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Aref Shamtan, 73, preferred to pitch a tent near his destroyed home in northwest Syria rather than stay in a camp for the displaced following longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.”I feel good here, even among the rubble,” Shamtan said, sipping tea at the tent near his field.When he and his son returned after Assad’s December 8 overthrow, Shamtan found his village of Al-Hawash, nestled among farmland in central Hama province, badly damaged.The roof of their house was gone and its walls were cracked.But “living in the rubble is better than living in the camps” near the border with Turkey, where he had been since 2011 after fleeing the fighting, Shamtan said.Since Islamist forces ousted Assad after nearly 14 years of war, 1.87 million Syrians who were refugees abroad or internally displaced have returned to their areas of origin, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration says.The IOM says the “lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge” for those returning home.Shamtan, who cannot afford to rebuild, decided around two months ago to leave the camp with his family and young grandchildren, and has started planting his farmland with wheat.Al-Hawash had been controlled by Assad’s forces and was along the front lines with neighbouring Idlib province, which became a bastion for opposition factions, particularly Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that led the offensive that toppled Assad.- ‘Nothing here’ -“We can’t stay in the camps,” Shamtan insisted, even if “the village is all destroyed… and life is non-existent”, lacking basic services and infrastructure.”We decided… to live here until things improve. We are waiting for organisations and the state to help us,” he said.”Life is tough.”Local official Abdel Ghafour al-Khatib, 72, has also returned after fleeing in 2019 with his wife and children for a camp near the border.”I just wanted to get home. I was overjoyed… I returned and pitched a worn-out tent. Living in my village is the important thing,” he said.”Everyone wants to return,” he said. But many cannot even afford the transport to do so in a country where 90 percent of people live in poverty.”There is nothing here — no schools, no health clinics, no water and no electricity,” Khatib said, sitting on the ground in the tent near the remains of his home.The war, which erupted in 2011 after Assad’s brutal repression of anti-government protests, killed more than 500,000 people and displaced half of the pre-war population internally or abroad, with many fleeing to Idlib province.More than six million people remain internally displaced, according to the IOM.With the recent lifting of Western sanctions, Syria’s new authorities hope for international support to launch reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.IOM chief Amy Pope said on Monday that “the lifting of sanctions sends a powerful message of hope to millions of displaced Syrians”, cautioning, however, that “hope must be matched with concrete support”.- ‘No home’ -After being repeatedly displaced, Souad Othman, 47, returned with her three daughters and son to Al-Hawash around a week ago.”Everything has changed — the homes are damaged and there is nothing left in their place,” said Othman, whose husband died during the war.The roof of her home has collapsed and its walls are cracked, but she still chose to return, eking out a living through manual labour.A small bed sits out in the open, protected only by blankets on a clothesline, with a makeshift cooking area set up on the rubble.She said she borrowed $80 to pay for a battery for two solar panels.”There are snakes and insects here. We can’t live without light during the night,” she said.AFP aerial footage of camps in northwest Syria showed some former structures empty of residents.Jalal al-Omar, 37, who is responsible for part of a camp near the village of Qah in Idlib province, said around 100 families had left for his home village of Treimsa in the Hama region.But around 700 other families cannot afford to return, he said, also noting the lack of infrastructure in Treimsa, where people have to travel miles just to buy bread.”People don’t want to stay in the camps, they want to return to their villages. But the lack of essential services… prevents their return,” he said.”I myself have no home. I’m waiting… for a place to shelter in the village,” he added.

Thousands of Palestinians looted a UN warehouse in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah on Wednesday, AFP footage showed and the UN’s World Food Programme said two people may have died when its warehouse there was broken into.AFP film showed crowds of Palestinians breaking into a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse and taking bags and cartons of food supplies as gunshots rang out.”Hordes of hungry people broke into WFP’s Al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, Central Gaza, in search of food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution,” WFP said in a statement on X.”Initial reports indicate two people died and several were injured in the tragic incident,” it said, adding: “WFP is still confirming details.”The issue of aid has come sharply into focus amid a hunger crisis after Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza for over two months, before allowing supplies in at a trickle last week.”Humanitarian needs have spiralled out of control after 80 days of complete blockade of all food assistance and other aid into Gaza,” the WFP statement said.Intense criticism has been levelled at the the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed group that has bypassed the longstanding UN-led system in the territory.The UN on Wednesday condemned the US-backed aid system in Gaza after 47 people were injured during a chaotic food distribution the day before when thousands of Palestinians desperate for food rushed into a GHF aid distribution site.A Palestinian medical source said at least one had died.The Israeli military on Wednesday said soldiers did not fire at civilians.”WFP urgently calls for safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to enable orderly food distributions across Gaza immediately,” its statement said. Israel stepped up its military offensive in Gaza, ignited by an attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023, earlier this month, while mediators push for a ceasefire that remains elusive.

