According to Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should order the targeted assassination of senior Palestinian Authority officials if the UN officially recognizes a Palestinian state.
Published On 17 Nov 2025
According to Syrian state news agency SANA, Al-Shaibani and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi made a promise on Monday that they would work together to combat “terrorism” and address security issues. The top Syrian diplomat also promised that Damascus wouldn’t allow its territory to be used for any actions against Chinese interests.
list of 3 itemsend of list
China, a former supporter of al-Assad, expressed hope that Syria would “effective measures” to fulfill its commitment, “thereby removing security barriers to the stable development of China-Syria relations,” according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Al-Shaibani’s agenda in Beijing was expected to include the fate of the Uighur fighters who had fled to Syria after the 2011 war broke out. Many of them had joined the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) with headquarters in Idlib province.
A source from Damascus’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates denied a report from AFP that claimed 400 fighters who had fled China’s persecution were being “brought back in batches” by an official from the country’s news agency.
In a brief statement to SANA, the source claimed that the “report regarding the Syrian government’s intention to hand over fighters to China is without justification.”
Al-Shaibani also endorsed the one China principle, which establishes formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan as the territory’s exclusive legal representative, during the meeting in Beijing.
Wang for his part claimed that China views Syria as its territory in the Golan Heights. In violation of international law, Israel annexed the territory in 1967 and initially occupied it.
Israel has expanded its occupation of southern Syria since al-Assad’s assassination in December 2024, including a buffer zone that was established under the terms of a 1974 ceasefire.
Damascus and Beijing expressed interest in boosting cooperation in Syria’s reconstruction, raising living standards, and highlighting the importance of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum as a framework for bilateral cooperation, according to SANA.
Al-Shaibani’s visit to China comes as Damascus attempts to rekindle its diplomatic ties around the world, with some remarkable accomplishments, including obtaining West-imposed sanctions and significant Gulf investments, giving the nation a desperately needed economic lifeline.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, the president of Syria, made his first appearance to address the White House since it gained its independence in 1946. In addition to fighting ISIL (ISIS), Syria has joined an international coalition led by the US.
Al-Sharaa stated his intention to “restore and redefine ties” between Russia and Russia during a visit to Moscow in October.
After that meeting, however, no one was asked whether Moscow would hand over al-Assad, who had fled to Russia after his government collapsed as a result of an offensive led by armed opposition groups led by al-Sharaa.
Russia has maintained a presence on Syria’s coast through its air and naval bases since the al-Assad government’s collapse. Moscow, one of al-Assad’s main supporters, provided air support to the government during the conflict.
Published On 17 Nov 2025
As health authorities work to stop the deadly haemorrhagic disease that has put neighboring countries on high alert, Ethiopia has confirmed three deaths linked to Marburg virus in the south of the nation.
Three days after the government declared an outbreak in the Omo region that borders South Sudan, health minister Mekdes Daba made the announcement on Monday.
list of 3 itemsend of list
The minister said in a statement released by state broadcaster EBC that three deaths from the Ebola-like pathogen had been confirmed, and three more deaths with symptoms are still being investigated.
Due to the region’s rapid spread of cases, containment measures are in place now.
South Sudan issued health warnings to residents of border counties urging them to avoid contact with bodily fluids, while Ethiopia has isolated 129 people who have been in contact with confirmed patients and is closely monitoring them.
Extreme fever, sharp headaches, and muscle pain are the symptoms that come with vomiting and diarrhea. Patients’ nose, gums, and internal organs become hemorrhaging in serious cases.
After receiving warnings about a suspected hemorrhagic illness, Ethiopian authorities first identified the virus on Wednesday in the Jinka region. Before confirming the initial deaths, officials tested 17 people and identified at least nine infections.
According to Daba, work is being done to quickly control the outbreak through a coordinated national response. She claimed that the government has set up rapid response teams in the affected areas and activated emergency response centers at various levels.
No active symptomatic cases are currently being treated, according to the Ethiopian minister.
What facts about #Marburg, its signs, and how it spreads are absolutely necessary. 👇🏿#ViralFacts@viralfacts pic. twitter.com/dg6VdniaNH
Authorities can conduct diagnostic tests independently without relying solely on external assistance because Ethiopia has established its own laboratory testing capacity for Marburg at the national public health institute.
Anyone who had symptoms of the minister’s advice should go to a health facility right away for medical testing.
Containment efforts are being supported by international health teams from the World Health Organization and the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Additionally, the ministry has set up a hotline to report suspected cases, distribute Amharic infographics detailing symptoms and prevention measures, and set up a public awareness campaign.
Marburg spreads through bodily fluids or contaminated materials that come into direct contact with it.
