Skip next section Israel launches deadly strikes on Syria
03/25/2025March 25, 2025
Israel launches deadly strikes on Syria
A number of people were killed in after Israel launched fresh strikes on Tuesday.
Local authorities in the southern Syrian province of Daraa said that “five people killed in the Israeli bombardment of the town of Kuwayya,” close to the UN-controlled an area that belongs to Syria but serves as a buffer zone. Syria’s state news agency SANA, meanwhile, put the death toll at four.
UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an “Israeli military unit” entered the town and fired heavy artillery at residents who were attempting to resist their incursion.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it “identified several terrorists who opened fire toward them in southern Syria” and that Israeli forces “returned fire in response.”
Separately, the Israeli military said it also ” that remained at the Syrian military bases of Tadmur and T4″ — referring to two military installations in and around the city of Palmyra.
https://p.dw.com/p/4sEcp
Skip next section German ambassador to Israel criticizes detention of journalist
03/25/2025March 25, 2025
German ambassador to Israel criticizes detention of journalist
Germany’s ambassador to Israel said he was “worried” after a German newspaper journalist was detained in the late last week.
On Tuesday, ambassador said the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s Middle East correspondent Christian Meier faced “unjustified detention” last week in the Palestinian territory.
“Extremist settlers had harassed him and his group,” Seibert said, adding that “it is not journalists who disturb the peace.”
Meier was held in the West Bank on Friday and only released after several hours in custody, according to his newspaper.
In a statement to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the German Foreign Office said it “condemns the completely unfounded and unlawful detention.”
Press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders called the incident an “unacceptable and arbitrary encroachment on the freedom of the press.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4sF0p
Skip next section ‘No Other Land’ co-director Hamdan Ballal released from Israeli custody
03/25/2025March 25, 2025
‘No Other Land’ co-director Hamdan Ballal released from Israeli custody
Oscar-winning Palestinian director Hamdan Ballal was released from custody by the Israeli army on Tuesday, after he was in the West Bank.
Ballal co-directed the documentary “No Other Land” alongside one other Palestinian director and two Israeli directors. The film at the 97th Academy Awards in Los Angeles as well as best documentary at the last year, among other prizes.
He was visiting the village of Susiya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Monday when he was attacked by a group of Israeli settlers and then detained by the Israeli military.
“After being handcuffed all night and beaten in a military base, Hamdan Ballal is now free and is about to go home to his family,” Israeli co-director Yuval Abraham said on Tuesday.
Ballal’s lawyer, Lea Tsemel, said he and the other two detained Palestinians spent the night on the floor of a military base while receiving only minimal care for their injuries from the attack.
Associated Press journalists who were at the scene reported afterwards that Ballal had bruises on his face and blood on his clothes as he was taken to hospital in Hebron.
https://p.dw.com/p/4sErq
Skip next section UN to cut international staff in Gaza by a third amid safety concerns
03/25/2025March 25, 2025
UN to cut international staff in Gaza by a third amid safety concerns
The United Nations said on Tuesday it would try to reduce its international staff in Gaza by a third over safety concerns.
“This is really because the secretary-general doesn’t have the power of guaranteeing the safety of UN staff,” UN spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci told a press briefing in Geneva.
Around 30 people would be affected from UN agencies including the World Food Program, the and the UN children’s agency UNICEF, she said.
The move comes after Israel resumed strikes on Gaza. At least 792 people were killed in the past week, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. Although Israel has cast doubt on death toll figures from Gaza health officials, international bodies such as the UN view them as broadly reliable.
https://p.dw.com/p/4sE5s
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage03/25/2025March 25, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
Zac Crellin | Wesley Dockery
Today, we are reporting on Israeli strike in as well as the impact of Israeli attacks on .
The said it would reduce its international staff in Gaza by around a third due to security concerns.
Israel has resumed strikes on Gaza — where there had previously been a ceasefire — with more than 700 Palestinians reportedly killed in the past week.
https://p.dw.com/p/4sEdg
The post Middle East updates: UN to reduce staff in Gaza over safety appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
