Region

Governor of the Central Bank of Syria Safwat Raslan said the US decision to remove Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism represents a significant development in the legal and economic environment surrounding the Syrian financial sector. He said the move could lay the groundwork for a new phase of rebuilding banking and financial relations with international institutions and create conditions for the gradual return of the Syrian banking sector to cross-border financial transactions. In an exclusive statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Raslan said the significance of the decision is reflected practically in the potential to expand channels of cooperation with international banks and financial institutions and develop correspondent banking relations, supporting trade and remittances, financing import and export operations, and enhancing the banking sector's ability to serve economic activity. He added that the decision could have a positive impact on remittances from Syrians abroad once the necessary legal, technical and compliance requirements are met by the relevant parties. At the same time, he stressed that the removal from the list does not automatically mean that all restrictions facing the Syrian financial sector have been lifted or that international banking relations will resume immediately. He explained that the Syrian banking sector still faces legal, regulatory, technical and commercial requirements, in addition to compliance requirements imposed by international financial institutions and correspondent banks, noting that the Central Bank of Syria is addressing these requirements through a gradual and carefully structured process. Raslan said the priority in the next phase is to strengthen the readiness of the Syrian banking sector, develop regulatory and supervisory frameworks, enhance the efficiency of compliance and risk-management systems, and reinforce measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. This also includes upgrading technological infrastructure and payment and transfer systems to strengthen confidence in the soundness of the Syrian financial system. He noted that the central bank is simultaneously working to develop banking and financial cooperation channels with regional and international institutions and create the necessary environment to rebuild correspondent banking relationships and expand financial services, enabling the Syrian economy to gradually capitalise on the opportunities emerging from the new phase. Raslan said a banking sector capable of conducting financial transactions efficiently and transparently is a fundamental component of building an attractive investment environment. He said the objective extends beyond restoring banking relations to building a more efficient, transparent and reliable financial system capable of supporting capital flows, trade and investment. Raslan stressed that translating the political and legal development into tangible economic outcomes requires sustained institutional efforts and coordination among various national entities, alongside cooperation with regional and international financial institutions. He said the central bank views the current phase as an opportunity to rebuild the financial sector on modern foundations, strengthen its capacity to serve the national economy, and gradually integrate it into the global financial system.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) welcomed the announcement by the United States ratifying the decision to rescind the designation of the Syria from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. In a statement, GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi underscored that this step represents a positive development that supports efforts aimed at enhancing Syria's security and stability, while creating conducive conditions to advance recovery and development pathways in a manner that fulfills the aspirations of the Syrian people for a future of security, stability, and prosperity. The statement reiterated the GCC's steadfast position in support of the Syria's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, underscoring the significance of continued international efforts and supportive measures for the Syrian leadership and people.

Syrian President Ahmad Al Sharaa said the removal of Syria from the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism marks a new chapter for Syria, paving the way for development, reconstruction and nation-building.In an address to the Syrian people on Monday evening, President Al Sharaa said Syria was turning the page on a painful past and entering a new phase, describing the removal of the "dark stain" as a step toward a brighter future. He said the Syrian people had once again succeeded in overcoming the sanctions and restrictions imposed on their country.He also thanked US President Donald Trump and the friendly and supportive countries that had stood by Syria.The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an update to its sanctions regulations on Monday, removing Syria from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism after the congressional review process was completed without objection.The United States had designated Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1979.

