Syrian Authorities Evacuate Families from Sweida

Syrian Bedouin families gesture as they ride in a convoy led by Red Crescent vehicles in Busra al-Harir, heading to Daraa after being evacuated from Sweida following more than a week of violent clashes, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Malek Khattab)
Syrian Bedouin families gesture as they ride in a convoy led by Red Crescent vehicles in Busra al-Harir, heading to Daraa after being evacuated from Sweida following more than a week of violent clashes, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Malek Khattab)
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Syrian Authorities Evacuate Families from Sweida

Syrian Bedouin families gesture as they ride in a convoy led by Red Crescent vehicles in Busra al-Harir, heading to Daraa after being evacuated from Sweida following more than a week of violent clashes, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Malek Khattab)
Syrian Bedouin families gesture as they ride in a convoy led by Red Crescent vehicles in Busra al-Harir, heading to Daraa after being evacuated from Sweida following more than a week of violent clashes, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Malek Khattab)

Syrian authorities on Monday evacuated Bedouin families from the Druze-majority city of Sweida, after a ceasefire in the southern province halted bloody clashes between the communities, an AFP correspondent and official media said.

An AFP correspondent outside the devastated provincial capital saw a convoy including buses enter Sweida and then exit again carrying civilians.

The evacuees, including women and children, were headed for reception centers in neighboring Daraa province and to the capital Damascus, in coordination with the Syrian Red Crescent.

State news agency SANA said 1,500 people from Bedouin tribes were to be evacuated.

The ceasefire announced Saturday put an end to the sectarian violence that has left more than 1,100 dead in a week, according to a monitor.



Senior Hamas Commander Killed in Israeli Strike

File photo of Samir Abu Younis
File photo of Samir Abu Younis
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Senior Hamas Commander Killed in Israeli Strike

File photo of Samir Abu Younis
File photo of Samir Abu Younis

Hamas' armed wing said on Sunday that a senior commander who helped plan and oversee the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The Al-Qassam Brigades identified the commander as Samir Abu Younis, 53, the commander of its Rafah brigade, and said he was killed on Saturday.

The Israeli military said ⁠on Sunday it ⁠had struck a senior commander in Hamas' armed wing but did not identify him.

Medics said Abu Younis was killed and others were wounded in an airstrike that targeted him in a street in ⁠the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Hamas said Abu Younis joined Hamas' armed wing in 1991 and had held several senior operational roles in Rafah before becoming commander of the brigade.

Hamas said his funeral would be held on Sunday afternoon in Khan Younis.

An October 2025 ceasefire halted major fighting but has not stopped Israeli attacks ⁠or ⁠secured Hamas' disarmament.

Gaza health authorities say at least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire went into effect. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed during the same period.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel's military campaign against Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel in October 2023.


EU Urges ‘Immediate, Unimpeded’ Flood Aid to Gaza

 Displaced Palestinians walk through a rain-soaked tent camp following heavy rainfall in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians walk through a rain-soaked tent camp following heavy rainfall in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
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EU Urges ‘Immediate, Unimpeded’ Flood Aid to Gaza

 Displaced Palestinians walk through a rain-soaked tent camp following heavy rainfall in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians walk through a rain-soaked tent camp following heavy rainfall in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)

The European Union on Saturday demanded Israel grant urgent access for aid groups to Gaza to help the victims of devastating floods there.

"We urge Israel to allow immediate, unimpeded access and sustained distribution of humanitarian assistance and early recovery support at scale, and to reopen all Gaza border crossings," it said in a statement.


Israeli Drone Strike Kills 2 Palestinians in Gaza

 Palestinians walk through a tent camp housing displaced people amid buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk through a tent camp housing displaced people amid buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP)
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Israeli Drone Strike Kills 2 Palestinians in Gaza

 Palestinians walk through a tent camp housing displaced people amid buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk through a tent camp housing displaced people amid buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP)

An Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, hospital officials said.

The drone struck two Palestinians walking down a street in Jabaliya, on the northern edge of Gaza City, said Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where the casualties were taken.

The American field hospital said several other people were wounded but did not provide a number.

Asked about the attack, the Israeli military said it had struck two Hamas fighters in the area.

Near-daily Israeli fire and airstrikes have continued in Gaza more than a year after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal.

At least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and is seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its toll but says women and children make up around half the dead.