According to WHO data, the virus kills roughly half of the infected, but mortality rates have increased to 88 percent in previous outbreaks.
The UN health agency warns that “in close contact with patients when infection control precautions are not strictly practiced, is where health workers are especially vulnerable to being infected by the virus.”
A troubling pattern of haemorrhagic fever emergencies is extending to East Africa with the Ethiopian outbreak.
Tanzania’s Marburg outbreak, which claimed 10 lives between January and March this year, ended with 15 people killed when the virus’s first Marburg outbreak was documented in Rwanda last December.
During the outbreak response, Rwanda tested an experimental vaccine.
The federal government has agreed to review a legal challenge to “metering,” a controversial tactic used to deport asylum seekers who cross its borders but are not allowed to cross.
The justices reviewed a lower court’s decision on Monday that found “metering” to be an unlawful impediment to the asylum process by President Donald Trump’s administration.
list of 3 itemsend of list
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California, had previously decided the case, Al Otro Lado v. Noem. According to that court, “metering” violated US law that grants non-citizens the right to seek asylum in the country.
The phrase “Metering” refers to the practice of refusing asylum seekers who enter the country through “at capacity” border officials.
Without any safeguards or a setbacks, asylum seekers who were denied entry were frequently stranded on the Mexican side of the southern border.
In a two-to-one majority of the Ninth Circuit Court’s ruling in 2024, the court concluded that this action constituted a “withholding” of asylum rights rather than merely a delay.
The migration advocacy group Al Otro Lado, which assisted in the case, announced in a news release on Monday that it would “look forward to presenting [its] case] to the Supreme Court, which has a six-to-three conservative majority.”
The advocacy group claimed in a statement that the Ninth Circuit had made a valid conclusion that our immigration laws require the government to inspect and process people seeking asylum at ports of entry and allow them to file legal claims there.
According to the government, “the turnback policy was an illegal scheme to circumvent these requirements by physically preventing asylum seekers from crossing the border to seek protection.”
Al Otro Lado claimed that the “metering” policy placed asylum seekers in risky conditions along the Mexican border where they could face extortion from corrupt officials and criminal networks.
It stated that “violent families, children, and adults fleeing persecution were stranded in perilous conditions where they faced violent assault, kidnapping, and death.
Individuals who are fleeing persecution can seek asylum within its borders under US law. People who are at risk of being attacked for their race, religion, nationality, political views, or social affiliations are among the protected groups.
Successive governments have long encouraged asylum seekers to show up at authorized ports of entry rather than through irrational channels to file their claims.
Advocates point out that “metering” appears to convey the opposite message: that failing to show up at a port of entry could mean you’ll be denied for an indefinite period of time.
However, the Trump administration has argued that “metering” is a necessary tool to stop abuse in the asylum system in general and has attempted to restrict asylum applications.
According to the Trump administration’s attorneys, “metering” does not violate asylum laws because it applies to applicants who have simply crossed the border without crossing it.
The US Department of Justice used a reference from World War II to claim that “Allied forces did not arrive in Normandy while they were still crossing the English Channel.”
In American football, it compared crossing the border to scoring a touchdown. When a running back is stopped at the one-yard line, he doesn’t “arrive in” the end zone, according to the Justice Department.
The practice of “metering” started in 2016 when border security officials began detaining asylum seekers. The federal government cited capacity issues as a result of a growing influx of immigrants, and the practice became official in 2018.
The first lawsuit was filed in 2017. Among the organizations representing 13 immigrants in the case were organizations like the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS), the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the American Immigration Council.
After a federal court upheld the practice, “Metering” was ultimately stopped under President Joe Biden in 2021. However, additional restrictions on the asylum process have been put in place, and legal proceedings over the tactic have since continued.
In response to a larger debate over its asylum policies, the Trump administration defends “metering.”
Trump signed an executive order effectively outlawing asylum applications at the southern US border on January 20. This was the first day of his second term.
A different legal challenge has been brought against that asylum ban. The ban was overturned by US District Judge Randolph Moss in July, arguing that it essentially establishes an “alternative immigration system” distinct from the protections that have been established.
That decision has also been challenged by the Trump administration.
In response to the widespread persecution that occurred during the Holocaust and World War II, the asylum system was largely established as a result of recent government attempts to restrain asylum seekers as part of a wider immigration crackdown.
For instance, Trump campaigned for a second term using a strategy that aimed to significantly reduce immigration to the US.
Since then, his administration has petitioned other nations to support its efforts to reform the asylum and refugee system. A Trump official organized a panel on the topic of “Global Refugee Asylum System: What Went Wrong and How to Fix It” on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September.
