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Around ‘1,500 bodies’ of Hamas Fighters Found in Israel

Israeli soldiers take combat positions near the border with Gaza (AP)
Israeli soldiers take combat positions near the border with Gaza (AP)
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Around ‘1,500 bodies’ of Hamas Fighters Found in Israel

Israeli soldiers take combat positions near the border with Gaza (AP)
Israeli soldiers take combat positions near the border with Gaza (AP)

Israel's army has "more or less restored control" over the Gaza border and has found more than 1,500 bodies of Hamas militants in Israel near the border, according to military spokesman Richard Hecht.

"Approximately 1,500 bodies of Hamas militants were found in Israel around the Gaza Strip," said Hecht, adding that security forces had "more or less restored control over the border" with Gaza, AFP reported.

"Since last night we know that no one came in ... but infiltrations can still happen," he said.

The army had "nearly completed" evacuation of all the communities around the border, Hecht added.

Meanwhile, Israel is planting mines in the parts where the barrier was toppled, the chief military spokesperson said on Tuesday.

In remarks aired by Israel's Army Radio, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said there had been no new infiltrations from Gaza since Monday. In an apparent response to rumours that gunmen used cross-border tunnels, he said the military had no such findings.

Also, Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed US support for Israel in a call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, the State Department said in a statement early Tuesday.

Blinken "reaffirmed our efforts to secure the immediate release of all hostages", the statement said.

I spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen about how the US is supporting Israel as it "defends itself against Hamas’ terrorist attack and reaffirmed efforts to secure the immediate release of all hostages."

Blinken also spoke with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, reiterating their condemnation of Hamas's attacks on Israel, the department said in a separate statement.

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Chinese Citizen Missing in Syria’s Suwaida

 Visa entry of Chinese citizen Han Mingyi who went missing in Suwaida, south Syria (Suwaida 24)
 Visa entry of Chinese citizen Han Mingyi who went missing in Suwaida, south Syria (Suwaida 24)
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Chinese Citizen Missing in Syria’s Suwaida

 Visa entry of Chinese citizen Han Mingyi who went missing in Suwaida, south Syria (Suwaida 24)
 Visa entry of Chinese citizen Han Mingyi who went missing in Suwaida, south Syria (Suwaida 24)

A Chinese citizen on a visit to Syria reportedly went missing on Monday during a trip to the city of Suwaida in southern Syria.
“The weather is nice and comfortable” is the last message a Chinese national texted to his friend in Damascus, informing him that he had arrived in Suwaida.
All contact was later cut off with the tourist, according to activists in the Syrian province who said that the Chinese citizen Han Mingyi, arrived in Suwaida last Monday, then disappeared.
The Suwayda 24 news website published a photo of the tourist’s entry visa to Syria with his personal data.
Born in 2003, Mingyi was a guest in a hotel owned by a Chinese person in the capital, Damascus.
The tourist said he was traveling to the province of Daraa, but hours after he left Damascus, Mingyi texted the hotel owner and informed him that he had arrived in Suwaida.
All contacts with him were then lost.
A source from the security services in the province told the news website “there was no report of a missing Chinese tourist in Suwaida or Daraa until this hour.”
The source explained that tourists usually travel in tour groups, and are under security surveillance.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said contact with the Chinese tourist in Suwaida has been lost for days, also listing reports about his kidnapping.
The Observatory noted that the Chinese embassy received a report of the disappearance of the tourist while he was leaving the capital towards southern Syria.
It added that it lost contact with him in the Suwaida province after the man made a phone call with the “hotel owner.”
Despite the presence of security checkpoints, chaos reigns in cities of southern Syria amid the spread of armed gangs, kidnapping, robbery and car theft gangs.
Sources in Damascus told Asharq Al-Awsat that despite the fragility of security in Syria, Europeans and Chinese nationals did not stop visiting the country during the war, but that the majority of them are employees of international organizations and companies.
“During the war, we saw Chinese employees visiting different Syrian areas and sightseeing on the sidelines of their missions,” the sources said.
They said China has already expressed its hopes to play an active role in solving the Syrian crisis, and had appointed a special envoy to Syria in 2016.
However, the sources added that China's ambitions were hit by instability and international economic sanctions on Damascus that continue to impede investment.