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Israel Revokes Order to Cut AP Live Gaza Video Feed 

A ship transporting international humanitarian aid is moored at the US-built Trident Pier as Palestinians walk along a main road near Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on May 21, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas group. (AFP)
A ship transporting international humanitarian aid is moored at the US-built Trident Pier as Palestinians walk along a main road near Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on May 21, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas group. (AFP)
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Israel Revokes Order to Cut AP Live Gaza Video Feed 

A ship transporting international humanitarian aid is moored at the US-built Trident Pier as Palestinians walk along a main road near Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on May 21, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas group. (AFP)
A ship transporting international humanitarian aid is moored at the US-built Trident Pier as Palestinians walk along a main road near Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on May 21, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas group. (AFP)

Israel walked back its decision to shut down an Associated Press live video feed of war-torn Gaza on Tuesday, following a protest from the US news agency and concern from the White House.

Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said he had revoked an earlier order that accused the AP of breaching a new ban on providing rolling footage of Gaza to Qatar-based satellite channel Al Jazeera.

"I have now ordered to cancel the operation and return the equipment to the AP agency," Karhi said in a statement, after Washington called on Israel to reverse the move.

"We've been engaging directly with the government of Israel to express our concerns over this action and to ask them to reverse it," a White House spokesperson said.

Karhi's original order earlier Tuesday said communications ministry inspectors had "confiscated the equipment" of AP on orders approved by the government "in accordance with the law".

AP said Israeli officials had seized its camera and broadcasting equipment at a location in the Israeli town of Sderot that overlooks the northern Gaza Strip.

In a statement issued after the order, the news agency said it "decries in the strongest terms" the move by the Israeli government.

Reacting after Israeli officials ordered the equipment to be returned, it added: "While we are pleased with this development, we remain concerned about the Israeli government's use of the foreign broadcaster law and the ability of independent journalists to operate freely in Israel."

AP said Al Jazeera was among thousands of clients that receive live video feeds from the agency.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said the government "went crazy".

"This is not Al Jazeera, this is an American media outlet that has won 53 Pulitzer Prizes," he wrote on social media platform X.

- 'Attack on press freedom' -

AFP global news director Phil Chetwynd said Israel's initial order was "an attack on press freedom".

"The free flow of verified information and images from reliable sources is vital in the current highly-charged context," he said in a statement.

"We would urge the authorities to immediately reverse this decision and to allow all journalists to work freely and without hindrance."

The United Nations said it was "shocking".

"The Associated Press, of all news organizations, should be allowed to do its work freely and free of any harassment," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera was taken off the air in Israel this month after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government voted to shut it down over its coverage of the Gaza war.

Al Jazeera's Jerusalem offices were shuttered, its equipment confiscated, and its team's accreditations pulled.

The AP said communications ministry officials arrived at its location in Sderot on Tuesday afternoon and seized the equipment.

It said officials had handed the AP a piece of paper, signed by the communications minister, alleging it was violating the country's new foreign broadcast law.

The ministry later confirmed the incident.

It said the US news agency regularly took images of Gaza from the balcony of a house in Sderot, "including focusing on the activities of IDF (army) soldiers and their location".

"Even though the inspectors of the Ministry of Communications warned them that they were breaking the law and that they should cut off Al Jazeera from receiving their content and not transfer a broadcast to Al Jazeera, they continued to do so," it said.

- 'Outrageous censorship' -

The AP said it had been broadcasting a general view of northern Gaza before its equipment was seized, and that the live feed has generally shown smoke rising over the Palestinian territory.

"The AP complies with Israel's military censorship rules, which prohibit broadcasts of details like troops movements that could endanger soldiers," the agency added.

The Foreign Press Association in Israel said it was "alarmed" by the confiscation of the AP's equipment, calling it "a slippery slope".

It denounced Israel's "dismal" record on press freedom during the Gaza war, and called the move against AP "outrageous censorship".

In the 2024 press freedom index by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Israel ranked 101st out of 180 countries -- dropping four positions from the previous year.

