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The parents of the last hostage in Gaza have been waiting for over two years for the return of their son, whom they described as “fighting to the last bullet” during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.Now the mother of Ran Gvili says there is consensus in Israel that his body must be returned before the second phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip begins.”From everyone we speak to, we’re getting the promise that they won’t move to the second phase until they bring Rani back,” Talik Gvili, 55, told AFP at the family’s home in Meitar, a small town in southern Israel that is east of Gaza.”We are really, really hoping that this is truly what will happen,” she said.Gvili was an officer in Israel’s Yasam elite police unit who was 24 at the time of the attack by Hamas that triggered the war in the Palestinian territory.Under the terms of a US-sponsored ceasefire plan that entered into force between Israel and Hamas on October 10, the militant group committed to returning all the 48 hostages it held captive, of whom 20 were alive.Militants have so far returned 47.Palestinian militants had taken 251 people hostage during the 2023 attack.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he expected the second stage of the truce plan in the Palestinian territory to start shortly.The plan’s terms say the next phase should begin after the return of all living hostages and the remains of the deceased.The next step includes disarming Hamas and the further withdrawal of Israeli forces as a transitional authority is established in Gaza, and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.- ‘First to jump in’ -In October 2023, Gvili was on medical leave waiting for a shoulder operation.When he heard of the attack he decided to leave his home with his own gun. He was shot in the fighting at the Alumim kibbutz before he was taken to Gaza.Israeli authorities told Gvili’s parents in January 2024 that he had not survived his injuries but even today, the couple struggle to believe he is dead.”They claim he didn’t receive any (treatment) but we still have a tiny, tiny glimmer of hope,” said his father, Itzik Gvili, 61.Gvili’s face is everywhere in the area close to the Negev desert — on posters, roundabouts and in front of many villas.Under the portrait of the young man in uniform are the words “Hero of Israel”.”He ran to help, to save people,” his father said, wearing a T-shirt with a picture of his son riding a motorcycle.”Even though he was already injured before October 7. But that was Rani — always running forward, the first to help and the first to jump in,” he said.”He fought until the last bullet and then he was taken hostage,” Talik Gvili said.Soldiers and police officers who were there on October 7 said Ran fought in front of the entrance to Alumim kibbutz, before being shot and injured.”In a way, it fits him, to be the one to stay behind. So in a way, it helps us to accept this situation — but mainly because we have no choice. We didn’t choose to be the last ones,” his mother said. “But someone has to be the last, and it ended up being our family.”

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed to usher in an era of justice and coexistence a year after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, with tens of thousands taking to the streets to mark the anniversary.Sharaa’s Islamist-led alliance launched a lightning offensive in late November last year and took Damascus on December 8, bringing a sudden end to more than five decades of Assad family rule and over a decade of civil war.Jubilant crowds thronged the streets of the capital and other major cities, many people waving Syrian flags, AFP correspondents said, after mosques in the Old City began the day broadcasting celebratory prayers at dawn.”Today, with the dawn of freedom, we declare a historic break with that legacy, a complete dismantling of the illusion of falsehood, and a permanent departure from the era of despotism and tyranny, ushering in a bright new dawn — a dawn founded on justice, benevolence… and peaceful coexistence,” Sharaa said in a speech to mark the occasion.His speech was followed by continued celebrations across Syria with fireworks exploding above the massive crowds who chanted along to revolutionary songs played over loudspeakers.Sharaa also reaffirmed “our commitment to the principle of transitional justice to ensure accountability for all those who violated the law and committed crimes against the Syrian people”.Multi-confessional Syria’s fragile power transition has also been shaken by sectarian massacres in the country’s Alawite coastal heartland and deadly clashes in Druze-majority Sweida in the south.The authorities announced investigations after some government forces or allies were implicated in the violence.The civil war, which erupted in 2011 with the Assad government’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, killed more than half a million people and displaced millions from their homes.Tens of thousands of people are still missing, many after disappearing into the former government’s prisons, with families awaiting justice for Assad-era atrocities.