Days after the US abducted the president of Venezuela, a video shows projectiles being launched into the air over Caracas, where officials claimed unauthorised drones were seen over the city. Police reportedly fired warning shots as a deterrent, but the authorities did not provide information about the drone pilots.
Published On 6 Jan 2026
Tulin, age 7, is getting ready for her first day of school in two years, a small tent overshadowed by the sound of nearby gunfire.
This would be an exciting time for the majority of the kids. It is a terror-filled chapter for Tulin and her mother.
The majority of Gaza’s educational infrastructure has been destroyed as a result of the ongoing Israeli conflict, which has made it difficult for families to set up “tent schools” close to Israeli forces, which Israel refers to as the “yellow zone” west of the separation line and frequently only a few meters from danger.
According to Shady Shamieh, Tulin’s mother, “I honestly walk with my heart in my hand until my daughter gets to school.”
“Many times, I find myself uninvolved following her until she leaves the classroom. She continued, “I think there is something [dangerous] that she should learn.” She would now be in second grade if not for this circumstance. However, we are determined.
The path to the classroom is hazardous. Tulin admits to being afraid of the open spaces while traversing the rubble of Beit Lahiya.
Tulin said, “I’m afraid of the shooting when I go to school.” “I can’t find a wall to hide behind,” he says, “to prevent shelling or stray bullets from hitting us.”
Protection is absent from the tents inside. The students are determined to learn, but the canvas walls cannot stop bullets.
Their teacher describes a terrifying daily routine, with sniper fire frequently slicing through their classrooms.
The teacher remarked, “The location is challenging because it is close to the occupation force[forces].” We instruct the children to “Take the sleeping position” when the shooting begins. I shiver when I pray for God’s protection against injuries. We leave them lying on the ground until the shooting is over.
She continued, “We have been exposed to gunfire more than once.” “We remain despite this,” Our occupation’s policy is knowledge, while our policy is ignorance.
Ahmed, who lost his father during the war, is one of the students. He told Al Jazeera, “We come with difficulty and leave with difficulty because of the shooting.” However, I want to fulfill my martyred father’s wish that I pursue a career in medicine.
The enclave’s education system is being sluggish as a result of the desperate scenes in Beit Lahiya.
The UNICEF in Palestine spokesperson Kazem Abu Khalaf described the situation as “one of the biggest catastrophes” in an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic on Monday.
According to Abu Khalaf, “98% of all schools in the Gaza Strip have experienced varying degrees of damage, ranging up to total destruction.”
He noted that 88 percent of these schools either needed a complete reconstruction or a complete rehabilitation.
The human toll is staggering: 70, 000 kindergarten-aged children and 638, 000 school-aged children are completing their third year of education without success.
Despite UNICEF and its partners establishing 109 temporary learning facilities for 135,000 students, alarming signs are emerging of the psychological wounds of the war.
Abu Khalaf claimed that field teams have observed severe student development regression and that educational specialists must make additional efforts.
The education sector is also facing a logistical blockade due to structural destruction and trauma. Nearly no educational materials have been permitted into the Strip since the war started in October 2023, according to Abu Khalaf.
In reality, he said, “The biggest challenge is that almost no learning materials have even entered Gaza.”
UNICEF is currently working on a “Back to Learning” campaign aimed at 200, 000 children, focusing on Arabic, English, math, and science, as well as other recreational activities to “repair the children’s psyche before anything else.”
Abu Khalaf, however, emphasized that any campaign’s success depends on Israel’s lifting of restrictions.
According to an Al Jazeera correspondent on the ground in the village of Saida al-Golan in southern Syria’s Quneitra countryside, twelve Israeli military vehicles have reportedly entered the area.
A Syrian delegation is holding a new round of negotiations with Israeli counterparts in Paris on Tuesday, according to Syrian state news agency SANA, under the direction and supervision of the United States.
On Tuesday, the discussions were scheduled to continue into their second and final day.
The resumption of these negotiations, according to a government source, reflects Syria’s unwavering commitment to restoring its non-negotiable national rights, according to a source in the government.
Since Bashar al-Assad’s regime was overthrown, Israel has continued to rule Syria and carried out numerous raids and bombardments in southern Syria.
Israeli forces have been conducting , nearly daily incursions into southern Syria, particularly in the quneitra governorate, for months, causing growing public outcry and unrest.
Despite less direct military threats, Israeli forces continue to carry out airstrikes that have resulted in civilian casualties and the destruction of Syrian army installations.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), Israel has carried out nearly two attacks every day in Syria over the past year.
Disengagement agreement
Following President al-Assad’s demise, Israel canceled the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, which was brokered following the conflict in 1973 and failed to regain the occupied Golan Heights.
Israel has since violated the protocol for a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone, which had been established in the agreement, expanding further into Syrian territory.
Israel claims the agreement no longer applies while conducting air raids, ground incursions, reconnaissance flights, setting up checkpoints, and arresting or disappearing Syrians.
Syria has not launched attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in late December that Israel wanted to secure a peaceful border with Syria, and Donald Trump, the president of Israel, vowed to support Ahmed al-Sharaa, the country’s current leader, in a lightning offensive that led to al-Assad’s ouster in late 2024.
Since months ago, discussions have been going on and on in an effort to reach a resolution regarding a security deal between Israel and Syria, but neither progress has been made.
Syria has no intention of adhering to Trump’s Abraham Accords, which recognize Israel only by a select few Arab countries.
Published On 6 Jan 2026