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China says ‘shocked’ by Israel strike on Gaza hospital

China says ‘shocked’ by Israel strike on Gaza hospital
People mourn over the bodies of Palestinian journalists Moaz Abu Taha, left, Hussam Al-Masri, center, and Mohamed Salama, who were killed in an Israeli strike on Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Aug. 25, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 36 min 14 sec ago

China says ‘shocked’ by Israel strike on Gaza hospital

China says ‘shocked’ by Israel strike on Gaza hospital
  • Foreign ministry spokesman: ‘We are shocked and condemn the fact that medical personnel and journalists have once again unfortunately lost their lives in the conflict’

BEIJING: China said on Tuesday it was “shocked” by an Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital in which five journalists were among at least 20 people killed.
“We are shocked and condemn the fact that medical personnel and journalists have once again unfortunately lost their lives in the conflict,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said when asked about the strikes.
“We express our condolences to the victims and our sympathies to their families.”
Reuters, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera all issued statements mourning their slain contributors, while the Israeli military said it would investigate the incident.
The ongoing war in Gaza has been one of the deadliest for journalists, with around 200 media workers killed over the course of the nearly two-year Israeli assault, according to media watchdogs.
“China is highly concerned about the current situation in the Gaza Strip,” Guo said, adding China condemns “all actions that harm civilians... including acts of violence against journalists.”
“Israel should immediately stop its military operations in Gaza, achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire as soon as possible, fully restore the entry of humanitarian supplies, prevent a larger-scale humanitarian crisis, and work to ease tensions as quickly as possible.”


Mediator Qatar says ‘still waiting’ for Israeli response to Gaza truce proposal

Updated 38 sec ago

Mediator Qatar says ‘still waiting’ for Israeli response to Gaza truce proposal

Mediator Qatar says ‘still waiting’ for Israeli response to Gaza truce proposal
DOHA: Gaza mediator Qatar said Tuesday that it was “still waiting” for Israel’s response to a proposal for a truce and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory after Hamas agreed to the framework more than a week ago.
Qatar and Egypt, along with the United States, have been mediating indirect ceasefire negotiations throughout the Gaza war, but despite sealing two temporary truces, the successive rounds of talks have repeatedly failed to bring a lasting end to the conflict.
The latest proposal put forward by mediators involves an initial 60-day truce and staggered exchanges of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, but Israel has appeared reluctant to budge from its demand that all the hostages being held at Gaza be freed at once.
“We are still waiting for an answer” from Israel, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told a regular news conference on Tuesday, adding: “The statements that we are hearing right now do not fill us with confidence.”
Last week, Hamas said it had accepted the new ceasefire proposal following a round of talks in Cairo.
The proposal followed the contours of a deal first proposed by US envoy Steve Witkoff, with Qatar saying it hewed closely to a version previously approved by Israel.
However, as mediators were awaiting Israel’s response to the new proposal last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had given instructions for new negotiations seeking “the release of all our hostages and the end of the war under conditions acceptable to Israel.”
In the same remarks, Netanyahu doubled down on plans for the Israeli army to launch a new offensive to capture Gaza City.
Ansari on Tuesday said mediators did not “take seriously” any announcements outside the negotiation process itself.
“The responsibility now lies on the Israeli side to respond to an offer that is on the table. Anything else is political posturing by the Israeli side,” he said.
Referring to the Gaza City offensive, he added that Qatar did not see a “positive trajectory coming out of this escalation on the ground.”

Israel strike on Syria kills one: state media

Israel strike on Syria kills one: state media
Updated 11 min 12 sec ago

Israel strike on Syria kills one: state media

Israel strike on Syria kills one: state media
  • Syria condemned “the recent Israeli attacks on its territory, which resulted in the martyrdom of a young man,” the foreign ministry said
  • It also condemned the Israeli forces’ incursion into a town in the Quneitra countryside, their “arrest campaigns against civilians,” and their “announcement of the continuation of their illegal presence on the summit of Mount Hermon and the buffer zone”

DAMASCUS: An Israeli strike killed a man in southern Syria, state media reported Tuesday, with Damascus condemning the attack as a “flagrant violation” of international law.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since an Islamist-led alliance toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December.
It has also opened talks with the interim authorities in Damascus.
“A young man was killed in an Israeli strike on a home in the village of Taranja,” on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line on the Golan Heights, the official SANA news agency reported.
Syria condemned “the recent Israeli attacks on its territory, which resulted in the martyrdom of a young man,” the foreign ministry said.
It also condemned the Israeli forces’ incursion into a town in the Quneitra countryside, their “arrest campaigns against civilians,” and their “announcement of the continuation of their illegal presence on the summit of Mount Hermon and the buffer zone.”
“These aggressive practices constitute a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, international law, and relevant Security Council resolutions, and constitute a direct threat to peace and security in the region.”
The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had carried out “several activities last week in southern Syria to locate weapons and apprehend suspects.”
The Saudi foreign ministry said the Israeli attacks were a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the sisterly Syrian Arab Republic and international law.”
The Qatari foreign ministry called on “the international community to take decisive action against the Israeli occupation and compel it to halt its repeated attacks on Syrian territory.”
Since Assad’s overthrow, Israel has occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarised zone on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line, including the summit of Mount Hermon, the region’s highest peak.
Last week, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani met Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Paris to push for a return to the arrangements that had been in place since a 1974 disengagement agreement.