- ‘Like a miracle’ -“What happened over the past year seems like a miracle,” said Iyad Burghol, 44, a doctor, noting major developments including President Donald Trump’s embrace of Sharaa, a former jihadist who once had a US bounty on his head.After years of war and economic crisis, people need basics like electricity “but the most important thing to me is civil peace”, Burghol told AFP.Sharaa has made progress abroad like restoring Syria’s international standing and winning sanctions relief, but he faces major challenges at home including gaining people’s trust, guaranteeing security, rebuilding institutions and keeping his fractured country united.”The current phase requires the unification of efforts by all citizens to build a strong Syria, consolidate its stability, safeguard its sovereignty, and achieve a future befitting the sacrifices of its people,” Sharaa said following dawn prayers at Damascus’s famous Umayyad Mosque.He was wearing military garb as he did when he entered the capital a year ago.Humanitarian worker Ghaith Tarbin, 50, expressed hope the government would now “prioritise civil peace” after years of war laid waste to swathes of the country. – Challenges ahead -In October, the World Bank said Syria’s post-war reconstruction could cost up to $216 billion.Syria’s authorities have announced major investment deals including for infrastructure but most Syrians are yet to see major improvements.Security remains a persistent problem, and critics have accused the new government of marginalising minorities and failing to protect them.Some have called for decentralisation or self-determination, which Sharaa has staunchly opposed, insisting on a centralised state.Amnesty International said “the new government’s response to serious violations committed since they came to power… will be a litmus test of its commitment to pursuing justice and accountability”.Human Rights Watch said the authorities “have taken positive steps on justice, transparency, and rights but failed to prevent continued violence and atrocities”.In a statement, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “what lies ahead is far more than a political transition; it is the chance to rebuild shattered communities and heal deep divisions” and forge a nation where all Syrians “can live securely, equally, and with dignity”.But not everybody was celebrating on Monday.An AFP correspondent said shops were shut in and around the coastal city of Jableh, where a prominent Alawite spiritual leader had urged members of the religious minority — to which the Assads belong — to boycott the celebrations in protest against the new authorities.In the country’s Kurdish-held northeast, the authorities announced a ban on public gatherings on Monday, citing security concerns.Under a deal agreed in March, the Kurdish administration was to integrate its institutions into the central government by year-end, but progress has stalled.Israeli military operations and demands for a demilitarised zone in southern Syria are further challenges, despite ongoing negotiations between the two countries to address the security concerns of both sides. burs-mam-lg/nad/dcp

The widow of slain Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi Monday filed a legal complaint in France accusing Saudi Arabia of using Israeli spyware to steal data from her phones before he was killed, her lawyers said.Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, whose husband was murdered at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in October 2018, alleged her data was in part stolen in France, where she landed repeatedly while working as an air hostess, according to a copy of the complaint seen by AFP.Citizen Lab, a specialised research body at the University of Toronto, found that her two telephones were infected by Pegasus, a tool made by Israel-based firm NSO Group, in April 2018, the complaint showed.It said the infection coincided with her interrogation at an airport in the United Arab Emirates, a staunch ally of Saudi Arabia. “It would be unthinkable not to establish a link between this interception (of information) and the actions that led to the murder” of her husband, attorneys William Bourdon and Vincent Brengarth said in a joint statement to AFP.The French judiciary will now decide whether to investigate the complaint.Amnesty International in 2022 said it had identified 11 government clients of Pegasus, software that can reportedly switch on a target’s cell phone camera and microphone and access data on it, effectively turning the phone into a pocket spy.Khashoggi was a US resident who wrote critically about the kingdom as a columnist for The Washington Post.A US intelligence assessment in 2021 concluded that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had ordered the operation to kill Khashoggi, who was murdered and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.But US President Donald Trump strenuously defended the prince last month when he visited Washington.The French legal complaint, which does not specifically target one party, comes after a US judge in October granted an injunction barring NSO Group from targeting WhatsApp users.The lawsuit, filed in late 2019, accused NSO Group of cyberespionage targeting journalists, lawyers, human rights activists and others using the encrypted messaging service.

