Drone Strikes at Syrian Military Ceremony Kill and Wound Dozens

Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs
Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs
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Drone Strikes at Syrian Military Ceremony Kill and Wound Dozens

Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs
Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs

At least 100 people were killed on Thursday in an attack on a military academy in Syria, a war monitor and an official said, with weaponized drones bombing the site minutes after Syria's defense minister left a graduation ceremony there.

Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs, Syria's defense ministry said in a statement, adding "terrorist" groups had used drones to carry it out.

The statement did not specify an organization and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Syria's defense and foreign ministries vowed in written statements to respond "with full force" to the attack. Syrian government forces have carried out heavy bombing attacks on the opposition-held zone of Idlib throughout the day.

Syria's defense minister attended the graduation ceremony but left minutes before the attack, according to a Syrian security source and a security source in the regional alliance backing the Damascus government against opposition groups.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that more than 100 people were killed and 125 injured.

Many of the wounded are in critical condition and are being treated in several hospitals in Homs, Syria’s third largest city.



Canada PM Carney Condemns Israeli Blockade on Food, Says WFP Must Be Allowed to Work in Gaza

Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Canada PM Carney Condemns Israeli Blockade on Food, Says WFP Must Be Allowed to Work in Gaza

Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney urged Israel to allow the World Food Program to work in Gaza, saying food must not be used as a 'political tool', hours after the UN agency ran out of stocks due to a sustained Israeli blockade on supplies.
The WFP said on Friday it had delivered its last remaining supplies to kitchens providing hot meals in Gaza and that the facilities were expected to run out of food in the coming days, Reuters reported.
"The UN World Food Program just announced that its food stocks in Gaza have run out because of the Israeli Government's blockade — food cannot be used as a political tool," Carney said on X.
The UN agency said no humanitarian or commercial supplies had entered Gaza for more than seven weeks because all main border crossing points were closed, the longest closure the Gaza Strip had ever faced.
"Palestinian civilians must not bear the consequences of Hamas' terrorist crimes," Carney said. "The World Food Program must be allowed to resume its lifesaving work."
Israel has previously denied that Gaza is facing a hunger crisis. The military accuses the Hamas militants who run Gaza of exploiting aid, which Hamas denies, and says it must keep all supplies out to prevent the fighters from getting it.
The Gaza government media office on Friday said that famine was becoming a reality in the enclave of 2.3 million people.
Since a January ceasefire collapsed on March 18, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, many of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced as Israel seized what it calls a buffer zone.
An attack on Israel by Hamas in October 2023 killed 1,200 people, and 251 hostages were taken to Gaza. Since then, more than 51,300 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to health officials.
"We will continue to work with our allies towards a permanent ceasefire and the immediate return of all hostages," Carney added.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow food and medicine into the Gaza Strip.
Canadians will vote to elect a new government on Monday, and polls show Carney's Liberals have a slim lead over the Conservatives.