Observatory: Hundreds of Turkish Armored Vehicles Entered Syria

FILE: A Turkish military vehicle drives in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 29, 2019. (Reuters)
FILE: A Turkish military vehicle drives in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 29, 2019. (Reuters)
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Observatory: Hundreds of Turkish Armored Vehicles Entered Syria

FILE: A Turkish military vehicle drives in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 29, 2019. (Reuters)
FILE: A Turkish military vehicle drives in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 29, 2019. (Reuters)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that almost 200 Turkish military tanks and armored vehicles have entered Aleppo and Idlib since Sunday morning.

The Observatory said it monitored this morning the entry of a large Turkish military column to the Syrian territory via Kafr Lusin border crossing.

"The column of 40 military vehicles including tanks, personnel carriers, armored vehicles and military and logistical supplies, headed to the south but no information has been reported yet about its destination," it reported.

Meanwhile, Turkish Anadolu Agency said that the Turkish army sent new military reinforcements its units on the border with Syria.

This comes as Syria's regime continues to advance in areas under the opposition factions' control in Idlib and Aleppo.

Earlier, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is losing patience with the military assault in Syria's Idlib region, adding that Russia is violating agreements that should put an end to violence in Syria, especially in Idlib.

"We will do whatever necessary if these bombardments do not stop,” he stressed.



Israeli Rights Group Accuses Prison Authority of Failing Palestinian Prisoners after Scabies Outbreak

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Rights Group Accuses Prison Authority of Failing Palestinian Prisoners after Scabies Outbreak

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)

An Israeli rights group said Monday that more than a quarter of all Palestinian prisoners currently held by Israel had contracted scabies since an outbreak was identified in May, and accused the prison authority of improper care and prevention.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said that more than 2,800 prisoners had caught the rash-like infection, with more than 1,700 still actively infected. The outbreak was seen in five different detention facilities, the group said. It was citing figures it said came from the Israel Prison Service.

The group said it filed a legal petition calling on the prison service “to eradicate the scabies epidemic,” accusing the authorities of failing “to implement widely recognized medical interventions necessary to contain the outbreak.”

It said that it halted the legal proceedings after it received a commitment from the prison service to address the outbreak. The prison service said the court had cancelled the petition because the prisons had shown they were dealing with the outbreak in a “systematic and thorough” way.

Nadav Davidovich, an Israeli public health expert who wrote a medical analysis for the group’s court proceedings, said the outbreak was a result of overcrowding in prisons and apparent neglect from prison authorities. He said such outbreaks could be prevented if prisoners were held “in more reasonable conditions.” If the first infections were treated as needed, such an outbreak could have been avoided, he said.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel also said that the Israel Prison Service had cited scabies as a reason for postponing lawyers' visits and court appearances for prisoners. It said those steps “violate prisoners’ rights and serve as punitive measures rather than public health responses.”

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the prisons, has boasted about hardening conditions to the bare minimum required by law.