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UNHCR: Israel's Border Airstrikes Hindering Refugees Fleeing Lebanon for Syria

Displaced Syrians from Lebanon arrive in areas controlled by the Syrian opposition in northwestern Syria via the crossing Aoun al-Dadat north of Manbij with the Syrian Democratic Forces after a long displacement journey. Photo: Anas Alkharboutli/dpa
Displaced Syrians from Lebanon arrive in areas controlled by the Syrian opposition in northwestern Syria via the crossing Aoun al-Dadat north of Manbij with the Syrian Democratic Forces after a long displacement journey. Photo: Anas Alkharboutli/dpa
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UNHCR: Israel's Border Airstrikes Hindering Refugees Fleeing Lebanon for Syria

Displaced Syrians from Lebanon arrive in areas controlled by the Syrian opposition in northwestern Syria via the crossing Aoun al-Dadat north of Manbij with the Syrian Democratic Forces after a long displacement journey. Photo: Anas Alkharboutli/dpa
Displaced Syrians from Lebanon arrive in areas controlled by the Syrian opposition in northwestern Syria via the crossing Aoun al-Dadat north of Manbij with the Syrian Democratic Forces after a long displacement journey. Photo: Anas Alkharboutli/dpa

Israeli air strikes overnight on the main border crossing to Syria had left Lebanon's main crossing point to its neighbor unable to function, hindering refugee attempts to flee a country where a fifth of the population is already internally displaced, the UN's refugee agency said.
Rula Amin, the UNHCR's Amman-based spokesperson, said she was unaware of any warning being given before the strike, which landed 500 meters from the main border crossing, Reuters reported.
Some 430,000 people have crossed from Lebanon to Syria since Israel's campaign started, she said.
"The attacks on the border crossings are a major concern," she said. "They are blocking the path to safety for people fleeing conflict."

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Palestinians in Jenin Observe a General Strike

A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Palestinians in Jenin Observe a General Strike

A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Palestinians in the volatile northern West Bank town of Jenin are observing a general strike called by militant groups to protest a rare crackdown by Palestinian security forces.
An Associated Press reporter in Jenin heard gunfire and explosions, apparently from clashes between militants and Palestinian security forces. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded. There was no sign of Israeli troops in the area.
Shops were closed in the city on Monday, the day after militants killed a member of the Palestinian security forces and wounded two others.
Militant groups called for a general strike across the territory, accusing the security forces of trying to disarm them in support of Israel’s half-century occupation of the territory.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority is internationally recognized but deeply unpopular among Palestinians, in part because it cooperates with Israel on security matters. Israel accuses the authority of incitement and of failing to act against armed groups.
The Palestinian Authority blamed Sunday’s attack on “outlaws.” It says it is committed to maintaining law and order but will not police the occupation.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centers in the West Bank. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast War, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
Israel’s current government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and says it will maintain open-ended security control over the territory. Violence has soared in the West Bank following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there.