Why Syria’s Assad regime must toe a fine line as Israel-Iran tensions escalate

Special Why Syria’s Assad regime must toe a fine line as Israel-Iran tensions escalate
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Syrian President Bashar Assad’s ties with Iran and Hezbollah helped him win the Syrian civil war but have made his country a target for Israeli strikes. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 17 October 2024
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Why Syria’s Assad regime must toe a fine line as Israel-Iran tensions escalate

Why Syria’s Assad regime must toe a fine line as Israel-Iran tensions escalate
  • Desperate to preserve his regime, Assad has been at pains to avoid direct involvement in Gaza and Lebanon and risk Israeli retaliation
  • Analysts say his reluctance to meaningfully assist Hamas and Hezbollah highlights his weakness and raises doubts about his utility to Iran

LONDON: Over the past year, the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad has been at pains to avoid direct involvement in Gaza and Lebanon, despite its informal alliance with Hamas and Hezbollah and professed support for their cause against Israel, not to mention the deadly Israeli strikes on Iranian military assets on Syrian territory.

Crippled by 13 years of civil war, international isolation, and economic weakness, this might seem a prudent move. Intervening in either conflict could invite a devastating retaliation from Israel and drag the country into a wider regional war.




CaptionIran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) meeting with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Tehran on May 30, 2024. ( KHAMENEI.IR / AFP) 

However, Assad’s absence from the battlefield has raised questions about his role within the so-called Axis of Resistance — the loose network of Iran-backed Arab proxies that includes Hamas and Hezbollah — and, by extension, his reliability as an ally of the Islamic Republic.

Ever since Iran came to Assad’s rescue in 2011-12 when an armed uprising threatened his rule, Syria has effectively been a vassal of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, used as a land bridge to deliver weapons to Hezbollah, making it a favored target for the Israeli military.

The attacks have become more frequent since the wars in Gaza and along the Israel-Lebanon border erupted in October last year — the most significant being the April 1 strike on the Iranian Embassy annex in Damascus that killed multiple high-level IRGC commanders.




Assad’s ties with Iran and Hezbollah helped him win the Syrian civil war but have made his country a target for Israeli strikes. (AFP file photo)

“Israel has been striking alleged Hezbollah and Iran-linked targets in Syria for years, but the pace of Israeli strikes has increased since 2023,” Aron Lund, a fellow at Century International, told Arab News.

“With the war in Gaza and now also the invasion of Lebanon, Israel has adopted a much more aggressive posture against Syria. Israeli jets strike with regularity and impunity, and the Syrians are just soaking it up. They can’t do much to stop it and are probably afraid to try, for fear of further escalation.”

While Lund highlights Israel’s intensifying air campaign in Syria, Karam Shaar, a political economist and non-resident senior fellow at Newlines Institute, points to a deeper concern driving the Syrian regime’s inaction.




A handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on October 22, 2019, shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad consulting a military map with army officers in al-Habit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. (AFP)

He suggests that Assad’s reluctance to retaliate against these Israeli strikes stems from his regime’s vulnerability.

“It knows that the Israelis might actually just topple it altogether,” Shaar told Arab News. “All it needs is a nudge for it to just come down crashing.”

Although it has enjoyed years of Russian and Iranian support, the Syrian Arab Army is today a shadow of its former self — ground down by more than a decade of underinvestment and fighting with armed opposition groups.




A United Nations Truce Supervision Organization military observer uses binoculars near the border with Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on May 11, 2018. (REUTERS/File Photo)

According to Randa Slim, director of the Conflict Resolution and Track II Dialogues Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., Syria is in no position to withstand a major Israeli offensive.

“The Assad regime is weak and cannot afford to get entangled in another war at the moment,” she told Arab News. “His army is weak, with major parts of the country outside his control. His two principal allies, Russia and Iran, cannot come to his defense at this time in case Israel decides it is time to mount a major attack on Syria akin to what is taking place in Lebanon.”

Elaborating on the point, she said: “Moscow is entangled in a protracted war against Ukraine. Tehran has its own problems to contend with domestically and is facing a potential war with Israel and the US. Assad’s modus operandi for now is to avoid getting entangled in the Axis of Resistance war against Israel.”

FASTFACTS

• Hafez Assad established Alawite-minority rule in Sunni-majority Syria in 1971, serving as its president until his death in 2000.

