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Arab World

Sudan Factions Form New Alliance as Splits Deepen From Main Bloc

Head of the Sudan Liberation Movement and governor of Darfur Mini Minawi (L) and head of the Justice and Equality Movement and Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim (C), as well as other political leaders, hold a conference entitled the "National Consensus Charter of the Forces of Freedom and Change" in Sudan's capital Khartoum, announcing the formation of an alliance separate from the country's main civilian bloc, on October 2, 2021. (AFP)
Head of the Sudan Liberation Movement and governor of Darfur Mini Minawi (L) and head of the Justice and Equality Movement and Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim (C), as well as other political leaders, hold a conference entitled the "National Consensus Charter of the Forces of Freedom and Change" in Sudan's capital Khartoum, announcing the formation of an alliance separate from the country's main civilian bloc, on October 2, 2021. (AFP)
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Sudan Factions Form New Alliance as Splits Deepen From Main Bloc

Head of the Sudan Liberation Movement and governor of Darfur Mini Minawi (L) and head of the Justice and Equality Movement and Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim (C), as well as other political leaders, hold a conference entitled the "National Consensus Charter of the Forces of Freedom and Change" in Sudan's capital Khartoum, announcing the formation of an alliance separate from the country's main civilian bloc, on October 2, 2021. (AFP)
Head of the Sudan Liberation Movement and governor of Darfur Mini Minawi (L) and head of the Justice and Equality Movement and Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim (C), as well as other political leaders, hold a conference entitled the "National Consensus Charter of the Forces of Freedom and Change" in Sudan's capital Khartoum, announcing the formation of an alliance separate from the country's main civilian bloc, on October 2, 2021. (AFP)

Several political factions including ex-rebel groups announced Saturday the formation of an alliance separate from Sudan’s main civilian bloc, in the latest sign of splits marring the country’s transition.

The announcement at a ceremony in Khartoum came as Sudan reels from fragmentation within the Forces of Freedom and Change, an alliance which spearheaded protests that ousted president Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, AFP reported.

Sudan has since August 2019 been run by an administration of military generals and civilians from the FFC through a rocky transition marked by economic woes.

Splits have deepened within the FFC in recent months, and support for the transitional government led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has waned in large part due to a raft of tough economic reforms.

Saturday’s ceremony included political parties as well as the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) faction led by Mini Minawi and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) of Gibril Ibrahim.

“We want a united FFC,” Minawi said during the ceremony.

“We urge the people on your side who pretend they are from the FFC to sit with us and listen to us,” he added, addressing both the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the prime minister.

Hamdok did not attend Saturday’s ceremony.

In early September, he was at the signing ceremony for an alliance of other factions within the FFC that also called for unity, calling it a “step in the right direction.”

Neither Minawi nor Ibrahim took part in that signing.

In October last year, Minawi’s SLM faction and Ibrahim’s JEM were among rebel groups that signed a peace deal with the government to end long-running conflicts under Bashir.

Minawi was named governor of western Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region in May, while Ibrahim was appointed finance minister last February.

On September 21, the government announced thwarting a coup attempt by military officers and civilians who it said were linked to Bashir’s regime.

The country has been grappling with protests in east Sudan by key tribes opposed to the October peace deal.

Protests have also erupted in major cities including Khartoum condemning the military coup attempt and calling for civilian rule.

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Arab World

Israeli Reservist Rams Vehicle into Palestinian Man Praying in West Bank

Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Reservist Rams Vehicle into Palestinian Man Praying in West Bank

Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)

An Israeli reservist soldier rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man as he prayed on a roadside in ​the occupied West Bank on Thursday, after earlier firing shots in the area, the Israeli military said.

"Footage was received of an armed individual running over a Palestinian individual," it said in a statement, adding the individual was a reservist ‌and his ‌military service had ‌been terminated.

The ⁠reservist ​acted "in severe ‌violation of his authority" and his weapon had been confiscated, the military said.

Israeli media reported that he was being held under house arrest.

The Israeli police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The ⁠Palestinian man went to hospital for checks after ‌the attack, but was unhurt ‍and is now ‍at home.

Video which aired on Palestinian ‍TV shows a man in civilian clothing with a gun slung over his shoulder driving an off-road vehicle into a man praying on ​the side of the road.

This year ​was one of the most violent on ⁠record for Israeli civilian attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to United Nations data that shows more than 750 injuries.

More than a thousand Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between October 7, 2023 and October 17, 2025, mostly in operations by security forces and some by settler violence, according to the UN In ‌the same period, 57 Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks.

Arab World

Deadly Blast Hits Mosque in Syria’s Homs, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna Claims Responsibility

Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar
Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar
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Deadly Blast Hits Mosque in Syria’s Homs, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna Claims Responsibility

Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar
Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar

A bombing at a mosque in Syria during Friday prayers killed at least eight people and wounded 18 others, authorities said.

Images released by Syria’s state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque’s carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage. The Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque is located in Homs, Syria's third-largest city.

SANA, citing a security source, said that preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque. Authorities were searching for the perpetrators, who have not yet been identified, and a security cordon was placed around the building, Syria’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.

In a statement on Telegram, the Saraya Ansar al-Sunna said its fighters "detonated a number of explosive devices" in the mosque.

The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil’a, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday.

Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon, condemned the attack. 
 

Arab World

Fuel Shortage Forces Gaza Hospital to Suspend Most Services

The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)
The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)
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Fuel Shortage Forces Gaza Hospital to Suspend Most Services

The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)
The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)

A major Gaza hospital has suspended several services because of a critical fuel shortage in the devastated Palestinian territory, which continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis, it said.

Devastated by more than two years of war, the Al-Awda Hospital in the central Gaza district of Nuseirat cares for around 60 in-patients and receives nearly 1,000 people seeking medical treatment each day.

"Most services have been temporarily stopped due to a shortage of the fuel needed for the generators," said Ahmed Mehanna, a senior official involved in managing the hospital.

"Only essential departments remain operational: the emergency unit, maternity ward and pediatrics."

To keep these services running, the hospital has been forced to rent a small generator, he added.

Under normal conditions, Al-Awda Hospital consumes between 1,000 and 1,200 liters of diesel per day. At present, however, it has only 800 liters available.

"We stress that this shutdown is temporary and linked to the availability of fuel," Mehanna said, warning that a prolonged fuel shortage "would pose a direct threat to the hospital's ability to deliver basic services".

He urged local and international organizations to intervene swiftly to ensure a steady supply of fuel.

Despite a fragile truce observed since October 10, the Gaza Strip remains engulfed in a severe humanitarian crisis.

While the ceasefire agreement stipulated the entry of 600 aid trucks per day into Gaza, only 100 to 300 carrying humanitarian assistance can currently enter, according to the United Nations and non-governmental organizations.

The remaining convoys largely transport commercial goods that remain inaccessible to most of Gaza's 2.2 million people.

- Health hard hit -

On a daily basis, the vast majority of Gaza's residents rely on aid from UN agencies and international NGOs for survival.

Gaza's health sector has been among the hardest hit by the war.

During the fighting, the Israeli miliary repeatedly struck hospitals and medical centers across Gaza, accusing Hamas of operating command centers there, an allegation the group denied.

International medical charity Doctors Without Borders now manages roughly one-third of Gaza's 2,300 hospital beds, while all five stabilization centers for children suffering from severe malnutrition are supported by international NGOs.

The war in Gaza was sparked on October 7, 2023, following an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

In Israel's ensuing military campaign in Gaza, at least 70,942 people - also mostly civilians - have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.