Ibis Blog

Category: NEWS

  • Doctors urge medical evacuations from war-torn Gaza to east Jerusalem

    Women injured during Israeli bombardment arrive at the emergency ward at Al-Nassr hospital in Khan Yunis, on the southern Gaza Strip on July 23, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (AFP)

    JERUSALEM — Medics and rights groups on Tuesday called for the immediate opening of a humanitarian corridor from Gaza to allow the urgent evacuation of patients to hospitals in east Jerusalem.

    Israel controls all points of departure from the Gaza Strip which has been battered by over a year of war between Israel and militants led by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

    Rare medical evacuations have been organized by international organizations or foreign countries in coordination with Israeli authorities.

    But amid mounting casualties from the war, the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network and Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) called for the immediate reopening of the Gaza to east Jerusalem medical corridor, estimating that about 25,000 patients in Gaza were in need of urgent care.

    Fadi Atrash, the director of the Augusta Victoria Hospital in east Jerusalem, said the reopening of the evacuation corridor “is essential to allow us to continue to provide vital treatments in hospitals in east Jerusalem, where we have both the space and the medical expertise.”

    Prior to the war, patients in Gaza who were in need of medical care unavailable in the Palestinian territory could be evacuated to hospitals in the Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem or the occupied West Bank, and in some cases in Israel.

    But since the Gaza war broke out last year, that mechanism has been defunct.

    During an exceptional evacuation of about 200 patients from Gaza in early November, the World Health Organization said about 14,000 people were awaiting medical evacuations.

    Days later, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said “Israeli authorities blocked, without explanation, the medical evacuation of eight children and their caretakers from Gaza who are in need of medical care, including a two-year-old with leg amputations, to the MSF hospital in Jordan.”

    “We strongly denounce this decision,” it said.

    On Tuesday, “31 patients and caregivers left Gaza” through the Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel, COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry agency managing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said.

    It added that the patients were to be transferred to Jordan and the United States for treatment.

    World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X that the 31 comprised 11 children with cancer awaiting treatment and 20 companions.

    “Thousands of patients across Gaza still need medical evacuations for life-saving medical care. We urge that all corridors be utilized for the safe transfer of patients outside the Gaza Strip,” he said.

    More than 105,000 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war erupted on October 7, 2023, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry which the United Nations deems reliable.

    Gaza’s health care system has largely been decimated by the war, with only a handful of medical facilities now able to provide care.

    AN-AFP

  • Utusan PBB Rusia tuduh Ukraine bantu militan di Syria

    Duta Besar Rusia ke PBB Vasily Nebenzya bercakap semasa mesyuarat Majlis Keselamatan PBB mengenai wanita serta keamanan dan keselamatan pada 3 Disember 2024, di ibu pejabat PBB di New York City. (AFP)

    BANGSA-BANGSA BERSATU, Amerika Syarikat – Duta Rusia ke Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) pada Selasa menuduh perkhidmatan perisikan Ukraine membantu militan yang memerangi kerajaan pemimpin Syria Bashar Assad, berkata beberapa pejuang “mempamerkan secara terbuka” persatuan itu.

    Militan yang bertempur dengan kumpulan radikal Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) “bukan sahaja tidak menyembunyikan fakta bahawa mereka disokong oleh Ukraine, tetapi mereka juga secara terbuka mempamerkan perkara ini,” Vassily Nebenzia memberitahu Majlis Keselamatan, mengatakan terdapat “yang boleh dikenal pasti. jejak” yang menunjukkan GUR Ukraine “menyediakan senjata kepada pejuang” di barat laut Syria.

    AN-AFP

  • Russia’s UN envoy accuses Ukraine of aiding militants in Syria

    Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya speaks during a UN Security Council meeting about Women and peace and security on December 03, 2024, at UN headquarters in New York City. (AFP)

    UNITED NATIONS, United States — Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday accused Ukrainian intelligence services of aiding militants fighting Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s government, saying some fighters were “openly flaunting” the association.

    Militants fighting with radical group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) “have not only not concealed the fact that they are supported by Ukraine, but they are also openly flaunting this,” Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council, saying there was an “identifiable trail” showing Ukraine’s GUR was “providing weapons to fighters” in northwest Syria.

