Iraqi Fuel Crosses Syria Towards Lebanon, ‘Abu al-Fadl’ Grabs its Share

Fuel tanks entered the Syrian territories from Iraq towards Lebanon (Photo: SOHR)
Fuel tanks entered the Syrian territories from Iraq towards Lebanon (Photo: SOHR)
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Iraqi Fuel Crosses Syria Towards Lebanon, ‘Abu al-Fadl’ Grabs its Share

Fuel tanks entered the Syrian territories from Iraq towards Lebanon (Photo: SOHR)
Fuel tanks entered the Syrian territories from Iraq towards Lebanon (Photo: SOHR)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that more tankers loaded with fuel entered Syrian territories on Sunday, coming from Iraq.

About 39 tankers entered through the crossings that are under the control of pro-Iran militias in Al-Mayadin and Al-Bukamal in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, heading to Lebanon via the city of Homs.

This is the second batch in a week to cross the Syrian territories towards Lebanon. The first batch included around 50 tankers.

According to SOHR sources, nine of the 39 tankers that entered Syria on Sunday were taken to Al-Mayadin, under the protection of a militia called Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas, where fuel was stored in recently rehabilitated large tanks that ISIS had set up during its control of the area.

This comes amid a severe fuel shortage in Syrian regime-controlled areas, as a result of the cessation of smuggling operations from the regions run by the Syrian Democratic Forces, on the other bank of the Euphrates River.

On Aug. 29, the Observatory reported the entry of about 50 tankers loaded with gasoline from Iraq into Syria, through Al-Bukamal crossing in Deir Ezzor's countryside, under the protection of the Fourth Division forces. According to the Observatory, the tanks were destined for Lebanon.



Trump’s Middle East Envoy Says Progress Being Made on Israeli Hostages in Gaza

Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump’s Middle East Envoy Says Progress Being Made on Israeli Hostages in Gaza

Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)

President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he hopes to have good things to report about Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza by the time Trump is sworn in as president on Jan. 20.

Witkoff, at a press conference held by Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, said: "I'm really hopeful that by the inaugural we'll have some good things to announce on behalf of the President."

Republican Trump said of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the Oct. 7 2024 attack on Israel: "If the hostages are not back by the time I'm in office, all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone."