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Israeli Forces Kill at Least 13 People in Southern Syria Raid, Officials and Residents Say

Two Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights. (Archive-Reuters)
Two Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights. (Archive-Reuters)
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Israeli Forces Kill at Least 13 People in Southern Syria Raid, Officials and Residents Say

Two Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights. (Archive-Reuters)
Two Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights. (Archive-Reuters)

Israeli forces raided a Syrian village and opened fire when they were confronted by residents on Friday, killing at least 13 people, Syrian officials said, in the deadliest Israeli attack since its troops seized a swath of southern Syria a year ago. 

Syria’s Foreign Ministry called the attack a “horrific massacre” and said women and children were among those killed. 

The Syrian state news agency SANA said Israeli forces entered the village of Beit Jin aiming to seize local men and opened heavy fire after being confronted by residents. Dozens of families fled the area. 

Israel said Friday it conducted an operation to apprehend suspects from the Jamaa Islamiya group in Beit Jin who were planning IED and rocket attacks into Israel. It said other militants opened fire at the troops, injuring six, and that troops returned fire, including bringing in air support. It said the operation had concluded, all of the suspects were apprehended and a number of militants were killed. 

A local official in the village, Walid Okasha, told The Associated Press that those killed were civilians. Among the dead were a man, his wife, his two children and his brother as well as another man who had gotten married the day before. 

Firas Daher, a Beit Jin resident, told the AP that troops moved in around 3 a.m. and were met by “slight resistance, with light weapons.” Troops responded with drones and helicopters and fire from heavy machine guns. "Whenever anyone would move inside the village or any car would move, it would get hit. When we tried to take injured people to the hospital, they would hit the car carrying them,” he said. 

Since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, Israeli forces have held a slice of southern Syria that was previously a UN-patrolled buffer zone under a 1974 disengagement agreement. Troops have regularly carried out operations in villages and towns inside and outside the zone, including raids snatching people it says are suspected militants. Israel has also launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military sites and pushed for a demilitarized zone south of Damascus. 

Israeli raids have several times been met by armed local residents. In April, troops raided the town of Nawa, and when confronted by residents, the military carried out airstrikes in the town, killing nine people. A month earlier, Israeli forces killed six people in the village of Koayiah in similar clashes during a raid. 

In a previous raid on Beit Jin in June, Israeli forces seized several people who they said were Hamas members — a characterization disputed by residents — and killed a man whose family said had a history of schizophrenia. 

Israel says it seized the 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized buffer zone in southern Syria in a preemptive move to prevent militants from moving into the area after opposition groups toppled Assad. It says the move is temporary, but critics accuse Israel of taking advantage of Syria's turmoil for a land grab. Israel still occupies the Golan Heights that it captured from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed — a move not recognized by most of the international community. 

Syrian officials have condemned the Israeli incursions as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty. On Friday the government called for the international community to take “urgent action” to halt Israeli incursions. 

Israel has viewed Syria's new government, headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, with suspicion. The two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations, have been negotiating a potential security agreement to de-escalate. 

The deaths in Syria followed a series of strikes by Israel’s air force in parts of southern Lebanon on Thursday. Israel says its ongoing strikes are aimed at preventing Hezbollah from rebuilding after a devastating war last year ended with a ceasefire. 

The United Nations on Tuesday said Israel had killed at least 127 civilians, including children, in its strikes on Lebanon since the ceasefire a year ago. Things escalated earlier this week with an Israeli strike in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, killing a senior Hezbollah official whom Israel described as the group's chief of staff. 

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Arab World

Sudan's Famine Risk Worsened by Conflict, Drought and Funding Shortages

A Sudanese farmer plants seeds in an agricultural field in Gedaref State, eastern Sudan, on July 18, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A Sudanese farmer plants seeds in an agricultural field in Gedaref State, eastern Sudan, on July 18, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Sudan's Famine Risk Worsened by Conflict, Drought and Funding Shortages

A Sudanese farmer plants seeds in an agricultural field in Gedaref State, eastern Sudan, on July 18, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A Sudanese farmer plants seeds in an agricultural field in Gedaref State, eastern Sudan, on July 18, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Conflict and drought are worsening food insecurity across parts of Sudan’s Darfur and Kordofan regions, a global food crisis monitor warned on Monday.

