Following blasts in Damascus on Wednesday that killed at least 14 Iranian officers, another 10 people – including four children and a woman – were killed by government shelling of a town in the last rebel enclave in the country's northwest on Wednesday afternoon.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator Mark Cutts described as "shocking" the reports of the shelling that hit a market and roads near schools as students were heading to classes.

In addition to the four children killed, their teacher also died, according to UNICEF, the UN children's agency.

"Today's violence is yet another reminder that the war in Syria has not come to an end. Civilians, among them many children, keep bearing the brunt of a brutal decade-long conflict," the agency said. "Attacks on civilians including children are a violation of international humanitarian law."

The attack was one of the most violent in the area since a March 2020 truce in the northwest negotiated by Turkey and Russia – allies of the opposition and Syrian government, respectively. The truce has been repeatedly violated, and government forces often vow to take territories still out of their control.

In the central city of Hama, meanwhile, an explosion at an arms depot left six pro-government fighters dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor. The pro-government Sham FM radio station also reported that six fighters were killed in a depot explosion but did not give a location.

While fighting still rages in the northwest, Assad's forces now control much of Syria after military support from his allies Russia and Iran helped tip the balance of power in his favor. US and Turkish troops, meanwhile, are deployed in part's of the country's north.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post 4 Syrian children killed when government forces shell last rebel enclave appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed the first methodology to assess symptoms associated with continuous exposure to traumatic stress from rocket attacks and other security threats not currently measured by diagnostic criteria.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the study identified three distinct factors: exhaustion/detachment, rage/betrayal and fear/helplessness.

"Exposure to ongoing life risk exists wherever people experience continuous terror, rampant crime and civil war," says lead researcher Dr. Aviva Goral, a graduate of the BGU School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, and a researcher at the PREPARED Center for Emergency Response Research (PREPARED).

"Current scales assess the more commonly known effects of exposure to traumatic stress, mainly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This limits patient assessment and may lead to misdiagnoses and ineffective treatment," says Goral.

"The research was conducted to address this gap by developing a validated, comprehensive assessment tool, the Continuous Traumatic Stress Response (CTSR) Scale."

In the study, researchers sampled 313 adults who were and were not exposed to ongoing security threats between December 2016 and February 2017. Respondents lived in southern Israel communities bordering the Gaza Strip, where frequent rocket fire requires them to find shelter in 30 seconds or less. Researchers compared the concurrent validity of CTSR relative to the Post-traumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS).

The findings indicated that the CTSR measures a construct related to, but distinct from PTSD; responses to ongoing exposure to threat are wider and more intensive than those associated with single traumatic exposure and may include cognitive, behavioral and emotional effects that are not part of traditional PTSD criteria.

Among CTSR criteria, a reduced sense of safety, distrust and mental exhaustion emerged with ongoing exposure to stressors. Other symptoms include social withdrawal, feelings of emptiness, hopelessness, estrangement and feelings of constantly being threatened.

"These findings imply that it is not exposure to ongoing threats per se, but rather the level of perceived threat (i.e., likelihood of injury or harm) that accounts for the difference in the prevalence and severity of CTSR stress symptoms," says Goral.

"Compared with distant communities, border-adjacent communities are much more vulnerable to rockets and tunnel infiltration, creating an atmosphere of tension and fear."

Professor Limor Aharonson-Daniel, head of PREPARED and Goral's Ph.D. supervisor, notes that "further studies are being conducted with larger samples and in broader populations around the Gaza Envelope. Future research will include international implementation in various languages and with other populations exposed to ongoing conflict or persistent civil war (e.g., Syria). This cross-cultural research will help identify the similarities and differences between conflict zones and cultures and facilitate the generalization of the CTSR scale."

"This study, and the diagnostic tool it yields, could benefit Israel and people around the world who suffer from continuous trauma and related symptoms," says Doug Seserman, chief executive officer of Americans for Ben-Gurion University.

"We look forward to seeing new research and development from BGU that continues to build off of this work," Seserman adds.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post How traumatizing are rocket attacks? Israeli researchers could have the answer appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The IDF did everything in its power to avoid civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip during Operation Guardian of the Walls, head of the IDF Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliwa said Sunday.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Speaking at a ceremony to welcome a new IDF spokesperson, Haliwa said, "During Operation Guardian of the Walls against Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, the IDF fired five very expensive missiles, some of the most advanced we have. While they were in the air, we received new, updated intelligence, which made it unclear whether combatants were at the target site. We opted to divert the missiles toward the sea, just so there wouldn't be any doubt. We held our fire at the last minute," Haliwa said.

