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Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strike on Hospital Kills 7

Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP
Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP
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Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strike on Hospital Kills 7

Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP
Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP

Gaza's civil defense agency said an airstrike hit a hospital Sunday, killing at least seven people, while Israel said it had targeted militants at the no longer functioning facility.

"Seven martyrs and several injured people, including critical cases, have been recovered following the Israeli strike on the upper floor of Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza City," a civil defense agency statement said.

Israel's military said it had carried out a "precise strike" targeting members of Hamas's aerial defense unit operating from a "command and control center in a building that served in the past as the Al-Wafaa hospital".

The health ministry in Gaza said the hospital was still in use.

"The Al-Wafaa Hospital is partially operational, providing care to patients with physical disabilities," the ministry's director general, Munir al-Barsh, told AFP.

"The hospital had been rehabilitated and was getting ready to receive patients. Had it not been targeted by Israeli shelling today, it would have been ready to fully reopen in the next few days," he said.

The strike on Al-Wafaa Hospital came a day after the military ended a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, an assault the World Health Organization reported left the facility empty of patients and staff.

The military also detained the hospital's chief, Hossam Abu Safiyeh, saying he was suspected of being a Hamas militant.

Since October 6, Israel's operations in the Palestinian territory have focused on northern Gaza, where it says its land and air offensive aims to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

However, the military has also carried out airstrikes and shelling in other areas of Gaza as it presses on with its campaign against the militants.

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SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
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SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)

A confidential document obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has revealed massive money smuggling operations carried out via Syrian Airlines to Moscow.
The operations are described as among the most corrupt financial transfers orchestrated by the now-defunct Syrian regime.
According to the document, the majority of the funds stem from profits made through the production and trade of Captagon, a highly lucrative illicit drug.
The head of SOHR, Rami Abdel Rahman, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the most recent transfer took place just four days before Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow in December of last year.
Rami Abdel Rahman also affirmed that the leaked document underscores the “deep involvement of the former Syrian regime in illegal activities.”
He added that further investigations could uncover a vast network of secret financial operations used to transfer large sums of money from Syria to Russia and other countries under official cover and without oversight.
“The regime, led by the ousted Assad and his brother, spearheaded drug-related investments, particularly through the production, promotion, and export of Captagon,” Abdel Rahman told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He explained that one key route involved a small port near the Afamia chalets on Syria's coast, which previously belonged to Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of late former President Hafez al-Assad.
From there, shipments were sent via smugglers to Italian ports, where collaborating traders distributed the drugs globally.
A Syrian source based in Russia, closely monitoring the regime’s activities and investments there, said the content of the leaked document is not new but that its official confirmation adds weight to prior claims.
“Western media had previously reported on the regime’s money-smuggling operations, which led to some loyalists being added to international sanctions lists, particularly regime-linked businessmen like Mudalal Khouri,” the source, who requested anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Sanctions were also imposed on individuals accused of money laundering for the regime.
The source confirmed that the operations were conducted using Syrian Airlines flights to Moscow.
“There were dozens of such flights, each loaded with hard currency—mostly US dollars and €500 euro notes,” the source said.
The money was reportedly delivered directly from the airport to the Syrian regime's embassy in Moscow, where it was distributed to loyalist businessmen.
These funds were then invested in Russian and Belarusian banks, real estate, and commercial properties. Some of the money was also used to establish companies in both countries.
The operations were allegedly overseen by Mohammed Makhlouf, the maternal uncle of Assad.