19/07/2025

SATURDAY | JULY 19, 2025

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Israel expresses regret over deaths at Catholic church

Syria confirms troop withdrawal from Suwayda ISTANBUL: The Syrian government confirmed that it has withdrawn military forces from the southern governorate of Suwayda, citing a desire to avoid further escalation and in response to US-Arab mediation efforts, Anadolu Ajansi reported, citing local media reports yesterday. According to a statement released by the Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic, the decision to redeploy troops to their original positions was made “within the framework of the Syrian state’s commitment to avoiding further escalation” following mediation talks that took place on Wednesday. It noted that the move was based on guarantees that “outlaw forces” would refrain from retaliatory violence and harming civilians. “What happened subsequently represented a clear violation of these understandings as these forces launched a horrific campaign of violence documented by the entire world, which included the commission of horrific crimes that completely contradict the obligations of mediation, directly threaten civil peace and push the country towards chaos and security collapse.” The Syrian government called for restraint from all parties and emphasised the importance of re-establishing state authority in the region. The government reiterated its stance on the protection of all citizens, regardless of background, and urged international support in stabilising the country. – Bernama-Anadolu Iran to face sanctions if nuke deal dropped PARIS: Diplomats from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union told Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday that they are determined to reactivate United Nations (UN) sanctions if Tehran does not make progress on a nuclear deal “by the end of the summer”, France’s Foreign Ministry said. They are applying pressure to convince Iran of “the urgency of returning to the diplomatic path without delay, in order to reach a verifiable and durable agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme”. A clause in Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement, which the United States withdrew from, allows for UN sanctions against Tehran to be reimposed in case of noncompliance through a snapback mechanism. European diplomats are seeking progress by the end of August as the agreement is due to expire in October. Iran and the United States have held several rounds of negotiations through Omani mediators since April, before Israel launched an attack on Iran on June 13. Washington also carried out strikes on Iran, effectively ending the nuclear talks. Since the end of the hostilities, Iran and the United States have signalled willingness to return to the table, although Tehran has said it would not renounce its right to the peaceful use of nuclear power. – AFP

about 1,000 are Christians. Most are Orthodox but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory. Pope Francis had repeatedly called for an end to the Gaza war, condemning in his final Easter message a day before his death the “deplorable humanitarian situation” in the Palestinian territory. Catholic charity l’Oeuvre d’Orient head Pascal Gollnisch said the raid was “totally unacceptable”. “It is a place of worship. It is a Catholic church known for its peaceful attitude, for being a peacemaker. These are people who are at the service of the population. “There was no strategic objective and there were no extremists in this church.

spokesperson Mahmud Bassal confirmed the deaths at the church. The patriarchate, which has jurisdiction for Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Cyprus, said it “strongly condemns this strike and this targeting of innocent civilians”. The site was sheltering around 600 displaced people, the majority of them children, including 54 with special needs. Foreign leaders called the attack “unacceptable”. Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes elsewhere across the Palestinian territory killed at least 22 people on Thursday. Out of the Gaza Strip population of more than two million,

o Military says fragments from shell mistakenly hit house of worship in Gaza

GAZA: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed regret after Israeli tank fire killed three people at a Catholic church in Gaza on Thursday, blaming a “stray” round for the deaths, after a phone call with US President Donald Trump. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said 10 others were wounded in the attack on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, the territory’s only Catholic house of worship, including parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli. Witnesses and the Latin Patriarch said a tank shell slammed directly into the church at 10.30am (0730 GMT) but the Israeli military later said an initial inquiry “suggests that fragments from a shell hit the church mistakenly”. Pope Leo XIV said he was “deeply saddened” by the loss of life at Holy Family, which the late Pope Francis had kept in regular contact with throughout the war between Israel and Hamas militants.

Israel’s military maintained that it had made “every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures”, and Netanyahu promised an investigation. “Israel deeply regrets that stray ammunition hit Gaza’s Holy Family Church. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy,” said Netanyahu. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump called Netanyahu after having “not a positive reaction” to the news. “It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic church, that is what the prime minister relayed to the president.” Gaza civil defence

There were only families, there were civilians.” – AFP

More than 737,000 displaced in Gaza: UN The Gaza civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes elsewhere across the Palestinian territory killed at least 22 people on Thursday. – AFPPIC

HAMILTON: The United Nations (UN) said on Thursday more than 737,000 people have been displaced in the Gaza Strip since an escalation of Israeli attacks in March, underscoring the scale of the humanitarian crisis facing the population, Anadolu Ajansi reported. UN spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay, citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reported that“between July 8 and 15, more than 11,500 people were newly displaced”. “That brings overall displacement since the latest escalation of

added, reiterating demands for an immediate ceasefire. She reiterated Guterres’s call “on all parties to ensure civilians are respected and protected at all times, and allow humanitarian aid to flow into the Strip at scale”. In response to a question by Anadolu on Israel’s reported reassignment of administrative control of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to a settler council, Tremblay said the UN has not seen the report, but“we always call for the protection of all religious sites”. – Bernama-Anadolu

than 135 days as a “small but important step forward“, noting that benzene is essential for powering ambulances and critical services. “But it is not enough.“ On the Israeli strike against a church in Gaza, Tremblay said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns reports of an Israeli strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza, a place of worship and a sanctuary for civilians”. “Attacks on places of worship are unacceptable. People seeking shelter must be respected and protected, not hit by strikes,“ she

hostilities on March 18th to over 737,000 people, about 35% of Gaza’s population. “Over the past 21 months, nearly everyone has been displaced, typically multiple times.“ She said Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours hit sites sheltering displaced Palestinians, with reports of injuries and fatalities. She also said despite mounting needs, only a limited amount of humanitarian aid is reaching the enclave. Tremblay described the delivery of benzene for the first time in more