According to Haliwa, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit is "our way of maintaining the high level of trust that is tested time and again between the IDF and the Israeli public, the IDF and the people. Our connection to the people and the IDF's purpose as the army of the people."

The ceremony, held at the Aviv Camp, welcomed Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav to the role of IDF Spokesperson, replacing outgoing Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman, who after a year and nine months in the role has been appointed military attaché to Washington and promoted to the rank of major-general.

Zilberman said that his time as spokesperson for the IDF had "proven the power of words and the meaning of narrative. The secret of the campaign is its ability to connect people, stories, and experiences – victories and failures, and turn them into the IDF's story, which is our story."

Kochav told participants in the event that "At a time when the media arena is changing, anyone can type and no one chooses their words carefully on social media, the influence of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit is growing – as is the responsibility we bear.

"As someone who came up through the Israeli Air Force, I have traded missiles for words to in order to make my contribution to outreach efforts. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit is the vanguard that maintains the public's trust – the most valuable asset of the people's army," he said.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post 'Israel did everything possible to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, even diverted missiles' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

When Alon Arvatz, a high-tech entrepreneur and a veteran of both the IDF's elite Egoz commando unit and Unit 8200, was watching international TV coverage of the latest round of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, as well as reading reports about it in the left-wing Haaretz newspaper, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief at how the media were portraying the deaths of innocent civilians.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"I'm very frustrated, and certain that a lot of the people of Israel feel that way," he told Israel Hayom last week.

"There is a biased narrative. Deaths are being counted rather than discussing Israel's justification and the moral criteria we want ourselves to have. Numbers of people killed are thrown out and that becomes the face of everything. That led me to delve into what was happening and try to explain how the numbers need to be looked at," Arvatz continued.

Arvatz began collecting information about the casualties on both sides. He took the number of casualties in Gaza, published by the UN, and the number of casualties in Israel and examined who they were – more precisely, whether they were innocent civilians or combatants.

Arvatz pointed out that the information was not exact because both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were loath to announce how many of their fighters had been killed, although the data could be inferred by their ages and locations at the times of their death.

According to Arvatz, "the main and clearest data point is that 93% of the casualties on the Israeli side were innocent civilians, who had nothing to do with weapons or the fighting," he said.

"With the exception of the late Nahal Brigade Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib, who was killed by an anti-tank missile on the Gaza border, all 13 other Israeli casualties were innocent civilians. On the other hand, out of the 283 casualties in Gaza, most were terrorists. According to numbers from the Palestinian Health Ministry, the Shin Bet, and the IDF, about 250 of the casualties in the fighting were terrorists, and even Haaretz – which is extremely stringent in its approach – thinks that at least 50% were terrorists," he explained.

Arvatz noted that "the numbers prove that there is collateral damage in the form of innocent civilians who were killed, but that is the reality in a world where terrorists hide among women and children."

"Someone needs to tell the correct story. People who count the dead on each side without saying where they came from and why it happened just incite the discourse … We want to attack our enemies and do everything possible to avoid hurting innocent people," he said.

Meanwhile, Hamas last week provided an initial tally of its operatives killed in the 11-day Operation Guardian of the Walls: 80 terrorist casualties.

Leader of Hamas in Gaza Yahya Sinwar told The Associated Press the count included 57 members of Hamas' armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, 22 members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and one member of the Popular Resistance Committees.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post IDF veteran tackles biased reports of civilian casualties in Gaza fighting appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Israel will continue to defend itself for as long as needed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the nation before dawn Friday as the IDF continued a massive offensive against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. 

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"We will exact a heavy price from Hamas, we are doing it, and we will continue to do so with great force. The last word hasn't been said yet, and this operation will continue as long as needed," he said.

As violent riots continue in several cities across the country, Netanyahu expressed full support for the Israel Police and other security forces who were working to restore order.

"We give backing to the police to use all means with all the authorizations, including the participation of IDF soldiers, including the participation of the Shin Bet – we have given powers of emergency here. All these measures are important, legitimate and necessary to stop this rioting in the State of Israel," he said.

The prime minister concluded his speech by offering condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the conflict.