Lebanon agrees bail for ex-central bank chief: judicial officials

Lebanon agrees bail for ex-central bank chief: judicial officials
Updated 23 min 13 sec ago

Lebanon agrees bail for ex-central bank chief: judicial officials

Lebanon agrees bail for ex-central bank chief: judicial officials
  • Lebanon’s judiciary agreed Tuesday to the release on bail of more than $20 million of former central bank governor Riad Salameh, detained for nearly a year on embezzlement charges
  • He is widely viewed as a key culprit in Lebanon’s economic crash, which the World Bank has called one of the worst in recent history, but has defended his legacy, insisting he is a “scapegoat“

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s judiciary agreed Tuesday to the release on bail of more than $20 million of former central bank governor Riad Salameh, detained for nearly a year on embezzlement charges, judicial officials said.
Salameh, 75, who headed the central bank for three decades, faces numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion in separate probes in Lebanon and abroad.
He is widely viewed as a key culprit in Lebanon’s economic crash, which the World Bank has called one of the worst in recent history, but has defended his legacy, insisting he is a “scapegoat.”
The judiciary “agreed to release Salameh on bail of $20 million in addition to five billion Lebanese pounds (around $56,000) and banned him from travel for a year starting from the date of this decision’s implementation,” the judicial official said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media.
The decision relates to a case in which Salameh is accused of embezzling $44 million from the central bank, the official said, adding that the judiciary had issued release orders for him in two other cases last month.
A second judicial official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bail amount “is the highest in the history of the Lebanese judiciary.”
Salameh’s lawyer Mark Habka told AFP that “the bail is high and illegal, and I will speak to my client about the next steps.”
In April, a Lebanese judge issued an indictment for Salameh, charging him with embezzling $44 million from the central bank, as well as illicit enrichment and forgery. Bail was rejected at the time.
The second judicial official said the decision to release him came “in consideration of his health condition.”
The official said he would in any case have been released automatically on September 4 when his pre-trial detention order expires.
Salameh, who left office at the end of July 2023, has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, saying his wealth comes from private investment and his previous work at US investment firm Merrill Lynch.


Syria welcomes US decision to lift sanctions, sees ‘new page’ in relations

Syria welcomes US decision to lift sanctions, sees ‘new page’ in relations
Updated 32 min 34 sec ago

Syria welcomes US decision to lift sanctions, sees ‘new page’ in relations

Syria welcomes US decision to lift sanctions, sees ‘new page’ in relations
  • Sanctions dating back to 2004 and expanded during years of conflict will no longer apply, officially allowing American companies to conduct business with Damascus

DAMASCUS: Syria on Monday welcomed the US Treasury Department’s decision to remove it from the sanctions list under the Code of Federal Regulations, describing it as a “positive development” that could ease humanitarian and economic hardships.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that the Syrian Sanctions Regulations will be lifted as of Tuesday following President Donald Trump’s June order to terminate the national emergency underpinning the restrictions. 

Sanctions dating back to 2004 and expanded during years of conflict will no longer apply, officially allowing American companies to conduct business with Damascus.

In a statement, Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the move will “directly reflect on the humanitarian and economic conditions of the Syrian people” by facilitating trade, financial transactions and US exports, while opening “new horizons for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.”

The ministry noted the timing of the decision coincided with the visit of a second official US congressional delegation to Damascus, led by Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Representative Joe Wilson, accompanied by Ambassador Tom Barrack, the US president’s special envoy for Syria.

President Ahmad al-Sharaa received the delegation in the presence of senior Syrian ministers, with talks focusing on strengthening bilateral ties and exploring areas of cooperation. 

The ministry said the meetings signaled growing support within Congress for the full lifting of sanctions, including efforts to repeal the 2019 Caesar Act before the end of this year.

“For his part, President al-Sharaa expressed appreciation for the efforts made in Congress, stressing that these simultaneous developments, the lifting of restrictions and the resumption of official visits, constitute a continuation of a practical and realistic path that serves the interests of the Syrian people and enhances stability in the region,” the statement said.

US officials have said that while sanctions are being removed, Congress must still act to formally repeal the Caesar Act. 

The Syrian government affirmed its readiness to continue dialogue with international partners on the basis of sovereignty and mutual respect, with the aim of ensuring stability and prosperity for the Syrian people and the wider region.


UN says Israeli probes into Gaza killings must ‘yield results’

UN says Israeli probes into Gaza killings must ‘yield results’
Updated 26 August 2025

UN says Israeli probes into Gaza killings must ‘yield results’

UN says Israeli probes into Gaza killings must ‘yield results’

GENEVA: The UN insisted Tuesday that Israel must not only investigate alleged unlawful killings in Gaza like the hospital strike that killed 20 people, including journalists, the previous day, but also ensure those probes yield results.
“There needs to be justice,” United Nations rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva, adding that the large number of media workers killed in the Gaza war “raises many, many questions about the targeting of journalists.”
His comments came after an Israeli strike on the Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis on Monday killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, sparking an international outcry.
Reuters, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera all issued statements mourning their slain contributors, while the Israeli military said it would investigate the incident.
“The Israeli authorities have, in the past, announced investigations in such killings,” Kheetan said.
“It’s of course the responsibility of Israel, as the occupying power, to investigate — but these investigations need to yield results,” he said.
“We haven’t seen results or accountability measures yet. We have yet to see the results of these investigations, and we call for accountability and justice.”
Kheetan said at least 247 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war was triggered by militant group Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
“These journalists are the eyes and the ears of the whole world and they must be protected,” he said.
Asked if Monday’s attack could amount to a so-called “double-tap” strike, in which an initial strike is followed by a second hitting rescue workers and other civilians, Kheetan said this needed to be investigated.
“We can say that the Israeli military reportedly launched multiple air strikes on the Nasser Medical Complex, and there were two air strikes in a short period of time,” he said.
“We know that one of the five journalists appears to have been killed in the first air strike while three others, including the woman journalist, appear to have been killed in the second air strike,” he added, describing this as “a shock” and “unacceptable.”
“This incident and the killing of all civilians, including journalists, must be thoroughly and independently investigated, and justice must follow.”