Pope to Visit Iraq Church Damaged by ISIS Militants

Iraqi Christians clean the roof of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraqi Christians clean the roof of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Pope to Visit Iraq Church Damaged by ISIS Militants

Iraqi Christians clean the roof of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraqi Christians clean the roof of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

The scenes are seared in the memory of the Rev. Ammar Altony Yako: A church that for decades has been the pride of the town of Qaraqosh, a center for Christian life in Iraq, stood badly scarred.

Yako saw it in 2016 when Qaraqosh was liberated from more than two years of ISIS group rule. Scrawled on a wall was the proclamation, "ISIS will remain." Strewn amid the rubble in a courtyard were bullet-riddled mannequins and other telltale signs of a militants´ makeshift firing range for target practice.

On Sunday, a new scene will play out for the world to watch at the Church of the Immaculate Conception and new memories will be created. Where the extremists once damaged, Pope Francis will now pray.

"I never could have imagined that his holiness, the pope, would visit this church, not even in my dreams," said Yako, who has been overseeing reconstruction at the church. "It´s a very, very unexpected event and a very happy one."

It is also one rich in symbolism.

Coming amid a pandemic and security challenges, the pope´s historic trip is taking him to Christian communities, like Yako's, ravaged by the ISIS onslaught in 2014. Christians in the area were forced to escape ancestral towns and villages as the militants swept through northern Iraq. Many have since scattered abroad, their exodus fueling existential anxieties about Iraq´s already dwindling Christian population.

Many hope the pope´s trip can focus attention on their struggles and send a message of encouragement, but they also point to security, economic and social challenges deterring many Christians from returning.

Even now, some returnees wrestle with one particularly fraught question: Stay, helping keep ancient communities alive, or seek better lives abroad if they can?

Religious and historic sites of all kinds - including mosques, tombs, shrines, and churches - suffered under ISIS. The extremist group damaged or destroyed whatever it considered contrary to its interpretation of Islam.

For Christians, the ISIS reign dealt a blow to a population already shrinking since the security breakdown and rise of militancy that followed the 2003 U.S.-led war in Iraq prompted many to leave. Iraqi Christians belong to various churches - such as Chaldean, Syriac, Assyrian, and others -- and trace the roots of their faith in the country back almost to the dawn of the religion itself.

In Qaraqosh, the Syriac Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception - "al-Tahira al-Kubra" in Arabic - became a symbol of its community´s losses, and now of its efforts to bounce back.

After the area was taken back from ISIS, walls in the church were found charred, crosses broken, prayer books burned and the tower damaged, Yako said.

"It was so painful to see the church where we prayed and that we saw as part of our history looking like that," he said. "At the same time, there was happiness that at least we were able to return and see it once more."

Scars were erased as restoration happened with the help of international Christian organizations, Yako said. But some were kept to bear witness to the IS era, including pockmarked walls in the courtyard.

The church was built between 1932 and 1948. Local farmers set aside money from their harvest and women donated pieces of gold jewelry to help fund it, Yako said.

"Its construction was reliant on people volunteering and donating. Just like people think of building their own homes, they were building the house of God," he said. "We call it the `mother church.´ Everyone feels like this church is their mother."

More recently, local artists and others have been helping spruce up the church.

On 14 church windows, one artist has painted scenes from the Way of the Cross, evoking Jesus´ suffering on his way to be crucified.

Sculptor Thabet Mekhael made a statue of Virgin Mary, her palms open and her head adorned with a crown. The statue, around 4 meters (13 feet) tall, now stands atop the church´s tower surrounded by four crosses and looking out over Qaraqosh.

"The statue is a symbol of return and a symbol of our presence as Christians," Mekhael said. "We´ve rebuilt the tower and made it even prettier than before."

On a recent day, Sister Hayat Alkasmosa of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, Iraq was among a group of volunteers hard at work sweeping and mopping the church´s floor.

"This church is like the heart of the area," she said by phone. "It´s our life, our heritage, our mother."