    AN-AFP

  • Tentera Syria tingkat pertahanan di Hama di tengah-tengah kemaraan pemberontak ketika Aleppo bergelut dalam krisis kemanusiaan

    DAMSYIK — Tentera Syria menghantar bala bantuan besar ke Hama, bertujuan mengukuhkan pertahanan barisan hadapan ketika puak pemberontak mara di tengah Syria.

    Sementara itu, Aleppo menghadapi krisis kemanusiaan semakin meruncing berikutan ditawan pasukan pemberontak, menurut laporan daripada media kerajaan dan aktivis.

    Kementerian Pertahanan Syria pada Selasa mengumumkan tentera tambahan telah dikerahkan ke kawasan luar bandar utara Hama, medan pertempuran kritikal antara tentera kerajaan dan Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), kumpulan yang dikaitkan dengan al-Qaida, dan sekutunya. Militan, yang menawan Aleppo minggu lalu, telah meningkatkan serangan mereka ke arah Hama di barat-tengah Syria, meningkatkan konflik.

    Penyiar pro-kerajaan Sham FM menafikan laporan bahawa tentera HTS telah memasuki Hama, dengan menyatakan bahawa pertempuran sedang berlaku 8 km timur laut bandar itu. Penyiar itu menambah bahawa bala bantuan terus mengalir ke kawasan itu untuk menangkis kemaraan pemberontak.

    Bagaimanapun, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, sebuah kumpulan pemantau berpangkalan di Britain, melaporkan bahawa HTS dan puak bersekutu sedang mara dari pelbagai arah, mengetatkan cengkaman mereka di bandar itu.

    Ia juga menyatakan serangan udara Rusia dan Syria menyasarkan kedudukan pemberontak di seluruh Hama, tenggara Aleppo, dan gurun Badia.

    Di wilayah Deir el-Zour, timur Syria, pertempuran sengit meletus antara tentera kerajaan dan Pasukan Demokratik Syria (SDF) diketuai Kurdish, disokong oleh pakatan diketuai AS.

    Menurut Observatory, pesawat perang AS melakukan serangan udara dekat pangkalan udara tentera di Deir al-Zour, membunuh enam askar dari Pengawal Republikan elit tentera Syria.

    Walaupun pertempuran sengit dan serangan udara gabungan, SDF hanya memperoleh keuntungan terhad dalam menawan kampung strategik, kata Observatory.

    Di Aleppo, keadaan kemanusiaan telah mencapai tahap kritikal. Perkhidmatan dan infrastruktur penting telah runtuh sejak wilayah itu jatuh ke tangan pasukan pemberontak pada Jumaat.

    Beribu-ribu penduduk yang berpindah dari pekan Nubl dan Zahraa didominasi Syiah kekal terkandas di al-Safira, menghadapi suhu beku dan tempat tinggal yang tidak mencukupi.

    Sham FM melaporkan kira-kira 2,000 individu terperangkap tanpa koridor selamat untuk melarikan diri dari kawasan yang dikawal pemberontak. Hospital utama, termasuk Zahi Azraq, al-Razi, dan Ibn Rushd, rosak teruk atau tidak beroperasi.

    “Kakitangan perubatan melakukan yang terbaik untuk bertindak balas terhadap kecemasan walaupun kekurangan peralatan,” kata sumber kepada Sham FM.
    Berpuluh-puluh orang awam cedera masih terkandas di Aleppo, tidak dapat mengakses laluan pemindahan selamat.

    Tambah kecoh, penduduk melaporkan pencerobohan rumah oleh kumpulan bersenjata yang tidak dikenali merompak barang berharga dengan alasan pemeriksaan. Pertubuhan masyarakat sivil menggesa penduduk supaya memastikan keselamatan kediaman mereka dan mengelakkan interaksi dengan puak bersenjata. Gangguan komunikasi dan penutupan perkhidmatan kewangan melumpuhkan lagi bandar itu.

    Agensi kemanusiaan berlumba dengan masa untuk menangani kekurangan makanan, bekalan perubatan dan keperluan. Usaha untuk memulihkan air dan elektrik secara berselang-seli serta mengagihkan roti telah memberikan sedikit kelegaan, tetapi keadaan keseluruhannya masih teruk.

