Israel Kills Six in Southern Syria, Syrian Ministry Says

People evacuate the town of Kuya in the western countryside on the Syrian border with Israel, after Israeli forces shelled the town, Syria, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
People evacuate the town of Kuya in the western countryside on the Syrian border with Israel, after Israeli forces shelled the town, Syria, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
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Israel Kills Six in Southern Syria, Syrian Ministry Says

People evacuate the town of Kuya in the western countryside on the Syrian border with Israel, after Israeli forces shelled the town, Syria, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
People evacuate the town of Kuya in the western countryside on the Syrian border with Israel, after Israeli forces shelled the town, Syria, 25 March 2025. (EPA)

An Israeli attack killed six people in southern Syria on Tuesday, Syria's foreign ministry said, after the Israeli military said its troops had clashed with gunmen who had opened fire on them.

Israeli troops occupying the area clashed with local residents, Syrian state media and a war monitor reported.

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said troops fired back at gunmen who attacked them, before launching a drone attack.

Syrian state-run news agency SANA said several people were wounded, including a woman.

The Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at seven. The observatory and a town resident told The Associated Press that clashes had erupted between Israeli troops and residents when the Israeli troops fired.

The violence in the border area marks increased friction between Israel and Syria, where a new leadership has been installed after opposition factions ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Israel says it will not tolerate an armed presence in southern Syria and has sent its troops into Syria's border zone. Syria's leadership has said it does not intend to open a front against Israel.

The Israeli military said militants in southern Syria opened fire toward Israeli troops, without specifying whether the Israeli troops were within Syrian territory when they were targeted.

It said its troops returned fire and that an Israeli warplane struck the militants. It gave no details on casualties but said "hits were identified".

Syria's foreign ministry said six people had been killed in the attack on Koya, a town in the southern province of Daraa, adding that the toll was expected to rise due to serious injuries sustained from the attack.

It has called for an international investigation into the Israeli attacks on its territory, describing them as a "blatant violation of its sovereignty".

Earlier, Israel said it had attacked two military bases, Tadmur and T4, in Homs province in central Syria.

Israel spent years carrying out airstrikes on Syria during Assad's rule, targeting Iran-linked military installations and weapons transfers from Tehran intended for the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

That arms route was cut when Assad was toppled but Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Syrian military bases.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on Tuesday that Israel's strikes into Syria "risk further escalation".

Speaking at a joint press conference with Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar, Kallas said the pair had discussed Israel's actions.

"And we (the EU) feel that these things are unnecessary, because Syria is right now not attacking Israel," Kallas said.

The foreign ministry also urged Syrian people to reject any attempts to displace them or "enforce any new realities on the ground".



UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

The World Food Program says its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN. The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told the Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFP-backed kitchens are the major ones in Gaza.

Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It says the moves aim to pressure Hamas to release hostages it still holds. Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime.

Israel has said Gaza has enough supplies after a surge of aid entered during the ceasefire and accuses Hamas of diverting aid for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant diversion, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution. They say the aid flow during the ceasefire was barely enough to cover the immense needs from throughout the war when only a trickle of supplies got in.

With no new goods entering Gaza, many foods have disappeared from markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many vegetables. Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, becoming unaffordable for much of the population. Most families rely heavily on canned goods.

Malnutrition is already surging. The UN said it identified 3,700 children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80% from the month before. At the same time, because of diminishing supplies, aid groups were only able to provide nutritional supplements to some 22,000 children in March, down 70% from February. The supplements are a crucial tool for averting malnutrition.

Almost all bakeries shut down weeks ago and the WFP stopped distribution of food basics to families for lack of supplies. With stocks of most ingredients depleted, charity kitchens generally can only serve meals of pasta or rice with little added.

World Central Kitchen -- a US charity that is one of the biggest in Gaza that doesn’t rely on the WFP -- said Thursday that its kitchens had run out of proteins. Instead, they make stews from canned vegetables. Because fuel is scarce, it dismantles wooden shipping pallets to burn in its stoves, it said. It also runs the only bakery still functioning in Gaza, producing 87,000 loaves of pita a day.

The WFP said 116,000 tons of food is ready to be brought into Gaza if Israel opens the borders, enough to feed 1 million people for four months.

Israel has leveled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign, vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

In the Oct. 7 attack, gunmen killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most were released in ceasefire deals.