Jordan on Monday announced that it had hosted a meeting to discuss de-escalation between Syria and Israel.According to an official source cited by Jordan News Agency (Petra), the Sunday meeting came in response to a request from Syria following the Israeli bombardment of the Syrian territories last week, which targeted the Abu Al Duhur air base in Idlib, and the rising tensions in southern Syria.The source emphasized that Jordan condemned the Israeli assaults on Syria as flagrantly breaching international law and amounting to a grave escalation, adding that Jordan fully backs the Syrian government's efforts to protect its security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity.In addition, the source further stressed the importance of halting the Israeli vicious attacks on Syria immediately, Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Syrian territories and respecting the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria.On the Syrian side, a diplomatic source at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that a high-level Syrian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani and comprising the heads of General Intelligence and Military Intelligence, convened Sunday with a high-level Israeli delegation under US mediation and hosted by Jordan.The meeting was intended to work out de-escalation efforts and support stability in Syria and the region.The source added that the meeting came in the wake of the recent Israeli bombing of the Syrian territories, coupled with the rising tensions in southern Syria.Additionally, the meeting was laser-focused on setting practical mechanisms to cease the Israeli attacks, as well as detentions, in addition to reviving the path of negotiations with the objective of reaching a security deal as a groundwork for any more thoroughgoing future accord.The Syrian side reiterated its unwavering position that the occupied Golan is Syrian territory, stressing that discussing that Golan's final status, along with the pathway to that matter, is still premature at the current time, stating that the direct priority includes the pullout of Israeli forces to the lines in place before Dec. 8, 2024, and the reactivation and full implementation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.The talks centered on the importance of supporting Syria's stability and safeguarding the security of the region, including the ongoing endeavors to bridge the Turkiye-Israel viewpoints and ensure that this existing tension between both countries wouldn't have repercussions on the Syrian territories.According to the source, the meeting focused on taking practical de-escalation steps concurrently with the exploration of avenues for returning to the negotiation path, with Syria confirming that any security arrangements must respect its sovereignty, territorial integrity and sovereign rights.

Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon continued, targeting homes and infrastructure, amid military movements in several border towns.Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli forces blew up a number of homes in the western neighbourhood of the border town of Khiam, with successive explosions heard and smoke rising in the surrounding area.Israeli forces also carried out bulldozing operations in the town of Houla and set fire to a number of agricultural fields and properties, while simultaneously blowing up several homes in the town’s western neighborhood.These operations were accompanied by successive explosions and thick plumes of smoke rising across the surrounding area, as fires continued to spread at several locations within the town.In a related development, Lebanon's National News Agency reported that the bodies of two people were recovered in the Dawhat Kfar Remman area after contact with them was lost yesterday. Preliminary information indicated that an Israeli drone targeted them while they were riding a motorcycle in the area, killing them.

Three Palestinians were martyred and two others injured yesterday after being targeted by Israeli occupation gunfire in several areas of the Gaza Strip.Medical sources said that a 10-year-old girl from Jabaliah refugee camp was martyred after being shot by Israeli occupation forces north of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.A Palestinian citizen was martyred in an Israeli occupation airstrikes that targeted Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis several days ago.A third Palestinian was martyred in Israeli occupation warplanes bombing his tent at dawn on Monday in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip. He was martyred alongside his brother who was killed in the attack.Two other Palestinians, including a woman, were injured by Israeli occupation gunfire in Shujaia and Zeitoun areas east of Gaza City. Israeli occupation warplanes bombed the water desalting plant and the prayer hall in Sheikh Radwan market northwest of the city. **media[483150]**Sources in Gaza hospitals said that four Palestinians, including a child, had been martyred by Israeli occupation gunfire in various areas of the Strip today since dawn.Sources said that the Israeli occupation has killed 73,422 Palestinians and injured 174,401 since the start of the aggression on October 7, 2023.According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, since the declaration of the ceasefire last October, 1,288 Palestinians have been martyred and 4,290 injured.QNA 0422 GMT 2026/08/24