    “Keadaan di Aleppo memerlukan campur tangan segera oleh Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu untuk mengelakkan malapetaka kemanusiaan,” kata Observatory, meminta perhatian global terhadap konflik yang semakin meningkat di Deir el-Zour dan Hama.

    Ia memberi amaran bahawa pertempuran berterusan boleh membawa kepada ketidakstabilan lebih lanjut ketika puak pesaing bersaing untuk wilayah strategik.

    XINHUA

  • Roundup: Syrian military bolsters defenses in Hama amid rebel advances as Aleppo reels in humanitarian crisis

    DAMASCUS — The Syrian military has sent significant reinforcements to Hama, aiming to strengthen front-line defenses as rebel factions advance in central Syria. Meanwhile, Aleppo faces a deepening humanitarian crisis following its capture by rebel forces, according to reports from state media and activists.

    The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday that additional troops have been deployed to the northern countryside of Hama, a critical battleground between government forces and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an al-Qaida-linked group, and its allies. The militants, who seized Aleppo last week, have intensified their offensive toward Hama in west-central Syria, escalating the conflict.

    Pro-government broadcaster Sham FM denied reports that HTS forces had entered Hama, stating that clashes were ongoing 8 km northeast of the city. The broadcaster added that reinforcements continued to pour into the area to repel the rebel advance.

    However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, reported that HTS and allied factions were advancing from multiple directions, tightening their grip on the city.

    It also noted that Russian and Syrian airstrikes targeted rebel positions across Hama, southeastern Aleppo, and the Badia desert.

    In Deir el-Zour province, eastern Syria, heavy fighting erupted between government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the U.S.-led coalition.

    According to the Observatory, U.S. warplanes conducted airstrikes near a military air base in Deir al-Zour, killing six soldiers from the Syrian army’s elite Republican Guard.

    Despite intense clashes and coalition airstrikes, the SDF has made only limited gains in capturing strategic villages, the Observatory said.

    In Aleppo, the humanitarian situation has reached a critical point. Essential services and infrastructure have collapsed since the province fell to rebel forces on Friday.

    Thousands of displaced residents from the predominantly Shiite towns of Nubl and Zahraa remain stranded in al-Safira, facing freezing temperatures and insufficient shelter.

    Sham FM reported that approximately 2,000 individuals are trapped without safe corridors to escape rebel-controlled areas. Key hospitals, including Zahi Azraq, al-Razi, and Ibn Rushd, have been severely damaged or rendered non-operational.

    “Medical staff are doing their utmost to respond to emergencies despite equipment shortages,” a source told Sham FM. Dozens of injured civilians remain stranded in Aleppo, unable to access secure evacuation routes.

    Adding to the turmoil, residents have reported home invasions by unidentified armed groups looting valuables under the pretext of inspections. Civil society organizations have urged residents to secure their homes and avoid interactions with armed factions. Communication blackouts and the shutdown of financial services have further paralyzed the city.

    Humanitarian agencies are racing against time to address shortages of food, medical supplies, and necessities. Efforts to restore water and electricity intermittently and distribute bread have provided some relief, but the overall situation remains dire.

    “The situation in Aleppo requires urgent intervention by the United Nations to avert a humanitarian catastrophe,” the Observatory stated, calling for global attention to the escalating conflicts in Deir el-Zour and Hama. It warned that the continued fighting could lead to further destabilization as rival factions vie for strategic territories.

    XINHUA

  • 1 terbunuh ketika Israel lancar serangan udara baru ke atas selatan Lubnan di tengah-tengah gencatan senjata yang rapuh

    BEIRUT — Israel pada Selasa melancarkan serangan udara ke atas bandar Shebaa di selatan Lubnan, membunuh seorang, dalam apa yang disifatkan media Lubnan sebagai pencabulan gencatan senjata yang baru dicapai dengan Hizbullah.

    Agensi Berita Nasional Lubnan (NNA) melaporkan peluru berpandu yang dilepaskan oleh dron Israel membunuh seorang gembala bernama Jamal Mohammad Saab.

    NNA juga berkata tentera Israel melakukan letupan besar di kawasan antara kampung Mhaibib dan daerah Wadi Saluki dan melakukan serangan dron dekat Deir Siryan, sebuah perbandaran di Marjeyoun, dan kampung Beit Lif, semuanya terletak di selatan Lubnan.