"I sympathize with the families that lost their loved ones – the families of five-year-old Ido Avigal and Staff Sgt. Omar Tabib and five other families of five civilians who unfortunately lost their lives. We will act with all our might against enemies from outside and outlaws from within to bring peace back to the State of Israel," he said.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Netanyahu: Gaza operation will continue as long as is necessary appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack even as the insurgents and US officials have been negotiating a deal on a US troop withdrawal in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"At least 10 civilians have been killed and 42 injured were taken to hospitals," said Nasrat Rahimi, a spokesman for the interior ministry. The NATO-led Resolute Support mission said in a statement that a Romanian and a US member of the force were killed in action in Kabul. It did not provide any more details.

A senior Afghan interior ministry official said the two soldiers were killed in the suicide bomb attack and their vehicle was the main target.

The death of the US service member brings the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 16, including three last month. Several cars and small shops were torn apart by the blast at a checkpoint on a road near the NATO office and US embassy. Police cordoned off the area.

Witnesses said the suicide bomber blew himself up as people were standing nearby or crossing the road.

There has been no let-up in violence in Afghanistan even though both the Taliban and US officials have reported progress in negotiations aimed at securing a deal on US withdrawal.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accepted the resignation of the head of Afghanistan's powerful security agency NDS on Thursday over a separate incident overnight in the eastern city of Jalalabad. The NDS had said it killed four men suspected of ties to Islamic State, but some local officials reported that four brothers with no ties to terrorists had been killed.

Rahimi, the interior ministry spokesman, said government forces killed a senior Taliban commander, more than 20 fighters and the man the hardline insurgent group planned to impose as regional governor, in another clash on Thursday in central Maidan Wardak province.

And in the eastern province of Loghar, Taliban fighters said they detonated a car bomb near a security meeting. Government officials said four civilians were killed.

On Monday, a Taliban suicide truck bomber attacked a compound used by international organizations in Kabul, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 100. A Romanian was among those killed and one was seriously wounded in the attack on the compound, known as the Green Village.

The Taliban now controls more territory than it has since 2001 when the United States launched a military operation against the group for harboring the al-Qaida operatives responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

There are some 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan. Despite ending their combat role in 2014, an estimated 20,000 US and NATO troops remain in the country to train, advise and assist Afghan forces.

Khalilzad is expected to meet Afghan and NATO officials to explain the draft agreement, which still must be approved by US President Donald Trump before it can be signed.

The post Taliban suicide bomber kills at least 10 civilians, 2 NATO troops in Kabul appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan have been increasing, despite attempts by the United States and the Taliban to negotiate an agreement to end the 18-year war.

                                        Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The government's main security agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), said that the operation in Paktia province had targeted a Taliban hideout and among the 11 dead terrorists were two commanders.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it was gravely concerned about the killings during a search operation and that a human rights team was currently investigating.

"Accountability essential. Harm to civilians must stop," the agency said in a post on Twitter.

A politician in the area said that government forces attacked a student gathering over the Eid al-Adha holiday.

"A university student had invited his classmates for dinner," Allah Mir Khan Bahramzoi, a provincial council member in Paktia, told Reuters.

"Late in the evening, security forces surrounded the house, brought out the victims from the guesthouse and shot them one by one," he said by telephone from the province.

The NDS said weapons and ammunition were seized in the raid.

"This operation was conducted based on operative information on a Taliban hideout and it left no civilian casualties," the agency said in a statement.

The United Nations says nearly 4,000 civilians were killed or wounded in the first half of the year. The toll included a big increase in the number of casualties inflicted by government and US-led foreign forces.

Ground raids and clashes caused the most civilian casualties, followed by bomb attacks and airstrikes, UNAMA said in a report last month.

There has been no let-up in violence, even though the Taliban and the United States have both reported significant progress in talks on a pact for US troops to withdraw in exchange for a Taliban promise that Afghanistan will not be used as a base for future terrorist attacks.

Their latest round of talks ended on Monday without a final agreement. No date has been announced for the next round.

The post Halt Afghan civilian casualties, UN says after report of 11 killed by government appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The bombing happened during morning rush hour and was one of the worst attacks in Kabul this year, raising fears among Afghans about what will happen once the estimated 20,000 US and NATO troops go home.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The explosives-packed car detonated at a security checkpoint outside police headquarters in a minority Shiite neighborhood in western Kabul, police spokesman Firdaus Faramarz said. The Taliban said they had targeted a recruitment center for security forces.

Ninety-two of the wounded were civilians, Deputy Interior Minister Khoshal Sadat told reporters. Four police officers were among those killed, he said.

