Syria Extends Humanitarian Aid Delivery Via Bab al-Hawa Crossing

The Syrian government extended its approval for humanitarian aid to be delivered to opposition-held parts of the country's northwest through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Türkiye for another six months.
The UN is also looking, with the Syrian regime, at the possibility of extending this indefinitely this time, without a three- or six-month limit.
Türkiye announced its commitment to extending aid delivery through Bab al-Hawa crossing, allowing the needs of Syrians displaced to Idlib and northwestern regions to be met.
Türkiye wants to be allowed to plan long-term humanitarian and development projects in northern Syria to absorb more than one million Syrian refugees out of the approximately 3.3 million it hosts within the framework of a project for the voluntary return of refugees.
- Demands for a permanent mechanism
The UN has been using the Bab al-Hawa crossing between Syria and Türkiye to deliver aid to millions of people in northwestern Syria since 2014 with a mandate from the Security Council.
In July last year, the entry of aid through the crossing stopped after a 15-member Security Council committee failed to extend the agreement due to Russia's opposition.
Later, the Syrian government allowed the UN to continue using the crossing for six months.
Syria's mission to the United Nations said Damascus would "extend its permission granted to the United Nations (UN) to use Bab al-Hawa crossing to deliver humanitarian assistance to the Northwest of Syria for an additional six months until July. 13, 2024".
According to a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Eri Kaneko, talks were continuing with Damascus on the cross-border aid as it remained a "lifeline" to some 2.5 million people in the northwest, the last major Syrian rebel bastion as the war has abated.
She said 5,000 aid trucks had crossed the region in 2023, with 4,000 entering via Bab al-Hawa.
- Additional portals
After an earthquake killed more than 50,000 people in Türkiye and Syria in February 2023, Syria granted another permission for aid deliveries from the Bab al-Salam and al-Raee crossings, but that will also expire on Feb. 13.
The spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said that about 170 humanitarian aid missions had been completed to northwestern Syria via Türkiye between the Feb. 6 earthquakes and last August.
Dujarric noted providing technical materials to the children's hospital and various health facilities in northern Syria.
He explained other plans to bring new aid into Syria through the Bab al-Salam crossing in the coming days.
The official stated that employees of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) visited projects to support shelter and education funded by the Humanitarian Fund in al-Bab City.
He asserted the continuation of the humanitarian response in northwestern Syria, where UN agencies had previously stored humanitarian supplies before the expiration of the cross-border aid permit.
Türkiye has been seeking renewals to both authorizations as interest levels and funding priorities have hampered the aid response.
Millions of people in the rebel-held northwest rely on aid deliveries through Türkiye to access food, medicine, and other basic needs.
After nearly 13 years of conflict, many across the country are living in their most dire economic conditions yet, with nine out of 10 Syrians living under the poverty line.
Turkish mission to the UN said it was working to remind donor countries that stopping aid may have severe consequences for the region and Europe.
It also urges the international community to reconsider decisions to stop funding projects in northwestern Syria.

Schools in Beirut were closed on Monday after Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital killed six people including Hezbollah's spokesman, the latest in a string of top militant targets slain in the war.

Israel escalated its bombardment of Hezbollah strongholds in late September, vowing to secure its northern border with Lebanon to allow Israelis displaced by cross-border fire to return home.

Sunday's strikes hit densely populated districts of central Beirut that had so far been spared the violence engulfing other areas of Lebanon.

The video player is currently playing an ad.
The strikes prompted the education ministry to shut schools and higher education institutions in the Beirut area for two days.

Children and young people around Lebanon have been heavily impacted by the war, which has seen schools around the country turned into shelters for the displaced.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,480 people have been killed since October last year, with most casualties recorded since September.

Israel says 48 soldiers have been killed fighting Hezbollah, AFP reported.

Another strike hit a busy shopping district of Beirut, sparking a huge blaze that engulfed part of a building and several shops nearby.

Lebanon's National News Agency said the fire had largely been extinguished by Monday morning, noting it had caused diesel fuel tanks to explode.

"In a quarter of an hour our whole life's work was lost," said Shukri Fuad, who owned a shop destroyed in the strike.

Ayman Darwish worked at an electronics shop that was hit.

"Everyone knows us, everyone knows this area is a civilian area, no one is armed here," he said.

One of those killed in the strike, Darwish said, was the son of the owner of the store where he worked.

"The martyr Mahmud used to come after working hours, in the evenings and even on Sundays, to deal with client requests," he said.

The NNA reported new strikes early Monday on locations around south Lebanon, long a stronghold of Hezbollah.

Syria Extends Humanitarian Aid Delivery Via Bab al-Hawa Crossing