Alkasmosa´s voice cracked with emotion as she recalled crying when she learned the pope would visit Qaraqosh, also known as Bakhdida or Baghdeda.

"There´s a need for this kind of peace and consolation," she said. "His presence is healing."

Francis´ stop at the church, she said, will send a poignant message:

"Darkness cannot triumph and evil cannot win," she said. "The last word is not for death; the last word is for life."



32,623 Palestinians Killed in Gaza Offensive Since Oct. 7

A Palestinian man inspects the rubble in a house, following Israeli bombardment, in the Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on March 29, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
A Palestinian man inspects the rubble in a house, following Israeli bombardment, in the Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on March 29, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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32,623 Palestinians Killed in Gaza Offensive Since Oct. 7

A Palestinian man inspects the rubble in a house, following Israeli bombardment, in the Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on March 29, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
A Palestinian man inspects the rubble in a house, following Israeli bombardment, in the Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on March 29, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

At least 32,623 Palestinians have been killed and 75,092 injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, the Gaza health ministry said on Friday.

The top United Nations court on Thursday ordered Israel to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies into the war-ravaged enclave.

The International Court of Justice issued two new so-called provisional measures in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of acts of genocide in its military campaign launched after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.

Israel denies it is committing genocide and accused South Africa of trying to “undermine Israel's inherent right and obligation to defend its citizens.”

The court also ordered Israel to immediately ensure that its military does not take action that could that could harm Palestinians' rights under the Genocide Convention, including by preventing the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
It told Israel to report back in a month on its implementation of the orders.


UN Concerned over ‘Unacceptable’ Israeli Attacks on Lebanon’s Health Facilities

Mourners carry the flag-draped caskets of four people killed in an overnight Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Naqoura, during their funeral procession on March 28, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Mourners carry the flag-draped caskets of four people killed in an overnight Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Naqoura, during their funeral procession on March 28, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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UN Concerned over ‘Unacceptable’ Israeli Attacks on Lebanon’s Health Facilities

Mourners carry the flag-draped caskets of four people killed in an overnight Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Naqoura, during their funeral procession on March 28, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Mourners carry the flag-draped caskets of four people killed in an overnight Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Naqoura, during their funeral procession on March 28, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

The United Nations has said that it was “deeply disturbed” by Israel’s “unacceptable” attacks on health facilities and health workers in Lebanon after up to 11 civilians were killed in a single day, including 10 paramedics.

“I am deeply disturbed by the repeated attacks on health facilities and health workers who risk their lives to provide urgent assistance to their local communities,” the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, said Thursday.

“Attacks on healthcare violate international humanitarian law and are unacceptable. The rules of war are clear: civilians, including healthcare workers, must be protected.”

He called for the protection of civilian infrastructure, including health facilities, saying “healthcare is not a target. Civilians are not a target.”

“The tragic events of the past 36 hours have resulted in a significant loss of life and injuries in south Lebanon. Up to 11 civilians were killed in a single day, including 10 paramedics,” Riza stated.

The UN peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel called for ending the escalation a day after exchanges of fire killed 16 people in Lebanon.

UNIFIL said Thursday it is very concerned over the surge of cross-border violence between the Israeli military and Hezbollah.

On Wednesday, a series of Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed 16 people and a barrage of rockets fired by Hezbollah killed one Israeli man, making it the deadliest day in more than five months of fighting along the border.

UNIFIL said the escalation has caused a high number of civilian deaths adding that it is imperative that “this escalation cease immediately.”

“We urge all sides to put down their weapons and begin the process toward a sustainable political and diplomatic solution,” UNIFIL said.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said its UN mission would file a complaint with the Security Council against the Israeli “massacres” in southern Lebanon.

The Ministry said on X that the complaint involves attacks on southern villages that have left more than 18 people dead, including civilians and paramedics, in only a few days.