There is a “deteriorating humanitarian situation” across greater Darfur and Kordofan, including areas identified as at risk of famine, as well as other locations, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC.

Severe drought linked to El Niño is affecting more than half of Sudan, causing localized crop failures and depriving households of food and income, it said.

In May, nearly 19.5 million people — more than 40% of the population — were facing high levels of acute food insecurity, according to an IPC assessment. Of those, 135,000 were in Phase 5, the most severe classification, characterized by extreme food shortages, starvation, very high levels of malnutrition and deaths from disease or acute malnutrition.

Sudan’s war erupted in April 2023 when tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, escalated into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, before spreading across the country. The conflict has killed at least 150,000 people, according to conflict monitor ACLED, though aid groups say the true toll is likely higher.

The war has also displaced about 13 million people and pushed parts of the country into famine.

Farmers’ livelihoods have been affected, and they're now relying more on assistance, the IPC said. Without a quick and significant increase in assistance to Sudan, “food insecurity, acute malnutrition, and excess mortality will likely intensify," the group said.

Poor levels of growth have affected 64% of croplands in North Darfur and about half in South Darfur, West Kordofan and South Kordofan.

The IPC reported worsening acute malnutrition in additional areas, including Nyala, where children accessing nutrition services who were admitted for severe acute malnutrition doubled from approximately 5% to 11% between January and August. Two displacement camps in South Darfur also recorded global acute malnutrition above famine thresholds.

In North Darfur, delayed rains that impacted crop cultivation and “critically low” food stocks have worsened food insecurity. Meanwhile, Western Kordofan is experiencing one of its worst droughts since 2004, the IPC said, citing rainfall levels.

Humanitarian organizations have repeatedly said that ending the conflict and ensuring safe, sustained humanitarian access are essential to improving conditions across Sudan. But repeated efforts to achieve peace have yet to bring the war to an end.

In the latest bout of violence, an airstrike killed at least 72 civilian miners in a border area between Sudan and Egypt where artisanal and small gold mining is widespread, local rights group Emergency Lawyers said Sunday.

The group, which tracks violence across Sudan, said without providing evidence that Egyptian warplanes targeted the miners in Sudan’s North Wadi area.

The Egyptian Armed Forces released a statement late Monday saying that they had launched the latest wave of a "large-scale campaign to confront illegal mining in the Eastern Desert” by dropping “warning leaflets” on citizens. They did not provide any further details or explanation.

In June, Egyptian security forces detained hundreds of people, including foreigners, on the border with Sudan, accusing them of illegal gold mining and smuggling.

Separately, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry also announced the death of two Egyptian truck drivers in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum after a gunman opened fire. The statement said the shooter has been apprehended by the authorities.

Arab World

Tetteh Affirms ‘Broad Support' For Libyan Agreement … Warns of Disrupting Elections

A session of the UN Security Council on Libya (UN Security Council)
A session of the UN Security Council on Libya (UN Security Council)
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Tetteh Affirms ‘Broad Support' For Libyan Agreement … Warns of Disrupting Elections

A session of the UN Security Council on Libya (UN Security Council)
A session of the UN Security Council on Libya (UN Security Council)

UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya (UNSMIL), Hanna Tetteh, told Security Council members on Wednesday that a deal she brokered to break the political deadlock in the North African country enjoys broad support. However, she warned that rejection by either of Libya’s two legislative bodies could derail elections scheduled to take place within the next two years.

‘Viable Pathway’

In a briefing to the UN Security Council in New York on Wednesday, Tetteh said that following four months of deliberations, on 30 August, the parties to the Smaller Convening signed an Agreement in Tripoli marking a break in the prolonged political and institutional deadlock.

