Coronavirus Spreading in Syria’s Daraa, Sweida

Taher Abdelbaki, a doctor, prepares to receive a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Ibn Sina medical center in opposition-held Idlib city, Syria, May 6, 2021. (Reuters)
Taher Abdelbaki, a doctor, prepares to receive a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Ibn Sina medical center in opposition-held Idlib city, Syria, May 6, 2021. (Reuters)
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Coronavirus Spreading in Syria’s Daraa, Sweida

Taher Abdelbaki, a doctor, prepares to receive a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Ibn Sina medical center in opposition-held Idlib city, Syria, May 6, 2021. (Reuters)
Taher Abdelbaki, a doctor, prepares to receive a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Ibn Sina medical center in opposition-held Idlib city, Syria, May 6, 2021. (Reuters)

Doctors in Daraa have warned of the outbreak of the coronavirus throughout most of the province, saying that the southern Syrian region was witnessing an unprecedented rise in the number of infections.

Speaking on condition of anonymity for security considerations, a doctor in Daraa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the province registered more than 120 new infections and two deaths over the past two days.

He added that the area saw an unprecedented rise in cases a few days earlier, reaching nearly 200 infections, the highest daily tally since the beginning of the outbreak.

The doctor said he expected that the coming days will witness a new increase in the number of infected people due to non-compliance to preventive measures and social distancing, in addition to the fragility of the health care system.

He stressed that the health sector is suffering from a shortage of medical equipment and necessary materials, while also noting the major damage to the infrastructure due to the long years of conflict.

Furthermore, the doctor confirmed the presence of new mutated strains of the coronavirus, which are more dangerous and rapidly spreading.

“We are witnessing infections among all age groups, including young people and even children,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Meanwhile, Sweida 24 Network said in a recent report that Sweida National Hospital registered the death of three patients infected with the coronavirus over the past week, along with the increase in the number of infections.

Despite the public awareness campaigns about the virus and recent vaccination campaigns carried out by the Ministry of Health, medical studies pointed to the spread of the fourth generation of the Delta variant, which spreads more rapidly among all age groups.

The Syrian Ministry of Health recently announced that the occupancy rate at Covid-19 wards in hospitals in Damascus and Latakia have reached full capacity.



Israeli Settlers Briefly Crossed into Lebanon, the Military Says

UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)
UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)
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Israeli Settlers Briefly Crossed into Lebanon, the Military Says

UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)
UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)

A group of Israeli settlers have briefly crossed the border into Lebanon before they were removed by troops, the military acknowledged Wednesday.

The civilians who crossed the border came from the Uri Tzafon movement, a group calling for Israeli settlement of southern Lebanon. Photos posted by the group online Saturday showed a small group of activists holding signs and erecting tents inside Lebanon while Israeli soldiers were present.

After first denying the reports to Israeli media, the military said Wednesday that civilians had crossed the border “by a few meters” and were removed by troops.

The military called the border breach a “serious incident” and said it was investigating.

“Any attempt to approach or cross the border into Lebanese territory without coordination poses a life-threatening risk and interferes with the IDF’s ability to operate in the area and carry out its mission,” the military said, using the acronym for the Israel Defense Forces.

The settler group Uri Tzafon, which means “Awaken the North” in Hebrew, crossed the border in the area of the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras. In the past, the movement has said the area is home to an old Hebrew settlement.

Groups of settler activists also have breached the Gaza border more than once since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, at one point erecting small wooden tents before they were evacuated by troops. Daniela Weiss, the leader of the movement to resettle Gaza, claims she has entered Gaza twice since the start of the war.

Israel’s settler movement has been emboldened by its current government -- the furthest-right in Israeli history -- and is now seeking to expand to parts of southern Lebanon and the north of the Gaza.