Kabashi Warns of Risk of ‘Popular Resistance’ Beyond Sudanese Army Control

Deputy General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Shams-Edin Kabashi made his statement during a military graduation event in Al-Qadarif, eastern Sudan (AFP)
Deputy General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Shams-Edin Kabashi made his statement during a military graduation event in Al-Qadarif, eastern Sudan (AFP)
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Kabashi Warns of Risk of ‘Popular Resistance’ Beyond Sudanese Army Control

Deputy General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Shams-Edin Kabashi made his statement during a military graduation event in Al-Qadarif, eastern Sudan (AFP)
Deputy General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Shams-Edin Kabashi made his statement during a military graduation event in Al-Qadarif, eastern Sudan (AFP)

Member of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council and Deputy General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Shams-Edin Kabashi, has cautioned against the danger of “armed popular resistance” operating outside the command of the armed forces.

He warned against armed groups operating independently and urged against political parties misusing military camps.

It was evident that Kabashi’s remarks were directed towards the “Islamists” within the ranks of the ousted regime, whose factions are engaged in battle against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Kabashi issued his strong warning during a military graduation event in Al-Qadarif, eastern Sudan, urging army leaders to prevent armed resistance members from carrying weapons outside military camps.

He stressed the importance of discipline, stating that while the army acknowledges the need for resistance, it must be regulated. Kabashi also urged political groups not to use resistance camps for anything other than supporting the army.

Political and civilian groups have warned about the rise of armed militias fueling conflict with the backing of the Sudanese army. Some factions linked to Sudanese Islamists are fighting alongside the army in the current battles across the country.

“The army is ready for genuine peace talks but won't stop fighting or agree to a ceasefire,” said Kabashi, adding that dialogue is essential.

Kabashi reiterated SAF’s commitment to the Jeddah peace platform mediated by Saudi Arabia, the United States, and other regional parties.

“We welcome any efforts, both national and international, to solve Sudan's issues,” he said, noting that this is on the condition that the RSF leave civilian homes using agreed-upon methods, including accountability and compensation for those affected.

“We won't engage in politics until military matters are resolved,” emphasized Kabashi, insisting on meeting basic demands outlined in the Jeddah agreement and subsequent developments.

He affirmed SAF’s readiness to end the war soon, describing it as a “proxy war” managed from afar, with RSF acting as mere instruments.

Kabashi also mentioned humanitarian aid, stating that SAF allows it to enter the country through ports and airports without restrictions. He urged all armed groups not to block relief supplies destined for conflict-affected areas.


Turkish Airlines Resumes Flights to Libya After 10-year Hiatus

A Turkish Airlines plane takes off from the city's new Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 6, 2019. (Reuters)
A Turkish Airlines plane takes off from the city's new Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 6, 2019. (Reuters)
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Turkish Airlines Resumes Flights to Libya After 10-year Hiatus

A Turkish Airlines plane takes off from the city's new Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 6, 2019. (Reuters)
A Turkish Airlines plane takes off from the city's new Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 6, 2019. (Reuters)

The Turkish Airlines launched on Thursday its first flight to Mitiga International Airport in the Libyan capital Tripoli, after a 10-year hiatus.
The Arab World Press said the announcement came on “Hakomitna,” the media platform of the interim Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU), led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
Last week, Dbeibah said the Turkish Airlines would resume its flights to Libya after a hiatus of about ten years. He considered the return of Turkish flights as “an additional indicator of strengthening the state of stability in all its forms despite the challenges.”
“Alhamdulillah, Turkish Airlines will resume flights to Libya from next week after an absence of nearly 10 years,” Dbeibah wrote on his social media account last Saturday.
He then praised the efforts of the transportation and civil aviation sector, and everyone who contributed to facilitating air transport movement, as well as achieving the technical requirements for the return of major companies to the country.
Turkish Airlines' General Manager Bilal Ekşi announced in a press conference that the company would fly three flights per week to Mitiga Airport in the Libyan capital.

