As Israeli aggression in Gaza, Lebanon, and Post-Assad Syria deepens human suffering and regional instability, and amid growing international calls for ceasefires and de-escalation, Ahram Online covered the latest developments in the Middle East as they unfolded on Friday, 20 December.
16:20 Palestinian group Hamas released a statement marking International Human Solidarity Day, calling for intensified pressure on Israel to halt its terrorism against Gaza and to strengthen global solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The statement highlighted the significance of International Human Solidarity Day, observed annually on 20 December by the UN General Assembly, to underscore the "extent of the crimes and the war of genocide committed by the Zionist occupation (Israeli) against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip" over the past 441 days.
It urged the international community to fulfil its political, legal, moral, and humanitarian responsibilities to stop the "brutal aggression" it described as unparalleled in modern history for its "brutality, sadism, and terrorism."
Hamas emphasized four points in its statement marking International Human Solidarity Day:
First, human solidarity with the Palestinian people, their just cause, and the support for their legitimate rights is a badge of honour on the chest of everyone who advocates for it and stands against the plans of the occupation and its backers in light of the Zionist aggression on Gaza and all occupied Palestinian territory.
Second, we call to put pressure by all means on the Zionist occupation to stop its aggression and the crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement that have been taking place against our Palestinian people in Gaza for over 15 months.
Third, the responsibility of criminalizing the Zionist entity's aggression, along with prosecuting its leaders for their crimes against our people, is a shared responsibility on the shoulders of the international community, our Islamic Ummah, the UN and all its agencies, and the free peoples of the world, to take serious action towards ending the aggression and enabling our people to obtain their legitimate rights.
Fourth, we call for the intensification of all forms of solidarity actions with our people and their just cause in the capitals, cities, and squares worldwide and to solidify human solidarity with our people in Gaza, who are being subjected to the most heinous crimes and horrific massacres, until the Zionist aggression ends.
Palestinians stand in wait for a food portion at a distribution centre south of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP
People mourn over the bodies of loved ones killed during an Israeli strike at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital, in Gaza City. AFP
16:50 The delegation of US diplomats visiting Syria had a "positive" meeting on Friday with the country's new ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a Syrian official told AFP.
"The meeting took place, and it was positive. And the results will be positive, God willing," the official said on condition of anonymity.
16:30 American forces killed an Islamic State (IS) group leader in an air strike in Syria, the US military said.
The strike took place the previous day in Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria, killing a leader known as "Abu Yusif" and another of the group's operatives, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media.
16:00 A report in Haaretz, a left-leaning Israeli newspaper, accuses IDF troops of randomly killing Gaza civilians, according to the Guardian.
Haaretz, citing testimony from anonymous soldiers in Gaza, described the indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians in the territory’s Netzarim Corridor.
Soldiers told Haaretz they received orders to fire on “anyone who enters” Netzarim.
“Anyone crossing the line is a terrorist – no exceptions, no civilians. Everyone’s a terrorist,” a soldier quoted a battalion commander as saying.
In a statement to AFP, the military rejected the accusations: “All activities and operations conducted by (Israeli army) forces in the Gaza Strip, including in the Netzarim Corridor, are carried out per structured combat procedures, plans and operational orders approved by the highest ranks in the (army).
“All strikes in the area (of Netzarim) are conducted under the mandatory procedures and protocols, including targets that are struck in an urgent time frame due to essential operational circumstances where ground forces face immediate threats.
“Incidents that give rise to concerns of deviations from IDF’s orders or ethical standards are thoroughly examined and addressed.”
Many of the soldiers quoted by Haaretz referred to Brig Gen Yehuda Vach, who took charge of Division 252, based in Netzarim, last summer.
One of the soldiers said of Vach that “his worldview and political positions were clearly driving his operational decisions.”
Another claimed Vach said: “There are no innocents in Gaza.”
The military told AFP that the “statements attributed to him … were not made by him.”
“Any claim asserting otherwise is entirely baseless.”
15:00 Gaza's health ministry said that 77 people have died and 174 others arrived at hospitals during the past 24 hours as a result of the ongoing Israeli assault on the territory.
