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Tel Aviv Allows Gazan Traders to Enter West Bank, Israel

Fish is sold at a market in Gaza. (EPA)
Fish is sold at a market in Gaza. (EPA)
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Tel Aviv Allows Gazan Traders to Enter West Bank, Israel

Fish is sold at a market in Gaza. (EPA)
Fish is sold at a market in Gaza. (EPA)

Tel Aviv allowed on Sunday several traders in Gaza Strip to enter the West Bank and Israel through the Erez crossing, following months of being denied access.

The move is part of efforts to ease tensions that have lingered after the last round of fighting between Israel and Gaza militants that ended in May.

Israel decided to expand the fishing area in the Strip from six to 12 nautical miles. It also decided to allow Gazans to travel abroad through Palestinian and Israeli crossings. Israel will also allow the import of agriculture, food and electric goods into the Gaza Strip as of Sunday.

Other goods for medicine, fishing, and international trade will be transferred to the Strip.

The passage of Palestinians living in Gaza abroad will take place through Israel's border with Jordan, and 29 private vehicles will enter through the Erez crossing.

Rami Abu al-Rish, the director-general of trade and crossings for the Ministry of the Economy in Gaza, confirmed that the Coordination and Cooperation Committee of the General Authority of Civil Affairs in Ramallah informed them that electrical goods will be allowed into the strip on Monday.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) had warned on Sunday of the shortage of raw materials to launch reconstruction in Gaza.

Director of UNRWA in Gaza, Sam Rose said in a press statement that the lack of raw materials for starting the reconstruction plan "was due to the closure of the only commercial crossing between Gaza and Israel."

"Reconstruction in the Gaza Strip has not started yet, and we, like many others, are deeply concerned over the continued Israeli closure of the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing point," he said.

"Some materials such as cement, concrete, and iron are not available in the local markets of Gaza," Rose said, adding that the shortage of raw materials stops and delays the reconstruction process.

Up to 1,200 housing units were destroyed in the last round of fighting in the Gaza Strip. Some 1,000 houses are badly damaged and not suitable for living. The reconstruction will cost about 165 million US dollars.

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Former Regime Elements, Drug Traffickers Targeted in Western Homs and Damascus Campaigns

The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
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Former Regime Elements, Drug Traffickers Targeted in Western Homs and Damascus Campaigns

The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).

The Syrian Military Operations Administration has been pressing its security campaigns aimed at disarming former regime militia remnants and combating drug traffickers across Syria.

On Tuesday, for the third time, the administration, in collaboration with the General Security Directorate, launched a large-scale operation in western rural Homs. The campaign focused on the villages of Jabbourin Rafain, Al-Haysa, Jabbourin, Qaniyat Al-Assi, Tasnin, Kafrnan, Akrad Al-Dasniya, and their surroundings. Simultaneous campaigns were conducted in Aleppo’s Nairab district, Jaramana in the Damascus countryside, and northern Daraa.

Security sources said the operation in rural Homs targets “remnants of Assad militias who refused to surrender their weapons, arms depots, drug dealers, and traffickers,” according to an official statement from the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Military reinforcements were dispatched to support the campaign in the targeted areas.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the operation in the village of Jabbourin in rural Hama marked the second such operation within a week. The observatory noted that several civilians and military personnel, including those who had reconciled with the government, were arrested. Some detainees were later released, while others remain under investigation.

Residents in rural Homs expressed significant concern about the proliferation of weapons, incidents of abductions, and the escalating fear of retribution. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, they noted a prevailing sense of unease and insecurity, as anonymous actors exploit the current chaos to fuel tensions and instability.

The General Security Directorate in Homs has urged residents in western rural Homs villages and towns to fully cooperate with its forces and the Military Operations Administration to ensure the success of the campaign’s objectives.

In Daraa, southern Syria, the Daraa 24 network reported that the General Security Directorate carried out a raid in the city of Izraa, north of Daraa. During the operation, large quantities of weapons were seized, and warnings were issued to individuals still in possession of firearms to surrender them “to preserve the region’s security and stability.”

An earlier security operation in the Lajat region, located between the Suwayda and Daraa governorates, resulted in the arrest of 18 individuals described as former regime remnants, drug traffickers, and arms dealers. The Syrian Interior Ministry also announced the arrest of “remnant elements and members of a gang involved in the theft of weapons from a warehouse in the Mazraa project area of Damascus.”

Meanwhile, the General Security Directorate released several former regime elements in Damascus after verifying their lack of involvement in violations against the Syrian people. According to local sources cited by Syrian Television, several conscripts detained in Adra Prison in Damascus were freed on Tuesday, with additional releases expected in the coming days.

Last week, the General Security Directorate released 360 detainees, including former regime officers, out of approximately 800 people arrested as part of the Homs security campaign. Following investigations, the authorities confirmed that those individuals were not in possession of weapons and had pledged not to engage in activities against the new Syrian administration.