Aid Organization: Syria Facing Worst Hunger Crisis to Date

A Syrian child sits outside a tent at a refugee camp in Syria's Idlib province. AFP file photo
A Syrian child sits outside a tent at a refugee camp in Syria's Idlib province. AFP file photo
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Aid Organization: Syria Facing Worst Hunger Crisis to Date

A Syrian child sits outside a tent at a refugee camp in Syria's Idlib province. AFP file photo
A Syrian child sits outside a tent at a refugee camp in Syria's Idlib province. AFP file photo

After 10 years of civil war, Syria is suffering from its worst hunger crisis to date, according to the German aid organization Welthungerhilfe.

An "alarming record" of 12 million people do not have enough to eat - almost 60 per cent of the population - the non-government group's Syria coordinator Konstantin Witschel told dpa.

The humanitarian situation in general deteriorated over the past year with refugees particularly affected.

"The situation in camps is terrible," Witschel said, after visiting the northern Syrian city of Azaz.

He said nearly all supplies in refugee camps were lacking and the winter temperatures and heavy rain were further affecting people's conditions.

"During our visit, we met 30 children who only wore sweaters and sandals in six or seven degrees Celsius," he said.

The decline in the Syrian lira had tripled food prices, Witschel added.



Israel Says it Carried Out Warning Strike on 'Extremists' in Syria Threatening Druze

Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
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Israel Says it Carried Out Warning Strike on 'Extremists' in Syria Threatening Druze

Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI

The Israeli military carried out a warning strike against "extremists" preparing to attack members of the Druze minority in the Syrian town of Sahnaya, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz.

"The IDF (military) carried out a warning action and struck the organization of an extremist group preparing to attack the Druze population in the town of Sahnaya, in the Damascus region of Syria," said the statement.

The Israeli announcement came after an eruption of deadly sectarian violence in predominantly Druze areas near Damascus.

The Israeli statement also said a message "was passed on to the Syrian regime - Israel expects it to act in order to prevent harm to the Druze."

A spokesman for Syria's interior ministry, speaking to Reuters from Sahnaya said he had no indication that an attack had taken place.