The latest toll includes five children and 12 others who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Shaaban Rais School sheltering displaced people on Thursday, as well as five people who were killed in Maghazi refugee camp in Deir al-Balah early Thursday.
Officials said some people remained under rubble and on roads where an ambulance and civil defence crews could not reach them.
The ministry said the latest death toll brings the total of deaths in Gaza to 45,206 since the Israeli war on Gaza began in October 2023. The UN rights office says the figures are reliable and that most of the dead are women and children.
14:40 Quds News Network posted on X footage of Israeli soldiers documenting the destruction they have unleashed in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, in what has been described by the UN and many other organizations as “ethnic cleansing.”
Halfway through the video, an Israeli flag is seen flying atop the remains of a building.
The footage came as Israel faced fresh accusations on Thursday of carrying out "ethnic cleansing" in its 14-month-long war on Gaza.
In a new report, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) accused Israel of causing widespread devastation in Gaza and highlighted "signs of ethnic cleansing" in the northern part of the Palestinian territory.
In a separate report last month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Israel's repeated evacuation orders in Gaza amount to the "war crime of forcible transfer" and meet the definition of "ethnic cleansing" in parts of the Palestinian territory.
The HRW report pointed in particular to the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors, running along the Egyptian border and cutting Gaza along its east-west axis, respectively, which have been "razed, extended, and cleared" by Israel's army to create buffer zones and security corridors.
The report excludes developments in the war since August 2024, particularly an intense Israeli assault in northern Gaza since early October 2024.
The Israeli assault has forced the displacement of at least 100,000 people from the Palestinian territory's far north to Gaza City and surrounding areas, UN Palestinian refugee agency spokeswoman Louise Wateridge told AFP.
Ragheb al-Rubaiya, a 63-year-old Palestinian from north Gaza's Jabalia Camp, said to AFP that he had been driven from his home after "bombing started from the air and the tanks, and they drove us out against our will."
"They're destroying everything in Jabalia, and the goal is clear even to the blind: to wipe out the north and cut it off from Gaza," he added.
HRW's report argued that "the actions of the Israeli authorities in Gaza are the actions of one ethnic or religious group to remove Palestinians, another ethnic or religious group, from areas within Gaza by violent means."
It pointed to the organized nature of the displacement and the intention of Israeli forces to ensure affected areas will "remain permanently emptied and cleansed of Palestinians."
According to the United Nations, 1.9 million Palestinians were displaced in Gaza as of October 2024. Before the start of the war on 7 October 2023, the official population figure for the territory was 2.4 million inhabitants.
14:25 A planned press conference by a delegation of US diplomats visiting Syria's capital on Friday was "cancelled due to security concerns", an official with the US embassy said.
The delegation, which includes Barbara Leaf, the top State Department official for the Middle East, was in Damascus to meet with the country's new authorities following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. The embassy official, Rana Hassan, did not say whether the diplomats had met with the country's new ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
14:15 Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) expressed disappointment following Sweden’s decision to halt funding for the relief agency, stressing that it comes “at the worst time for Palestine refugees.”
The Swedish government’s decision to stop funding UNRWA in 2025 is deeply disappointing, Lazzarini said in a post on X. “This is a sad day for Palestine refugees and the multilateral system which Sweden has spearheaded.”
“Defunding UNRWA now will undermine decades of Sweden’s investment in human development including by denying access to education for hundreds of thousands of girls and boys across the region,” he said.
Lazzarini warned that the decision came just one day after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution supporting UNRWA and when UNRWA was facing “unprecedented politically driven attacks.”
According to Lazzarini, the attacks on UNRWA aim to strip Palestinians of their refugee status, and the halt of funding will only double the suffering of Palestinians under Israel’s war on Gaza.
“For the people of Gaza, this decision will double their suffering endured over the past 14 months… I hope the Government of Sweden will reconsider its decision and pursue its longstanding solidarity by investing in both a political solution and the human development of Palestine refugees through UNRWA.”
Earlier this month, The UN General Assembly demanded that Israel respect the agency’s mandate and “enable its operations to proceed without impediment or restriction.”