The agreement established a viable pathway for legislative and presidential elections under a single unified executive authority within a period of 24 months.

Also, it provides for the reconstitution of the board of the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) and for resolving long-standing contentious issues in the constitutional and legal framework that could negatively impact efforts to conduct peaceful credible and inclusive elections.

According to the UN representative, the Agreement was welcomed by the Government of National Unity, the Libyan National Army, the House of Representatives, and Vice President of the Presidential Council Mousa Al-Koni, among others.

However, she said, the High Council of State rejected the Agreement on 5 October along with the laws and decisions communicated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, citing approaches that would bypass the constitutional, legal and consensual frameworks governing the political process or undermine the prerogatives assigned to the two institutions.

“Their rejection continues to reflect the limited willingness of some of its members to engage constructively in this process, which has been a feature of the ongoing engagement with this chamber,” Tetteh warned.

In this regard, the UN representative revealed that several HCS members have indicated their willingness to engage in the Agreement and have requested additional time to consult amongst themselves on moving the process forward.

“I will further consult the parties to the Smaller Convening in our meeting later this month, including by examining the option of proceeding to a national mechanism of broad representation as provided for in Article 5 of the Agreement and in consultation with this Council,” she said.

Impact of Political Fragmentation

Tetteh said that institutional and political fragmentation have continued to impact negatively on the economic and security situation in the country.

While global oil prices should have generated a significant windfall for public revenues to benefit all, many Libyans are instead seeing their purchasing power eroded by rising food prices, a weaker dinar and inflation right now above 14%, while access to essential public services remain unreliable.

Also, food prices alone further rose by 3.8% in August, with the pressure particularly acute in the West and South, where food costs increased sharply over the summer.

Tetteh noted that between January and September 2026, fuel imports totalled 8.15 million metric tons, at a cost of $8.9 billion, of which between 30 and 50% of these imports are estimated to be lost to smuggling, worth between $2.4 and $4.4 billion.

She said the recent disruptions to oil infrastructure demonstrate the wider economic cost of political and security fragmentation to impact strategic national assets.

Petroleum Facility Guards from Zintan blocked the Hamada-Zawiya pipeline from 15 to 20 September, followed by the Sharara-Zawiya pipeline from 21 to 26 September reportedly due to disputes over appointments from within that region.

“The disruptions resulted in around one million barrels of lost production, worth approximately $100 million, and risked affecting salary payments and electricity generation,” she said.

At the security level, Tetteh said the overall situation remains fragile.

She welcomed positive steps toward enhanced military cooperation between Eastern and Western military and security institutions, adding the Mission continues to encourage confidence-building measures at the technical level between both sides.

Tetteh also referred to the follow-up meeting of the Eastern and Western maritime, air force and air defense commanders in Sirte on 9 September to discuss practical cooperation towards reunifying these sectors.

Elsewhere, the UN representative expressed concern over the execution over the last two months, in Benghazi of 58 individuals convicted of prior crimes related to terrorism offenses, including alleged membership in proscribed terrorist groups or involvement in the killing of military and civilian personnel.

She also condemned the ongoing wave of misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and incitement targeting refugees, migrants, including those with an irregular status, humanitarian actors and UN agencies and personnel in Libya, including colleagues who are Libyan nationals.

Tetteh asked the Security Council’s continued support to the UNSMIL-facilitated political roadmap and to ensure Libyan leaders promptly meet their obligations to fulfil their people’s ultimate aspirations for peace, stability, inclusive and democratic governance that they so deserve.

“The path to a stable, unified, and prosperous Libya remains long, but our destination remains within reach,” she said.

