside Gaza City, citing rocket launches from there by Palestinian militants. The new orders covered the northern part of the Shati camp and three other neighbourhoods in Gaza City.

PALESTINIANS NERVOUS AT TRUMP VICTORY

Palestinian medics said Israeli fire had killed six people in Jabalia, the largest of the enclave’s eight historic refugee camps, as well as four people in Beit Lahiya and seven in Rafah, near the border with Egypt in southern Gaza.

Later on Thursday, Palestinian media outlets said dozens of people were killed and wounded in an Israeli air strike at a house belonging to the Mabhouh family in Jabalia. The health ministry didn’t confirm the death tally.

The Israeli military said it wasn’t aware of the incident, in response to a request for comment from Reuters.

The Israeli military said forces operating in Jabalia had killed about 50 militants in the past 24 hours and had helped Palestinians to exit combat zones through organised routes.

Palestinian and U.N. officials say there are no safe areas in the enclave, most of whose 2.3 million people have been forced to leave their homes.

Israel’s ground campaign to annihilate the Islamist movement, now more than a year old, has turned much of the Gaza Strip into a wasteland suffering a humanitarian catastrophe.

Many Palestinians are watching nervously to see if Republican former President Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election will strengthen U.S. support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump campaigned portraying himself as a more reliable ally for Israel than incumbent President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.

More than 43,300 Palestinians have been killed in more than a year of war in Gaza, health authorities in the enclave say.

The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Violence has also surged across the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza.

In Tulkarm, Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man during a raid, medics said, adding that an Israeli drone had wounded five other people, including a mother and her son, who had learning difficulties.

Hundreds of Palestinians – including armed fighters, stone-throwing youths and civilian bystanders – have been killed in clashes with Israeli security forces.

The Palestinian health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its casualty figures, put the number at 775, including 167 children.

Dozens of Israelis have been killed in Palestinian street attacks over the past year.

REUTERS

GAZA/JERUSALEM — Rakyat Palestin di Gaza mahu Donald Trump, yang memenangi pilihan raya AS, menamatkan perang antara Israel dan Hamas yang telah memusnahkan wilayah mereka.

“Kami dipindahkan, dibunuh … tiada apa yang tinggal untuk kami, kami mahukan keamanan,” kata Mamdouh Al-Jadba, yang dipindahkan ke Kota Gaza dari Jabalia.

“Saya harap Trump menemui penyelesaian, kami memerlukan seseorang yang kuat seperti Trump untuk menamatkan perang dan menyelamatkan kami, cukuplah, Tuhan, ini sudah memadai,” kata lelaki berusia 60 tahun itu. “Saya telah berpindah tiga kali, rumah saya musnah, anak-anak saya kehilangan tempat tinggal di selatan … Tiada apa-apa lagi, Gaza sudah habis.”

Umm Ahmed Harb, dari kawasan Al-Shaaf di timur Kota Gaza, juga mengharapkan Trump untuk “berdiri di sisi kami” dan menamatkan penderitaan wilayah itu.

“In-sya-Allah perang akan berakhir, bukan demi kita tetapi demi anak-anak kita yang tidak bersalah, mereka syahid dan mati kelaparan,” katanya.

“Kami tidak boleh membeli apa-apa dengan harga tinggi (makanan). Kami di sini dalam ketakutan, ketakutan dan kematian.”

Bagi rakyat Palestin di Tebing Barat yang diduduki, di mana keganasan juga meningkat sejak Oktober tahun lalu, kemenangan Trump adalah sebab untuk takut masa depan.

“Trump tegas dalam beberapa keputusan, tetapi keputusan ini boleh melayani kepentingan Israel dari segi politik lebih daripada mereka melayani untuk Palestin,” kata Samir Abu Jundi, 60 tahun di bandar Ramallah.

Seorang lagi lelaki yang memperkenalkan dirinya hanya dengan nama samarannya, Abu Mohammed, berkata dia juga tidak melihat sebab untuk mempercayai kemenangan Trump akan memihak kepada rakyat Palestin, berkata “tiada apa yang akan berubah kecuali lebih banyak penurunan.”

Imad Fakhida, seorang pengetua sekolah di bandar utama Ramallah, Tebing Barat, berkata “kembalinya Trump ke tampuk kuasa … akan membawa kita ke neraka dan akan ada peningkatan yang lebih besar dan lebih sukar.”

