BEIRUT: Israeli airstrikes on Sunday made Damascus airport inoperable just hours after flights had resumed following a similar attack last month, a war monitor said, as state media also reported the attack.
“Israeli warplanes on Sunday afternoon carried out a new raid targeting Damascus international airport … putting it out of service again,” said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
It said the raid targeted the runways, and reported the sound of an explosion from the direction of a military airport elsewhere in the capital.

CAIRO: The eighth Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean takes place in the Spanish city of Barcelona on Monday.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was setting off on Sunday to join the talks which will this year focus on the developments in Gaza.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said that the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee would meet in Barcelona for dialogue with the Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.

LONDON: Members of Jordan’s Lower House legal committee on Sunday met with experts in international and constitutional law to scrutinize the country’s agreements with Israel and investigate the possibility of prosecuting Israeli leaders in the International Criminal Court, the Jordan News Agency reported.

Committee attendees, focusing on legal accountability, discussed establishing a legal framework to potentially sue Israeli leaders as war criminals for alleged actions against Palestinians in Gaza. In-depth reviews of accords signed with Israel were also carried out.

JERUSALEM: Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday that it would summon the Irish ambassador over a tweet celebrating the release of a 9-year-old girl from Hamas captivity, alleging the post didn’t adequately condemn the militant group.
Earlier Sunday, the Irish prime minister lauded the release of Emily Hand, an Israeli-Irish girl whose story has captivated both nations.

RAFAH: The fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was back on track Sunday as the militants freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first American, in a third exchange under a four-day truce that the US said it hoped would be extended. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners, all young men.