Germany and France seek a 'new beginning' with Syria
World
Germany and France seek a ‘new beginning’ with Syria
The top diplomats from Germany and France were in Syria on Friday to send what the German minister called a clear signal that Europe and Syria can have a “political new beginning” after Islamist insurgents ousted Bashar Assad.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot met with Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and representatives of civil society.
Baerbock said all Syrians — regardless of ethnic or religious group — must have “a place in the political process” as well as rights and protection. Al-Sharaa has said it could take up to four years to hold elections in Syria because of the need for political dialogue and rewriting the country’s constitution.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli strikes killed at least 42 people including children overnight and into Friday, hospital staff said, as often-stalled ceasefire talks to end the Israel-Hamas war were set to resume in Qatar. Sirens sounded across Israel for missiles fired from Yemen.
Israel’s bombardments and ground invasion of Gaza has killed more than 45,600 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who say women and children make up more than half the fatalities. The officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally.
The war was sparked by Hamas-led militants’ attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and around 250 abducted. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza; at least a third are believed to be dead. Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza said in a statement Friday that Israel’s military told staff and patients to immediately evacuate. The hospital didn’t give details.
A nurse at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza said the facility also received orders to evacuate.
The nurse said they were still in the hospital with 19 people, including eight patients, and that staffers had asked for ambulances to evacuate people who couldn’t walk. The nurse spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the situation publicly.
Israel’s military said that it wasn’t “operating to evacuate” either the Al-Awda or Indonesian hospitals.
“Messages were sent to reiterate to officials in the health authorities that there is no need to evacuate the hospital,” the military said about the Indonesian Hospital.
Neither side’s statements could be immediately verified. The Israeli military heavily restricts the movement of Palestinians in Gaza and has virtually sealed off the towns where the hospitals are located as it wages an blistering offensive there.
Last week, Israeli soldiers expelled wounded Palestinians from another northern Gaza hospital. Patients who were forced out of Kamal Adwan Hospital described harrowing conditions where Israeli soldiers made them strip to their underwear for hours in the cold winter weather. Israel said Hamas had been using the hospital as a base.
___