 

 


Egypt Reveals Start Date for Trial Operation at Dabaa Nuclear Plant

Egypt is preparing to receive Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate in the inauguration of the station's fourth reactor. (Egypt's Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
Egypt is preparing to receive Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate in the inauguration of the station's fourth reactor. (Egypt's Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
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Egypt Reveals Start Date for Trial Operation at Dabaa Nuclear Plant

Egypt is preparing to receive Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate in the inauguration of the station's fourth reactor. (Egypt's Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
Egypt is preparing to receive Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate in the inauguration of the station's fourth reactor. (Egypt's Nuclear Power Plants Authority)

Egypt on Thursday has unveiled the start date for trial operation at its first nuclear power plant in the city of Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast, in cooperation with Russia.
Amjad Al-Wakeel Chairman of Egypt's Nuclear Power Plants Authority, said on Thursday that the trial operation of the first reactor at the Dabaa plant will commence by the second half of 2027.
The commercial operation of the first reactor is set to start in September 2028, to be followed by the operation of the remaining units, El-Wakeel noted.
The Dabaa plant consists of four nuclear reactors with a total power-generation capacity of 4,800 megawatts (MW), 1,200 MW per reactor.
Speaking on the sidelines of the two-day Atom Expo 2024 forum in Russia’s Sochi, Al-Wakeel affirmed that the project will provide 7.2 to 7.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually after its full operation.
The Egyptian official said one of the agreements concluded with the Russian side stipulates the construction of a special storage facility for storing used nuclear fuel for up to 60 years.
In 2015, Cairo signed a contract with the Russian state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, to build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant at a cost of $25 billion.
In December 2017, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin witnessed in Cairo the signing of a document to kickstart the Dabaa nuclear power plant.
Last January, the two presidents inaugurated the construction of a new unit at Egypt's Dabaa nuclear power plant via video link.

 

 


Lebanon: Escape of a Politically Connected Prisoner Embarrasses Authorities

Personnel from the General Directorate of State Security (State Security Directorate)
Personnel from the General Directorate of State Security (State Security Directorate)
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Lebanon: Escape of a Politically Connected Prisoner Embarrasses Authorities

Personnel from the General Directorate of State Security (State Security Directorate)
Personnel from the General Directorate of State Security (State Security Directorate)

Lebanon’s judiciary kicked off an investigation on Thursday into the escape scandal or "smuggling" of a prisoner from his detention place at the State Security apparatus in the Sahet al-Abed area in eastern Beirut.
The incident has raised many interpretations despite the accused, Dani al-Rashid’s, re-arrest in coordination with the Syrian authorities. Rashid is considered a very prominent figure.
He is the director of the office of former minister Salim Jreissati (advisor to former President Michel Aoun) and the personal advisor to the head of the State Security apparatus, Brigadier General Tony Saliba.
Acting Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Judge Jamal al-Hajjar, held a meeting with the Government Commissioner at the Military Court, Judge Fadi Akiki. They agreed to initiate an immediate investigation to be conducted by Akiki under the supervision of al-Hajjar.
A judicial source said the investigation "has so far led to the arrest of three guards from the State Security prison, and will include officers and other personnel."
Akiki "summoned Brigadier General Tony Saliba for interrogation as the head of the State Security apparatus responsible for the actions of his officers and personnel”.
Rashid is accused of involvement in the attempted murder of engineer Abdullah Hanna in Zahle, eastern Lebanon. Reports emerged that he was receiving special treatment in prison from the State Security for his close relationship with political figures.
Hajjar has therefore sent a letter to Saliba requesting the transfer of all prisoners held by State Security to prisons and detention centers under the authority of the Internal Security Forces. However, it turned out that these prisoners had not been transferred.
Hajjar asked the State Security about the reasons for the delay in transferring the prisoners and requested a list of the detainees they have only to be surprised later by the news of Rashid’s escape.
Rashid’s escape occurred after the agreement on the date of his transfer into the custody of the Internal Security Forces. The source said that "communication between Brigadier General Saliba and the Director General of the Internal Security Forces, Major General Imad Othman, during which the transfer date of this prisoner to the custody of the Internal Security Forces was set. Hours later, news of his escape from prison was announced."
Investigations to uncover the escape operation are ongoing.
“Investigations and tracking operations will determine whether he left Lebanon or not”, a security source told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that there could have been “an arrangement to smuggle him out of Lebanon before leaving prison because he realized well that if he remained in Lebanon, he would be rearrested”.
At night, the State Security announced in a statement the re-arrest of the escaped detainee after a joint security operation between the directorate and the relevant Syrian security authorities and a State Security force.
It said that Rashid “was handed over to the General Directorate of Lebanese General Security to carry out the required legal procedures. He will be referred again to the General Directorate of State Security on Friday morning for the necessary legal action to be taken against him under the supervision of the competent judiciary." 