Israel said that it had refused entry to two outspoken left-wing Swedish deputies in the European Parliament who wanted to visit the occupied West Bank.Jonas Sjostedt and Hanna Gedin, members of Sweden's Left Party, were turned away Sunday at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, the primary gateway for visitors to the Palestinian territory.Israel's foreign ministry said the pair had "consistently acted against Israel", including by calling for international legal proceedings against Israelis."On various public occasions, they have spread false accusations against Israel, including allegations of genocide, deliberate starvation and the intentional targeting of children and medical personnel," the ministry said in a statement.United Nations investigators, who do not speak for the global body as a whole, charged in June that Israel was deliberately targeting Palestinian children in an ongoing "genocide" in Gaza.Israel fiercely rejected the finding and accused Hamas of using Palestinian children as human shields.Sjostedt in a Facebook post said that the two MEPs planned to meet human rights and charitable organisations, including Save the Children, and to see refugee camps."We continue to work against Israel's illegal occupation, the displacement of Palestinians, and genocide," Sjostedt wrote.He added that Sweden had issued a protest.But Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, while noting the Swedish embassy assisted the pair, said that every country "has its own entry regulations" and that Sweden has a travel advisory in place for Israel and the Palestinian territories."Why Jonas Sjostedt and Hanna Gedin nevertheless choose to travel there is something they themselves need to answer," she told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.Rawhi Fattouh, president of the Palestinian National Council, the West Bank-based legislative body, called on European parliaments to speak out against the exclusion of critical voices.The denial of entry is "an attempt to impose silence by force and turn criticism of the occupation into an accusation, in clear disregard for international law and the moral immunity afforded to parliamentary work", he said.Israel regularly allows in foreign lawmakers, but in a high-profile exception in 2019 it denied entry to two US Democratic congresswomen highly critical of Israel, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.

Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher Sheikh Akramah Sabri has called on the Arab and Islamic nations to diligently unify their efforts to protect Al-Aqsa and all sanctities, as well as endowment property in Jerusalem and all areas across Palestine. In a statement Sunday, he called for heading to Al-Aqsa on Tuesday, Aug. 25, marking the anniversary of the Mosque arson. This arson, Sabri stressed, would remain a moment of grief and a provocative act in the nation's history that must be commemorated to remind future generations of a nefarious assault on the Mosque and to remain permanently vigilant of the lurking risks facing it. The preacher underlined that this commemoration would be an opportunity to uphold immutable Islamic rights and convey the voice of Jerusalem to the entire world. He stressed that these rights can never be waived or compromised under any circumstance. The Al-Aqsa Mosque arson took place on Aug. 21, 1969. The fire engulfed parts of the Qibli prayer hall and Salah Al-Din Al-Ayyubi's pulpit. Fifty seven years later, the anniversary comes as Al-Aqsa Mosque is plagued by rising threats, including stepped-up daily incursions by Israeli settlers, tighter restrictions on Muslim worshippers and attempts to cement a division of the site by time and space under the protection of Israeli authorities

The High Committee tasked with following up on the implementation of decisions of the 19th Consultative Meeting of the GCC Supreme Council convened on Sunday. The meeting took place at the General Secretariat headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, in attendance. During the meeting, Albudaiwi was briefed on the latest developments regarding the Committee's work and its efforts in coordination with relevant authorities across member states to track the implementation of decisions and review the progress achieved thus far. The Committee also examined the measures undertaken in this regard and explored mechanisms to expedite their full implementation, thereby achieving the desired objectives and aspirations. Albudaiwi underlined the importance of continued coordination and follow-up with stakeholders in member states to turn the decisions and directives of Their Majesties and Highnesses, the Leaders of the GCC states, into concrete results that advance the path of joint Gulf action and fulfill the aspirations of the citizens of the GCC states.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed, during a telephone conversation with Vice President of the State of Palestine Hussein Al Sheikh, the importance of safeguarding the territorial integrity of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and enabling the Palestinian Authority to undertake its responsibilities.In a statement Sunday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the conversation centered on the grave developments in the West Bank, with Abdelatty condemning the Israeli expansion of settlement activities, rising settler violence and abusive acts in East Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.He further contended that the settlement project in the E1 area is utterly unacceptable, as it threatens to cantonize the West Bank, encircle and isolate East Jerusalem, and further undermine efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.In addition, the two sides addressed ongoing efforts to complete the obligations of the first phase of US President Donald Trump's peace plan, in accordance with the roadmap, and move to the second phase.This includes ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and enabling the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) to embark on carrying out its duties from within the Strip. For his part, the President of the State of Palestine lauded Egypt's supportive role in the Palestinian cause, along with the efforts it exerts to support the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.He asserted that coordination and consultation would continue throughout the upcoming phase.