• Bashar Assad succeeded his father but presides over a nation riven by civil war since the uprising against his rule began in 2011.

Some experts have suggested that in the case of Gaza, it is not just Syria’s military weakness that is likely preventing a meaningful contribution: Assad’s relationship with Hamas has been sour since 2011 when the Palestinian militant group sided with the Syrian uprising against his rule.

“The relationship between Hamas and the regime is bad and has been bad since 2011, since Hamas stood in support of the Syrian revolution,” Jihad Yazigi, editor in chief of The Syria Report, told Arab News.




People wave Syrian opposition and Palestinian flags at a rally marking 11 years since the start of an anti-regime uprising in Syria's rebel enclave of Idlib on March 15, 2022. Thousands of protesters in Syria's rebel enclave of Idlib marked 11 years since an anti-government uprising, buoyed by the global outcry over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

In the case of Lebanon, the Syrian regime’s ability to project any kind of influence is a far cry from the days before 2011 when its forces exerted considerable control from within Lebanon itself.

“Remember that before 2005, it was the Syrian army that was in Lebanon,” said Yazigi. “From there, it had a say in Lebanese affairs and to an extent on Palestinian ones. Since 2011, it’s (Lebanon’s) Hezbollah that’s been on Syrian territory.”




Syrian army troops evacuate their post in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Damur on September 22, 2004, amid international pressure for a full withdrawal and an end to Damascus's interference in Lebanese affairs. (AFP/file photo)

The consensus view of experts is that, far from playing the role of a regional kingmaker, Assad’s primary concern today is maintaining power. At the same time, just as he is reliant on Iran and Hezbollah to guarantee his survival, the IRGC and its proxies are also highly dependent on continued access to Syrian territory.

“Hezbollah has no other choice but Syria as far as their strategic depth is concerned,” said Slim.

“They need Assad’s acquiescence to maintain their Iranian weapons supply route through Syrian territory as well as to use some of the regime’s weapons production facilities in Syria to manufacture parts for their weapons.

“Given Israel’s unrelenting attacks on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, Damascus is also the only place where Hezbollah and the IRGC can meet and coordinate their activities.”




Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent carry a woman into ambulance on Oct. 14, 2024, as people fleeing Israeli strikes in Lebanon walk to Syria through the Masnaa border crossing. (REUTERS)

The secular Syrian regime’s relationship with Iran and its Shiite and Sunni proxies has long been described as a marriage of convenience, underpinned by overlapping interests rather than ideological affinity. Some think Assad may very well sell out his axis allies if a better offer comes along.

“Hezbollah has long realized that Assad is neither a dependable nor a trustworthy ally,” Slim told Arab News. “He has always toyed with the idea of striking an agreement with Israel. In 2006, in the midst of Israel’s war on Lebanon, he authorized an indirect communication channel with Tel Aviv.

“Despite their reservations about his loyalty, they sent men and weapons in support of the Assad regime in 2011-12 primarily because they could not afford to lose this ‘strategic depth’ if the Assad regime were to be replaced by an anti-Iranian, Sunni-majority government in Damascus.”

Although Syria’s role in Lebanese and Palestinian affairs has effectively shifted over the years from active participant to passive supporter, this does not mean the Assad regime has shirked responsibility altogether.

“Even in this weakened state and despite the risks, the Syrian government does seem to be providing support for Hezbollah,” said Lund of Century International.

“Damascus has allowed Hezbollah and Iran to train and equip themselves on Syrian territory, and Syrian state institutions offer medical care and other services to Hezbollah fighters.

“Many of the heavy rockets that Hezbollah recently began firing on Israel are Syrian in origin, although we don’t know when they were provided.”




Hezbollah fighters carry the coffin of commander Ahmed Shehimi, who was killed in an Israeli raid in Syria early on March 29, during his funeral procession in southern Beirut, on April 1, 2024. (AFP)

Having been rescued by Iran and Hezbollah, Assad may have been expected by his benefactors to do far more to support his axis allies — at the very least as a sign of gratitude. It appears, however, that they recognized his limitations early on in the conflict.

Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s late secretary-general, said as much shortly before he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Sept. 27.

“It seems that Iran and Hezbollah have, so far, agreed on a more passive role for Syria,” Armenak Tokmajyan, a nonresident scholar at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, told Arab News.