Dia menambah: “Dia terkenal dengan sokongan penuh dan terbesarnya untuk Israel.”

Semasa kempennya untuk kembali ke Rumah Putih, Trump berkata Gaza, yang terletak di timur Mediterranean, mungkin “lebih baik daripada Monaco.”

Dia juga berkata dia akan bertindak balas dengan cara yang sama seperti yang dilakukan Israel selepas serangan 7 Oktober, sambil menggesa sekutu AS itu untuk “menyelesaikan tugas” kerana ia “kehilangan banyak sokongan.”

Secara lebih luas, dia telah berjanji untuk menamatkan krisis antarabangsa yang meruncing, malah mengatakan dia boleh “menghentikan peperangan dengan panggilan telefon.”

Di Gaza, kenyataan sebegitu memberi alasan untuk harapan. “Kami menjangkakan keamanan akan datang dan perang akan berakhir dengan Trump kerana dalam kempen pilihan rayanya dia berkata bahawa dia mahukan keamanan dan menyeru untuk menghentikan peperangan di Gaza dan Timur Tengah,” kata Ibrahim Alian, 33, dari Kota Gaza.

Seperti kebanyakan penduduk wilayah itu, Alian telah beberapa kali dipindahkan oleh pertempuran. Dia berkata dia juga kehilangan bapanya kerana perang.

“In-sya-Allah perang di Semenanjung Gaza akan berakhir dan keadaan akan berubah,” katanya.

Sementara itu, pekerja perbandaran merobohkan tujuh rumah di kejiranan Silwan Baitulmaqdis Timur yang diduduki pada Selasa, penduduk Palestin dan majlis perbandaran berkata, selepas mahkamah Israel menyatakan pembinaan mereka tidak sah.

AN-AFP

BEIRUT — Hezbollah’s chief said Wednesday his group had tens of thousands of combatants ready to fight, adding that nowhere in Israel was off-limits to attacks.

“We have tens of thousands of trained resistance combatants” ready to fight, Naim Qassem said in a speech marking 40 days since his predecessor was killed.

He also said nowhere in Israel would be “off-limits” to the group’s attacks.

He said the results of the US presidential election will have no impact on any possible ceasefire deal.

“We don’t base our expectations for a halt of the aggression on political developments… Whether (Kamala) Harris wins or (Donald) Trump wins, it means nothing to us,” he said in a pre-recorded speech before Trump’s win was announced.

“What will stop this… war is the battlefield” he said, citing fighting in south Lebanon and Hezbollah attacks on Israel.

The speech was Qassem’s second since he was named Hezbollah secretary-general last week.

He replaced the group’s decades-long chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in a massive Israeli strike on the group’s south Beirut bastion.

AN-AFP

ZURICH — Larangan Swiss yang kontroversi terhadap penutup muka di kawasan awam dikenali sebagai “larangan burqa” akan berkuat kuasa pada 1 Januari, kata kerajaan pada Rabu.

Diluluskan secara sempit dalam referendum 2021 di Switzerland yang neutral, dan dikecam oleh persatuan Islam, langkah itu dilancarkan oleh kumpulan sama yang menganjurkan larangan 2009 ke atas menara baharu.

Majlis Persekutuan yang memerintah berkata dalam satu kenyataan ia telah menetapkan permulaan larangan itu, dan sesiapa yang melanggarnya secara tidak sah berdepan denda sehingga 1,000 Swiss franc ($1,144).

Larangan itu tidak terpakai kepada pesawat atau di premis diplomatik dan konsular, dan muka juga mungkin ditutup di tempat ibadat dan tapak suci lain, kata kerajaan.

Penutup muka akan kekal dibenarkan atas sebab berkaitan kesihatan dan keselamatan, untuk adat asli atau disebabkan keadaan cuaca, katanya. Mereka juga akan dibenarkan atas alasan artistik dan hiburan dan untuk pengiklanan, tambahnya.

Jika perlindungan sedemikian diperlukan untuk perlindungan peribadi dalam melaksanakan kebebasan bersuara dan berhimpun, ia harus dibenarkan dengan syarat pihak berkuasa yang bertanggungjawab telah meluluskannya dan ketenteraman awam tidak terjejas, katanya.

