Russia Raids Syrian Desert Area to Secure Homs,Deir Ezzor Road

Sukhoi T-50 fighter climbing after takeoff (File photo: Reuters)
Sukhoi T-50 fighter climbing after takeoff (File photo: Reuters)
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Russia Raids Syrian Desert Area to Secure Homs,Deir Ezzor Road

Sukhoi T-50 fighter climbing after takeoff (File photo: Reuters)
Sukhoi T-50 fighter climbing after takeoff (File photo: Reuters)

Russian warplanes launched about a hundred raids on Aleppo, Hama, and Raqqa triangle governorates after four Syrian soldiers were killed in an ISIS ambush.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported the raids, saying Russian fighter jets flew over the Syrian desert and executed intensive airstrikes on ISIS positions in the Aleppo-Raqqah-Hama triangle and Deir Ezzor-Homs road.

The Observatory documented over 95 Russian airstrikes in 24 hours, which started after the ISIS attack in the desert that killed four members of regime forces, including a first lieutenant, and injured ten others.

SOHR indicated that the large-scale security campaign led by Russia and its affiliated forces continued in the Syrian desert to secure Deir Ezzor-Homs road, in the wake of ISIS increased operations.

Joint forces of the National Defense Forces, the Palestinian al-Quds Corps, and the 5th Corps combed the area from Kabajeb and al-Shawla in the west of Der Ezzor to al-Sukhnah.

State agency Sana announced that three soldiers were killed, and ten others were injured after terrorist groups targeted the bus carrying them.

The bus was “on Deir Ezzor–Palmyra road, in al-Malha –al-Shola area, and came under fire from the south side of the road by a terrorist group coming from al-Tanf area, claiming the lives of three soldiers and injuring ten others.”

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published by its Amaq agency.

The agency quoted military sources as saying that ISIS members attacked a convoy of vehicles for the Syrian army, including buses carrying soldiers and several vehicles, some of which were equipped with heavy machine guns.

The Observatory confirmed in a statement that ISIS was responsible for the attack.

In 2014, ISIS controlled large areas of Syria and Iraq, before it was defeated in the two countries, however, sleeper cells continue to launch attacks.

In the previous months, the organization stepped up attacks against the Syrian regime forces, especially in the east of the country at the border with Iraq.

Syria has been witnessing a conflict since 2011, which killed more than 380,000 people and caused massive damage to the infrastructure. It led to the displacement of millions of people inside and outside the country.



Amnesty International Says Israel and Aid System Use Starvation to Commit Gaza Genocide

Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
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Amnesty International Says Israel and Aid System Use Starvation to Commit Gaza Genocide

Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Amnesty International issued a report Thursday claiming a controversial Israeli- and US-backed system to distribute aid in Gaza uses starvation tactics against Palestinians to continue to commit genocide in the Gaza Strip during Israel's war with Hamas.

The UK-based human rights group condemned Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which the US and Israel have backed to take over aid distribution in Gaza from a network led by the United Nations.

Israel’s foreign minister denounced the Amnesty report, saying the organization has “joined forces with Hamas and fully adopted all of its propaganda lies.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed at or near GHF distribution centers over the past month. The centers are guarded by private security contractors and located near Israeli military positions. Palestinian officials and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of opening fire at crowds of people moving near the sites.

The Amnesty report said Israel has “turned aid-seeking into a booby trap for desperate starved Palestinians” through GHF's militarized hubs. The conditions have created "a deadly mix of hunger and disease pushing the population past breaking point.”

“This devastating daily loss of life as desperate Palestinians try to collect aid is the consequence of their deliberate targeting by Israeli forces and the foreseeable consequence of irresponsible and lethal methods of distribution,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary general.

Israel rejects claims

The Israeli army says it has fired warning shots to control crowds and only fires at people it says are acting suspiciously.

The Foreign Ministry and COGAT, the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said Israel has facilitated the entry of over 3,000 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip since May 19 and GHF has delivered boxes of food with the equivalent of 56 million meals.

Humanitarian organizations say that amount is not nearly enough to meet overwhelming need in Gaza. GHF did not immediately return requests for comment.

The World Food Program says despite the new Israel-backed initiative, food consumption reached a critical low last month, with food diversity reaching its worst level since the conflict began.

“The continued closure of crossings, intensified violence since March, soaring food prices, and extremely limited humanitarian and commercial supplies have severely restricted access to even basic food items,” the WFP said in a June report.

GHF hubs are close to Israeli military positions

Amnesty’s report follows a statement earlier this week from more than 165 major international charities and non-governmental organizations calling for an immediate end to the foundation. They say the new mechanism allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and is ineffective.

It’s the latest sign of trouble for the GHF, a secretive initiative headed by an evangelical leader who is a close ally of President Donald Trump. Last month, the US government pledged $30 million for the group to continue operation, the first known US donation to the group, whose other funding sources remain opaque.

GHF started distributing aid May 26 following a nearly three-month Israeli blockade that pushed Gaza’s population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine.

Palestinian witnesses have described scenes of chaos around the distribution sites, and two contractors in the operation have told The Associated Press that colleagues fired live ammunition and stun grenades toward crowds of people. Palestinians often must travel long distances to reach the sites.

In a statement Tuesday, GHF rejected criticism of its operations and claimed it has delivered more than 52 million meals to hungry Palestinians.

“Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza,” GHF said.

GHF has called for Israel’s military to investigate the allegations from Gaza’s Health Ministry, but last month the organization said there has been no violence in or around its centers and its personnel have not opened fire.

Israel demanded the alternative plan because it accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid. The UN and aid groups deny there is significant diversion.

Amnesty's allegations of genocide Amnesty accused Israel last year of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure, and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.” It is challenging such allegations filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice and has rejected the International Criminal Court’s accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister committed war crimes in Gaza.