Lebanese civilians fleeing the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon are pictured at accommodations housing them in al-Harjalah, south of the Syrian capital Damascus, on October 15, 2024. (AFP)

“Just weeks before his death, Nasrallah said that ‘Syria is not required to enter the fighting because of its internal circumstances,’ adding that Syria should take on a supportive role.

“The pattern of Israeli strikes in Syria suggests that Syria is indeed playing this supportive role, such as allowing Hezbollah to store weapons on its territory.

“However, a more active involvement would likely attract unwanted Israeli attention, posing a significant risk to Assad’s regime.”




Charred cars lie in a parking lot in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the neighborhood of Kafr Sousse in Damascus, early on July 14, 2024, in response to two drones launched towards Israel from Syrian territory. (AFP)

The expectation that he must feel eternally indebted to Iran and Hezbollah for rescuing his regime may also be an indignity too far for Assad, according to some analysts who also believe that Israeli pressure on his allies may offer just the opportunity he has been waiting for to extricate himself from Iran’s sphere of influence.

“Assad hopes that Iran and its militias will weaken after this war,” Bassam Barabandi, a former Syrian diplomat who defected from the regime in mid-2013, told Arab News, suggesting that Assad might already be quietly double-crossing the axis.

“He anticipates that Arab countries will reward him for his stance against Hezbollah and Iran by supporting the economy and reopening diplomatic channels to restore his relationships with the Arab and Western worlds.

“A significant question arises regarding how Iran would respond if it realizes that Assad has betrayed it.




Trucks wait at the entrance of the Yarmuk camp for Palestinian refugees, south of Damascus, during a delivery of humanitarian aid provided by Iran on March 26, 2024. (AFP)

Although there is ongoing discussion about the possibility of Syria moving away from Iran and closer to the Arab states, Yazigi of The Syria Report believes the Assad dynasty’s ability to distance themselves from Tehran remains limited.

“The Iranian-Syrian relationship is very important. We don’t realize it enough,” he said.

“They have had ties since the late 1970s, early 1980s. Even before Hezbollah was created, you had a strategic alliance between Syria and Iran, which dates back to the Iran-Iraq war and the Islamic Revolution. So, it is not even clear how confident and how capable Bashar is to depart too much from the Iranians.




Iranian rescuers (red) and Syrian soldiers sift through the rubble of a collapsed building in the northern city of Aleppo, searching for victims and survivors days after a deadly earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, on February 9, 2023. (AFP)

“The other aspect is if you want to build back ties with the Arab regimes, departing from the Iranians is a good thing, it’s a starter, but it’s not enough. Assad has shown a lot of difficulties making the required concessions to gain more funding from the Arabs, to make a peace deal with the Turks.”

Despite Assad’s readmission to the Arab League in 2023, one sore point that has hindered progress on the restoration of trust and economic ties is his perceived failure to crack down on the production and smuggling of narcotics, particularly Captagon, which appears to have become a valuable source of income for the sanctions-squeezed regime.

Avoiding active involvement in Gaza and Lebanon may help preserve the Assad regime in the short term, but Syria’s dire economic situation remains an existential threat.

The arrival of hundreds of thousands of people displaced from Lebanon, the bulk of them Syrians who had previously fled the civil war in their own country, could also exacerbate Syria’s internal instability.




Syrian Red Crescent personnel assist Lebanese people fleeing the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, at accommodations housing refugees in al-Harjalah, south of the Syrian capital Damascus, on October 15, 2024. (AFP)

Even though the majority are women and children, “Assad completely rejects the return of refugees, viewing them as his enemies from whom he wishes to distance himself,” Barabandi, the former Syrian diplomat, told Arab News.

For his part, Yazigi says that population movements have played a role in the past in destabilizing Syria, comparing the current situation to the wave of returnees from Lebanon following the killing of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in 2005.

“If the uprising began in 2011, it is due to many factors, one of them is the return of hundreds of thousands of Syrian workers from Lebanon after the assassination of Hariri and the withdrawal of the Syrian army,” he said.




A volunteer with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent helps people fleeing Israeli bombardment in Lebanon as they walk across a crater caused by an Israeli strike, in the area of Masnaa on the Lebanese side of the border crossing with Syria, on October 15, 2024. (AFP)

“The Syrians faced a lot of anti-Syrian acts in Lebanon, which led to hundreds of thousands of people returning and staying in Syria without a job.

“Of course, the situation has completely changed since then. Everybody is exhausted, and nobody has in mind in Syria to do anything in the form of an uprising. But it is a (potential) factor of destabilization.”

