By The Associated Press
Ukraine is pledging support for the new authorities in Syria who ousted Bashar Assad, a key Russian ally in the Mideast. The Ukrainian foreign minister met with Syria’s de facto leader on Monday during a visit to Damascus.
In the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday that recent hostilities in and around hospitals “have obliterated the health care system in northern Gaza.” Israel’s nearly 3-month-old military offensive in northern Gaza has largely isolated the area, with little medical or other aid allowed to reach hospitals there.
Here’s the latest:
ADRA, Syria — Syria’s new government said it deployed dozens of soldiers in the Damascus suburb of Adra on Monday in search of alleged militiamen loyal to ousted President Bashar Assad, with military police vehicles seen transporting detainees.
“A security campaign was carried out in Adra town which led to the arrest of the militia leaders in the area,” said Abu Yaarub, a security official who did not give his full name in accordance with regulations. He added that five top militiamen were detained.
Clashes erupted last week in several cities across Syria between Assad supporters and the new government, which is led by Islamist rebels.
Since Assad’s fall, dozens of Syrians have been killed in acts of revenge, according to activists and monitors, the vast majority of them from the minority Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Assad belongs.
By Leo Correa and Ghaith AlSayed.
JERUSALEM — The family of a hospital director in northern Gaza is pleading with the international community and the Israeli military for his release, after soldiers detained Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya over the weekend.
Abu Safiya’s family says he’s being denied medical care and kept in the freezing cold in Sde Teiman, an Israeli detention center that been sharply criticized for its inhuman conditions.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Abu Safiya “is currently being questioned regarding his potential involvement in terrorist activity.”
Over the weekend, Israeli soldiers expelled staff and patients from Kamal Adwan Hospital, where it detained 240 people who it said were militants and took them for interrogation in Israel. The military said some militants attempted to pose as patients and hid in ambulances, without providing evidence.
Israel alleged that Hamas had been using the facility, which hospital officials have denied.
Israel’s latest military offensive in northern Gaza has largely isolated the area, with little medical or other aid allowed to reach hospitals there.
On Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Israeli operations have “obliterated the health care system in northern Gaza,” noting that Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals are now “completely inoperable.”
DAMASCUS, Syria — Ukraine’s foreign minister met with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus on Monday, days after Kyiv announced the delivery of a large shipment of wheat flour to the country following the ouster of Bashar Assad, Russia’s ally.
Syria is gradually shifting away from Iran and Russia and rekindling ties with Western and Gulf Arab nations that had opposed Assad’s rule, as well as Turkey, which backed opposition forces during the civil war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will send 500 tons of wheat flour to Syria through the U.N. World Food Program to help improve the country’s food security and economic crisis. About 90% of Syrians live in poverty, while over half don’t know where their next meal will come from, according to the U.N.
“The Ukrainian delegation held important talks with the Syrian administration, leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa and ministers. We support the Syrian people in overcoming decades of dictatorial rule and restoring stability, security, and normal life in Syria,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said he hopes “that a new Syria would become a country that respects international law.” He said Ukraine is ready to share its experience in gathering evidence and conducting investigations to hold war criminals accountable.
“The Russian and Assad regimes supported each other because their foundation is violence and torture,” he said.
BEIRUT — Syria on Monday appointed its first female interim Central Bank governor, as the country navigates through recovering its battered economy after the downfall of the Assad dynasty’s rule.
Maysaa Sabreen is the second woman appointed in a leadership role under Ahmad al-Sharaa and his Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led Assad’s ouster in an offensive in early December.
Sabreen had served as the Central Bank’s first deputy governor.
She inherits a dire financial crisis following a decade of civil war, mismanagement and sanctions, which has led to the Syrian pound drastically losing its value against the U.S. dollar. The United Nations estimates that some 90% of Syrians live in poverty.
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey is prepared to export electricity to Syria and Lebanon to assist them in addressing power shortages, Turkey’s energy minister said, adding that a Turkish delegation was already in Damascus to evaluate Syria’s energy infrastructure.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar also said Monday that the Turkish delegation included experts who would be assessing how Syria’s oil and natural gas could be used to improve the economy.
“We can see the picture a little more clearly after seeing the situation of the transmission network,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Bayraktar as saying.
He said Syria’s electricity capacity had dropped significantly due to the civil war.
“The vast majority of the people meet their electricity needs through generators,” he said. “There is a serious need for electricity.”
Turkey has backed insurgents who ousted President Bashar Assad and has expressed readiness to support the new administration.
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