Israel warned Hamas it would intensify strikes in Gaza and order civilians to evacuate areas if the launching of drones, balloons and kites from the Gaza Strip towards Israel does not stop immediately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement yesterday.

Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir will visit Tehran today to continue efforts to bring peace and security to the region, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday, according to a statement by the ministry.Pakistan has taken on a mediator role in negotiations between Iran and the US aimed at ending the war which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.Two Pakistani government sources confirmed Munir's visit to Reuters. The first source said that Iran and Pakistan were in direct contact.A second source said the talks would also address recent developments in the conflict, including US President Donald Trump's threat of tougher sanctions on Iran."He (Munir) will discuss peace under Islamabad's MoU, Trump’s warning and the situation after the Pakistan-Turkiye-Saudi Arab Agreement and Houthi issues with Iranian leaders," the source said.The visit comes amid heightened tensions as Iran threatens a military response to US plans for sanctions that could further put a strain on the Islamic Republic's ailing economy.It will coincide with a Monday announcement on details related to the planned sanctions which US officials have said would be "the toughest sanctions in history" on Iran.Trump had warned of economic consequences against any country that provided "any type of lifeline to Iran" as he seeks to isolate the Islamic Republic.Oil shipments are at a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran threatening to strike any unauthorised oil tankers that try to transit the vital waterway, and Iran's economy is already under immense pressure from sanctions.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Greek counterpart, Giorgos Gerapetritis discussed, during a phone call today, ways to strengthen Egyptian-Greek relations in addition to regional developments, in light of the strategic partnership and ongoing coordination between the two countries.The two ministers exchanged views on regional developments, emphasizing the importance of intensifying diplomatic efforts and supporting political solutions to de-escalate tensions.The Egyptian Foreign Minister stressed the importance of avoiding military escalation, prioritizing the diplomatic track, and safeguarding the security and freedom of international navigation, given the serious repercussions of current tensions on energy security and global trade.

Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty and Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohamed Mustafa discussed, in a telephone call today, the developments in the occupied Palestinian territories.The call addressed the developments in the Gaza Strip and the efforts made by Egypt, in coordination with mediators, to implement the US President Donald Trump peace roadmap, which include Israel's withdrawal from the enclave; ensuring flow of humanitarian assistance; initiating early recovery and reconstruction efforts; the entry of the Palestinian National Authority's committee to manage Gaza; and the deployment of an international stabilization force.The two sides also touched on the serious developments in the occupied West Bank, where the Egyptian Foreign Minister denounced the illegal settlement expansion and the escalating settler violence and attacks against Palestinians and their property. He warned against the dangers posed by the E1 settlement project, which threatens the geographical contiguity of the Palestinian territories and isolates East Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings.Abdelatty reiterated Egypt's categorical rejection to any attempts of annexing Palestinian territories; displacing Palestinians, or altering the legal and demographic status of the occupied territories, which would entrench the status quo and undermine the prospects for establishing a Palestinian state.

Israeli forces shelled several areas in southern Lebanon on Saturday, coinciding with airstrikes and bombings.According to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), the town of Mansouri, the vicinity of Beit Siyad, and the outskirts of Majdal Zoun came under heavy artillery shelling at dawn today.Israeli forces also shelled the areas of Doha Kfar Rumman, the vicinity of Tell al-Dabsha, and Harj Ali al-Taher, using phosphorus shells.Meanwhile, warplanes launched two airstrikes this morning on the Ali al-Taher hill on the northern outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, while the Israeli army carried out a large bombing in the vicinity of Arnoun and the towns of Mansouri, Majdal Zoun, and Beit Siyad.The bombings also targeted the towns of Haddatha, Beit Yahoun, and Aita al-Jabal in southern Lebanon.These Israeli attacks were accompanied by continuous drone flights over the villages and towns of the western and central sectors.