Despite Assad’s passive support for the Axis of Resistance, some say keeping him in power in his enfeebled state likely serves Israeli and US interests far better than the alternative — regime change and all its associated chaos.

“To date, Israel has found Assad a reliable enemy,” said Slim. “They have him now at a position that serves their interests: a weak ruler over a divided and bankrupt country.”




Syrian Red Crescent personnel assist Lebanese people fleeing the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, at accommodations housing refugees in al-Harjalah, south of the Syrian capital Damascus, on October 15, 2024. (AFP)

Ultimately, Syria’s limited role in the ongoing regional turmoil reflects Assad’s delicate balancing act — caught between the competing demands of regional powers, economic weakness and the need to preserve his own regime.

“There’s no doubt that Assad is grappling with multiple challenges on various fronts,” said Tokmajyan.

“A displacement crisis that brings social and economic pressures at home, while also reducing remittances from Lebanon; the loss of an important economic lifeline in Lebanon; an ally in Hezbollah, whose capabilities are being eroded; the risk of being dragged into a war.

“All of this comes on top of Syria’s existing economic troubles. But will this lead to a revolt or the regime’s collapse? It’s hard to say. Assad has proven to be resilient so far.”
 

 


Israeli forces detain director of north Gaza hospital, health officials say

Israeli forces detain director of north Gaza hospital, health officials say
Updated 28 December 2024
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Israeli forces detain director of north Gaza hospital, health officials say

Israeli forces detain director of north Gaza hospital, health officials say
  • Dozens of the medical staff from Kamal Adwan Hospital detained for interrogation
  • Palestinian militant group Hamas denied its fighters were present in the hospital

GAZA STRIP: Gaza health officials said on Saturday that Israeli forces detained the director of a hospital in the north, which the World Health Organization said was put out of service by an Israeli raid.
“The occupation forces have taken dozens of the medical staff from Kamal Adwan Hospital to a detention center for interrogation, including the director, Hossam Abu Safiyeh,” the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said in a statement.
The Gaza civil defense agency also reported that Abu Safiyeh had been detained, adding that the agency’s director for the north, Ahmed Hassan Al-Kahlout was among those held.
“The occupation has completely destroyed the medical, humanitarian, and civil defense systems in the north, rendering them useless,” Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defense agency, told AFP.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it had launched an operation in the area of Kamal Adwan Hospital, alleging the facility was a “key stronghold for terrorist organizations.”
Palestinian militant group Hamas denied its militants were present in the hospital, and charged that Israeli forces had stormed the facility on Friday.
The World Health Organization, meanwhile, said the Israeli military operation had put the hospital out of service.
“This morning’s raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital has put this last major health facility in north Gaza out of service. Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid,” the WHO said in a statement on X.


Humanitarian disaster in Yemen could get even worse if attacks by Israel continue, UN warns

Humanitarian disaster in Yemen could get even worse if attacks by Israel continue, UN warns
Updated 28 December 2024
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Humanitarian disaster in Yemen could get even worse if attacks by Israel continue, UN warns

Humanitarian disaster in Yemen could get even worse if attacks by Israel continue, UN warns
  • Israeli strikes on air and sea ports, and continuing detentions by the Houthis cause great anxiety among aid workers, UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Yemen tells Arab News
  • Israeli warplanes struck the international airport in Sanaa on Thursday, as well as seaports and power stations on the Red Sea coast, killing at least 4 people

