Owners of Homes Destroyed in 2014 Israeli War Shut UNRWA HQ in Gaza

A Palestinian man burns tires outside the headquarters of the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA), during a protest demanding the UNRWA to rebuild their houses that were destroyed during the Israel war in 2014, in Gaza City September 19, 2022. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man burns tires outside the headquarters of the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA), during a protest demanding the UNRWA to rebuild their houses that were destroyed during the Israel war in 2014, in Gaza City September 19, 2022. (Reuters)
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Owners of Homes Destroyed in 2014 Israeli War Shut UNRWA HQ in Gaza

A Palestinian man burns tires outside the headquarters of the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA), during a protest demanding the UNRWA to rebuild their houses that were destroyed during the Israel war in 2014, in Gaza City September 19, 2022. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man burns tires outside the headquarters of the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA), during a protest demanding the UNRWA to rebuild their houses that were destroyed during the Israel war in 2014, in Gaza City September 19, 2022. (Reuters)

Dozens of Palestinians protested on Monday outside the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza demanding the UN body to fulfil its commitments and pay the compensations they are entitled to.

Owners of destroyed homes in the Israeli war on Gaza Strip in 2014 set rubber tires on fire, threw stones and eggs at the UN building, and prevented employees from entering or leaving.

Spokesperson for those affected Abdulhadi Muslim said the demonstration is a message to UNRWA and warned that it will be followed by other similar messages.

He told reporters in Gaza that after nine years of patience, waiting is no longer possible.

Muslim complained that the UNRWA pledged to pay the bills for any repair and construction of the damaged homes, but it failed to fulfill its promise.

The UN body had counted the damage caused by the 2014 51-day war, the longest Israeli attack on Gaza since the Hamas movement took over the enclave in 2007.

It said that over 12,600 housing units were totally destroyed and almost 6,500 sustained severe damage during the conflict.

“Almost 150,000 additional housing units sustained various degrees of damage and remained inhabitable,” it revealed.

UNRWA prepared lists of the names of the affected people and asked them to make the repairs at their expense, pledging that they will be compensated later.

The owners of the houses have yet to receive any funds.

Despite pledges worth billions of dollars by donor countries to reconstruct Gaza, a real rebuilding process has to get underway due to political and security hurdles.

Mohammed al-Najjar, one of those affected by the conflict, said: “We have been suffering for eight years. UNRWA is only procrastinating.”

This issue has deepened after more houses were damaged in subsequent Israel offensives against Gaza over the years.

Leading member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine Mahmoud Khalaf called on UNRWA to pay for those affected during Israeli wars on Gaza in 2014, 2021 and 2022 and reconstruct their houses.

He described UNRWA’s failure to fulfil its promises a “disgrace,” noting that it aligns with Israel’s goal to prolong the suffering of the people of Gaza.



US Eases Restrictions on Syria While Keeping Sanctions in Place

 A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Eases Restrictions on Syria While Keeping Sanctions in Place

 A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)

The US on Monday eased some restrictions on Syria's transitional government to allow the entry of humanitarian aid after opposition factions ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad last month.

The US Treasury issued a general license, lasting six months, that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions.

The move does not lift sanctions on the nation that has been battered by more than a decade of war, but indicates a limited show of US support for the new transitional government.

The general license underscores America's commitment to ensuring its sanctions “do not impede activities to meet basic human needs, including the provision of public services or humanitarian assistance,” a Treasury Department statement reads.

Since Assad's ouster, representatives from the nation's new de facto authorities have said that the new Syria will be inclusive and open to the world.

The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.

The announcement followed a meeting in Damascus between al-Sharaa, who was once aligned with al-Qaeda, and the top US diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, who led the first US diplomatic delegation into Syria since Assad’s ouster. The US and UN have long designated HTS as a terrorist organization.

HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.

Much of the world ended diplomatic relations with Assad because of his crackdown on protesters, and sanctioned him and his Russian and Iranian associates.

Syria’s infrastructure has been battered, with power cuts rampant in the country and some 90% of its population living in poverty. About half the population won’t know where its next meal will come from, as inflation surges.

The pressure to lift sanctions has mounted in recent years as aid agencies continue to cut programs due to donor fatigue and a massive 2023 earthquake that rocked Syria and Türkiye. The tremor killed over 59,000 people and destroyed critical infrastructure that couldn’t be fixed due to sanctions and overcompliance, despite the US announcing some humanitarian exemptions.