December 12, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Syria: At least 79 people killed in Israeli shelling of Palmyra


These are likely the deadliest strikes ever to target Syria, a UN official said, expressing concern regarding the escalation of violence in the country.

“War crime in the form of starvation as a method of warfare; crimes against humanity in the form of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts; deliberately directing an attack against the civilian population.”

“Once again, Israeli strikes on Syria have increased significantly in both frequency and scale,” – stated Nazat RozdiUN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, at a Security Council meeting.

“Yesterday (Wednesday) dozens of people were killed in a strike near Palmyra, probably the deadliest Israeli bombing to date.”she noted.

Israeli strikes targeted the city of Palmyra, located in the center of the country, according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rightsa non-governmental organization based in the UK but with an extensive network of sources in Syria.

According to the latest IDF report, at least 79 pro-Iranian militants died in these raids, one of which hit a gathering of pro-Iranian organizations, in which representatives of the Iraqi movement participated Al-Nujaba And Hezbollah from Lebanon.

At the same time “Israel claims its strikes are directed against targets associated with Iran, Hezbollah or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. However, again we see civilian casualties, including as a result of intensive bombing of residential areas in the center of Damascus.”noted Nazat Rozdi.

Moreover, she expressed concern about “explosive situation” in the Golan and fighting “in many other theaters of operation”especially in the north-west of the country. “This year could be the most violent since 2020, and the threat of even more destruction looms.”she warned.

ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes

The Athens News reported earlier that The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for “crimes against humanity and war crimes,” the court decision states:

“War crime in the form of starvation as a method of warfare; crimes against humanity in the form of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts; deliberately directing an attack against the civilian population.”

Israel denies the accusations, citing a “relatively low civilian-to-combatant ratio of casualties” in the Gaza Strip, says Hamas is using civilians as human shields, and says it is making efforts to expand humanitarian assistance in the enclave. Israel also claims that the ICC did not give it the opportunity to independently investigate the charges before seeking warrants.

Israel denies the accusations, citing a “relatively low civilian-to-combatant ratio of casualties” in the Gaza Strip, says Hamas is using civilians as human shields, and says it is making efforts to expand humanitarian assistance in the enclave. Israel also claims that the ICC did not give it the opportunity to independently investigate the charges before seeking warrants.



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