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Militants Killed and Wounded in Eastern Syria, Media and War Monitor Say

The Observatory said the strikes targeted headquarters and warehouses in the city of Deir Ezzor and surrounding towns. (AFP via Getty Images file)
The Observatory said the strikes targeted headquarters and warehouses in the city of Deir Ezzor and surrounding towns. (AFP via Getty Images file)
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Militants Killed and Wounded in Eastern Syria, Media and War Monitor Say

The Observatory said the strikes targeted headquarters and warehouses in the city of Deir Ezzor and surrounding towns. (AFP via Getty Images file)
The Observatory said the strikes targeted headquarters and warehouses in the city of Deir Ezzor and surrounding towns. (AFP via Getty Images file)

A number of militants were killed and wounded in eastern Syria early Sunday near a strategic border crossing with Iraq in apparent airstrikes, pro-government media and an opposition war monitor reported.

Pan-Arab television network Al-Mayadeen cited unnamed sources saying that at least eight Syrians were killed in the strike by the Bou Kamal crossing in Israeli airstrikes.

It was unclear how they confirmed Israeli jets were behind the strikes.

Meanwhile, Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five airstrikes killed at least 15 militants, among them leaders, and wounded at least 20 others. The Observatory said the strikes targeted headquarters and warehouses in the city of Deir Ezzor and surrounding towns.

Pro-government radio station Sham FM said that prior to the blasts heard in Deir Ezzor, explosions were heard at a US military base in northeastern Syria following rocket and drone attacks.

None of the reports could be independently verified.

The US military’s Central Command, which has launched airstrikes on Iranian military personnel and Tehran-backed militant groups in Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor province, didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

The Israeli military doesn’t usually acknowledge its strike on Syria. However, when it does so, it says it targets Iran-backed militants.

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Arab World

PA Slams, Israel Hails US Offer of Consular Services in West Bank Settlement

A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)
A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)
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PA Slams, Israel Hails US Offer of Consular Services in West Bank Settlement

A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)
A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)

Israel welcomed Wednesday a decision by the US embassy to offer consular services in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, while the Palestinian Authority slammed it as a "violation of international law".

The US mission in Jerusalem said Tuesday that as part of an initiative to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence, it would provide Americans with "routine passport services in Efrat on Friday, February 27... for one day only".

Efrat is a West Bank settlement home to about 12,000 Israelis and is located 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) south of Jerusalem.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967, are illegal under international law.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the US move.

"We... appreciate the important decision by the US embassy to extend consular services to Efrat, in Judea and Samaria," he said, using the biblical name for the West Bank.

"As America marks 250 years of independence, Israel stands proudly beside it," he added at an event marking the occasion.

The Palestinian Authority's Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission condemned the move, saying in a statement that it "constitutes a clear violation of international law and a blatant favoring of the occupation authorities", referencing Israel.

Minister Muayyad Shubban, head of the commission, called on the US to reverse the decision, and on the international community to refrain from legitimizing the settlement system.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas also decried the US decision, describing it in a statement as "a dangerous step that supports (Israel's) Judaization plans".

The US embassy in Jerusalem also announced that such pop-up consular services will be provided in the next couple of months in another Israeli settlement, Beitar Illit, as well as in the Palestinian city of Ramallah and three cities inside Israel.

Arab World

18 Egyptians Missing after Deadly Boat Capsize Near Greece

Rescued migrants in Heraklion, southern Crete, on Saturday, after their boat capsized © Costas METAXAKIS / AFP
Rescued migrants in Heraklion, southern Crete, on Saturday, after their boat capsized © Costas METAXAKIS / AFP
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18 Egyptians Missing after Deadly Boat Capsize Near Greece

Rescued migrants in Heraklion, southern Crete, on Saturday, after their boat capsized © Costas METAXAKIS / AFP
Rescued migrants in Heraklion, southern Crete, on Saturday, after their boat capsized © Costas METAXAKIS / AFP

Egypt said Wednesday that 18 of its citizens were still missing after a migrant boat capsized, killing four people, off the Greek island of Crete last week.

The wooden boat was carrying 50 people, including four minors, when Greece's coast guard was alerted late Friday.

Greek authorities then directed a commercial vessel to the area for a rescue operation.

According to Greek public broadcaster ERT, an accident occurred when the commercial vessel approached the migrants' boat.

As the passengers tried to climb up ladders into the rescue vessel, a sudden movement caused the wooden boat to capsize.

Egypt's foreign ministry said that 21 Egyptians were on board the boat when it capsized, three of whom have been found dead while the rest remain missing.

The body of a 28-year-old Sudanese woman was also discovered, according to the Greek coast guard.

Twenty migrants were rescued by the commercial vessel, according to the Greek authorities, leaving several people still unaccounted for.

Greek authorities arrested two Sudanese men suspected of being people smugglers who are set to appear before judges on Wednesday, according to local media Creta24.

The migrant boat is believed to have departed from Libya.

Migrants regularly attempt the perilous crossing from Libya to Crete, a gateway to the European Union.

More than 17,000 Egyptians reached Europe via the Mediterranean last year, making them the top African and second-largest global group of irregular migrants to Europe.

Many come from poor towns in Egypt's Nile Delta and travel via Libya.

They are often extorted and held hostage until their families back home send the smugglers more money.

Egypt's foreign ministry warned citizens to "exercise extreme caution to avoid being misled by illegal immigration gangs", and said it was coordinating the repatriation of the deceased.

Arab World

HRW: Sudan's RSF Targeted Civilians with Disabilities in El-Fasher

RSF fighters in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur (File photo – Telegram)
RSF fighters in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur (File photo – Telegram)
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HRW: Sudan's RSF Targeted Civilians with Disabilities in El-Fasher

RSF fighters in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur (File photo – Telegram)
RSF fighters in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur (File photo – Telegram)

Sudanese Rapid Support Forces killed, abused and targeted people with disabilities during and after their takeover of El-Fasher, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, calling it the first time it had documented abuse of "this type and scale".

The RSF, which have been fighting Sudan's regular army since April 2023, captured the military's last stronghold in western Darfur in October after an 18-month siege.

Reports later emerged of mass killings, abductions, rape and widespread looting, AFP reported.

Last week, the UN's independent fact-finding mission on Sudan said the assault on El-Fasher bore "the hallmarks of genocide".

"Human Rights Watch has documented abuses against people with disabilities in armed conflict around the world for over a decade," said Emina Cerimovic, the group's associate disability rights director.

"But this is the first time we have documented this type and scale of targeted abuse."

HRW interviewed 22 survivors and witnesses from El-Fasher and found that RSF fighters singled out civilians with disabilities as they tried to flee.

"The Rapid Support Forces treated people with disabilities as suspects, burdens or expendable," Cerimovic said.

She added that fighters accused amputees of being injured soldiers and "summarily executed them", while others were mocked as "insane" or "not being a complete person".

A 29-year-old nurse said fighters executed a young man with Down syndrome whose sister had carried him on her back.

"After killing her brother, they tied her hands, covered her face and took her away," said the nurse.

The nurse also described fighters ordering a woman carrying a blind teenage boy on her back to put him down.

"She said 'he cannot see'," the nurse said. "They immediately shot him in the head."

Another witness said he saw fighters kill "more than 10 people", most with physical disabilities.

Others were beaten, detained for ransom or stripped of essential devices such as wheelchairs and hearing aids, leaving many unable to escape, HRW said.

Conditions in displacement camps also remain dire, with "bathrooms and other facilities... inaccessible" to people with disabilities, witnesses told HRW.

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council sanctioned four RSF commanders over atrocities in El-Fasher.

The wider conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 11 million and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.