14:00 Since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza on October 2023, Israelis are increasingly moving out of the country, the Associated Press reported.
Israeli government statistics estimate that 40,600 people fled the country during the first seven months of the year, a 59 percent increase over the same period in 2023. Conversely, 33,000 people have moved to Israel since the Israeli war on Gaza began.
According to Sergio DellaPergola, a statistician and emeritus at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, emigration from Israel (people leaving the country) is expected to surpass immigration to Israel in 2024.
13:30 The Swedish government says it is ending its “core support” for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The Swedish government said that 800 million kronor ($72.4 million) being allocated for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the region next year will go through the channels of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the government’s support for other agencies such as the World Food Program, the UN Children’s Fund, the UN Population Fund and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Sweden’s minister for international development cooperation and foreign trade, Benjamin Dousa, posted on X that the Israeli decision will make much of UNRWA’s work difficult or impossible.
He said that Swedish aid must arrive and not get stuck in a bank account en route and that the Israeli parliament’s decision forces it to pass on support to other organizations. Dousa added that UNRWA is undergoing a crisis of confidence.
Sweden provided 451 million kronor to UNRWA this year. The relief agency is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member States.
Earlier this month, The UN General Assembly demanded that Israel respect the agency’s mandate and “enable its operations to proceed without impediment or restriction”.
13:15 An American delegation arrives for a meeting with the head of the coalition in power in Syria at a hotel in Damascus that the country's new authorities are using as their headquarters.
US diplomats have not been to Damascus on a formal mission since the early days of the civil war that erupted after former president Bashar al-Assad cracked down on anti-government protests in 2011.
The diplomats pulled up in a convoy of Jordanian-registered 4x4s flying the American flag for their sit-down with Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is classified as a terrorist organisation by the United States.
Cars belonging to the US delegation exit a hotel in Damascus. AFP
They will speak with Syrians about "their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them," a State Department spokesperson said.
HTS, which is rooted in Al-Qaeda's Syria branch, led the lightning offensive that forced former president Bashar al-Assad's departure this month following years of stalemate in Syria's civil war.
The trip comes a week after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States had been in direct contact with HTS as he toured Syria's neighbours.
13:00 German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned against the threat of "new violence" in Kurdish-held northern areas of Syria as she left for a visit to neighbouring Turkey on Friday.
"Those who want peace in the region must not undermine the territorial integrity of Syria," she said in a statement.
Syria's future is "hanging by a thread", said Baerbock, who was set to meet her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan as well as members of the large Syrian refugee community on her one-day visit.
Before leaving Berlin, Baerbock said that people in the Kurdish-held northern Syrian border town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, were "holding their breath again" in fear of "new violence".
Turkey has thousands of troops in northern Syria and also backs a proxy force there, which has engaged in ongoing clashes with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed and Kurdish-led force.
The SDF on Thursday accused Turkey and allied fighters of not respecting a ceasefire around the northern town of Manbij and encouraged residents to "take up arms against the (Turkish) occupation."
Also on Thursday, thousands of people in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli demonstrated in support of the SDF and chanted against "Turkey's attack" in the region.
Baerbock said that Syria's reconstruction and the return of refugees "can only work if people have no more fear of persecution."
"This should also be in the interest of the Turkish government, as more than three million Syrian refugees live in Turkey."
She warned that Syria must not become "the plaything of foreign powers or an experiment for radical forces."
Germany has also urged Israel to abandon plans to step up settlement in the occupied and annexed Golan Heights at the southwestern edge of Syria.
Israel illegally occupied the demilitarised zone there following the toppling of Assad and launched hundreds of strikes on Syria to destroy the former government's military assets.
12:40 Palestinian officials reported that Israeli settlers had set fire to a mosque in the occupied West Bank, an act Israeli police said was under investigation.
According to Abdallah Kamil, the governor of Salfit, the attack targeted the Bir al-Walidain mosque in the village of Marda.
"A group of settlers carried out an attack early this morning by setting fire to the mosque," Kamil said in a statement.
In addition to the arson, the settlers vandalised the mosque's walls with "racist graffiti" in Hebrew, he said.
