Syria: Int’l Coalition, Deir Ezzor Civil Council Discuss Region’s Security

An injured boy rests on the ground of a makeshift camp in Syria's Aqrabat village, 45km north of Idlib City, near the Turkish border. File photo
An injured boy rests on the ground of a makeshift camp in Syria's Aqrabat village, 45km north of Idlib City, near the Turkish border. File photo
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Syria: Int’l Coalition, Deir Ezzor Civil Council Discuss Region’s Security

An injured boy rests on the ground of a makeshift camp in Syria's Aqrabat village, 45km north of Idlib City, near the Turkish border. File photo
An injured boy rests on the ground of a makeshift camp in Syria's Aqrabat village, 45km north of Idlib City, near the Turkish border. File photo

A delegation from the US-led international coalition convened on Tuesday with the leadership of the Deir Ezzor Civil Council at Al-Omar oil field to discuss means of supporting stability and improving services in towns in the Syrian city’s eastern countryside.

Ghassan al-Youssef, the co-chair of Deir Ezzor Civil Council, told the press that the meeting discussed ways to develop services in the eastern countryside as part of attempts to reach full stability in the region.

Youssef said the Council is working on restoring security and improving infrastructure, in addition to boosting the economy and alleviating the people’s suffering.

The meeting came as the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced a mechanism for civil complaints as part of pledges made to the UN.

NES and SDF revealed the joint mechanism in an attempt to halt the recruitment of minors in armed conflicts.

Abdul Hamid al-Mahbash, the co-chair of the Executive Body of NES, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that this mechanism allows citizens, households, parents and active humanitarian parties to submit a complaint and to disclose any recruitment of child soldiers.

Mahbash affirmed that NES is fully committed to international legal standards and codes on children's rights and protection, especially those who are impacted by the armed conflict in Syria.

Earlier, SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi signed with Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba an agreement on child protection aimed at ending and preventing the recruitment of children under the age of 18.



Israeli Troops Deploy to New Corridor Across Southern Gaza

Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Israeli Troops Deploy to New Corridor Across Southern Gaza

Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israel said Saturday that troops have deployed to a newly established security corridor across southern Gaza to pressure the Hamas militant group.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced the new Morag Corridor and suggested it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of Gaza.
A military statement Saturday said troops with the 36th Division had been deployed in the corridor. It was not immediately clear how many had deployed or where exactly the corridor was located, The Associated Press reported. Morag is the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, and Netanyahu suggested it would run between the cities.
Maps published by Israeli media showed the new corridor running the width of the narrow coastal strip from east to west.
Netanyahu said it would be “a second Philadelphi corridor,” referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt further south, which has been under Israeli control since last May.
Israel has also reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the strip. The Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.
“We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said Wednesday.
The latest announcement came shortly after a White House official confirmed that Netanyahu on Monday would again meet with President Donald Trump, their second meeting at the White House since Trump took office in January.
Last month, Israel shattered the ceasefire in Gaza with a surprise bombardment after trying to pressure Hamas to accept proposed new terms for the truce that had taken hold in January. The White House supported Israel's move.
Netanyahu’s defense minister said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones.
Israel has pledged to escalate the war with Hamas until the militant group returns the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, disarms and leaves the territory.
Israel last month again halted all supplies of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza.