UN: Half of Sudan's Population Needs Urgent Humanitarian Assistance

Displaced people who fled the conflict in the Darfur region inside the Adre temporary camp in Chad (Reuters)
Displaced people who fled the conflict in the Darfur region inside the Adre temporary camp in Chad (Reuters)
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UN: Half of Sudan's Population Needs Urgent Humanitarian Assistance

Displaced people who fled the conflict in the Darfur region inside the Adre temporary camp in Chad (Reuters)
Displaced people who fled the conflict in the Darfur region inside the Adre temporary camp in Chad (Reuters)

The UN said that about half of the population of Sudan, about 20 million people, are in need of urgent humanitarian aid.

The UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) confirmed in a press circular on its Facebook page that the number of internally and externally displaced persons due to the conflict has risen to 3.3 million.

The ongoing battles between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces hinder the arrival of humanitarian aid to thousands of civilians stranded in conflict areas in Khartoum, Darfur, and Kordofan.

The two warring parties did not abide by the Declaration of Principles and the truce and cease-fire agreements signed in Jeddah with Saudi-US mediation, which include humanitarian arrangements for delivering aid and protecting civilians and aid workers.

Thousands of Sudanese suffer from catastrophic humanitarian conditions, and over half of the hospitals and medical facilities are out of order in Khartoum following the attacks and clashes.

On Thursday, 16 people were killed and dozens of civilians injured in a drone attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to the families of the victims, who described the incident as a "horrific massacre."

Witnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat that the massacre occurred after citizens gathered to celebrate and salute the army forces after clashes with RSF in the al-Azouzab suburb in Khartoum. They reported that a drone targeted the gathering, and the number of victims is expected to increase.

The Sudanese army stated that the RSF targeted citizens who gathered to greet the forces, killing 14 civilians and wounding 15 civilians.

- Clashes in Khartoum

Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri witnessed many bloody clashes, resulting in the killing and wounding of hundreds of citizens due to the exchanged bombardment and artillery shelling between the two warring parties.

On Thursday, air strikes, street battles, and artillery fire shook the major southern city of el-Obeid, witnesses told AFP.

A resident of El-Obeid told the agency that artillery shelling targeted paramilitary bases of the Rapid Support Forces. Army jets were striking paramilitaries responding with anti-aircraft fire, said another El-Obeid resident.

Since its outbreak on April 15, the war between the army commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his former deputy, the RSF commander, Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, killed at least 3,000 people and displaced over 3.3 million.

Burhan appeared Tuesday in rare video footage shortly after an audio recording of Daglo was released.

In the video clip, Burhan is seen in the army headquarters as he greets the army top brass.

The headquarters of the army's general command in central Khartoum is still witnessing clashes, and Al-Burhan has stayed in this headquarters since the start of the war.

Neither side has confirmed complete control of the headquarters yet.

Daglo was last seen in a short video clip the paramilitaries shot in the early days of the conflict. Since then, he has only released audio recordings, and it is widely rumored that he was killed or even injured in the battles.

Meanwhile, relief organizations and other international groups confirmed the occurrence of atrocities in Darfur, including sexual violence.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened a new probe into alleged war crimes in Darfur, its chief prosecutor Karim Khan said last week.

He warned against "allowing history to repeat itself" in Darfur, where 300,000 people were killed in a conflict in 2003.



Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military announced that one of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Gaza on Wednesday, but a security source said the death appeared to have been caused by "friendly fire".

"Staff Sergeant Ofri Yafe, aged 21, from HaYogev, a soldier in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.

A security source, however, told AFP that the soldier appeared to have been "killed by friendly fire", without providing further details.

"The incident is still under investigation," the source added.

The death brings to five the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect on October 10.


Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
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Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the process of merging the SDF with Syrian government forces “may take some time,” despite expressing confidence in the eventual success of the agreement.

His remarks came after earlier comments in which he acknowledged differences with Damascus over the concept of “decentralization.”

Speaking at a tribal conference in the northeastern city of Hasakah on Tuesday, Abdi said the issue of integration would not be resolved quickly, but stressed that the agreement remains on track.

He said the deal reached last month stipulates that three Syrian army brigades will be created out of the SDF.

Abdi added that all SDF military units have withdrawn to their barracks in an effort to preserve stability and continue implementing the announced integration agreement with the Syrian state.

He also emphasized the need for armed forces to withdraw from the vicinity of the city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), to be replaced by security forces tasked with maintaining order.


Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of "encouraging the migration" of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

"We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state," said Smotrich, speaking at an event organized by his Religious Zionism Party late on Tuesday.

"We will finally, formally, and in practical terms nullify the cursed Oslo Accords and embark on a path toward sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

"There is no other long-term solution," added Smotrich, who himself lives in a settlement in the West Bank.

Since last week, Israel has approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over the West Bank, including in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, in place since the 1990s.

The measures include a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property" and facilitate direct purchases of land by Jewish Israelis.

The measures have triggered widespread international outrage.

On Tuesday, the UN missions of 85 countries condemned the measures, which critics say amount to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.

"We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel's unlawful presence in the West Bank," they said in a statement.

"Such decisions are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed.

"We underline in this regard our strong opposition to any form of annexation."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on Israel to reverse its land registration policy, calling it "destabilizing" and "unlawful".

The West Bank would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state. Many on Israel's religious right view it as Israeli land.

Israeli NGOs have also raised the alarm over a settlement plan signed by the government which they say would mark the first expansion of Jerusalem's borders into the occupied West Bank since 1967.

The planned development, announced by Israel's Ministry of Construction and Housing, is formally a westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin, or Adam, settlement situated northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.