The Trump administration then set the lowest refugee admissions cap in US history, a month later in October.
In the fiscal year 2026, only 7,500 refugees would be permitted to enter the US, according to a federal filing. According to the statement, “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination” would receive priority.
According to the Gaza Government Media Office, more than 288,000 families are facing a shelter crisis as a result of Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Palestinians are suffering in conditions that “no society can endure,” according to a statement released on Monday from the local authorities. Tens of thousands of tents have been submerged in the past few days due to heavy rain.
list of 3 itemsend of list
Palestinians have been subject to “the most dangerous humanitarian disaster” since the start of the conflict, according to the government media office, which Israel has “deliberately contributed to adâncening the catastrophe” through its obstruct to essential shelter supplies.
The Israeli occupation continues to commit crimes against civilians, it said.
“We hold the occupation completely responsible for the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced people who are without safe shelter or basic services in the harsh winters, and for its catastrophic crime of requiring the occupation to completely close the crossings and preventing the entry of shelter supplies.”
The first winter storm to hit Gaza on Thursday caused the flooding to start. More than 13, 000 homes were immediately affected, according to the United Nations.
As the rain continued over the following days, conditions continued to worsen, overtaking the worn-out tents that have been a shelter for displaced families for almost two years.
Lower elevations than the surrounding areas are where many displacement camps are located. Hani Mahmoud of Al Jazeera reported on Monday that “some areas are completely submerged” as a result of the water’s rush into them from all directions.
The enclave requires 300, 000 tents and mobile homes to provide basic shelter, according to Gaza authorities, who have “clearly stated” for months.
Despite a ceasefire that ended on October 10, Israel has obstructed their entry.
UN figures show that during the war, more than 80% of Gaza’s buildings suffered damage or destruction, leading to significant displacement.
According to experts in the field of human rights, Israel’s strategy amounts to genocide. According to the UN, “deliberately inflicting on]a] group conditions of life intended to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part” are among the acts that fall under the category of “genocide.”
The government media office criticized Israel on Monday for “remaining its policy of restrainting and preventing the entry of tents, tarps, and plastic covers,” keeping border crossings closed, and “rejecting the humanitarian protocol” it signed as part of the ceasefire.
The Israeli military organization COGAT, which coordinates aid deliveries to Gaza, has repeatedly refuted claims that it is restricting humanitarian supplies.
However, UNRWA’s head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, described the situation as “misery on top of misery” last week and warned that Gaza’s fragile shelters “quickly flood, soaking people’s belongings.”
UNRWA reported that it has enough food in Jordan and Egypt to fill 6, 000 trucks, including food, to last three months’ entire population in Gaza. Due to Israeli restrictions, only 500 to 600 of the daily entry requirements for aid trucks are made in the territory.
According to Israeli authorities’ import restrictions, UNRWA has also stated that it cannot import pens and notebooks into the territory.
Around 260, 000 Palestinian families, or nearly 1.5 million people, were exposed to vulnerability as the winter approached, according to a warning issued by aid organizations in early November.
By imposing restrictions, UNRWA senior UNRWA official Natalie Boucly claimed that Israel is still violating international humanitarian law. cited blatantly the Fourth Geneva Convention and a recent decision by the International Court of Justice that Israel was required to provide for Palestinians with “essential supplies of daily life.”
During a visit to Jordanian aid warehouses this month, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper claimed that Israel has “no excuse” for halting humanitarian supplies.
The University of Manchester professor Mukesh Kapila claimed that the restrictions are made with intention rather than by reason of necessity.
He told Al Jazeera, “This is entirely a political act because Gaza is one of the easiest areas to reach,” citing the humanitarian crisis in which it is occurring.
“Human suffering in Gaza is compounded by Israeli actions to keep up pressure on Hamas on the hostages and possibly to end it,” says the statement.
In a statement released by the government media office, the US president called on the mediator nations to “take serious and immediate action to force the occupation to abide by what it signed” in terms of the truce and humanitarian protocol.
Deir el-Balah, Gaza – Every morning for Israa Abu Reyala and her husband, Mohammad, is a battle to find decent food for their five daughters, the youngest three of whom are triplets born during the war.
The ceasefire agreement, which took effect about a month ago, has made little difference in the family’s daily life, Israa, 31, and Mohammad, 33, told Al Jazeera.
list of 3 itemsend of list
“The war was a nightmare,” Israa says as she feeds her little ones in her parents’ home in Deir el-Balah. “But the hardest part by far has been finding food, milk, and supplies for my three babies.”
Israa learned she was pregnant with triplets two months before the war.
“We were planning for a third child, not three at once,” she laughs, exchanging a look with her husband.
