Syrian Border Security Officer Assassinated in Daraa

A photo circulated on social media shows the scene of the assassination of the Syrian security officer. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A photo circulated on social media shows the scene of the assassination of the Syrian security officer. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Syrian Border Security Officer Assassinated in Daraa

A photo circulated on social media shows the scene of the assassination of the Syrian security officer. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A photo circulated on social media shows the scene of the assassination of the Syrian security officer. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Syria’s southwestern Daraa continues to witness horrific assassinations and security instability despite the province being subject to settlements dating back to 2018.

Over the last two days, seven killings were reported in Daraa. Civilians, former opposition members and Syrian regime officers were killed in the wave of assassinations.

According to local sources, the perpetrators remain unknown.

“Unidentified individuals opened fire against the car of Maj.Maher Wassouf on Sunday evening,” Horan Free Media Spokesperson Ayman Abu Noqta told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Noqta revealed that Wassouf was the primary security officer responsible for the Nassib border crossing with Jordan.

The gunmen had fired at Wassouf’s vehicle as it was driving on the Damascus - Daraa international highway near the bridge of Sidon town in the eastern countryside of Daraa.

Also, two regime officers were killed and the third was wounded on Sunday morning at a military checkpoint located between the towns of Ain Dhikr - Tasil in the Yarmouk Basin area, west of Daraa.

The two assassinated officers belong to the Fifth Brigade, which deployed in the area to replace the Fourth Brigade after a settlement deal was signed between the governorate and Damascus in 2021.

Last Monday, former opposition member Fadi al-Lubni was also killed by an explosive device planted in his car.

He was killed in the town of Nafaa in the Yarmouk Basin area.

On Sunday evening, unknown persons killed a member of the Eighth Division of the regime’s Fifth Brigade.

Bahjat al-Mahamid, also known as Abu Jarrah, was killed when assailants shot him dead in front of his house in the town of Al-Naima in the eastern countryside of Daraa.



Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The UN human rights office said on Tuesday that the "weaponization" of food for civilians in Gaza constitutes a war crime, in its strongest remarks yet on a new model of aid distribution run by an Israeli-backed organization.

Over 410 people have been killed by gunshots or shells fired by the Israeli military while trying to reach distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since it began work in late May, UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters at a Geneva press briefing.

The death toll has been independently verified by his office, he added.

"Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food," he said, describing the system as "Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism".

"The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law."

Asked whether Israel was guilty of that war crime, he said: "The legal qualification needs to be made by a court of law."

Israel rejects war crimes charges in Gaza and blames Hamas fighters for harm to civilians for operating among them, which the fighters deny.