Shock In Damascus over 'Iron Cages' Set to Organize Breadlines

A photo circulated by Syrian activists of iron cages outside bakeries in Damascus. AAAWSAT AR
A photo circulated by Syrian activists of iron cages outside bakeries in Damascus. AAAWSAT AR
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Shock In Damascus over 'Iron Cages' Set to Organize Breadlines

A photo circulated by Syrian activists of iron cages outside bakeries in Damascus. AAAWSAT AR
A photo circulated by Syrian activists of iron cages outside bakeries in Damascus. AAAWSAT AR

State bakeries in Damascus resorted to establishing iron cages to organize the breadlines. The Syrian Director-General of the Damascus Bakeries refused to comment on the photo of the scene which has infuriated the Syrian people.

Local radio station Al-Madina reported that Nael Asmander refused to confirm if the image was true or not. He only said that the method was the best way to separate individuals, adding that "the culture of waiting in line is not well respected in our country."

Damascus set a precedent with its use of cages as it tries to find a solution to the overcrowding in bakeries because of bread's scarcity.

In a failed attempt to solve the bread crisis that intensified in September, the Ministry of Internal Trade rationed bread distribution. Three loaves per day were allocated to every individual, a bundle (7 loaves of about 800 grams) to a family of two, and two bundles for a family of four.

Bakeries were also banned from selling more than five percent of their bread to anyone except for those using the "smart cards."

Two days ago, Prime Minister Hussein Arnous tried to "reassure" Syrians, saying that subsidized bread is still a "red line that will not be touched".

Al-Watan Syrian newspaper reported Arnous as saying that Damascus had only bought wheat that is only sufficient to last for a month and a half.

Syria has gone from a country with wheat sufficiency to one that imports wheat on mass, as wheat production went from around 4 million tons in 2011 to 1.5 million tons in 2019.



Israel Releases Detained Palestinian Woman Footballer

07 June 2026, Israel, Tzur Yitzhak: Israeli Security forces inspect the scene of a shooting attack in the town of Tzur Yitzhak in central Israel near the occupied West Bank border. (dpa)
07 June 2026, Israel, Tzur Yitzhak: Israeli Security forces inspect the scene of a shooting attack in the town of Tzur Yitzhak in central Israel near the occupied West Bank border. (dpa)
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Israel Releases Detained Palestinian Woman Footballer

07 June 2026, Israel, Tzur Yitzhak: Israeli Security forces inspect the scene of a shooting attack in the town of Tzur Yitzhak in central Israel near the occupied West Bank border. (dpa)
07 June 2026, Israel, Tzur Yitzhak: Israeli Security forces inspect the scene of a shooting attack in the town of Tzur Yitzhak in central Israel near the occupied West Bank border. (dpa)

Israeli authorities released a player on the Palestinian national women's football team after six days in detention in Jerusalem, her mother and police told AFP on Monday.

Wissam Halawani said Israeli police released her daughter Rand Halawani, 20, on Sunday evening, with an order to remain under house arrest for five days.

Halawani told AFP that she had "gone through very difficult times over the past few days" following her daughter's detention, and that she now felt "overwhelming joy" after her return home.

An Israeli police spokesperson told AFP that "the court has ordered that the suspect remain under house arrest," and stressed that "this ruling does not indicate or determine the outcome of any future legal proceedings."

Police had said last week that Halawani was arrested along with an 18-year-old man in relation to an incident in Jerusalem in which objects were allegedly thrown from a balcony at demonstrators marching on a street below.

"The investigation remains ongoing, and evidentiary material continues to be collected and assessed," police told AFP.

The Palestinian Football Association celebrated Halawani's release in a statement late Sunday.

"Rand Halawani breathes freedom," the association said in a social media post, accompanied by an image showing her wearing the Palestinian national team's red kit.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club, the main rights group for Palestinian prisoners, said Monday that that the number of women in Israeli prisons and detention camps has risen to around 95.

The number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons stands at around 9,500, according to figures released by the organization last week.


Lebanon Reports Israeli Strikes as Hezbollah Claims Attacks Against Troops in South

Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
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Lebanon Reports Israeli Strikes as Hezbollah Claims Attacks Against Troops in South

Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)

An Israeli strike hit a vehicle in the city of Tyre, south Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese state media reported, as Israel vowed to press attacks on Hezbollah despite Iranian warnings.

Hezbollah meanwhile said it targeted Israeli troops in Lebanon, but did not claim any attacks on Israeli territory.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that "an enemy airstrike targeted a car with a missile in the city of Tyre, near the Lebanese Red Cross building".

An AFP photographer in Tyre saw flames erupting from a car on a coastal road as residents gathered at the scene and an ambulance and paramedics headed towards it.

Reporting airstrikes from the early morning, the NNA said Israeli raids hit more than a dozen locations in the south, including Burj al-Shemali near Tyre.

A Lebanese culture ministry official said Israeli bombardment on the city a day earlier damaged a UNESCO World Heritage site there, and AFP correspondents saw dust and debris at the site.

The NNA said some of Monday's strikes caused casualties, though Lebanon's health ministry has not yet released any tolls.

Iran's military command on Monday afternoon said it was halting its operation against Israel after the two sides exchanged fire for the first time since a truce in the Middle East war took effect in April.

Iran had delivered a "painful response" to Israel and "accordingly, the cessation of armed forces operations is hereby announced", the Khatam al-Anbiya central command said in a statement carried by state television.

"However, it is emphasized that should acts of aggression and hostility continue, including in southern Lebanon, much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow," it added.

But Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz later vowed that the military would "continue to operate in Lebanon against the terrorist organization Hezbollah".

He added that Israel would strike Beirut's southern suburbs in retaliation for every attack on northern Israel.

"We categorically reject Iran's threats. Any Iranian attempt to link Lebanon and Iran and attack Israel will be met with great force, as happened yesterday," Katz said.

Iran insists a halt to the broader Middle East conflict must include a ceasefire in Lebanon, and on Sunday fired missiles at Israel in response to Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs earlier in the day.

On Monday, Hezbollah claimed a series of attacks on Israeli troops who have invaded south Lebanon.

Israel's military intercepted three projectiles fired from Lebanon, an AFP correspondent near the border reported, as Israel's military said the munitions had targeted its forces operating in Lebanon's south.

Lebanon says Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,600 people since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East conflict on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader.

After an April 17 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began, Israel announced a so-called Yellow Line inside Lebanese territory about a dozen kilometers from its northern border where its ground troops are operating.


Iraq Reopens Airspace after Iran Ends Operation against Israel

A picture shows Iraq Airlines planes parked at the Baghdad International Airport on April 24, 2024 - AFP
A picture shows Iraq Airlines planes parked at the Baghdad International Airport on April 24, 2024 - AFP
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Iraq Reopens Airspace after Iran Ends Operation against Israel

A picture shows Iraq Airlines planes parked at the Baghdad International Airport on April 24, 2024 - AFP
A picture shows Iraq Airlines planes parked at the Baghdad International Airport on April 24, 2024 - AFP

Iraq reopened its airspace on Monday, the country's civil aviation body said, following Iran's announcement that it was halting its military operation against Israel, AFP reported.

The Civil Aviation Authority was reopening "Iraqi airspace to flights to and from all airports" and will continue to "monitor and assess the regional situation", it said in a statement.

It had announced a 72-hour closure of its airspace on Sunday evening after Iranian missile strikes on Israel, the first since a ceasefire in the Middle East war began on April 8.