Skip next section HRW accuses Israel of forced displacement in southern Syria
09/17/2025September 17, 2025HRW accuses Israel of forced displacement in southern Syria
Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of forcibly displacing residents in southern Syria, which Israel has demanded be demilitarized as part of a new security pact.
Citing interviews with locals, and satellite images, the rights group said Israeli forces have “seized and demolished homes, blocked residents from their property and livelihoods, and arbitrarily detained residents and transferred them to Israel” since December 2024.
Israel has stepped up attacks in Syria after longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad was ousted in December.
HRW said “Israel has pushed deep into the UN-monitored demilitarized zone separating the Golan Heights.”
Israel also “intensified airstrikes on military infrastructure,” the group said, noting statements by Israeli officials who have said that they intend to “completely demilitarize” the south of Syria.
A buffer zone between Syria and Israel on the Golan Heights was initially established after a disengagement pact in 1974, but Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights continues, with only the US and Israel officially recognizing the Syrian territory as part of Israel.
https://p.dw.com/p/50bZc
Skip next section EU foreign policy chief proposes Israel sanctions
09/17/2025September 17, 2025EU foreign policy chief proposes Israel sanctions
Kaja Kallasurged the 27 member nations to increase tariffs on some Israeli goods and impose sanctions on 10 Hamas leaders, Israeli settlers, and two Israeli ministersImage: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu/picture alliance
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has put forward a proposal to curb trade with Israel and impose restrictions on far-right Israeli ministers, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
“I want to be very clear, the aim is not to punish Israel. The aim is to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Kallas said. “The war needs to end. The suffering must stop, and all hostages must be released.”
It’s questionable whether there will be a majority of states in the 27-member bloc in favor of the measures Kallas proposed, although the EU has come under criticism for failing to pressure Israel to end the war.
A German government spokesperson earlier said that Berlin is aware of but “has not yet formed a final opinion” on the proposed measures.
Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU would halt payments to Israel, and that the bloc’s executive was working on further measures.
On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the EU’s suspension of certain trade advantages was “disproportionate” and “unprecedented.”
https://p.dw.com/p/50bZy
Skip next section Several killed as Israel presses on Gaza City ground offensive
09/17/2025September 17, 2025Several killed as Israel presses on Gaza City ground offensive
Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that at least 33 people were killed on Wednesday across the Gaza Strip, including 21 in Gaza City, the enclave’s biggest city.
The figure is reported to include a pregnant woman and several children, according to hospital officials.
It comes as Israel presses on with its ground offensive in Gaza City, where it called on hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army said Wednesday it had attacked more than 150 targets in Gaza City over 48 hours, including what it said was a Hamas weapons facility.
https://p.dw.com/p/50bIU
Skip next section Pope Leo: Palestinians living in ‘unacceptable conditions’ in Gaza
09/17/2025September 17, 2025Pope Leo: Palestinians living in ‘unacceptable conditions’ in Gaza
Leo has stepped up calls for a halt to the war in Gaza in recent weeksImage: Gregorio Borgia/AP/dpa/picture alliance
Pope Leo XVI called for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages as he condemned the displacement of Palestinians forced to leave their homes in Gaza.
“I express my deep solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza who continue to live in fear and survive in unacceptable conditions, being forcibly displaced once again from their lands,” said the 70-year-old pope after his weekly general audience.
He urged a negotiated diplomatic solution and “the full respect of international humanitarian law.”
“I invite everyone to join my heartfelt prayer that soon a dawn of peace and justice will rise,” he said.
Pope Leo met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Vatican earlier this month. The Vatican said Leo had lamented the “tragic situation in Gaza” with Herzog.
https://p.dw.com/p/50bJo
Skip next section What impact could the UN commission’s genocide report have?
09/17/2025September 17, 2025What impact could the UN commission’s genocide report have?
Genocide occurring in Gaza, says UN human rights commission
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The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) has said Israel has been committing genocide in the Gaza Strip for two years.