 

Arab World

Tunisian Journalists Fear Jail Again as Freedoms Erode

Tunisian journalists participate in a rally called by the Tunisian journalists' union to demand the release of journalist Mohamed Yousfi, a vocal critic of President Kais Saied, in Tunis, Tunisia. September 8, 2026. REUTERS/ Jihed Abidellaoui
Tunisian journalists participate in a rally called by the Tunisian journalists' union to demand the release of journalist Mohamed Yousfi, a vocal critic of President Kais Saied, in Tunis, Tunisia. September 8, 2026. REUTERS/ Jihed Abidellaoui
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Tunisian Journalists Fear Jail Again as Freedoms Erode

Tunisian journalists participate in a rally called by the Tunisian journalists' union to demand the release of journalist Mohamed Yousfi, a vocal critic of President Kais Saied, in Tunis, Tunisia. September 8, 2026. REUTERS/ Jihed Abidellaoui
Tunisian journalists participate in a rally called by the Tunisian journalists' union to demand the release of journalist Mohamed Yousfi, a vocal critic of President Kais Saied, in Tunis, Tunisia. September 8, 2026. REUTERS/ Jihed Abidellaoui

In the garden of the independent outlet ‘Nawaat,’ about half a dozen journalists sit smoking, trading jokes and discussing investigations they plan to publish on subjects ranging from the quality of drinking water to conditions of prisons.

They know that any of the stories ⁠could lead to prosecution.

A Hard Test

Journalists in Tunisia who enjoyed a burst of press freedom after the 2011 Arab Spring are once again looking over their shoulders in the knowledge their work may land them in prison.

The 2011 overthrow of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali unshackled Tunisia's media, but a decade later President Kais Saied's seizure of sweeping powers began eroding those gains.

Some 20 journalists face criminal charges over their reporting or social media posts, with four already imprisoned, according to Zied Dabbar, head of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, who called the situation unprecedented.

In return, Saied has said he is not a dictator and that journalists are free to criticize authorities and frequently do.

Authorities say prosecutions are impartial judicial matters and that no one is above the law.
The Tunisian prime minister's press office did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Now, independent media face a full-on crackdown, rights groups say, and Tunisia has tumbled more than 50 places in the past five years to 137th in Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index.

Shifting Minefield

“We are living in a grey area, as if we were in a shifting minefield, and we pay the price every day,” said Aymen Rezgui, editor-in-chief of Nawaat, reflecting on how at least limits were clear pre-2011 versus current uncertainty.

Rezgui said Nawaat regularly receives threats — anonymously or from government supporters on social media branding him a traitor — over reporting on issues ranging from prisons to power cuts and water shortages.

The outlet has also faced judicial restrictions, including a government order suspending activities for a month last year.

Journalists in Jail, Others Choose Exile

Many other journalists report similar pressures.

Last month, Mohamed Yousfi, editor-in-chief of independent news website Al-Qatiba, was arrested on his way to a private radio station for a live program. A judge has charged him with illicit enrichment, which he says is a fabrication.

Other jailed journalists and media figures include prominent broadcasters Mourad Zeghidi and Borhen Bsaies, who were first convicted of spreading false news and insulting the president, and later of tax evasion. ⁠They deny the charges and say they have been framed.

For some, leaving Tunisia has become the only option to avoid a similar fate, despite the personal cost.

In December 2025, Khaoula Boukrim, founder of independent website Tumedia and a prominent critic of the president, left for France fearing imminent arrest.

Months later, she was sentenced in absentia to four years in prison over writings critical of the judiciary and a system of governance she described as authoritarian.

Journalist Haythem Mekki has also left Tunisia after receiving a prison sentence following public comments he made denouncing conditions in a hospital morgue.

Beyond prosecutions, journalists are frequently prevented by police from working in public and are sometimes detained for hours, the journalists' syndicate says.

Most ministries no longer have press offices, while several international correspondents have been denied accreditation, further restricting independent coverage.

Political and critical programs have disappeared from many private radio stations. State media has ⁠increasingly marginalized dissenting voices, the syndicate says, though the TAP state news agency remains a rare exception, continuing to cover protests, opposition activities and civil society initiatives.