Gaza civil defense says two killed in Israeli strike on church
"Two citizens from the Christian community were killed as a result of injuries sustained in an Israeli strike on the Church of the Latin Monastery in the Old City, east of Gaza City, this morning," civil defense spokesman Mahud Bassal told AFP. The Latin Patriarchate confirmed the two deaths.
AFP
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Ya Libnan
4 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Death toll in Sweida Syria, tops 1265, monitor
Heavy smoke rises as a member of Bedouin and tribal forces runs during clashes with Druze fighters in Syria's southern city of Sweida on July 19, 2025. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) Sectarian violence between the Druze and the bedouins in Sweida of southern Syria killed more than 1,265 people before the implementation of a recent ceasefire, a war monitor says, offering an updated toll, as it continues to document deaths that took place prior to the truce. The observatory provided the following breakdown on the deaths 609 people from the Sweida Governorate, including 104 civilians (including 6 children and 16 women), 440 members of the Ministry of Defense and Public Security (including 32 members of the Bedouin tribes and a Lebanese militant), 15 members of the Ministries of Defense and Interior who were killed as a result of Israeli raids, 3 people were killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes on the Ministry of Defense building, one journalist was killed during the clashes in Sweida, 194 people (including 28 women, 8 children and an elderly man) were executed in the field by bullets from members of the Ministries of Defense and Interior, and 3 members of the Bedouin tribes, including a woman and a child, were executed in the field by Druze militants.' Calm returned Calm returned to southern Syria 's Sweida province on Sunday, a monitor and AFP correspondents reported, after a week of sectarian violence A ceasefire announced on Saturday appeared to be holding after earlier agreements failed to end fighting between longtime rivals the Druze and the Bedouin that spiralled to draw in the Islamist-led government, the Israeli military and armed tribes from other parts of Syria. AFP correspondents on the outskirts of Sweida city reported hearing no clashes on Sunday morning, with government forces deployed in some locations in the province to enforce the truce. According to a Red Crescent official, a first humanitarian aid convoy entered Sweida on Sunday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that since around midnight (2100 GMT Saturday), 'Sweida has been experiencing a cautious calm', adding government security forces had blocked roads leading to the province in order to prevent tribal fighters from going there. AFP/ Syria observatory.
L'Orient-Le Jour
12 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Israel bets on MAGA influencers to win over US youth
Israel's Foreign Ministry plans to fund a visit for figures aligned with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) and America First movements, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz. These conservative groups represent a key part of President Donald Trump's base. In order to counter what authorities consider a decline in support for Israel among young Americans, the tour will bring together 16 U.S.-based social media personalities under the age of 30, each with several hundred thousand to several million followers. The ultimate goal is to encourage the spread of pro-Israel messages in line with government. The contract has been awarded to the NGO Israel365, which will receive 290,000 shekels (about $86,000). The organization was selected because of its "unique position to advocate a pro-Israel vision close to the MAGA and America First movements." Founded in 2012, Israel365 promotes support for its state on "spiritual, biblical, and political" grounds. Its website states that it "unequivocally defends the divine right of the Jewish people to all of the land of Israel." The two-state solution is described there as a "delusion." The NGO says its mission is to "protect Western civilization against the dual threat of left-wing extremism and global jihad." According to Haaretz, ties between Israel365 and the MAGA movement have only grown stronger since the Hamas attacks in October 2023. This project is expected to mark a major turning point in the way the Israeli state communicates with the American public, according to the daily. The objective is now to reverse the trend and leverage the huge audiences of young influencers to bolster Israel's image in the United States. "While older Republicans remain supportive of Israel, positive views of Israel are declining across all younger age groups," sources from the Foreign Affairs Ministry told Haaretz. These officials acknowledge the effectiveness and impact of influencers on young people, stating that "their networks are immensely successful and their messages are more effective than if they came directly from the ministry." A strategy that has already proven successful during the recent 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran in June. Pro-Israel messages were viewed 1.8 billion times online, thanks in particular to social media influencers who have millions of followers. The Foreign Affairs Ministry has set a goal of bringing 550 delegations of influencers to Israel by the end of 2025 to continue this work.
L'Orient-Le Jour
12 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Bedouins evacuated from Druze areas in Sweida as cease-fire holds
Syrian authorities on Monday evacuated Bedouin families from the Druze-majority city of Sweida, after a ceasefire in the southern province halted a week of sectarian bloodshed that a monitor said killed more than 1,100 people. The violence, which followed massacres of Alawites in March and clashes involving the Druze in April and May, has shaken the Islamist rule of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has pledged to protect minorities in a country devastated by 14 years of war. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the ceasefire was largely holding despite isolated gunfire in areas north of Sweida city with no reports of casualties. An AFP correspondent saw a convoy of buses and other vehicles enter the provincial capital and exit carrying civilians, including women and children. State news agency SANA said 1,500 people from Bedouin tribes were to be evacuated. The ceasefire announced Saturday put an end to the sectarian violence that has left more than 1,100 dead, most of them Druze fighters and civilians, according to the Observatory, whose toll also includes several hundred government security personnel. Fatima Abdel-Qader, 52, a Bedouin who was leaving the city on foot, said that "we've been surrounded for 10 days, unable to leave or come back -- anyone who wanted to go out risked gunfire and clashes." "We were afraid that someone would come to our home and kill us all," she told AFP, adding that they had no way of even getting food or water. Damascus has accused Druze groups of attacking and killing Bedouins during the clashes. 'Unthinkable' Clashes began on July 13 between Druze and Bedouin tribes, who have had tense relations for decades. Witnesses, Druze factions and a monitor have accused government forces of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses including summary executions when they entered Sweida last week, while Sunni Arab tribes also converged on the area in support of the Bedouin. The cease-fire effectively began on Sunday after Bedouin and tribal fighters withdrew from Sweida city and Druze groups regained control. The U.S. special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, said Monday that what had happened in Sweida was "unthinkable". "You have a Syrian government in effect. They need to be held accountable. They also need to be given the responsibility that they're there to do," told a press conference on a visit to neighbouring Lebanon. The weekend cease-fire announcement came hours after Barrack said the United States had negotiated a truce between Syria's Islamist government and Israel, which had bombed government forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier in the week. Israel, which has its own Druze community, has said it was acting in defense of the group, as well as to enforce its demands for the total demilitarisation of Syria's south. The deal allowed the deployment of government security forces in Sweida province but not its main city. The AFP correspondent said security forces had erected sand mounds to block some of Sweida's entrances. Sunni tribal fighters were sitting on the roadside beyond the checkpoints. Aid convoy At the main hospital in Sweida city, dozens of bodies were still waiting to be identified, with a forensic medicine official at the facility saying that "we still have 97 unidentified corpses". According to the United Nations, the violence has displaced more than 128,000 people, an issue that has also made collecting and identifying bodies more difficult. More than 450 of the dead had been brought to the Sweida national hospital by Sunday evening, with more still being recovered from the streets and homes. "The dead bodies sent a terrible smell through all the floors of the hospital," said nurse Hisham Breik, who had not left the facility since the violence began. "The situation has been terrible. We couldn't walk around the hospital without wearing a mask," he said, his voice trembling, adding that the wounded included women, children and the elderly. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said hospitals and health centres in Sweida province were out of service, with "reports of unburied bodies raising serious public health concerns". Humanitarian access to Sweida "remains highly constrained", it said in a statement late Sunday. On Sunday, a first humanitarian aid convoy entered the city which has seen power and water cuts and shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies. A Red Crescent official told AFP the supplies included body bags.