AN-REUTERS

CAIRO — Mohammad Atteya has been separated from his family in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya for two weeks since being evacuated to hospital with a head wound.

Now he is torn by regret for leaving them in the epicentre of a massive Israeli military assault.

“They speak to me about their nights of horror, they tell me how every night they pray for their safety and they bid one another farewell. Hell is boiling there, I feel it inside my chest. I wish I hadn’t left,” he said.

While he waits in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, only a few kilometres from home but unable to return, 23 members of his extended family are sheltering in one house with barely enough to eat.

“They are eating what is left of some canned food, no fresh vegetables or fruit, no meat or chicken and no clean water,” he said.

In the month since Israel launched a renewed campaign in the border town of Beit Lahiya, one of the first targets of last year’s ground assault, multiple strikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians.

A hit on a residential building on Oct. 29 killed at least 93 people, health officials said. Israel’s military said it was targeting a spotter on the roof.

Thousands of Palestinians have been evacuated from Beit Lahiya and the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia as the Israeli military roots out bands of Hamas fighters still operating from amongst the rubble.

The area has been cut off from Gaza City to the south, communication has been patchy, supplies of food dwindling and prices of whatever is available reaching exorbitant levels.

It is unclear how many civilians remain in northern Gaza. The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service estimated 100,000 people remain in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, about half of those there at the start of the new Israeli campaign on Oct. 5.

The repeated bombardments have destroyed shelters and those remaining are huddled together in whatever structures still stand. “That is why every Israeli hit on a house leads to dozens of casualties,” said Atteya.

The Israeli military has disputed some of the casualty figures reported by Palestinian officials. Top United Nations officials say the situation in northern Gaza is “apocalyptic” with the entire population at imminent risk of death.

AMBUSHES AND GUNBATTLES

More than a year into the war in Gaza, the Israeli military believes that Hamas, whose fighters rampaged through communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, has been depleted but not yet extinguished.

“We expect this campaign to last an additional few weeks at least. There is a lot of work to do there in order to dismantle Hamas’ capabilities in this region,” an Israeli military official said last week.

The army says it has killed or captured hundreds of Hamas fighters during the northern Gaza operation, and at least 17 Israeli soldiers have been killed in gunbattles and ambushes in the wrecked streets or bombed-out buildings.

On Tuesday, Hamas’ armed wing said fighters in Jabalia had killed five Israeli soldiers at point blank range a day earlier, in one of several such announcements the group has made in past weeks. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

Access for reporters is restricted and communications are erratic making independent verification of what is happening on the ground difficult.

Israel accuses Hamas fighters of hiding among civilians. In a night-time raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few health facilities struggling to operate in the north, an Israeli military official said around 100 Hamas fighters were captured, some posing as medical staff, along with weapons and ammunition.

Hamas rejected the accusations. Eid Sabbah, the hospital’s director of nursing, described a terrifying raid in a voice note to Reuters. “The terrorising of civilians, the injured and children began as they (the Israeli army) started opening fire on the hospital,” he said.

In advance of attacks, the Israeli military sends out evacuation orders to civilians in leaflet drops and targeted telephone calls.

“Evacuation is the worst feeling ever,” Atteya said. “You are told to run for your life, you try to ask the voice (Israeli caller), how much time do I have, he says ‘run’. What can you take with you when you go running?”

A public servant, Atteya had dreams for his children, aged between 15 and 2, in Hamas-run Gaza before the war, which health officials in Gaza say has killed more than 43,300 Palestinians.

“I don’t say the Hamas government was ideal. They couldn’t improve economic conditions,” he said. “We had a life, a good one, not good enough but we didn’t have the (Israeli) occupation’s killing machine tearing us up everyday.”

The future is hard for Atteya to envisage. Many Palestinians believe the Israeli campaign is aimed at preparing the way for a return of Israeli settlers to post-war Gaza.

“They are making buffer zones, that’s why they are demolishing and bombing residential districts, and some of their fanatics want to return settlers in Gaza. This is how bad the situation is,” he said.

The Israeli military denies such plans and says the evacuation orders are meant to keep civilians out of harm’s way.

REUTERS