Conditions for medics and patients in Gaza are as severe as ever despite a nearly two-month truce in the territory, the president of medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in an AFP interview.Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed in October to a US-backed truce deal for Gaza which stipulated an influx of aid to the territory devastated by two years of war and in the grip of a humanitarian crisis.”It’s as hard as it’s ever been,” Javid Abdelmoneim said of conditions for medical staff operating in Gaza’s hospitals, speaking on the sidelines of the annual Doha Forum on diplomacy on Sunday.”While we’re able to continue doing operations, deliveries, wound care, you’re using protocols or materials and drugs that are inferior, that are not the standard. So you’ve got substandard care being delivered,” he explained.Abdelmoneim, who worked as a doctor in Gaza in 2024, said the ongoing truce was only a “ceasefire of sorts” with “still several to dozens of Palestinians being killed every day by Israel”.Despite the truce, 376 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to local health authorities, as well as three Israeli soldiers. “We’re seeing the injured patients in the emergency rooms in which we work throughout the strip,” he added. Aid agencies are pushing for more access for humanitarian convoys to enter Gaza while Israel has resisted calls to allow aid through the Rafah crossing from Egypt.- Aid ‘weaponised’ -The MSF president said that since the truce began, aid “hasn’t come in to the level that’s necessary”.”There isn’t a substantial change and it is being weaponised… So as far as we’re concerned that is an ongoing feature of the genocide. It’s being used as a chip and that’s something that should not happen with humanitarian aid,” Abdelmoneim said. In 2024, MSF said its medical teams had witnessed evidence on the ground in Gaza and concluded that genocide was taking place.Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the report saying at the time that it was “fabricated”.Abdelmoneim said both the lack of supplies and the destruction of hospitals in the Palestinian territory — still not offset by the provision so far of field hospitals — meant care remained inadequate. “Those two things together mean increased infection rates, increased stays and greater risk of complications. So it is a substandard level of care that you’re able to deliver,” he said. The MSF president also sounded the alarm over the safety of medical staff in Sudan where at the end of October the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the North Darfur capital of El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in the western region.The paramilitaries’ final advance after a bitter 18-month siege was followed by reports of widespread atrocities. “One feature that has been consistent, no matter where you are in Sudan, no matter who controls the territory, are attacks on health care and blockages to supply movements and provision of health care,” Abdelmoneim said.- ‘Freedom, protection access’ -The World Health Organization said at the end of October that it had received reports that more than 460 patients and their companions had been shot dead at a maternity hospital in El-Fasher during its capture by the RSF and of six health workers being abducted.On Thursday, an RSF drone attack on the army-held town of Kalogi in Sudan’s South Kordofan state hit a children’s nursery and a hospital, killing dozens of civilians including children, a local official told AFP.”Both sides need to allow humanitarian and medical workers freedom, protection and access to the population, and that includes supplies,” said Abdelmoneim, who also worked as a doctor in Omdurman in Sudan in February.The MSF president said the charity’s medical teams receiving displaced people in Sudan and neighbouring Chad were encountering “harrowing tales of sexual violence, tales of ethnically targeted violence, extortion” as well of “evidence that really does point to famine-like conditions”. In Tawila, a town now sheltering more than 650,000 people fleeing El-Fasher and nearby Zamzam camp, also under RSF control, Abdelmoneim said the MSF had been told by survivors “that family members are detained and never seen again”. “So our question is, what has happened to that population?” he said.The medical charity was backing calls by the UN Human Rights Council for an enquiry into the reported violations. “We would encourage all member states to support that, an independent investigation inside El-Fasher,” Abdelmoneim said.  

Tens of thousands took to the streets across Syria on Monday to celebrate a year since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, with President Ahmed al-Sharaa urging people to unite to rebuild the country.Sharaa’s Islamist-led alliance launched a lightning offensive in late November last year and took Damascus on December 8 after nearly 14 years of war, ending more than five decades of Assad family rule.The war, which erupted in 2011 with the then-government’s brutal crackdown on democracy protests, killed more than half a million people and displaced millions from their homes.Jubilant crowds thronged the streets of the capital, many people waving Syrian flags, AFP correspondents said, after mosques in the Old City began the day broadcasting celebratory prayers at dawn.”What happened over the past year seems like a miracle,” said Iyad Burghol, 44, a doctor, noting major developments including President Donald Trump’s embrace of Sharaa, a former jihadist who once had a US bounty on his head.After years of war and economic crisis, people need basics like electricity “but the most important thing to me is civil peace”, Burghol told AFP.Sharaa has made progress abroad like restoring Syria’s international standing and winning sanctions relief, but he faces major challenges at home including gaining people’s trust, guaranteeing security, rebuilding institutions and keeping his fractured country united.”The current phase requires the unification of efforts by all citizens to build a strong Syria, consolidate its stability, safeguard its sovereignty, and achieve a future befitting the sacrifices of its people,” Sharaa said following dawn prayers at Damascus’s famous Umayyad Mosque.He was wearing military garb as he did when he entered the capital a year ago.