Israel accused the United Nations Wednesday of seeking to “block” Gaza aid distribution, as the global body said it was doing its utmost to gather the limited assistance greenlighted by Israel’s authorities.The humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Israel has imposed a two-month aid blockade, is dire, with food security experts saying starvation is looming for one in five people.”While the UN spreads panic and makes declarations detached from reality, the state of Israel is steadily facilitating the entry of aid into Gaza,” Israel’s United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon told the Security Council.He said the assistance was entering by trucks — under limited authorization by Israel at the Kerem Shalom crossing since last week following the blockade — and via a “new distribution mechanism developed in coordination with the US and key international partners.”Danon was referring to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private, US-backed aid group that has established its own distribution system, one the United Nations considers contrary to its humanitarian principles.A chaotic distribution of aid at a GHF center Tuesday left 47 people wounded.Israel’s ambassador blamed Hamas for the tumult, saying the Palestinian group set up roadblocks and checkpoints to block access to the distribution center.He accused the UN of “trying to block” the aid.The United Nations “is using threats, intimidation and retaliation against NGOs that choose to participate in the new humanitarian mechanism,” Danon added.- ‘Will not participate’ -Danon specifically accused the United Nations of having removed these nongovernmental organizations from a database listing groups working in Gaza, an accusation rejected by the UN.”There are no differences between the current list and the one from before the launch of the GHF,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told AFP.But the UN reiterated its opposition to coordinating with GHF.”We will not participate in operations that do not meet our humanitarian principles,” insisted Dujarric.He also said the UN was doing all it could to gather the aid arriving through Kerem Shalom.Since last week 800 truckloads were approved by Israel but fewer than 500 made it into Gaza, according to Dujarric.”We and our partners could collect just over 200 of them, limited by insecurity and restricted access,” he said.”If we’re not able to pick up those goods, I can tell you one thing, it is not for lack of trying.”Danon had said “more than 400 trucks” full of aid were already on the Gaza side of the crossing and that Israel had provided “safe routes” for the distribution.”But the UN did not show up,” the Israeli envoy said. “Put your ego aside, pick up the aid and do your job.”Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed at least 54,804 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry there. The UN considers the figures reliable.The punishing offensive has reduced much of the Palestinian territory to rubble — including hospitals, schools and other basic infrastructure — and resulted in the displacement of almost all of its roughly two million people.Israel launched its operations in response to the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, which killed 1,218 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Nvidia on Wednesday reported earnings that topped market expectations, with a $4.5 billion hit from US export controls being less than the Silicon Valley chip juggernaut had feared.However, Nvidia Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress warned in an earnings call that export constraints are expected to cost the AI chip titan about $8 billion in the …

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Global stock markets sank Wednesday on evaporating cheer over eased tariff tensions, while oil prices climbed as Washington appeared closer to imposing new sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine.On Wall Street, all three major indices closed lower ahead of earnings from artificial intelligence titan Nvidia, with US Treasury bond yields ticking higher.The US chip designer’s shares …

