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.



Series of Israeli Airstrikes Hit Central Beirut, At Least 1 Building Destroyed

Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Series of Israeli Airstrikes Hit Central Beirut, At Least 1 Building Destroyed

Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Powerful Israeli airstrikes targeted central Beirut on Saturday, resulting in a large number of fatalities and injuries and destroying an eight-story building, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

Footage broadcast by TV stations showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it in the Basta neighborhood.

Israel used bunker buster bombs in the strike, leaving a deep crater, said NNA. Beirut smelled strongly of explosives hours after the attack.
The blasts shook the capital around 4 a.m.

NNA said at least five bombs were dropped in the attack.
It marked the fourth Israeli airstrike this week targeting a central area of Beirut, where the bulk of Israel's attacks have targeted the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.

On Sunday an Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah's media relations chief Mohammad Afif in the Ras al-Nabaa district of central Beirut.

The Israeli military did not issue a warning for Basta's residents to evacuate prior to the strike and did not immediately issue a statement on it.

Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.

Meanwhile, heavy ground fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants was ongoing in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops have pushed farther from the border.