Iraqi President Nizar Amedi on Saturday reaffirmed Iraq's rejection of any use of its territory as a launchpad for attacks against Gulf states, stressing the need to preserve the country's stability and prevent it from becoming an arena for regional conflicts. Speaking during a discussion session at the eighth Baghdad Dialogue Conference, Amedi said Iraq was committed to protecting its sovereignty and preventing its territory from being used to harm neighboring countries. He reiterated Baghdad's opposition to any attacks against Gulf states launched from Iraqi territory. Amedi said Iraq is at a sensitive regional juncture, requiring it to safeguard political and security stability and avoid the repercussions of an expanding regional conflict. Separately, Amedi said the international coalition's mission in Iraq will end on September 30, at the request of the Iraqi government. He stressed that Baghdad remains committed to strengthening its security and sovereignty and preventing its territory from being used for hostile acts against countries in the region.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Saturday condemned Israel's continued settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including the E1 settlement project, warning that pursuing such plans constitutes a flagrant challenge to international law and a systematic undermining of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi stressed that such practices by Israeli occupation forces would undermine prospects for peace and threaten international and regional efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state. He called on the international community to take serious and responsible action to halt Israel's settlement policies and plans and to oppose any measures aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of the occupied Palestinian territories. Albudaiwi reaffirmed the GCC's steadfast support for the Palestinian people's right to establish an independent state within the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.

US says details of economic curbs to come on MondayChina rejects US sanctions move, calls for dialogue to resolve issuesIran said yesterday that its response to any new US threats would be “devastating” after Washington pledged to impose the toughest financial penalties in history with the aim of toppling the Iranian leadership. US Treasury chief Scott Bessent said he would give details on Monday of the planned sanctions, which follow a warning from President Donald Trump of economic consequences against any country that provided “any type of lifeline to Iran.” The chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, Major General Ali Abdollahi, said the Islamic Republic’s reaction would be broad and decisive. “With preparedness across land, sea, air, air defence and cyberspace, Iran’s armed forces will respond to the enemy’s new threats with crushing, punishing and devastating responses,” Abdollahi was quoted as saying by Iranian media. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the country’s main negotiator in mediated talks with the United States, said Washington appeared to have concluded it could not prevail in its direct military confrontation. “We must make plans to deal with the unjust sanctions so that we can overcome them,” he said in neighbouring Iraq, accusing the US and Israel of resorting to what he said was economic and “cognitive” warfare. But, speaking to Iranian and Iraqi businesspeople late on Thursday, Ghalibaf acknowledged the strain on Iran’s economy. “No matter how much military power we have, we won’t survive if people are hungry and we don’t have financial turnover, economic growth and national production,” Ghalibaf said, according to official news agency IRNA. Oil prices edged lower yesterday but were on track for a second weekly gain after rising on Thursday following the new US sanctions threat. “I’m not sure why oil has popped up on this,” Bessent told CNBC. “If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart,” he said, using a term referring to military force. Bessent told CNBC: “We are going to collapse this regime. It is time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision,” he said, describing a naval blockade reimposed on Iran in July and the “toughest sanctions in history” as a “one-two punch”. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was defiant in a post on X that referenced previous U.S. efforts to apply economic pressure to Iran and Trump’s comments at the start of the war. “14 years ago: ‘Most crippling sanctions in history.’ Failed. 8 years ago: ‘Maximum pressure.’ Failed. 5 months ago: ‘Unconditional surrender.’ Failed. Today: ‘Most crushing economic operation ever.’ Bound to fail. We have seen this movie before. Same bull. Different bullies,” he posted. At home, Trump is under pressure to end the war, with high fuel prices dragging down his approval ratings and potentially threatening his Republican Party’s control of Congress in midterm elections in November. China said on Friday that US “sanctions and pressure” would not resolve the Middle East conflict, after Washington urged governments including Beijing to join efforts to isolate the Iranian economy. The United States has vowed it would “collapse” the Iranian regime with its threatened campaign, which Tehran has branded as “economic terrorism” doomed to fail, nearly six months since their war began. Asked about US President Donald Trump’s threats, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters that “sanctions and pressure will not help resolve the issue”. “China calls on all relevant parties to take responsible measures and resolve the problem through political and diplomatic means,” he said. Spokesman Lin reiterated the need for all parties to take “responsible measures” in resolving the war, when he was asked about Bessent’s comments.“China opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not authorised by the UN Security Council,” Lin said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said yesterday it was time to end the months-long Middle East war with the United States because Tehran appeared to be in a stronger position than Washington. Talks between the decades-old foes remain on hold, with both sides in the war started by the US and Israel in February locked in a stalemate. Tehran is keeping the key Strait of Hormuz partially shut and Washington is persisting with a naval counter-blockade of Iran. “It is better that we bring the war to an end now as we are in a position of power and dignity,” Pezeshkian said in a meeting with doctors. “The whole world acknowledges our victory and emphasises that America has attacked our schools, hospitals and infrastructure in violation of all regulations and is hated around the world.” Pezeshkian also defended a memorandum of understanding agreed with the US in June aimed at ending the war, claiming it did not signal a defeat for Tehran. “They cannot find even a single clause in this agreement that indicates capitulation. All the commitments concern the other side,” he said. His remarks come weeks after Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he had approved the deal to end the war despite having “different views”.Hardline lawmakers in Iran’s parliament have also criticised the government over the deal, accusing it of giving concessions to the US, mostly over the re-opening of the strategic Hormuz Strait. —AFP