    Sebuah kereta kebal Merkava Israel dilaporkan menyeberang dari kawasan Tal Nahas ke dalam segitiga Deir Mimas-Burj al-Moulouk-Kfarkela, berhenti kira-kira 200 meter dari pusat pemeriksaan tentera Lubnan di kampung Burj al-Muluk, menurut NNA.

    Sebagai tindak balas kepada ketegangan semakin memuncak, tentera Lubnan mengerahkan askar tambahan ke bandar Tirus dan kawasan sekitarnya sebagai sebahagian daripada usaha penempatan semula yang lebih meluas di selatan Lubnan, khususnya di perkampungan sempadan, kata NNA.

    Kementerian Pertahanan Lubnan juga mengumumkan gesaan supaya rekrut baharu menyertai unit tempur dalam angkatan tentera.

    Terdahulu pada Selasa, Israel memberi amaran ia akan memperluaskan operasi ketenteraannya untuk memasukkan sasaran yang dikaitkan dengan negara Lubnan jika gencatan senjata dengan Hizbullah runtuh.

    Amaran itu dibuat selepas Hizbullah melancarkan dua mortar ke kawasan sempadan yang dipertikaikan pada Isnin, menuduh Israel berulang kali melanggar gencatan senjata.

    Israel bertindak balas dengan serangan udara di lebih 20 lokasi di Lubnan.

    Gencatan senjata, yang berkuat kuasa pada 27 November, bertujuan untuk menghentikan keganasan rentas sempadan antara Hizbullah dan Israel yang tercetus pada 8 Okt.
    Bagaimanapun, ketegangan kekal tinggi, dengan kedua-dua pihak menuduh antara satu sama lain melanggar perjanjian yang rapuh itu.

    XINHUA

  • 1 killed as Israel launches fresh airstrike on S. Lebanon amid fragile truce

    BEIRUT — Israel on Tuesday launched an airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Shebaa, killing one person, in what Lebanese media described as a violation of a newly-reached ceasefire with Hezbollah.

    The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported that a missile fired by an Israeli drone killed a shepherd named Jamal Mohammad Saab. The NNA also said Israeli forces conducted heavy explosions in the area between the village of Mhaibib and the Wadi Saluki district and carried out drone strikes near Deir Siryan, a municipality in Marjeyoun, and the village of Beit Lif, all located in southern Lebanon.

    An Israeli Merkava tank reportedly crossed from the Tal Nahas area into the Deir Mimas-Burj al-Moulouk-Kfarkela triangle, stopping approximately 200 meters from a Lebanese army checkpoint in the village of Burj al-Muluk, according to the NNA.

    In response to escalating tensions, the Lebanese army deployed additional soldiers to the city of Tyre and surrounding areas as part of a broader redeployment effort in southern Lebanon, particularly in border villages, the NNA said. The Lebanese Defense Ministry also announced a call for new recruits to join combat units in the armed forces.

    Earlier on Tuesday, Israel warned it would expand its military operations to include targets linked to the Lebanese state if the ceasefire with Hezbollah collapses. The warning came after Hezbollah launched two mortars into a disputed border area on Monday, accusing Israel of repeated violations of the truce. Israel retaliated with airstrikes on more than 20 locations across Lebanon.

    The ceasefire, which took effect on Nov. 27, was intended to halt cross-border violence between Hezbollah and Israel that erupted on Oct. 8. However, tensions remain high, with both sides accusing each other of breaching the fragile agreement.

    XINHUA

  • Gempa bumi 5.7 magnitud di Pagudpud, Filipina

    NEW YORK — Gempa bumi dengan magnitud 5.7 menggegarkan Pagudpud, Filipina pada 18:54:45 GMT Selasa, kata Kajian Geologi AS (USGS).

    Pusat gempa bumi, dengan kedalaman 70.0 km, pada mulanya ditentukan pada 18.50 darjah lintang utara dan 120.90 darjah bujur timur.

    XINHUA

  • 5.7-magnitude quake hits 13 km ESE of Pagudpud, Philippines

    NEW YORK — An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 jolted 13 km ESE of Pagudpud, Philippines at 18:54:45 GMT on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

    The epicenter, with a depth of 70.0 km, was initially determined to be at 18.50 degrees north latitude and 120.90 degrees east longitude.

