UN Chief ‘Deeply Alarmed’ by Israeli Strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza 

A Palestinian boy inspects the damage after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, shortly after patients were evacuated following a call from someone who identified himself with Israeli security, in Gaza City, April 13, 2025. (Reuters)
A Palestinian boy inspects the damage after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, shortly after patients were evacuated following a call from someone who identified himself with Israeli security, in Gaza City, April 13, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Chief ‘Deeply Alarmed’ by Israeli Strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza 

A Palestinian boy inspects the damage after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, shortly after patients were evacuated following a call from someone who identified himself with Israeli security, in Gaza City, April 13, 2025. (Reuters)
A Palestinian boy inspects the damage after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, shortly after patients were evacuated following a call from someone who identified himself with Israeli security, in Gaza City, April 13, 2025. (Reuters)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "deeply alarmed" at Sunday's strike by Israeli forces on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.

"Under international humanitarian law, wounded and sick, medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, must be respected and protected," the UN chief's spokesperson said.

He said the attack dealt "a severe blow to an already devastated healthcare system in the Strip", adding there was strong concern that medical supplies are running low as well as food and water.

Two Israeli missiles hit the major Gaza hospital on Sunday, putting the emergency department out of action and damaging other structures, medics said, in a strike that Israel said was aimed at Hamas fighters exploiting the facility.

Health officials at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital evacuated patients after a phone call from someone who identified himself as Israeli security shortly before the attack.

No new humanitarian supplies have entered the Palestinian enclave since Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks on March 2, as talks stalled on the next stage of a now broken truce. Israel resumed its military assault on March 18.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 25,000 aid trucks had entered Gaza in the 42 days of the ceasefire and that Hamas had used the aid to rebuild its war machine, an allegation which the group has denied.



Syria’s Finance Minister Says Foreign Investors Welcome after US Sanctions Move

A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
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Syria’s Finance Minister Says Foreign Investors Welcome after US Sanctions Move

A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)

Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh made a call to global investors on Wednesday to come do business with Syria after US President Donald Trump's surprise announcement that he would lift all of Washington's sanctions on the country.

"Syria today is a land of opportunities, with immense potential across every sector—from agriculture to oil, tourism, infrastructure, and transportation,” Barnieh said in an interview with Reuters at the Finance Ministry in Damascus.

"We envision a central role for the private sector in the new Syrian economy. The finance ministry's role is not to spend indiscriminately or act as a regulatory enforcer over businesses, but rather to enable and support growth."

A wall outside his office still bore the discolored outline of one of the many posters of former strongman Bashar al-Assad that used to hang in Syria's public buildings before his ousting by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) last year.

Changes in Syria have been swift since Assad fled to Russia in December of last year.

HTS commander Ahmed Sharaa was appointed president, formed a government and had quick success garnering Gulf Arab support and getting most European sanctions lifted.

The stunning turn of events was capped by a meeting between Sharaa and Trump in Riyadh on Wednesday after Trump's pledge to cease US sanctions imposed on Syria under Assad-family rule, measures widely seen as the biggest external obstacles to the country's economic recovery.

Trump has not set out a timeline for removal.

"One of the most critical outcomes of lifting sanctions would be Syria's reintegration into the global financial system," Barnieh said.

"This would allow us to restore financial flows and attract investments, which are urgently needed across all sectors,” he said, adding that Syrian authorities have already seen strong interest from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and several EU countries, among others.

He noted that the government is undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of public financial management, including reforms to the tax system, customs, and banking -- part of a broader effort to modernize an economy long burdened by an oversized public sector.

He also struck a cautioning tone, saying that the removal of sanctions would be just the first step in a years-long recovery for a country ruined by 14 years of war.

"The lifting of sanctions is not the final chapter," he said.

"We cannot afford to become complacent. We are entering a new phase that demands real results and visible progress on the ground."