NEW YORK CITY: The humanitarian crisis in Yemen, already one of the most dire in the world, threatens to get even worse should Israel continue to attack Hodeidah seaport and Sanaa airport and puts them out of action, the UN warned on Friday.
Julien Harneis, the organization’s resident and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said the number of people in the country in need of aid to survive is expected to reach 19 million in the coming year.
Speaking from Sanaa, he said Yemen, the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, has the second-highest number of malnourished children of any nation, and ranks third in terms of food insecurity.
The civil war there, which has dragged on for nearly a decade, has decimated the economy and left millions of civilians without access to the basic necessities of life, he added. The country is in the throes of a “survival crisis” and the number of people unable to access healthcare services is one of the highest in the world.
On Thursday, Israeli warplanes struck the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, as well as seaports and power stations on the Red Sea coast, killing at least four people. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the attacks were a response to more than a year of missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, and were “just getting started.”
The Houthis began attacking Israel and international shipping lanes shortly after the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. They have vowed to continue as long as the war goes on.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the Israeli airstrikes and said he was “gravely concerned” about the intensified escalation of hostilities. He said the strikes on the airport and seaports were “especially alarming,” and warned that they pose “grave risks to humanitarian operations” in the war-torn country.
Harneis, who was in the vicinity of the airport during the strikes, told of the destruction of its air traffic control tower, which left the facility temporarily nonoperational. A member of the UN staff was injured in the strike, and there were significant concerns about the safety of humanitarian workers in the area, he added. The airstrikes took place while a Yemeni civilian airliner was landing, additionally raising fears for the safety of passengers.
The airport is a critical hub for the delivery of humanitarian aid, and a key departure point for Yemenis seeking medical treatment abroad. Harneis said destruction of the airport would have far-reaching implications for international aid operations and the ability of Yemenis to access life-saving healthcare.
Hodeidah seaport is another focal point for humanitarian efforts in Yemen, with 80 percent of the country’s food and 95 percent of medical supplies arriving through this gateway. The recent airstrikes, which damaged tugs used to guide large ships, have reduced the port’s capacity by 50 percent.
“Any damage to this crucial facility would only deepen the suffering of the Yemeni population,” Harneis warned. He also reiterated that the one of the UN’s tasks is to ensure the harbor is used solely for civilian purposes in accordance with international law.
In addition to the immediate physical dangers airstrikes pose to its staff, the UN is also grappling with the detention of 17 of its workers by the Houthis, which casts another shadow over humanitarian operations.
Harneis said the UN has been in negotiations with the Houthis in Sanaa and continues to work “tirelessly” to secure the release of detained staff.
About 3,000 UN employees are currently working in Yemen, Harneis told Arab News, and the ongoing detentions and the threat of further airstrikes continue to create an atmosphere of anxiety. Given these risks, the emotional toll on staff is significant, he said.
“Many colleagues were very anxious about even coming to the office or going out on field missions. It’s very heavy for everyone,” he added.
Though there have been some improvements in operating conditions for humanitarian workers in recent months, Harneis said that when staff see that 16 of their colleagues are still detained “there’s obviously a great deal of anxiety.”
He added: “Then if you add in to that air strikes and the fear of more airstrikes, there is the fear of what’s going to happen next? Are we going to see attacks against bridges, roads, electricity systems? What does that mean for them?”
Despite the challenges to aid efforts, Harneis stressed that as the situation continues to evolve it is the response from the international community that will determine whether or not Yemen can avoid descending even more deeply into disaster.


Israel says intercepted missile from Yemen, day after Sanaa hit with strikes

Israel says intercepted missile from Yemen, day after Sanaa hit with strikes
Updated 28 December 2024
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Israel says intercepted missile from Yemen, day after Sanaa hit with strikes

Israel says intercepted missile from Yemen, day after Sanaa hit with strikes
  • Israeli raids on Thursday also targeted the adjacent Al-Dailami air base, which shares Sanaa airport’s runway

