Iraq, Syria Reopen Qaim Border Crossing

A view of the Iraqi-Syrian borders at the al-Qaim border crossing, after being reopened for travelers and trade in Anbar province, in Qaim, Iraq September 30, 2019. (Reuters)
A view of the Iraqi-Syrian borders at the al-Qaim border crossing, after being reopened for travelers and trade in Anbar province, in Qaim, Iraq September 30, 2019. (Reuters)
TT

Iraq, Syria Reopen Qaim Border Crossing

A view of the Iraqi-Syrian borders at the al-Qaim border crossing, after being reopened for travelers and trade in Anbar province, in Qaim, Iraq September 30, 2019. (Reuters)
A view of the Iraqi-Syrian borders at the al-Qaim border crossing, after being reopened for travelers and trade in Anbar province, in Qaim, Iraq September 30, 2019. (Reuters)

Iraq and Syria reopened on Monday the al-Qaim border crossing.

Located on a vital highway that connects Baghdad and Damascus, the crossing was seized by the ISIS terrorist group in 2014.

The opening of the crossing between the Iraqi town of Qaim and Syria's al-Boukamal is expected to strengthen trade between the two countries.

The crossing was closed in 2012 due to the war in Syria.

Qaim and al-Boukamal were controlled by ISIS until 2017, when Syrian and Iraqi troops captured the towns from the extremist.

The group's territorial defeat was announced in Syria earlier this year.



Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza Kill at Least 20 People

Smoke rises as people stand in a tent camp for displaced people, after an Israeli attack amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Feras Nader  BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE
Smoke rises as people stand in a tent camp for displaced people, after an Israeli attack amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Feras Nader BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE
TT

Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza Kill at Least 20 People

Smoke rises as people stand in a tent camp for displaced people, after an Israeli attack amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Feras Nader  BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE
Smoke rises as people stand in a tent camp for displaced people, after an Israeli attack amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Feras Nader BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE

Palestinian medics say Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 20 people.
One of the strikes overnight and into Monday hit a tent camp in the Muwasi area, an Israel-declared humanitarian zone, killing eight people, including two children.
That’s according to the Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, which received the bodies.
Hospital records show another six killed in a strike on people securing an aid convoy and another two killed in a strike on a car in Muwasi. One person was killed in a separate strike in the area,The Associated Press reported.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah said three bodies arrived after an airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp.
The Israeli military says it only strikes militants, accusing them of hiding among civilians. It said late Sunday that it had targeted a Hamas fighter in the humanitarian zone.
The war began when a Hamas-led group attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. Around 100 captives are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed over 45,200 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry says women and children make up more than half the dead but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. The military says it has killed over 17,000 of Hamas, without providing evidence.