After the order to restore AP's equipment was announced, RSF said on X that it was "good to see a rapid reversal of this outrageous decision, but @AP never should have been blocked".

"The ban on @AlJazeera must also be immediately reversed - and the international community should show the same support it showed today," it added.

The Gaza war broke out after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Hamas also took 252 hostages, 124 of whom remain in Gaza including 37 the army says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 35,647 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

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Arab World

Syria Joins a Donor Conference for the First Time in a Crucial Phase for Its New Leaders

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Syria Joins a Donor Conference for the First Time in a Crucial Phase for Its New Leaders

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)

International donors gathered on Monday in a show of support for Syria, hoping to encourage the new leaders of the conflict-ravaged country toward a peaceful political transition following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani attended the conference — the ninth of its kind — in a first for a top official from Damascus.

But the United States, one of Syria’s top donors, wasn’t expected to offer assistance as the Trump administration is reviewing all foreign aid. It contributed almost $1.2 billion to Syria and the region last year.

Ministers and representatives from Western partners, Syria’s regional neighbors, other Arab countries and UN agencies also attended the one-day meeting in Brussels, organized in haste by the European Union amid change sweeping the country.

Opening the meeting, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU was increasing its pledge to Syrians in the country and the region to almost 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) for 2025 and 2026.

“We call on all of you who are here today to do the same, if possible, because at this critical time, the people of Syria need us more than ever,” von der Leyen said.

Syria's new leaders are trying to consolidate control over territory that was divided into de facto mini-states during nearly 14 years of civil war, and to rebuild the economy and infrastructure. The United Nations has estimated that it would cost at least $250 billion to rebuild Syria, while experts say that could reach at least $400 billion.

At the same time, Western governments are cutting back on aid spending, in part to use in defense budgets.

“We will give more, but we cannot fill the gap left by the US,” EU Crisis Management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib told reporters. "We will need to share the burden.”

Security concerns are also making donors hesitate. Earlier this month, an ambush on a Syrian security patrol by gunmen loyal to Assad triggered clashes. Some factions allied with the new government launched sectarian revenge attacks — primarily targeting Assad’s Alawite minority sect — that monitoring groups say killed hundreds of civilians over several days.

The EU said that it will only support “a peaceful and inclusive transition, away from malign foreign interference, which guarantees the rights of all Syrians without distinction of any kind.”

The 27-nation bloc has begun to ease energy, transport and financial sector sanctions to encourage the new authorities, but many other Western sanctions remain in place. The EU can reintroduce sanctions if things don’t go to the liking of Western backers.

Syria's foreign minister said that lifting the measures is no longer just a government demand but "a humanitarian and moral necessity.”

"We cannot talk about economic recovery and humanitarian development in Syria while restrictions continue to prevent even the arrival of medical equipment and spare parts to repair damaged hospitals and essential service facilities,” he said.

Syria's economy, infrastructure and institutions are in tatters. As a failed state, it could become another haven for extremists.

Amy Pope, director-general of the International Organization for Migration, urged donors to seize this opportunity to encourage the interim government to move in the right direction.

“It’s critical that countries take advantage of the moment we’re in,” Pope told The Associated Press.

“Of course, we all want to see an inclusive Syria,” she said. “We want to make sure there’s accountability for human rights violations. But the answer is to engage more, not to engage less.”

Syrians have only a few hours of electricity each day. Water supplies are unreliable and often unsafe. Unemployment runs to 80% or 90%. Destruction is widespread.

Many government employees and experts needed to rebuild fled after the 2011 peaceful anti-regime protests were violently quelled by Assad, leading to the conflict.

The UN refugee agency said that last year around 7 million people were displaced in Syria. More than 4.7 million refugees are registered in neighboring countries, most in Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan.

The German government said that it would pledge around 300 million euros ($326 million) to help deal with the fallout from Syria’s civil war. More than half will be used to help people in Syria, with other funding supporting Syrians and communities elsewhere.

Monday's conference was also focused on meeting Syria’s economic needs. Infrastructure, health and education must be scaled up. Jobs and cash for work programs are needed so that Syrians can start to make a living.