SANAA: The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen early Saturday, a day after the Houthi-held capital Sanaa was hit by fresh air strikes.
Sirens sounded in areas of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea on Saturday as “a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted... prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” the Israeli military said.
The day before, a fresh air strike hit Sanaa, which Houthi rebels blamed on “US-British aggression” though it remains unclear who was behind it.
There was no comment from Israel, the United States or Britain.
“I heard the blast. My house shook,” one Sanaa resident told AFP late Friday.
The Iran-backed Houthis control large parts of Yemen after seizing Sanaa and ousting the government in 2014.
Since the eruption of war in Gaza in October last year, the Houthis — claiming solidarity with Palestinians — have fired a series of missiles and drones at Israel.
They have stepped up their attacks since November’s ceasefire between Israel and another Iran-backed group, Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel has also struck Yemen, including targeting Sanaa’s international airport on Thursday in an attack that came as the head of the World Health Organization was about to board a plane.
The Houthis have also attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea, prompting reprisal strikes by the United States and sometimes Britain.
Earlier Friday, before the strike on Sanaa, tens of thousands of people gathered to protest and express solidarity with Palestinians.
“The equation has changed and has become: (targeting) airport for airport, port for port, and infrastructure for infrastructure,” Houthi supporter Mohammed Al-Gobisi said.
“We will not get tired or bored of supporting our brothers in Gaza.”
Israel’s strike on the Sanaa international airport on Thursday shattered windows and left the top of the control tower a bombed-out shell.
A witness told AFP that the raids also targeted the adjacent Al-Dailami air base, which shares the airport’s runway.
“The attack resulted in four dead until now and around 20 wounded from staff, airport and passengers,” Houthi Deputy Transport Minister Yahya Al-Sayani said.
It occurred as the head of the UN’s World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was preparing to fly out, and left one UN crew member injured.
Tedros was in Yemen to seek the release of UN staff detained for months by the Houthis, and to assess the humanitarian situation. He later posted on social media that he had safely reached Jordan with his team.
He said the injured member of the UN’s Humanitarian Air Service “underwent successful surgery and is now in stable condition.”
Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they knew at the time that the WHO chief was there.
An Israeli statement said its targets included “military infrastructure” at the airport and power stations in Sanaa and Hodeida — a major entry point for humanitarian aid — as well as other facilities at several ports.
Houthis use these sites “to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials,” the statement said.
But UN humanitarian coordinator Julien Harneis said the airport was “a civilian location” which the UN also uses, and the strikes took place as “a packed civilian airliner from Yemenia Air, carrying hundreds of Yemenis, was about to land.”
Although the plane “was able to land safely... it could have been far, far worse,” Harneis said.
In his latest warning to the Houthis, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s strikes would “continue until the job is done.”
“We are determined to cut this branch of terrorism from the Iranian axis of evil,” he said in a video statement.
Despite the damage, flights at Sanaa airport resumed at 10 am (0700 GMT) on Friday, deputy transport minister Sayani said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the escalation in hostilities, and said bombing transportation infrastructure threatened humanitarian operations in Yemen, where 80 percent of the population depends on aid.
The United Nations has called Yemen “the largest humanitarian crisis in the world,” with 24.1 million people in need of humanitarian aid and protection.
The airport is “absolutely vital” to continue transporting aid for Yemen, UN humanitarian coordinator Harneis said.
“If that airport is disabled, it will paralyze humanitarian operations.”
After the attack on Sanaa airport, Houthis said they fired a missile at Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv and launched drones at the city and a ship in the Arabian Sea.
The Israeli military said the same day a missile launched from Yemen had been intercepted.
Israeli “aggression will only increase the determination and resolve of the great Yemeni people to continue supporting the Palestinian people,” a Houthi statement said Friday.


Humanitarian disaster in Yemen could get even worse if attacks by Israel continue, UN warns

Humanitarian disaster in Yemen could get even worse if attacks by Israel continue, UN warns
Updated 28 December 2024
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Humanitarian disaster in Yemen could get even worse if attacks by Israel continue, UN warns

Humanitarian disaster in Yemen could get even worse if attacks by Israel continue, UN warns
  • Israeli strikes on air and sea ports, and continuing detentions by the Houthis cause great anxiety among aid workers, UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Yemen tells Arab News
  • Israeli warplanes struck the international airport in Sanaa on Thursday, as well as seaports and power stations on the Red Sea coast, killing at least 4 people

