Syrian Activists Call for Helping Refugees at Rukban Camp

 A photo circulated by activists on the social media of  Al-Rukban camp.
A photo circulated by activists on the social media of Al-Rukban camp.
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Syrian Activists Call for Helping Refugees at Rukban Camp

 A photo circulated by activists on the social media of  Al-Rukban camp.
A photo circulated by activists on the social media of Al-Rukban camp.

Syrian humanitarian bodies and activists appealed Wednesday to the UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office in Amman, the Jordanian government and international relief organizations to urgently move to deliver drinking water to Al-Rukban camp, located on the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi borders.

The “Save Al-Rukban Camp” hashtag went viral on social media amid the poor conditions of thousands of camp residents.

Also, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) condemned the increasing pressure on the camp’s residents to push them toward the Syrian regime’s territory.

In a statement, SNHR called on the international community to move to save their lives, including returning the drinking water supply to the previous level and continuing to deliver it.

Al-Rukban camp hosts 7,500 residents suffering from reduced drinking water to almost half. The water was coming across the Jordanian borders and was supported by UNICEF.

SNHR said the situation will worsen as the heat increases in July and August to levels that threaten the lives of the camp residents, especially women and children.

Also, a number of Syrian figures urged Jordanian King Abdullah II to intervene and support the camp’s residents after the situation there became life-threatening.

“Over the past few years, we witnessed many residents being forced to exit the camp towards the Syrian regime territory, despite the possibility of suffering great violations, including arbitrary arrest, forced disappearance, torture, and forced recruitment,” the Network said, adding that it documented many violations of that kind against returnees.



Netanyahu Warns Hamas of Consequences It ‘Cannot Imagine’ If Gaza Hostages Not Freed

03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. (dpa)
03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. (dpa)
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Netanyahu Warns Hamas of Consequences It ‘Cannot Imagine’ If Gaza Hostages Not Freed

03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. (dpa)
03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. (dpa)

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas on Monday of consequences it “cannot imagine” if the Palestinian group does not release the hostages held in Gaza.  

“I tell Hamas: If you do not release our hostages, there will be consequences that you cannot imagine,” Netanyahu said during a speech at the Israeli parliament, as negotiations for the Gaza ceasefire’s continuation have stalled.  

Netanyahu’s comments came a day after Israel blocked aid flowing into Gaza, where a six-week truce had enabled a surge of vital food, shelter and medical assistance after more than 15 months of fighting.

The move came as talks on a truce extension appeared to hit an impasse, after the ceasefire’s 42-day first phase drew to a close over the weekend.  

Under the first phase, Gaza fighters handed over 25 living hostages and eight bodies in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.  

Of the 251 captives taken during Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.  

Early on Sunday, Israel had announced its support for a truce extension until mid-April that it said US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had proposed.  

But Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favoring a transition to the truce deal’s second phase, which is expected to lay out a more permanent end to the war.  

A senior Hamas official said Monday the three-phase ceasefire deal is Israel’s sole way to get its hostages back from the group in Gaza.  

Ossama Hamdan said that Israel “is pushing to return things to square one and overturn the agreement through the alternatives it is proposing.”  

He said that implementation of the deal, including by engaging immediately in the second phase, is the sole way to return the hostages.

Israeli media on Monday reported that Netanyahu had a plan to exert “maximum pressure” on Hamas to accept an extension of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire under Israel’s terms.  

Public broadcaster Kan reported that Netanyahu wanted to extend the first stage by at least one week, until the arrival of US envoy Witkoff in the region.  

Referencing sources close to Netanyahu, Kan reported that the prime minister was waiting to see if mediators could persuade Hamas to extend the first phase, failing which he would consider resuming fighting.  

Kan said Israel has drafted plans to ramp up pressure on Hamas this week, under a scheme dubbed the “Hell Plan.”  

The plan includes following up the decision to block aid with displacing residents from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, halting the electricity supply, and a resumption of full-scale fighting, Kan reported.  

Daily paper Israel Hayom said that Netanyahu, unlike his far-right allies in government, “wants to exhaust all possibilities of freeing hostages before returning to war.”