WHO ‘Moving Rapidly’ with Syria Quake Relief as Sanctions Are Paused

 21 February 2023, Syria, al-Atareb: Muhammad Al-Mula, 15, sits near his destroyed house as a result of the deadly earthquake that ripped through the Turkish-Syrian border. (dpa)
21 February 2023, Syria, al-Atareb: Muhammad Al-Mula, 15, sits near his destroyed house as a result of the deadly earthquake that ripped through the Turkish-Syrian border. (dpa)
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WHO ‘Moving Rapidly’ with Syria Quake Relief as Sanctions Are Paused

 21 February 2023, Syria, al-Atareb: Muhammad Al-Mula, 15, sits near his destroyed house as a result of the deadly earthquake that ripped through the Turkish-Syrian border. (dpa)
21 February 2023, Syria, al-Atareb: Muhammad Al-Mula, 15, sits near his destroyed house as a result of the deadly earthquake that ripped through the Turkish-Syrian border. (dpa)

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday it was taking advantage of a temporary easing of sanctions against Syria designed to allow humanitarian aid to be more easily distributed in the war-torn country after deadly earthquakes.

"WHO is moving very rapidly right now together with our partners to take advantage of this pause in the sanctions," Rick Brennan, Regional Emergency Director of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, told a briefing.

"We have already started ordering equipment and supplies, and we are working with UN partners on a collective approach to take advantage of the pause."

Around 4,525 deaths have been reported in northwest Syria, according to the United Nations. The area is controlled by opposition factions at war with President Bashar al-Assad, which is complicating aid efforts.

With the devastating earthquake, there has also been a threat of the risk of infections in the opposition-held region in northwestern Syria.

WHO officials said the organization has scaled up its supply of antibiotics, painkillers, trauma supplies and non-communicable disease medicines to the country, with a key focus on the northwest region.

The agency has re-established its distribution channels within Syria, and has moved over 139 tons of additional medical supplies including antibiotics, and other surgical supplies to affected areas, said Catherine Smallwood, WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe.

WHO officials also said they are working to ensure better water and sanitation in northwest Syria, with 1.7 million doses of oral cholera vaccines on hand that they plan to target to the most vulnerable communities by first week of March.



Israel Says it Killed a Hezbollah Member in Drone Strike in South Lebanon

A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
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Israel Says it Killed a Hezbollah Member in Drone Strike in South Lebanon

A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)

An Israeli drone strike hit a car in south Lebanon on Saturday, killing one person who the Israeli military said was a member of Hezbollah.

State-run National News Agency did not give further details about the strike in the village of Bourj el-Mlouk.

The airstrike was the latest in a wave of such attacks since a US-brokered ceasefire went into effect in late November ending the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

The Israeli military said the Hezbollah member who was killed was active in the border village of Kfar Kila.

The strike came a day after Lebanon’s military court sentenced two people to prison terms for giving digital information to Israel.

Four judicial officials told The Associated Press Saturday that one of those sentenced received a 15-year prison term while the other was sentenced to 10 years in jail. A third was set free for lack of evidence against him, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share information with the media.

The officials said the two scanned the cellular telephones network in wide areas of Beirut and its southern suburbs that is home to Hezbollah’s headquarters using sophisticated equipment.

The officials said the two, who were detained last year, also supplied Israel with about 1,500 photographs from Beirut’s southern suburbs.