The grandmother of Hind Rajab told AFP her family had no faith in a criminal probe into the five-year-old’s death in Gaza in 2024, calling it little more than an attempt by the Israeli military to “justify” her killing. Hind Rajab’s body was recovered from a car riddled with bullets in Gaza City days after she was last heard from in a desperate, hours-long phone call to the Palestinian Red Crescent on January 29, 2024.Her death sparked international outrage and calls for an independent investigation. The Israeli military on Wednesday admitted its troops fired on the car carrying Rajab and her family, after previously denying soldiers were present in the area.It said it had ordered a criminal investigation by the military police following a “review of the findings and due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance”. “We were surprised by the statement issued by the Israeli army,” Hind Rajab’s grandmother, also called Hind Rajab, told AFP, acknowledging it was the first time the military had “admitted its mistake”. “But for us this is not an admission but rather an attempt by the Israeli army to justify to the world how it committed the crime and how they executed Hind,” she added. “The army is trying to justify its position to the world, claiming that what happened was a mistake and that the soldiers who committed it will be prosecuted.” Five-year-old Rajab made the harrowing emergency call after her family’s car came under fire during an attempt to flee Gaza City amid an Israeli advance.Her body was eventually recovered along with those of six family members and two Red Crescent rescuers sent to find her. The original audio recordings of her plea for help were incorporated into the Oscar-nominated feature film The Voice of Hind Rajab. Israel’s foreign ministry said the opening of the criminal investigation showed that the country was a “law-abiding democracy”, which Rajab’s grandmother disputed. “We do not trust Israel’s justice system, we don’t trust them because they have committed numerous crimes,” she told AFP. “They acknowledged the Hind incident because it was documented, but many more crimes have occurred in Gaza that have not been documented.” Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,300 Palestinians since October 2023, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the UN. Despite a ceasefire in effect since October, the Israeli military controls more than 60% of the territory and the bloodshed there has continued, with its forces continuing to target Palestinians it says are fighters. On Wednesday, the military also published reviews into four other high-profile incidents in Gaza, saying it was launching a criminal probe into the 2025 killing of 15 Palestinian medics and humanitarian personnel. In the three other cases, involving the killing of seven employees from World Central Kitchen and four from Doctors Without Borders (MSF), it said criminal investigations would not be launched. In the family’s home in Gaza City, Rajab sat quietly beside a collection of her granddaughter’s toys, flicking through old photos on her phone.“We call upon the countries that witness the daily crimes of the occupation to stand with the Palestinian and Gazan people,” she told AFP.“We demand justice not only for Hind’s case, but also for the children of Gaza, whose rights are violated, whose right to life is lost, and who are the most targeted group in Gaza.”