Israel Kills Writer, Artist With Her Family
CrossFireArabia- December 25, 2024
Palestinian writer and artist Walaa Jumaa al-Ifranji, husband Ahmed Saeed Salama and her sister Shatha were killed at dawn, Wednesday in Israeli shelling targeting a house in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza Strip.
Their bodies were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al Balah amid great sadness from the intellectuals and writers community in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Ifranji began her journey with writing an Arabic novel before moving from writing on paper to itching on stones and wood and chains and rings.
The young novelist was originally from Gaza City and when the war started soon after 7 October, 2023 she and her family were forced to move to the Nuseirat camp.
Before what has become a black day for the people of Gaza, Walaa was working in a shop called “Surprise” that prepares gifts in the upscale, but no more, Al-Rimal neighborhood in the center of Gaza City.
However, like hundreds of thousands of residents of the Gaza Strip, she lost her livelihood due to the consequences of displacement to the areas south of the Gaza Valley as the Israeli army forced the people to keep moving from their destroyed homes.
The Israeli army continues its war on the Strip for the 446th day and which has resulted in the death of 45,338 people and the injury of 107,764 according to the latest statistics published by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Aleppo Returns to Normality With a Big Concert
- CrossFireArabia
- December 22, 2024
Thousands gathered Saturday in Aleppo to attend a concert organized by the London-based humanitarian organization, Syria Relief, as life begins to normalize in Syria under opposition-controlled areas with residents continuing to celebrate newfound freedoms.
The four-hour concert featured renowned Syrian artist Yahya Hawwa with attendees enjoying an evening filled with music, revolutionary and resistance-themed songs and anthems.
Syrian flags waved across the venue as the concert concluded peacefully, offering vibrant and colorful scenes according to Anadolu.
Fall of Syria’s 61-year Baath regime
Clashes between anti-regime armed groups and forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad intensified Nov. 27, leading to significant shifts in the country.
Between Nov. 30 and Dec. 7, opposition groups gained control of major provinces, including Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Homs.
By Dec. 7, as opposition forces entered the national capital of Damascus, widespread public support helped the groups dismantle regime control.
The Baath Party’s 61-year rule officially ended Dec. 8 when Assad fled the capital to Russia, where he and his family sought asylum.
The Syrian National Army, meanwhile, launched the Dawn of Freedom operation in December, successfully liberating the town of Tel Rifaat from the PKK/YPG terror organization on the first day.
The operation also secured Manbij, clearing the western Euphrates region of PKK/YPG presence.
Following the regime’s collapse, a transitional government was formed, with Mohammed al-Bashir appointed interim prime minister until March 2025.
Türkiye reopened its embassy in Damascus on Dec. 14, and several Western countries have since sent delegations to the Syrian capital.
Ireland May Turn Closed Israeli Embassy Into a Palestine Museum
- CrossFireArabia
- December 21, 2024
Ireland is considering transforming the former Israeli Embassy in Dublin into a Palestinian museum.
“Faisel Saleh, a Palestinian-American businessman and founder of the Palestine Museum in the United States, expressed interest in transforming the former Israeli embassy in Dublin into a Palestinian museum, calling it “a political statement.”
The idea of the Palestinian museum is trending on social media. The move comes within days after Israel decided to close its embassy in Ireland after what it called rising anti-semitism in the Irish country.
“The decision to close Israel’s embassy in Dublin was made in light of the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement last week.
The tension between Israel and Ireland came to the fore when the latter on 28 May, 2024 made a decision to formally recognize the state of Palestine.