Photographs shared on social media showed slogans spray-painted in black, including "Death to Arabs."
Villagers of Marda confirmed the details, with one resident telling AFP: "They set fire to the entrance of the mosque and wrote Hebrew slogans on its walls."
Another resident said the fire was extinguished before engulfing the entire structure.
An AFP photographer at the scene saw villagers gathering at the mosque to assess the extent of the damage.
Governor Kamil said that settlers had previously entered the village "under the protection of the Israeli army" and that similar acts of vandalism and graffiti had been reported in nearby areas.
The Palestinian foreign ministry in Ramallah condemned the incident, calling it a "blatant act of racism" and a reflection of the " widespread incitement campaigns against our people carried out by elements of the extremist right-wing ruling government" of Israel.
12:30 The raft of international sanctions on Syria must be reassessed to help the country rebuild following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, the head of the UN's migration agency said.
Amy Pope also said Syria's women must be empowered to play a full role in building a new society and bringing stability to the shattered nation.
"In terms of the sanctions, we really are talking about all the sanctions: UN sanctions, US sanctions, other sanctions," said International Organization for Migration chief Pope after visiting the country.
"You can see that across the board the sanctions have had quite a significant effect, especially on vulnerable populations. So to rebuild the situation, there will be a need to re-evaluate those sanctions," she told a press conference in Geneva.
"People do not have access to credit. They are very much reliant on cash.
"The salaries that people are getting for work are extremely low."
The ousting of Assad ended decades of abuses and years of civil war. Still, it has raised concerns about the rights of minorities, as well as women, and the future of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
On Thursday, hundreds of demonstrators in Damascus demanded democracy and women's rights in the first such protest since Assad's departure.
"We... are strongly urging the caretaker government to continue to empower and enable women, because they are going to be absolutely critical to the rebuilding of the country," Pope said.
A rebel fighter addresses Syrians attending a gathering to call for democracy and women's rights in Damascus' Umayyad Square. AFP
11:00 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested that Turkey could intervene in northern Syria to eliminate what he said are threats to its security posed by Syrian Kurdish groups.
His statement to a group of journalists late Thursday comes amid reports of fighting between Turkish-backed fighters and the US-backed, Kurdish-led force in northern Syria, near the border town of Kobani and the Tishrin dam on the Euphrates River.
“We will show that the time has come to neutralize the terrorist organizations present in Syria,” Erdogan said, according to a transcript of his remarks that was made available on Friday. “We will do this to prevent any further threats from the south of our borders.”
Earlier this week, the SDF said US-led mediation efforts failed to reach a permanent truce in Syria’s north.
“The end of the road for the terrorist organizations is near,” Erdogan said. “There is no room for terrorists in the future of the region. The shelf life of the PKK terrorist organization and its extensions has run out.”
Erdogan said by securing the border area in Syria, Turkey would also prevent the PKK from recruiting militants.
The Turkish leader, meanwhile, welcomed the fact that many countries were establishing contact with Syria’s new leaders, saying it was “a sign of trust” in the new administration. He said Turkey would assist the country in establishing new “state structures.”
Erdogan added that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would travel to Syria soon.
10:00 A journalists' association says two journalists working for Kurdish media outlets were killed in northern Syria while covering fighting between Turkish-backed militants and Syrian Kurdish militia.
Turkey-based Dicle-Firat Journalists Association said Friday that Nazim Dastan and Cihan Bilgin were killed Thursday after their vehicle was reportedly targeted by a Turkish drone on a road near the Tishrin Dam.
Tishrin Dam, located some 90 kilometres east of Aleppo, has been the scene of clashes between the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, and the Turkey-backed opposition forces.
There was no immediate comment from Turkish officials.
Bianet, a news website dedicated to human rights issues, said Bilgin was a Kurdish Hawar News Agency reporter. At the same time, Dastan worked as a freelance journalist for the Firat News Agency, which is associated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group.
Turkey considers the SDF as a terrorist organization because its main component is a group aligned with the PKK. The group has been engaged in an armed struggle against the Turkish state since the 1980s in pursuit of its objective to secure autonomy for Kurds in the country.
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