Israeli soldiers sit on top of a tank along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights from Syria, in the town of Majdal Shams
ISRAEL was condemned today for its invasion of Syria in the wake of the fall of its president, Bashar al-Assad, as the United States joined Tel Aviv in widespread bombing of targets within the country.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israeli forces have seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights, established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria.
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Stop the War vice-chairman Chris Nineham told the Morning Star: “We condemn the bombing of various sites in Syria.
“Not content with conducting genocide in Gaza, Israel, the US’s main ally in the Middle East, is contributing to the growing chaos and instability in the region.”
The Israeli army reinforces its ground forces as military mobility continues in Golan Heights, Israel on December 9, 2024 [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency]
Israel does not wish for stability in Syria and is attempting to take advantage of the current situation following the fall of President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime to expand its occupation of the country, adviser to the Syrian Prime Minister’s Office, Dr Abdelkader Azzouz, warned yesterday.
Speaking during a phone interview with Al Qahera News yesterday, Axzouz added that Israel is working to weaken Syria’s defensive capabilities, occupy more land, and extend its presence. These actions, he said, aim to challenge any future government or transitional authority.
He highlighted that the Israeli occupation seeks to impose a fait accompli policy to exploit the situation, emphasising that this matter is the responsibility of the international community.
“International law firmly opposes such actions, as they endanger global peace and security. It is imperative to counter occupation, aggression and the use of force, as these behaviours erode international law and weaken global institutions,” he added.
The Israeli army reinforces its ground forces as military mobility continues in Golan Heights, Israel on December 9, 2024 [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency]
Israel has seized more Syrian territory close to the occupied Golan Heights following the collapse of the Assad regime, citing potential threats Tel Aviv may face from the former rebels.
On Sunday, Syrian rebels conquered the capital, Damascus, concluding a rapid new offensive which saw the Syrian opposition capture numerous towns and major cities from Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, effectively ending almost 14 years of civil war and over five decades of the Assad dynasty’s rule.
Amid mixed messages and reactions from much of the international community, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated in a video that the collapse of the Assad regime and “the tyranny in Damascus” was a “historic day in the Middle East” which “offers great opportunity”, but claimed that it is also “fraught with significant dangers”.
Emphasising that the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria over Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights had “collapsed” due to the rebel takeover of the country, Netanyahu announced the Israeli military’s entering of the buffer zone and seizure of “commanding positions nearby”, calling the move a “temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found”.
Warning that Tel Aviv “will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border”, Netanyahu claimed that “if we can establish neighbourly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that’s our desire. But if we do not, we will do whatever it takes to defend the State of Israel and the border of Israel.”
A victim of an Israeli attack receives treatment inside Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on December 6, 2024. (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
“We have called on the world to protect both the healthcare system and its workers, yet we have not received any response from anyone globally,” said the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital.
The director of one of the few partially functioning hospitals in northern Gaza said Sunday that Israeli attacks have put the facility’s remaining patients—including more than a dozen children—in grave danger and pleaded with the international community to intervene.
“Following the recent attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital, which involved over 100 shells and bombs indiscriminately targeting the facility, the damage has been severe,” Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the hospital’s director, said in a statement. “As of now, one of the hospital buildings remains without electricity, oxygen, or water. The shelling continues to occur randomly in the vicinity, preventing us from conducting repairs on the oxygen, electricity, and water networks.”
Abu Safiya said the overwhelmed and under-resourced hospital is currently treating 112 wounded patients, including six people in intensive care and 14 children.
“This is a critical situation,” he said Sunday morning. “The bombardment and gunfire have not ceased; planes are dropping bombs around the clock. We are uncertain of what lies ahead and what the army wants from the hospital.”
“We have called on the world to protect both the healthcare system and its workers, yet we have not received any response from anyone globally,” Abu Safiya added. “This represents a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding against the healthcare workers and patients. Unfortunately, there seems to be no effort to halt this relentless assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital and the broader health system.”
The hospital director’s statement came after Israeli attacks near the facility killed scores of people on Friday. Photos taken from the scene showed bodies on the ground amid building ruins.
(Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
A day earlier, an Israeli airstrike on the Kamal Adwan Hospital compound killed a 16-year-old boy in a wheelchair and wounded a dozen others, The Associated Press reported.
According to Drop Site, the boy “was struck as he entered the X-ray department.”
Northern Gaza has been under intense Israeli assault for two months, and the humanitarian situation there and across the Palestinian enclave is worse than ever, according to U.N. agencies and aid organizations.
“The catastrophe in Gaza is nothing short of a complete breakdown of our common humanity,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “The nightmare must stop. We cannot continue to look away.”
Abu Safiya said Sunday that his hospital is facing outages of electricity and water amid Israel’s incessant attacks.
“We urgently appeal to the international community for assistance,” he said. “The situation is extremely dangerous.”
Palestinian girls struggle as they get donated food at a distribution center in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, December 6, 2024
MORE than 800 child health professionals have demanded Sir Keir Starmer put an end to Britain’s complicity in Israel’s war crimes.
In an open letter, paediatricians, doctors and academics called on the Prime Minister to end all arms export licences to Israel and impose immediate sanctions until it complies with international law.
“We continue to hear first-hand accounts, from British healthcare professionals, of the war crimes being committed by the Israeli Defence Forces, and the catastrophic health crisis affecting both the physical and mental health of children and their families,” the letter reads.
“As British citizens, how can we live to tell the tale to our children and grandchildren that we just watched innocent lives being lost?”
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According to Oxfam, more women and children have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli military over the past year than in any other conflict over the past two decades.
Israel’s bombing has targeted schools, hospitals and so-called “safe zones.”
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWREGenocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