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Israel said Wednesday its military killed Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas’s presumed Gaza leader and the brother of Yahya, slain mastermind of the October 2023 attacks that sparked the Gaza war.On the war’s 600th day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Israel’s Gaza offensive, saying it had killed tens of thousands of militants including Mohammed Sinwar — nicknamed “the shadow”.Israeli media said Sinwar was targeted by strikes in southern Gaza earlier this month. His brother was killed in October 2024.Wednesday’s announcement came as the UN condemned a US- and Israeli-backed aid system in Gaza after dozens were hurt the day before in chaotic scenes at a food distribution site.Also Wednesday, AFP footage showed crowds of Palestinians breaking into a UN World Food Programme warehouse at Deir el-Balah in central Gaza and taking food as gunshots rang out.The WFP posted on X that “hungry people” raided the warehouse “in search of food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution”.The aid issue has worsened amid a hunger crisis and criticism of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which bypasses the longstanding UN-led system.The UN said 47 people were injured Tuesday when thousands of Palestinians rushed a GHF site. A Palestinian medical source reported at least one death.Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories, said most injuries came from Israeli gunfire.The military rejected this. A spokesman said soldiers “fired warning shots into the air”, not towards people.GHF also denied crowds were shot while waiting for aid and said operations continue, with a new site opened “without incident” and more planned.With two of its four sites fully operational, GHF said it distributed eight trucks of aid and more than 840,000 meals on Wednesday.Gazans accused the US-backed system of causing confusion and unfair access.”All the aid boxes were torn apart and people just took whatever they wanted. This is all I could find: five bags of chickpeas and five kilos of rice,” said Qasim Shalouf in Khan Yunis.UN Middle East envoy Sigrid Kaag said Gazans “deserve more than survival”.”Since the resumption of hostilities in Gaza, the already horrific existence of civilians has only sunk further into the abyss,” she told the Security Council.- ‘War of Revival’ -Netanyahu marked the 600-day milestone in parliament, saying the offensive had “changed the face of the Middle East”.”We drove the terrorists out of our territory, entered the Gaza Strip with force, eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, eliminated… Mohammed Sinwar,” he said.In Washington, US envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism about a possible ceasefire, saying he expected to propose a plan soon.”I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary cease fire, and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution of that conflict,” he said.Gazans remained pessimistic.”Six hundred days have passed and nothing has changed. Death continues, and Israeli bombing does not stop,” said Bassam Daloul, 40.”Even hoping for a ceasefire feels like a dream and a nightmare.”Displaced mother-of-three Aya Shamlakh, 35, said: “There is no food, no water, not even clothes. The clothes we wear are torn and my children cannot find food to eat, where do we go?”In Israel, relatives of hostages held since the October 7 attack gathered in Tel Aviv.”I want you to know that when Israel blows up deals, it does so on the heads of the hostages,” said Arbel Yehud, who was freed from Gaza captivity in January.”Their conditions immediately worsen, food diminishes, pressure increases, and bombings and military actions do not save them, they endanger their lives.”- ‘Waste of resources’ -The UN has criticised the GHF, which faces accusations of failing humanitarian principles.”I believe it is a waste of resources and a distraction from atrocities,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.Gaza’s civil defence said Israeli strikes killed 16 people Wednesday.Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza for more than two months, before easing it slightly last week.It stepped up its military offensive earlier this month, while mediators push for a still elusive ceasefire.In Tel Aviv, hundreds of people called for a ceasefire, lining roads and the main highway at 6:29 am — the exact time the unprecedented October 7 attack began.Most Israeli media focused on the 600-day milestone and the hostage families’ struggle.Some 1,218 people were killed in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Wednesday at least 3,924 people had been killed in the territory since Israel ended the ceasefire on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,084, mostly civilians.bur-az-lba-acc/srm/dv

Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to support hostages still held in Gaza on the 600th day since the war began, urging a ceasefire to secure their release.Signs reading “The people with the hostages” were held aloft the packed crowd in the plaza dubbed Hostages Square after darkness fell over the Israeli coastal city.The meeting point has held regular rallies for the release of hostages since they were seized during Hamas’s attack on Israel that triggered the war on October 7, 2023.”It’s been more than 100 days since I was forced to leave my brother behind. As long as Eitan and the other hostages are not back, I am still in captivity,” said Yair Horn, who was freed in February but whose brother is still held in Gaza.”You brought me home, do it again, end this war and bring back the 58 hostages,” he added in a plea to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government ended the truce in mid-March and has escalated the military offensive in Gaza vowing to destroy Hamas and free the hostages.Hundreds of people gathered at intersections and on the main highway running through Tel Aviv at 6:29 am, the exact time the unprecedented October 7 attack began.Signs bearing the number 600 were placed along roads and demonstrations were held throughout the day.- ‘Everything to bring us back’ -Several hundred people gathered at kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, where nearly a quarter of residents were killed or taken hostage.”During the first days of captivity, I was convinced that (the army) and the State of Israel would do everything to bring us back in a few hours, at most a few days,” said Karina Engel-Bart, whose husband was killed in the Hamas attack and is still in Gaza.”But I was wrong… there are still 58 of them in Gaza and they must be released now,” she added.Engel-Bart was herself held hostage with her two daughters before all three were released during the first truce in the war at the end of November 2023.Situated near the border with Gaza, Nir Oz still has 14 of its residents held in the Palestinian territory, three of whom are believed to be alive.On the lawn of the kibbutz, former hostages, relatives of captives and residents mingled with people from across the country.While there were no placards, the yellow ribbons now associated with the hostages were seen on T-shirts and on the stage where speakers took turns addressing the crowd.Out of 251 hostages seized during the Hamas attack, 57 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas also holds the body of a soldier taken captive in a 2014 war.