Investigators said four of the five genocidal acts listed in the 1948 UN Genocide Convention have been carried out in Gaza.
The commission named Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as inciters of genocide.
The report echoed conclusions by the world’s leading association of genocide scholars and several international rights groups.
Legal consequences
These findings could be used by two UN courts: the International Criminal Court (ICC), which had issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of war crimes, or the International Court of Justice, where South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel.
The cases at both world courts are likely to take years, and Netanyahu’s allies, including the United States and Germany, have signalled that they would not arrest him on the ICC warrant.
Political consequences
The UN report urged the international community to end the genocide and take steps to hold Israel’s leadership accountable.
The latest investigation is likely to further fuel growing opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza, both domestically and internationally.
Several European countries have announced that they would formally recognize Palestinian statehood during next week’s UN General Assembly in a push toward a two-state solution.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu said that Israel should prepare for international isolation.
https://p.dw.com/p/50b20
Skip next section Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel
09/17/2025September 17, 2025Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel
Iran has executed Babak Shahbazi after convicting him of spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, according to the judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency.
Mizan said Wednesday that Shahbazi was sentenced to death for “corruption on earth” and “waging war against God,” and that the Supreme Court upheld the verdict. He had worked on industrial cooling systems for companies tied to military, security and telecommunications facilities, giving him access to sensitive sites.
Authorities said he passed information to Mossad for money and foreign residency. Iran has vowed swift punishment for anyone accused of collaborating with Israel since its June war with the country.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights said the verdict was delivered “without a fair trial and on the basis of confessions extracted under torture.”
https://p.dw.com/p/50aWj
Skip next section Israel opens second north–south road for Gaza evacuations
09/17/2025September 17, 2025Israel opens second north–south road for Gaza evacuations
The Israeli army has said it will open a second road through the Gaza Strip on Wednesday to allow civilians to move south.
Starting at noon local time (0900 GMT/UTC), the Salah al-Din road — running along Gaza’s eastern side — will remain open for 48 hours, military spokesperson Avichay Adraee announced on X.
Salah al-Din parallels the Israeli border, while the alternative Rashid Road similarly runs north to south but closer to the coast.
In the north of the Palestinian territory, the Israeli military has launched its long-awaited ground offensive in Gaza City.
Troops have been operating on the city’s outskirts for weeks and began moving towards the center on Monday evening.
https://p.dw.com/p/50aUp
Skip next section Aid groups urge UN action to end Israel-Hamas war
09/17/2025September 17, 2025Aid groups urge UN action to end Israel-Hamas war
More than 20 humanitarian organizations have called for urgent international action to halt the war between Israel and Hamas ahead of next week’s UN General Assembly.
“States must use every available political, economic, and legal tool at their disposal to intervene,” the groups said in a joint statement released by Save the Children. “World leaders fail to act. Facts are ignored. Testimony is cast aside. And more people are killed as a direct consequence.”
The appeal followed a UN-appointed commission report accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, a charge Israel rejected as “scandalous,” saying its military campaign targets Hamas, not civilians.
The aid groups warned Wednesday that UN member states are treating their obligations under international law as optional.
“History will undoubtedly judge this moment as a test of humanity. And we are failing,” they wrote, citing families surviving on animal food and children eating boiled leaves amid relentless airstrikes.
The statement’s signatories include Doctors Without Borders, Care International, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Oxfam International.
https://p.dw.com/p/50aUt
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage09/17/2025September 17, 2025Welcome to our coverage
Welcome to DW’s coverage of Gaza, Israel and the wider Middle East.
You join us as major aid groups sound the alarm ahead of next week’s UN General Assembly, pleading with world leaders to step up efforts to end the war between Israel and Hamas.
In a joint statement released by Save the Children on behalf of more than 20 major aid agencies working in Gaza, the groups said governments must use every political, economic and legal tool to halt the fighting.
The agencies accused UN member states of treating their obligations under international law as optional.
Follow along as DW brings you the latest reports, explainers and analysis on developments across the Middle East.
https://p.dw.com/p/50aUq