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Six Syrian Soldiers Killed in Israeli Drone Strikes in Damascus Countryside, State-Run TV Says 

Since Assad's overthrow, Israel has occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line. (AFP)
Since Assad's overthrow, Israel has occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line. (AFP)
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Six Syrian Soldiers Killed in Israeli Drone Strikes in Damascus Countryside, State-Run TV Says 

Since Assad's overthrow, Israel has occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line. (AFP)
Since Assad's overthrow, Israel has occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line. (AFP)

Six Syrian soldiers were killed in Israeli drone strikes in the Damascus countryside, state-run El Ekhbariya TV reported early on Wednesday. 

Syria and Israel are engaged in US-mediated talks on easing tensions in southern Syria, with Damascus seeking a security deal that could open the door to wider political negotiations. 

Syria said on Monday that Israel had sent 60 soldiers into its territory near Mount Hermon in a violation of its sovereignty, while the Israeli military said its troops carried out a routine operation in southern Syria but not in Beit Jinn, an area close to the border with Lebanon and near Mount Hermon. 

Syria's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned the recent Israeli attacks on its territory, saying they pose a direct threat to regional peace and security. 

It also condemned the Israeli forces' incursion into a town in the Quneitra countryside, their "arrest campaigns against civilians", and their "announcement of the continuation of their illegal presence on the summit of Mount Hermon and the buffer zone".  

"These aggressive practices constitute a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, international law, and relevant Security Council resolutions, and constitute a direct threat to peace and security in the region". 

The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had carried out "several activities last week in southern Syria to locate weapons and apprehend suspects". 

Israel has repeatedly cited its own security concerns in its military interventions inside Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad last December, including what it sees as its obligation to protect members of the Druze minority in southern Syria. 

It has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since Assad’s ouster. It has also opened talks with the interim authorities in Damascus. 

Last week, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Paris to push for a return to the arrangements that had been in place since a 1974 disengagement agreement. 

In January, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli troops would remain on the summit of Mount Hermon indefinitely. 

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Arab World

EU Chief von der Leyen to Visit Syria, Lebanon This Week

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addresses journalists during a visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addresses journalists during a visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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EU Chief von der Leyen to Visit Syria, Lebanon This Week

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addresses journalists during a visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addresses journalists during a visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen will visit Syria later this week on a first trip to the country since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, a spokeswoman said Monday.

Von der Leyen will head to Syria as part of a tour of the Middle East that will also see her visit Jordan and Lebanon, spokeswoman Paula Pinho said.

Arab World

Israel Says Ban on Gaza Media Access Should Stay

A Palestinian woman holds her child beside piles of rubble while heading toward Gaza City on Friday. (AFP)
A Palestinian woman holds her child beside piles of rubble while heading toward Gaza City on Friday. (AFP)
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Israel Says Ban on Gaza Media Access Should Stay

A Palestinian woman holds her child beside piles of rubble while heading toward Gaza City on Friday. (AFP)
A Palestinian woman holds her child beside piles of rubble while heading toward Gaza City on Friday. (AFP)

Israeli authorities have told the Supreme Court that a ban on international media access to Gaza should remain in place, arguing it is necessary for security reasons, according to a government submission filed by the public prosecutor. 

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, triggered by an attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas, Israeli authorities have barred foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory, said AFP. 

Instead, Israel has allowed only a limited number of reporters to enter Gaza on a case-by-case basis, embedded with its military forces inside the blockaded territory. 

The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists working in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition with the Supreme Court in 2024 seeking immediate and unrestricted access for international media to the Gaza Strip. 

Since then the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with a plan, but at a hearing last month it set January 4 as a final deadline. 

Late on Sunday, the Israeli authorities filed their response with the court, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. 

In the submission, the government said the ban on media access to Gaza should continue, citing security risks in the territory. 

"Even at this time, entry of journalists into the Gaza Strip without escort, as requested in the petition, should not be permitted," said the government submission. 

"This is for security reasons, based on the position of the defense establishment, which maintains that a security risk associated with such entry still exists." 

The Israeli authorities said the ceasefire in Gaza, which came into effect on October 10, continues to face regular threats. 

At least 420 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza's health ministry. 

The Israeli military said three of its soldiers have also been killed by militants during the same period. 

The Israeli authorities said in their submission that the search for the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza is ongoing, suggesting that allowing journalists into the territory at this stage could hinder the operation. 

The remains of Ran Gvili, whose body was taken to Gaza after he was killed during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, have still not been recovered despite the ceasefire. 

All other 250 hostages seized on that day - both the living and the deceased - have been returned to Israel. 

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the matter, though it is unclear when a decision will be handed down. 

 

Arab World

Calls in Lebanon for Immediate Action Against ‘Remnants’ of Assad Regime

The Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria. (AFP)
The Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria. (AFP)
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Calls in Lebanon for Immediate Action Against ‘Remnants’ of Assad Regime

The Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria. (AFP)
The Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria. (AFP)

Reports about the presence of “remnants of the former Syrian regime” in Lebanon have raised concerns that they could destabilize internal security or turn Lebanese territory into a platform for targeting Syria’s security and stability.

Authorities and security agencies have launched a broad campaign to verify these reports as voices across Lebanon warned of the presence of former Syrian officers in certain regions, particularly in the North and Bekaa Valley in the east.

The Lebanese Army Command regularly announces raids and security operations against suspects. The latest such operation was announced on Sunday, when dozens were detained, mostly Syrians, in northern Lebanon and the Bekaa.

In a statement, the Army Command said it carried out operations against wanted suspects, arresting nine Lebanese citizens and 35 Syrians in the regions of Akkar, Tripoli, Batroun, Baalbek and Hermel on charges including opening fire, possession of weapons, drug use, and human smuggling.

The army added that weapons, ammunition, drugs and military equipment were seized, and that investigations had begun under the supervision of the relevant judiciary.

Previously, a number of municipalities in northern Lebanon had issued statements urging security agencies to tighten measures in their areas, saying several former regime members have sought safety in their towns. They also spoke of the daily movement of suspicious vehicles.

Similar warnings have since emerged from the Bekaa. Dar al-Fatwa in Rashaya issued a statement on Sunday calling on the state to take “immediate, swift and decisive action to arrest the remnants of the Syrian regime in Lebanon and return them to Syria for trial.”

MP Wael Abou Faour, a member of the Democratic Gathering bloc, called on “the Lebanese security agencies to fulfill their duties with regard to the large number of officers from the remnants of the regime of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad who are present in Lebanon.”

He stressed that despite the fall of the regime, “Lebanese-Syrian relations are governed by the Taif Agreement, which clearly stipulates that Lebanon must not be a base or a transit point for any attack on Syria’s security, and vice versa.”

“The Lebanese state must therefore act to uncover the truth and arrest officers from the remnants of the regime who are hiding in Lebanon.”