Israeli airstrikes devastate Gaza while Syria hopes for better days in 2025 Photo: AP Israeli airstrikes devastate Gaza while Syria hopes for better days in 2025 Photo: AP 2024 was a year of death and devastation for West Asia. It brought calamity to most of the nations of the region and some hope to Syria. 7xm
For the residents of war-torn Gaza who spent the year losing their homes and loved ones, little hope remains that 2025 would bring an end to their suffering.
However, with hope for a brighter future after the fall of Assad's regime, the streets of Damascus were buzzing with excitement on Tuesday as Syrians welcomed 2025.
Lebanon's Beirut reflected a different mood as residents shared cautious hopes for the new year, reflecting on a country still reeling from war and ongoing crises.
Israel for the first time acknowledged it was behind the assassination of Hamas leader Saleh Arouri in Beirut in January 2024.
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Israel acknowledges assassination of Hamas leader in BeirutIsrael acknowledged for the first time it was behind the assassination of Hamas leader Saleh Arouri in Beirut in January 2024.
Arouri, the deputy political head of Hamas and a founder of the group's military wing, was one of at least five top Hamas leaders assassinated in Lebanon over the past year, according to the year-end review released by Israel's Shin Bet security service on Tuesday.
Evacuation continues in GazaAmid the waves of despair and uncertainty, the New Yer's eve saw no killing in Gaza. However, the effects of ongoing atrocities continue to be seen in Gaza with dozens of patients and the wounded being evacuated for treatment outside the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where the United Nations says Israel's attacks on and around hospitals have pushed health care to the brink.
The 45 patients left the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis early Tuesday and travelled through the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Israel, Palestinian health officials said. They will receive treatment in the United Arab Emirates.
fruit party slotAccording to the Health Ministry, several thousand Palestinians in Gaza needed medical treatment abroad. Israel has controlled all entry and exit points since capturing the southern city of Rafah in May.
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US launched airstrikes, say Houthi rebelsIn further exacerbation of tension, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said the United States launched at least a dozen airstrikes Tuesday targeting two military facilities in the capital Sanaa.
There was no immediate comment from the US and Israel's military said it was not involved.
The Houthis have been firing drones and missiles at Israel, as well as attacking shipping in the Red Sea corridor — attacks they say won't stop until Israel agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
These two teams are meeting for the first time in the tournament in pool stage.
These two teams are meeting for the first time in the tournament in group stage.
The Houthis' media office said 10 airstrikes hit the May 22 facility in Sanaa's northern Thurah district and two more hit the Aradi facility, which houses the rebels' defence ministry in central Sanaa.
France carries out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in SyriaFrance has carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria, the first since the ouster of President Bashar Assad, Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said.
During a visit to French UN peacekeepers in neighbouring Lebanon, Lecornu said in a post on X that the strikes on Sunday were “part of the fight against terrorism in the Levant.”
France has been a member of an international coalition against the Islamic State group, known as Operation Inherent Resolve, since 2014 in Iraq and 2015 in Syria. The coalition has continued to hit IS militants even after a lightning offensive by Syrian insurgents toppled Assad and altered the country's political landscape.
The IS group has maintained a presence through sleeper cells in parts of Iraq and Syria, particularly in remote desert regions and areas with limited security oversight.
(With AP inputs)7xm