Israeli strikes kill 42 in north Syria

Top world court orders Israel to ensure urgent aid reaches Gazans

FE Team | Published: March 29, 2024 22:20:04

BEIRUT, Mar 29 (AFP): A war monitor said Israeli air strikes Friday on Syria's north killed 36 soldiers and six Hezbollah fighters, the latest deadly raid on Iran-backed forces in the country since the Israel-Hamas war began.
Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes in Syria since civil war there broke out in 2011, targeting army positions as well as Iran-backed fighters including Hezbollah, an ally of Damascus and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The strikes have increased since Israel's war with Hamas began on October 7, and Friday's was the second such attack in 24 hours.
"Israeli strikes" targeted "a rockets depot belonging to Lebanon's Hezbollah" close to Aleppo airport, said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of sources inside Syria.
It reported "42 killed, including six from Lebanon's Hezbollah group" and "36 soldiers", the highest Syrian army toll in Israeli strikes since the Israel-Hamas war began.
State news agency SANA, quoting a military source, reported that "at approximately 1:45 am, the Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the direction of Athriya, southeast of Aleppo", adding that "civilians and military personnel" were killed and wounded.
Contacted by AFP from Jerusalem, the Israeli military said it would "not comment on reports in the foreign media".
The Observatory also reported strikes targeting "defence factories" controlled by pro-Iran groups elsewhere in Aleppo province.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said the strikes were a "violation of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and are a serious threat to regional and international peace and security".
He called the attacks "a blatant and desperate attempt to continue and expand the crisis in the region".
Meanwhile, the world's top court ordered Israel Thursday to "ensure urgent humanitarian assistance" reaches Gazans, as warnings multiplied of imminent famine after nearly six months of relentless conflict.
Heavy fighting and sustained bombardment again rocked the territory despite the UN Security Council's adoption of a resolution earlier this week demanding an "immediate ceasefire".
"Israel shall... take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay... the unhindered provision... of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance," the International Court of Justice said in its ruling.
This included food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza, its judges said.
"Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, but... famine is setting in," the Hague-based court said.
South Africa had asked the court to bolster a previous order it issued in January for Israel to allow aid into Gaza to take account of the further deterioration of the situation on the ground.
The United Nations has warned that famine "is ever closer to becoming a reality in northern Gaza", and said Gaza's health system is collapsing "due to ongoing hostilities and access constraints".
Gaza says war death toll at 32,623
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Friday that at least 32,623 people have been killed in the territory during more than five months of war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas. The toll includes at least 71 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 75,092 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began.