9 Members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Killed in Israeli Strikes are Buried in Damascus

Syrian security forces and civilians inspect the scene of an airstrike in the Al-Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, 14 November 2024. EPA/STRINGER
Syrian security forces and civilians inspect the scene of an airstrike in the Al-Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, 14 November 2024. EPA/STRINGER
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9 Members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Killed in Israeli Strikes are Buried in Damascus

Syrian security forces and civilians inspect the scene of an airstrike in the Al-Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, 14 November 2024. EPA/STRINGER
Syrian security forces and civilians inspect the scene of an airstrike in the Al-Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, 14 November 2024. EPA/STRINGER

Nine members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group who were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus were buried Monday in the Syrian capital.
Women in the crowd wept as the dead were transported to the Yarmouk cemetery in the Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus. Some held images of slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Israeli strikes on Thursday targeted two buildings with the offices of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, killing 15 people, including Syrian civilians, and wounding 20 others, officials said.
The funeral on Monday was held for the nine Islamic Jihad members, including two high-ranking officials — commander Abdel Aziz Saeed Minawi and Rasmi Youssef Abu Issa, who was in charge of the group's Arab affairs.
The wife of Ali Kabalan, a 44-year-old fighter who was killed Thursday, told The Associated Press that while the loss was unbearable, she and their five children were “proud” that he died “a martyr for the cause of Palestine’s liberation.”
The Israeli military claimed the strikes dealt significant damage to its group’s leadership. Israel has accused the Islamic Jihad, alongside Hamas, of coordinating the Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel that ignited the ongoing war.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria targeting members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and officials from Iranian-backed groups.



EU Ministers Reject Move to Freeze Dialogue with Israel over Gaza War

17 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, Bureij: A general view of the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. (Omar Ashtawy Apaimages/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
17 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, Bureij: A general view of the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. (Omar Ashtawy Apaimages/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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EU Ministers Reject Move to Freeze Dialogue with Israel over Gaza War

17 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, Bureij: A general view of the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. (Omar Ashtawy Apaimages/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
17 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, Bureij: A general view of the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. (Omar Ashtawy Apaimages/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

European Union foreign ministers on Monday rebuffed a proposal to suspend political dialogue with Israel put forward by the bloc's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, who cited concerns about possible human rights violations in the war in Gaza.

Borrell had written to the ministers ahead of Monday's meeting in Brussels, citing "serious concerns about possible breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza".

But Borrell and other officials said the ministers did not approve the move.

"Most of the member states considered that it was much better to continue having (a) diplomatic and political relationship with Israel," Borrell told a press conference after the meeting.

"But at least I put on the table all the information produced by United Nations organisations and every international organisation working in Gaza and the West Bank and in Lebanon in order to judge the way the war is being waged."

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters: "We know that there are tragic events in Gaza, huge civilian casualties, but we do not forget who started the current cycle of violence."

The political dialogue is enshrined in a broader agreement on relations between the EU and Israel, including extensive trade ties, that entered into force in June 2000.

A suspension would have needed approval from all 27 EU countries.

In a blog post last week, Borrell accused Israel of repeatedly not heeding pleas from the EU to respect international law in Gaza.

Israel has rejected accusations that it is violating international law in the enclave. It says its forces distinguish between civilians and combatants and the Israeli military acts with proportionality to any threat.

The EU has struggled to find a strong united position on the Gaza war, which was triggered by attacks by Hamas Palestinian fighters on Israel on Oct. 7 last year.

The bloc has called on Hamas to release all Israeli hostages and on both sides to respect international law. Gaza health authorities say Israel's campaign has killed nearly 44,000 people.