Coalition Strikes Kill 42 in ISIS Syria Holdout

Coalition forces and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) at their operations room near the village of Susah in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, near Syria's border with Iraq. AFP/File
Coalition forces and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) at their operations room near the village of Susah in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, near Syria's border with Iraq. AFP/File
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Coalition Strikes Kill 42 in ISIS Syria Holdout

Coalition forces and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) at their operations room near the village of Susah in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, near Syria's border with Iraq. AFP/File
Coalition forces and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) at their operations room near the village of Susah in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, near Syria's border with Iraq. AFP/File

Coalition missile strikes have killed 42 people including 13 civilians in what remains of ISIS’ last holdout in eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, with backing from a US-led coalition, are battling to expel the last militants from hamlets in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

The Observatory said short-range missiles late Friday hit homes on farmland near the village of Baghouz, killing 42 people.

Among them were 13 civilians, the Britain-based monitor said.

They included seven Syrians linked to ISIS including three children from the same family, as well as six Iraqi non-combatants, it said.

"The area is a launchpad for militant counterattacks," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The SDF have since September been battling to expel ISIS from their last pocket of territory on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River in Deir Ezzor.

The SDF has advanced swiftly in recent weeks, taking control of a series of key villages, with ISIS scrambling to retaliate.

On Thursday, the terrorist group failed to retake Baghouz from the SDF in one counterattack that left a total of 50 fighters dead on both sides, the Observatory said.



One in 10 Children Screened in UNRWA Clinics are Malnourished

Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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One in 10 Children Screened in UNRWA Clinics are Malnourished

Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

One in 10 children screened in clinics run by the United Nations refugee agency in Gaza since 2024 has been malnourished, the agency said on Tuesday.

"Our health teams are confirming that malnutrition rates are increasing in Gaza, especially since the siege was tightened more than four months ago on the second of March," UNRWA's Director of Communications, Juliette Touma, told reporters in Geneva via a video link from Amman, Jordan.

Since January 2024, UNRWA said it had screened more than 240,000 boys and girls under the age of five in its clinics, adding that before the war, acute malnutrition was rarely seen in the Gaza Strip.

"One nurse that we spoke to told us that in the past, he only saw these cases of malnutrition in textbooks and documentaries," Reuters quoted Touma as saying.

"Medicine, nutrition supplies, hygiene material, fuel are all rapidly running out," Touma said.

On May 19, Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume. However, UNRWA continues to be banned from bringing aid into the enclave.

Israel and the United States have accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing from UN-led aid operations - which Hamas denies. They have instead set up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, using private US security and logistics firms to transport aid to distribution hubs, which the UN has refused to work with.

On Monday, UNICEF said that last month more than 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza, including more than 1,000 children with severe, acute malnutrition. It said it was an increase for the fourth month in a row.