Their concerns at the time – about income, rent, and how to manage three infants – feel like paradise now compared to what they lived through during the pregnancy and birth, they say.
Israa says her triplets, who are now 19 months old, don’t even know what an egg looks – much less tastes – like. They’ve eaten chicken a few times, but only when sharing meals with extended family.
The couple had high hopes for the ceasefire that ostensibly ended Israel’s war on Gaza and stipulated that Israel would allow food and aid supplies to enter the beleaguered enclave.
But instead of more and higher-quality food entering Gaza, they found little of nutritional value.
Mohammad says the markets are “stuffed with commercial goods” like biscuits, chocolate, candy, snacks, nuts, and canned foods, with few fruits and vegetables that enter at prices many can’t afford.
“But what about the quality? What about proper food? And the prices are insane,” he adds.
“Where are the eggs? Where is meat and poultry? Fresh dairy and cheese? Everything healthy, nutritious, or essential for children doesn’t exist, and if it does, it’s in tiny quantities and disappears instantly,” Israa says.
Humanitarian officials call the state Israel has imposed on Gaza since it launched its genocidal war on it in October 2023, engineered starvation – a policy aimed at weakening the population physically and psychologically until society collapses from within.
Dr Khalil al-Degran, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that Israel has not adhered to humanitarian protocols requiring the entry of food and medical aid into Gaza, with quantities entering now “only 15 to 20 percent of actual needs”.
He adds that the products Israel allows in are nonessentials, like chips and instant noodles, which lack vital nutrients.
Markets remain empty of meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs, and most protein and fat sources, he says, calling it “clear engineered starvation”.
Israa says her girls are getting more to eat now, but she still worries because of the severe lack of nutritious food.
“I’m worried about my health, too,” she says. “I did lab tests last month and the specialist told me I’m in the early stages of malnutrition.”
Ten-year-old Toleen says she will never forget the tanks and Israeli soldiers she had to walk past with her parents, hands up in the air, holding white flags.
She and her six-year-old sister, Jana, had fled with their parents from one displacement shelter to another for weeks before they fled south on foot through what Israel called “the safe corridor”.
They tried to stay in the north, leaving their home in Shati refugee camp for a UNRWA school in al-Nasr – but Israeli tanks kept advancing, and the family had to keep fleeing.
So one day in November 2023, they headed south to Israa’s parents’ home in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, where she spent the rest of her pregnancy and delivery, struggling with malnutrition and the fear of Israeli bombs.
They stayed there until a ceasefire in January this year, when they went back to Gaza City, only to be caught by a famine caused by Israel’s blocking of the entry of all aid supplies.
On March 28, 2024, two weeks before her scheduled caesarean section, she was woken up at night by labour pains, but the war was raging, with intense Israeli bombardment in nearby Nuseirat.
Moving at night was dangerous, and they had to call the ambulance service repeatedly, telling them they were expecting triplets, before Israa was taken to al-Awda Hospital for an emergency c-section.
Her daughters, Keraz, Kifah, and Jumana were born, one weighing two kilogrammes (4.4 pounds) and two weighing in at 1.9 kilogrammes (4.2 pounds), well within the average for healthy triplets.
“Giving birth to healthy babies in a war felt like a miracle,” she says.
Dr al-Degran says most pregnant and breastfeeding women face acute anaemia caused by a lack of food and supplements, with many giving birth prematurely or miscarrying.
Once home, the struggle to find baby formula, diapers, and clothes for the newborns began.
The triplets needed about one can of formula per day, which their severely malnourished mother had to supplement by breastfeeding them. Her health collapsed.
“My body was exhausted and hungry,” Israa says.
“These three … I cried as they cried from hunger,” she says, looking at her triplets playing nearby.
“‘Nanna, nanna, nanna,’ that’s the sound they made asking for food, day and night. I can still hear it.”
Israa and her husband spiralled.
“I used to escape into the street from my babies’ screams, walking aimlessly, crying for hours,” she says.
Al-Degran says Gaza has suffered chronic malnutrition throughout Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave.
He warns that even if essential foods were allowed in today, the damage done to children, especially infants, has already left long-term physical and cognitive consequences.
Israa’s daily struggle continues, as she divides a single bite of food into three portions for her three infants.
“This piece for one, this for the second, and this for the third … just so they quiet down a little. But then they start crying again. They don’t understand. They’re just hungry.”
Israa and Mohammad remain grateful for what little they have, though Israa cannot hide her heartbreak over Toleen and Jana, who she says have endured hunger and still tried to help her care for the babies.
The family’s only wish now is simple: “To see a semblance of a normal life again,” Israa says.
“Open crossings. Food. Supplies. Aid.