JERUSALEM -- Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited East Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday, defying a long-standing status quo, and called for the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip.
In a video message taken during his visit and published on X, Ben-Gvir said, "Precisely from here, a message must be sent: to ensure that we conquer all of the Gaza Strip, declare sovereignty over the entire Gaza Strip, take down every Hamas member, and encourage voluntary migration (of Palestinians from Gaza)."
The visit prompted condemnations from Arab leaders, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia. (Israel-Jerusalem-Al-Aqsa Mosque)
- - - -
DAMASCUS -- Deadly clashes erupted in Syria's southern province of Sweida as "outlawed" groups violated a recently brokered ceasefire, Syrian state media reported on Sunday, citing a security source.
The state-run al-Ikhbariya TV, quoting the unnamed security source, reported that "outlawed groups" -- a term commonly used by the interim authorities to refer to Druze fighters in the predominantly Druze province -- attacked internal security forces and shelled several villages in the Sweida countryside earlier in the day. (Syria-Sweida-Clashes)
- - - -
ADEN -- The death toll from a migrant boat capsizing off Yemen's coast has risen to 68, with 74 others still missing, as search and rescue operations continue amid rough seas, local officials said Sunday.
Rescue teams have recovered 68 bodies throughout the day along the coastline of southern Abyan province, while 12 survivors were pulled from the water earlier in the morning, according to Abdul Qader Bajamil, director of the health office in Abyan province. (Yemen-Boat Sink-Death Toll)
- - - -
GAZA -- Hamas said on Sunday that it is ready to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to deliver food and medicine to Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip.
Abu Obeida, spokesperson for Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement that this step, however, is contingent on "the normal and permanent opening of humanitarian corridors for the passage of food and medicine to all areas of the Gaza Strip and the cessation of all forms of enemy air raids during the delivery of parcels for the hostages."
Obeida said the Brigades "do not intentionally starve the hostages," adding that "they eat what our fighters and our people eat, and they will not receive special privileges in light of the crime of starvation and siege." (Gaza-Hamas-Israeli Captives) Enditem
京公网安备 11010802027341号