NEW YORK CITY: The humanitarian crisis in Yemen, already one of the most dire in the world, threatens to get even worse should Israel continue to attack Hodeidah seaport and Sanaa airport and puts them out of action, the UN warned on Friday.
Julien Harneis, the organization’s resident and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said the number of people in the country in need of aid to survive is expected to reach 19 million in the coming year.
Speaking from Sanaa, he said Yemen, the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, has the second-highest number of malnourished children of any nation, and ranks third in terms of food insecurity.
The civil war there, which has dragged on for nearly a decade, has decimated the economy and left millions of civilians without access to the basic necessities of life, he added. The country is in the throes of a “survival crisis” and the number of people unable to access healthcare services is one of the highest in the world.
On Thursday, Israeli warplanes struck the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, as well as seaports and power stations on the Red Sea coast, killing at least four people. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the attacks were a response to more than a year of missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, and were “just getting started.”
The Houthis began attacking Israel and international shipping lanes shortly after the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. They have vowed to continue as long as the war goes on.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the Israeli airstrikes and said he was “gravely concerned” about the intensified escalation of hostilities. He said the strikes on the airport and seaports were “especially alarming,” and warned that they pose “grave risks to humanitarian operations” in the war-torn country.
Harneis, who was in the vicinity of the airport during the strikes, told of the destruction of its air traffic control tower, which left the facility temporarily nonoperational. A member of the UN staff was injured in the strike, and there were significant concerns about the safety of humanitarian workers in the area, he added. The airstrikes took place while a Yemeni civilian airliner was landing, additionally raising fears for the safety of passengers.
The airport is a critical hub for the delivery of humanitarian aid, and a key departure point for Yemenis seeking medical treatment abroad. Harneis said destruction of the airport would have far-reaching implications for international aid operations and the ability of Yemenis to access life-saving healthcare.
Hodeidah seaport is another focal point for humanitarian efforts in Yemen, with 80 percent of the country’s food and 95 percent of medical supplies arriving through this gateway. The recent airstrikes, which damaged tugs used to guide large ships, have reduced the port’s capacity by 50 percent.
“Any damage to this crucial facility would only deepen the suffering of the Yemeni population,” Harneis warned. He also reiterated that the one of the UN’s tasks is to ensure the harbor is used solely for civilian purposes in accordance with international law.
In addition to the immediate physical dangers airstrikes pose to its staff, the UN is also grappling with the detention of 17 of its workers by the Houthis, which casts another shadow over humanitarian operations.
Harneis said the UN has been in negotiations with the Houthis in Sanaa and continues to work “tirelessly” to secure the release of detained staff.
About 3,000 UN employees are currently working in Yemen, Harneis told Arab News, and the ongoing detentions and the threat of further airstrikes continue to create an atmosphere of anxiety. Given these risks, the emotional toll on staff is significant, he said.
“Many colleagues were very anxious about even coming to the office or going out on field missions. It’s very heavy for everyone,” he added.
Though there have been some improvements in operating conditions for humanitarian workers in recent months, Harneis said that when staff see that 16 of their colleagues are still detained “there’s obviously a great deal of anxiety.”
He added: “Then if you add in to that air strikes and the fear of more airstrikes, there is the fear of what’s going to happen next? Are we going to see attacks against bridges, roads, electricity systems? What does that mean for them?”
Despite the challenges to aid efforts, Harneis stressed that as the situation continues to evolve it is the response from the international community that will determine whether or not Yemen can avoid descending even more deeply into disaster.


Relatives of Bashar Assad arrested as they tried to fly out of Lebanon

People wave independence-era Syrian flags during a demonstration celebrating the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad in Damasc
People wave independence-era Syrian flags during a demonstration celebrating the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad in Damasc
Updated 27 December 2024
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Relatives of Bashar Assad arrested as they tried to fly out of Lebanon

People wave independence-era Syrian flags during a demonstration celebrating the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad in Damasc
  • Wife and daughter of Assad's cousin arrested at Beirut airport

BEIRUT: The wife and daughter of one of deposed Syrian president Bashar Assad ‘s cousins were arrested Friday at the Beirut airport, where they attempted to fly out with allegedly forged passports, Lebanese judicial and security officials said. Assad’s uncle departed the day before.
Rasha Khazem, the wife of Duraid Assad — the son of former Syrian Vice President Rifaat Assad, the uncle of Bashar Assad — and their daughter, Shams, were smuggled illegally into Lebanon and were trying to fly to Egypt when they were arrested, according to five Lebanese officials familiar with the case. They were being detained by Lebanese General Security. Rifaat had flown out the day before on his real passport and was not stopped, the officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
Swiss federal prosecutors in March indicted Rifaat on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly ordering murder and torture more than four decades ago.
Rifaat Assad, the brother of Bashar Assad’s father Hafez Assad, Syria’s former ruler, led the artillery unit that shelled the city of Hama and killed thousands, earning him the nickname the “Butcher of Hama.”
Earlier this year, Rifaat Assad was indicted in Switzerland for war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Hama.
Tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to have entered Lebanon illegally on the night of Assad’s fall earlier this month, when insurgent forces entered Damascus.
The Lebanese security and judicial officials said that more than 20 members of the former Syrian Army’s notorious 4th Division, military intelligence officers and others affiliated with Assad’s security forces were arrested earlier in Lebanon. Some of them were arrested when they attempted to sell their weapons.
Lebanon’s public prosecution office also received an Interpol notice requesting the arrest of Jamil Al-Hassan, the former director of Syrian intelligence under Assad. Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati previously told Reuters that Lebanon would cooperate with the Interpol request to arrest Al-Hassan.