Türkiye to Discuss Syria, YPG with US Officials

 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the State Department in Washington, US, March 8, 2024. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the State Department in Washington, US, March 8, 2024. (Reuters)
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Türkiye to Discuss Syria, YPG with US Officials

 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the State Department in Washington, US, March 8, 2024. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the State Department in Washington, US, March 8, 2024. (Reuters)

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Güler will hold talks with a visiting delegation from the US House of Representatives on Friday to tackle the Syrian war and American support for the People's Protection Units (YPG), the largest component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria.

During a press conference in Ankara, the Turkish defense ministry's media and public relations advisor, Zeki Akturk, said four members of the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee will pay a visit to Ankara on Friday for talks with the Turkish Defense Minister.

“The meeting will focus on several files, most notably the fight against terrorism, Syria in general, in addition to the US support for the YPG, which forms the Syrian branch of the Türkiye-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK),” Akturk said.

The US support for Kurdish militant groups in Syria is one of the pressing issues in US-Turkish relations. Washington considers the YPG as its main ally in the fight to dismantle ISIS in Syria.

In return, Ankara says the US must end support for the YPG, which it is fighting in northern Syria.

US and Turkish officials already discussed the Kurdish issue during the Türkiye-US Strategic Mechanism meetings held in Washington early this month.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who led his country’s delegation, said he conveyed Ankara’s objections to the support provided by the US to the YPG/PKK, including the transfer of weapons and trainings.

“The Republic of Türkiye is fighting and will continue to fight against all threats and terrorist sources that pose a threat within or outside its borders,” the minister said, adding that his country “will not wait for permission from anyone to do so.”

Earlier, the Turkish defense minister echoed the same position. He criticized the US support for the Kurdish units and said it contradicts the alliance relations between Ankara and Washington. “It is not possible to fight a terrorist organization using another terrorist organization,” he stressed.

Last week, Turkish reports said Washington had expressed its readiness to discuss the Syrian war with Ankara, in light of the new climate in relations between the two countries.

The reports also said that during the meeting of the Strategic Mechanism, the US confirmed its readiness to “strategically discuss Syria.”

Currently, around 900 US troops are located in Northeast Syria.

During an annual Iftar with veterans in Ankara on Wednesday, Güler vowed that the Turkish military would uproot the “terrorist” PKK organization and its expansion in Syria (YPG), and would eliminate any threat to its southern borders and the security of its people.


US Military Says It Destroyed 4 Drones Launched by Yemen's Houthis

HMS Richmond, currently taking part in Operation Prosperity Guardian protecting merchant shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi rebel attacks, fires missiles to shoot down hostile Houthi drones heading towards the ship, on the Red Sea, March 9, 2024. LPhot Chris Sellars/UK Ministry Of Defense/Handout via REUTERS
HMS Richmond, currently taking part in Operation Prosperity Guardian protecting merchant shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi rebel attacks, fires missiles to shoot down hostile Houthi drones heading towards the ship, on the Red Sea, March 9, 2024. LPhot Chris Sellars/UK Ministry Of Defense/Handout via REUTERS
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US Military Says It Destroyed 4 Drones Launched by Yemen's Houthis

