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.



Blinken to G7: Iran, Hezbollah Could Start Attacking Israel as Early as Monday

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)
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Blinken to G7: Iran, Hezbollah Could Start Attacking Israel as Early as Monday

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts from the G7 countries that Iran and Hezbollah could start attacking Israel as early as Monday, US news service Axios reported.

But Blinken, according to Axios, which cited three sources briefed on the call, said it was unclear how Iran and Hezbollah would attack and did not know the exact timing.

There are mounting fears that Israel's war against Palestinian militants in Gaza could escalate into a wider Middle East conflict.

Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, and they, together with Hezbollah, have vowed revenge.

An Israeli strike in Beirut has also killed Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah military commander.

When asked about the Axios report, the State Department referred to a readout of the call, where it said the ministers discussed "the urgent need for de-escalation in the Middle East."

The Pentagon said on Friday it would deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the region.

"The overall goal is to turn the temperature down in the region, deter and defend against those attacks, and avoid regional conflict," Jonathan Finer, the White House's deputy national security adviser, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" program.

The US and Israel are preparing for every possibility, Finer added.
There was a "very close call" of regional conflagration in April, Finer said, when Iran launched an attack on Israeli territory with drones and missiles after what it called an Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Syrian capital.