- Refugee returns -Military personnel marched in Damascus as helicopters flew overhead with Sharaa and several ministers in attendance, state media reported. Parades and large celebrations were also held in other major cities including Aleppo.Sharaa is expected to speak later Monday.Humanitarian worker Ghaith Tarbin, 50, noted the government had worked hard to rehabilitate Syria’s foreign ties.He expressed hope it would now also focus on domestic issues and “prioritise civil peace” after years of war laid waste to swathes of the country. In October, the World Bank said Syria’s post-war reconstruction could cost up to $216 billion.Authorities have announced major investment deals including for infrastructure but most Syrians are yet to see major improvements.The United Nations refugee agency said Monday more than three million Syrians had returned home from neighbouring countries or internally but said “increased funding is urgently needed to scale up recovery and reconstruction”.Tens of thousands of people are still missing, many after disappearing into the former government’s prisons, with families awaiting justice for Assad-era atrocities.Multi-confessional Syria’s fragile transition has also been shaken by sectarian massacres in the country’s Alawite coastal heartland and deadly clashes in Druze-majority Sweida in the south.Authorities announced probes after some government forces or allies were implicated in the violence, deepening divisions.- Healing rifts -Security remains a persistent problem, and critics have accused the new authorities of marginalising minorities and failing to protect them, while some have called for decentralisation or self-determination.Amnesty International said “the new government’s response to serious violations committed since they came to power… will be a litmus test of its commitment to pursuing justice and accountability”.Human Rights Watch said the authorities “have taken positive steps on justice, transparency, and rights but failed to prevent continued violence and atrocities”.In a statement, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “what lies ahead is far more than a political transition; it is the chance to rebuild shattered communities and heal deep divisions” and forge a nation where all Syrians “can live securely, equally, and with dignity”.But not everybody was celebrating on Monday.An AFP correspondent said shops were shut in and around the coastal city of Jableh after a prominent Alawite spiritual leader had urged members of the religious minority — to which the Assads belong — to boycott the celebrations in protest against the “oppressive” new authorities.In the country’s Kurdish-held northeast, authorities announced a ban on public gatherings on Monday, citing security concerns.Under a March deal, the Kurdish administration was to integrate its institutions into the central government by year-end, but progress has stalled.Israeli military operations and demands for a demilitarised zone in southern Syria are further challenges, despite ongoing negotiations between the two countries to address the security concerns of both sides. burs-mam-lg/rh

President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday urged Syrians to work together to rebuild their country, still marred by insecurity and divisions, as they marked a year since the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.The atmosphere in Damascus was jubilant as thousands of people took to the streets of the capital, AFP correspondents said, after mosques in the Old City began the day broadcasting celebratory prayers at dawn.”What happened over the past year seems like a miracle,” said Iyad Burghol, 44, a doctor, citing developments including a warm welcome in Washington by President Donald Trump for Sharaa, a former jihadist who once had a US bounty on his head.”People are demanding electricity, lower prices and higher salaries” after years of war and economic crisis, Burghol said.”But the most important thing to me is civil peace, security and safety,” he added, taking a photo of people carrying a huge Syrian flag and sending it to his friends abroad.Sharaa’s Islamist-led alliance launched a lightning offensive in late November last year, taking the capital Damascus on December 8 after nearly 14 years of war and putting an end to more than five decades of the Assad family’s iron-fisted rule.Since then Sharaa has managed to restore Syria’s international standing and has won sanctions relief, but he faces major challenges in guaranteeing security, rebuilding crumbling institutions, regaining Syrians’ trust and keeping his fractured country united.”The current phase requires the unification of efforts by all citizens to build a strong Syria, consolidate its stability, safeguard its sovereignty, and achieve a future befitting the sacrifices of its people,” Sharaa said following dawn prayers at Damascus’s famous Umayyad Mosque.He was wearing military garb as he did when he entered the capital a year ago.- ‘Heal deep divisions’ -As part of the celebrations in Damascus, hundreds of military personnel marched down a major thoroughfare as helicopters flew overhead and people lined the streets to watch.Sharaa and several ministers were in attendance, state media reported.Monday’s events, including an expected speech by Sharaa, are the culmination of celebrations that began last month as Syrians began marking the start of last year’s lightning offensive.Multi-confessional Syria’s fragile transition has been shaken this year by sectarian bloodshed in the country’s Alawite and Druze minority heartlands, alongside ongoing Israeli military operations.In a statement, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “what lies ahead is far more than a political transition; it is the chance to rebuild shattered communities and heal deep divisions”.”It is an opportunity to forge a nation where every Syrian — regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or political affiliation — can live securely, equally, and with dignity,” he said in the statement, urging international support.On Sunday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which investigates international human rights law violations since the start of the war, warned the country’s transition was fragile and said that “cycles of vengeance and reprisal must be brought to an end”.The US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that control swathes of northeast Syria said Monday that “the next phase requires launching a real, inclusive dialogue… and establishing a new social contract that guarantees rights, freedoms and equality”.The Kurdish administration in the northeast has announced a ban on public gatherings on Monday, citing security concerns, while also banning gunfire and fireworks.Under a March deal, the Kurdish administration was to integrate its institutions into the central government by year-end, but progress has stalled.On Saturday, a prominent Alawite spiritual leader in Syria urged members of his religious minority, to which the Assad family also belongs, to boycott the celebrations, in protest against the “oppressive” new authorities.