JERUSALEM, Israel – Violence has reportedly subsided in Syria, although pro-government militias vow to keep fighting. Gruesome scenes of bodies and bloodshed have emerged from Sweida. In Gaza, Israel says international reports of starvation there are false, as ceasefire talks are ongoing and the warfare continues in remaining Hamas-controlled areas.
While Syria reels from the latest round of fighting between government-backed Bedouins attacking the Druze and Christians in southern Syria, hundreds of bodies reportedly piled up in the morgue at the Swedia National Hospital.
More than 1,000 Druze, Christians, and others have been massacred there.
Senior U.S., Israeli, and Syrian officials are due to meet on Thursday in an attempt to reach security understandings, according to a report in Axios.
However, fighters for the Bedouins against the Druze have pledged to stay put if the government doesn’t take over Sweida, where the Druze live.
Bedouin fighter Suleiman al-Akeedi declared, “If the government doesn’t seize control of Sweida, we will stay here. We’ll stay tomorrow, and the day after, and the following day, and for a month’s time.”
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Meanwhile, in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces say they will continue to operate against terrorist organizations as Hamas fights back, both with its military and in the media with a claim that the people of Gaza are starving.
The U.S.-sponsored Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced it distributed more than two million meals in two locations on Tuesday.
GHF Executive Chairman Rev. Johnnie Moore sent a letter to the United Nations calling for more collaboration to deliver “life-saving aid” to Gaza. He emphasized that while GHF is working well, no one organization can meet all the needs.
The IDF released a statement noting that 950 trucks full of aid are waiting inside Gaza for international organizations to pick up and distribute to Palestinian civilians.
Social media posts claim that more Gazans are protesting against Hamas, demanding that the terror group surrender and leave.
At the U.N., the United States has decided to pull out of the cultural agency UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) because of its divisiveness and anti-Israel rhetoric.
State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated, “UNESCO’s decision to admit the quote, ‘State of Palestine,’ end quote, as a member-state is highly problematic, contrary to U.S. policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization.”
In Jerusalem, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed that the delay in issuing visas to American evangelical organizations “has been fully resolved.”
In a statement, Huckabee said, “American Christians are some of Israel’s strongest supporters, and the resolution of this issue among friends is a welcome outcome.”
