Iraq National Security Adviser: We Repatriated 450 Families From Syria’s Al-Hol Camp

 Residents of al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Residents of al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Iraq National Security Adviser: We Repatriated 450 Families From Syria’s Al-Hol Camp

 Residents of al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Residents of al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji said Saturday that his country has repatriated dozens of families who were affiliated or are suspected of collaborating with ISIS in mid-2014, when it controlled over about one third of Iraq’s territory.

He said members of these families settled in al-Hol camp for displaced people in Syria after the organization’s defeat in 2017.

Iraq transferred 450 families from al-Hol camp to the UN-sponsored al-Jada camp for psychological rehabilitation, Araji told an international conference about the camp.

The official also revealed that the government has decided to transfer more Iraqi families from al-Hol camp in the coming months.

He pointed out that there are 30,000 Iraqis in the camp, 20,000 of which are under-age.

The camp, along with other areas east of Syria, pose an extremist threat for Iraq’s national security, Araji stressed, urging its rapid dismantlement.

Prisons run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces hold an estimated 12,000 ISIS members, and the group aims to mount further operations similar to the January attack in a bid to free them, Araji said.

In January, ISIS militants carried out their biggest assault in Syria in years, attacking a prison in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Hasakah to free the ISIS prisoners.

Almost a week of intense fighting left more than 370 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Araji affirmed that most ISIS leaders are in prison, adding that the Joint Operations Command, the National Security Apparatus and the Intelligence Service have formed a security team to inspect all the displaced from al-Hol camp.

He called on the international community to support Iraq’s efforts to dismantle the camp and return all the terrorists to their countries for prosecution.

The camp houses almost 56,000 including displaced Syrians and Iraqi refugees, some of whom maintain links with the ISIS group.



UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

The World Food Program says its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN. The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told the Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFP-backed kitchens are the major ones in Gaza.

Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It says the moves aim to pressure Hamas to release hostages it still holds. Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime.

Israel has said Gaza has enough supplies after a surge of aid entered during the ceasefire and accuses Hamas of diverting aid for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant diversion, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution. They say the aid flow during the ceasefire was barely enough to cover the immense needs from throughout the war when only a trickle of supplies got in.

With no new goods entering Gaza, many foods have disappeared from markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many vegetables. Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, becoming unaffordable for much of the population. Most families rely heavily on canned goods.

Malnutrition is already surging. The UN said it identified 3,700 children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80% from the month before. At the same time, because of diminishing supplies, aid groups were only able to provide nutritional supplements to some 22,000 children in March, down 70% from February. The supplements are a crucial tool for averting malnutrition.

Almost all bakeries shut down weeks ago and the WFP stopped distribution of food basics to families for lack of supplies. With stocks of most ingredients depleted, charity kitchens generally can only serve meals of pasta or rice with little added.

World Central Kitchen -- a US charity that is one of the biggest in Gaza that doesn’t rely on the WFP -- said Thursday that its kitchens had run out of proteins. Instead, they make stews from canned vegetables. Because fuel is scarce, it dismantles wooden shipping pallets to burn in its stoves, it said. It also runs the only bakery still functioning in Gaza, producing 87,000 loaves of pita a day.

The WFP said 116,000 tons of food is ready to be brought into Gaza if Israel opens the borders, enough to feed 1 million people for four months.

Israel has leveled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign, vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

In the Oct. 7 attack, gunmen killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most were released in ceasefire deals.