    XINHUA

  • Lubnan minta AS, Perancis desak Israel hentikan pelanggaran gencatan senjata, kata sumber

    BEIRUT — Pegawai tertinggi Lubnan menggesa Washington dan Paris mendesak Israel supaya menegakkan gencatan senjata, selepas berpuluh-puluh operasi ketenteraan di bumi Lubnan yang dianggap sebagai pelanggaran oleh Beirut, dua sumber politik kanan Lubnan memberitahu Reuters pada Selasa.

    Serangan maut Israel di selatan Lubnan dan pelancaran roket Hizbullah ke atas pos tentera Israel pada Isnin telah meletakkan gencatan senjata ditengahi Amerika Syarikat (AS) antara kedua-duanya dalam kedudukan yang semakin rapuh kurang daripada seminggu selepas ia berkuat kuasa.

    Perdana Menteri sementara Lubnan Najib Mikati dan Speaker Parlimen Nabih Berri, sekutu rapat Hizbullah yang merundingkan perjanjian itu bagi pihak Lubnan, bercakap kepada pegawai di Rumah Putih dan presidensi Perancis lewat Isnin dan menyatakan kebimbangan mengenai keadaan gencatan senjata, sumber itu berkata.

    Presidensi Perancis mahupun kementerian luar tidak bersedia untuk mengulas.

    Menteri Luar Perancis Jean-Noel Barrot bercakap dengan rakan sejawatannya dari Israel Gideon Saar pada Isnin, berkata kedua-dua pihak harus mematuhi gencatan senjata.

    Jurucakap Jabatan Negara AS Matt Miller memberitahu wartawan pada Isnin bahawa gencatan senjata “bertahan” dan bahawa AS telah “menjangkakan bahawa mungkin terdapat pelanggaran.”

    Gencatan senjata itu berkuat kuasa pada 27 November dan melarang Israel daripada menjalankan operasi ketenteraan ofensif di Lubnan sambil memerlukan Lubnan menghalang kumpulan bersenjata, termasuk Hizbullah, daripada melancarkan serangan ke atas Israel. Ia memberi tentera Israel 60 hari untuk berundur dari selatan Lubnan.

    Mekanisme pemantauan dipengerusikan oleh Amerika Syarikat ditugaskan untuk memantau, mengesahkan dan membantu menguatkuasakan gencatan senjata, tetapi ia masih belum mula berfungsi.

    Berri pada Isnin menggesanya untuk “segera” memastikan Israel menghentikan pelanggarannya, mengatakan Beirut telah mencatatkan sekurang-kurangnya 54 pelanggaran gencatan senjata Israel setakat ini.

    Israel berkata aktiviti ketenteraannya yang berterusan di Lubnan bertujuan untuk menguatkuasakan gencatan senjata dan tidak melanggar kewajipannya di bawah gencatan senjata.

    Mikati pada Isnin bertemu di Beirut dengan Jeneral AS Jasper Jeffers, yang akan mempengerusikan jawatankuasa pemantauan, dan menekankan keperluan untuk tentera Israel berundur dengan pantas.

    Dua sumber yang mengetahui perkara itu memberitahu Reuters bahawa wakil Perancis kepada jawatankuasa itu, Jeneral Guillaume Ponchin, akan tiba di Beirut pada Rabu dan jawatankuasa itu akan mengadakan mesyuarat pertamanya pada Khamis.

    “Terdapat keperluan mendesak untuk memuktamadkan mekanisme itu, jika tidak, ia akan terlambat,” kata sumber itu, merujuk kepada serangan Israel secara beransur-ansur walaupun gencatan senjata.

    Miller berkata mekanisme pemantauan itu akan memulakan kerjanya “dalam beberapa hari akan datang.”

    Sekurang-kurangnya 12 orang terbunuh dalam serangan Israel ke atas Lubnan pada Isnin, kata pihak berkuasa Lubnan, dalam hari paling maut sejak gencatan senjata berkuat kuasa.

    Mereka termasuk enam orang di bandar selatan Hariss dan empat orang lagi di bandar selatan Taloussa, menurut kementerian kesihatan Lubnan.

    AN-REUTERS