HMS Richmond, currently taking part in Operation Prosperity Guardian protecting merchant shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi rebel attacks, fires missiles to shoot down hostile Houthi drones heading towards the ship, on the Red Sea, March 9, 2024. LPhot Chris Sellars/UK Ministry Of Defense/Handout via REUTERS
HMS Richmond, currently taking part in Operation Prosperity Guardian protecting merchant shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi rebel attacks, fires missiles to shoot down hostile Houthi drones heading towards the ship, on the Red Sea, March 9, 2024. LPhot Chris Sellars/UK Ministry Of Defense/Handout via REUTERS

The US military said on Thursday that it had destroyed four unmanned drones launched by Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen.
The US Central Command said on the social media site X that the drones "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region."
The drones were aimed at a coalition vessel and a US warship and "were engaged in self defense over the Red Sea," the statement from the US Central Command said, adding there were no injuries or damage reported to the US or coalition ships.


Israeli Strikes on Syria Kill Dozens

A general view of Aleppo International Airport (North Press Agency)
A general view of Aleppo International Airport (North Press Agency)
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Israeli Strikes on Syria Kill Dozens

A general view of Aleppo International Airport (North Press Agency)
A general view of Aleppo International Airport (North Press Agency)

Israeli strikes on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo early on Friday killed 38 people, including five members of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, two security sources said.
The Syrian defense ministry said earlier on Friday that a number of civilians and military personnel were killed after Israel and militant groups launched attacks against Aleppo.
The Israeli airstrikes targeted several areas in Aleppo's countryside at about 1:45 a.m. local time (2245 GMT), the ministry said a statement.
The airstrikes coincided with drone attacks carried out from Idlib and western rural Aleppo that the ministry described as having been conducted by "terrorist organizations" targeting civilians in Aleppo and its surroundings.
However, the ministry did not mention a specific death toll or clarify whether the casualties were caused by the Israeli airstrikes or the attacks by militant groups, said Reuters.
"The aggression resulted in the martyrdom and injury of a number of civilians and military personnel and caused material losses to public and private property," the statement said.
The Israeli military declined comment.
Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians and soldiers, Israel has escalated its strikes on what it says are bases of Iranian-backed militia in Syria. It has also struck Syrian army air defenses and some Syrian forces.
Fighters allied with Iran, including Hezbollah, now hold sway in vast areas of eastern, southern and northwestern Syria and in several suburbs around the capital.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the war erupted in Gaza, the biggest escalation since they fought a month-long conflict in 2006.


UN Peacekeepers Decry Escalating Violence on Lebanon-Israel Border

People inspect the damage at the site of an airstrike in Habbariyah, southern Lebanon, 27 March 2024. (EPA)
People inspect the damage at the site of an airstrike in Habbariyah, southern Lebanon, 27 March 2024. (EPA)
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UN Peacekeepers Decry Escalating Violence on Lebanon-Israel Border

People inspect the damage at the site of an airstrike in Habbariyah, southern Lebanon, 27 March 2024. (EPA)
People inspect the damage at the site of an airstrike in Habbariyah, southern Lebanon, 27 March 2024. (EPA)

The United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) deployed in the South along the border with Israel called on Thursday for ending the escalation a day after exchanges of fire killed 17 people.

The force known as UNIFIL said Thursday it is very concerned over the surge of cross-border violence between the Israeli military and Lebanese militant groups including Hezbollah.

On Wednesday, a series of Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed 16 people and a barrage of rockets fired by Hezbollah killed one Israeli man, making it the deadliest day in more than five months of fighting along the border.

UNIFIL said the escalation has caused a high number of civilian deaths adding that it is imperative that “this escalation cease immediately.”

“We urge all sides to put down their weapons and begin the process toward a sustainable political and diplomatic solution,” UNIFIL said. It added that the peacekeeping force remains ready to support that process in any way it can.

The fighting along the border started a day after the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas into southern Israel on Oct. 7. The violence has displaced tens of thousands in both countries, caused widespread damage in towns and villages and killed civilians, including journalists.

Nine civilians and 11 soldiers have died in Israel, and more than 240 Hezbollah fighters and about 50 civilians have been killed in Lebanon.