The attack took place as many Kabul residents were preparing for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which begins on Sunday. A large plume of smoke rose over the city. Some nearby buildings were left in rubble. Shopkeepers later swept up broken glass.

"I was having breakfast in a restaurant when the explosion happened," said Mohammad Qasem. As windows shattered, he and others rushed into the busy street.

Even as the US-Taliban peace talks continue and the Taliban say they will do more to protect civilians, a growing number of them are being killed. July saw the highest number of civilian casualties in a single month since 2017, with more than 1,500 killed or wounded as insurgent attacks spiked, the United Nations said earlier this month.

Any Taliban attack is a barrier to the peace process, presidential spokesman Sediq Seddiqi told reporters, vowing that "Afghan security forces are strong and can protect the Afghan population."

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's government said that such attacks apparently are meant to strengthen the Taliban position at the negotiating table but would not succeed.

On Tuesday, the Taliban warned Afghans to boycott the Sept. 28 presidential election and avoid campaign rallies which "could become potential targets." The vote has already been delayed for months over security and organizational concerns.

The Taliban have been staging near-daily attacks against Afghan forces across the country, saying the war will continue as long as US and NATO forces are still in Afghanistan.

The Taliban now control roughly half of the country and are at their strongest since 2001, when the US-led invasion toppled their government after it harbored al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Another round of US-Taliban talks continues this week in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, where the insurgents maintain an office.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US envoy tasked with finding a peaceful resolution to America's longest war, this week reported "excellent progress" in the talks. A Taliban official said that differences had been resolved over the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban guarantee that they will cut ties with other extremist groups. The US wants to make sure that Afghanistan will not become a launching pad for future attacks against it.

Khalilzad has said he is hoping for a final agreement by Sept. 1. But major challenges remain as the Taliban refuse to negotiate with the Kabul government, dismissing it as a US puppet.

More civilian casualties were reported on Wednesday in the western city of Herat, where a sticky bomb wounded at least eight people, including women and children, said Abdul Ahid Walizada, spokesman for the provincial police chief.

Another threat in Afghanistan is the local Islamic State group affiliate, which also has carried out several large-scale attacks in Kabul, frequently targeting minority Shiites.

On Wednesday, security officials said an overnight raid in eastern Kabul targeted three locations in residential areas from which Islamic State has been launching attacks. Three members of the security forces and two of the extremists were killed, the officials said, and bomb-making materials were seized.

And in northern Baghlan province, a suicide bomber in a Humvee tried to attack an Afghan base but was killed by security forces, said Jawed Basharat, a spokesman for the provincial police chief.

The post Taliban suicide bombing in Kabul kills 14 people, 145 wounded appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The report apparently refers to civilians killed during Afghan and US military operations against insurgents, such as airstrikes and night raids on militant hideouts. Insurgents often hide among civilians.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The US formally ended its combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014 but still provides extensive air and other support to Afghan forces battling terrorists.

The UN report said 403 civilians were killed by Afghan forces in the first six months of the year and another 314 by international forces, a total of 717. That's compared to 531 killed by the Taliban, an Islamic State affiliate and other terrorist combatants during the same period.

It said 300 of those killed by militants were directly targeted. The Taliban have been carrying out near-daily attacks, mainly targeting security forces.

There was no immediate comment from the Kabul government or the Afghan military on the report.

A NATO official stressed that the alliance is now in a non-combat mission in Afghanistan that trains, advises and assists the country's security forces.

The alliance is "not complacent" and shares UN concerns over Afghan civilian casualties, the official said, adding that the "best way to end the suffering of civilians is to focus on the political settlement of the conflict and to continue all efforts to reduce violence."

"We thoroughly investigate every allegation of civilian casualties, and we train the Afghan security forces to ensure that they take utmost caution in order not to harm civilians," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The Taliban have rejected calls for a cease-fire as they hold talks with the US aimed at ending the 18-year war. An Islamic State affiliate has meanwhile launched attacks targeting security forces as well as minority Shiites.

"Parties to the conflict may give differing explanations for recent trends, each designed to justify their own military tactics," said Richard Bennett, the human rights chief of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which released the report.

The situation for ordinary Afghans would be improved, he said, "not just by abiding by international humanitarian law but also by reducing the intensity of the fighting."

The report said one in three casualties was caused by ground combat and a fifth were caused by roadside bombs. Aerial operations accounted for around 14% of the casualties.

The Taliban issued a statement saying the part of the UN report blaming them for 38% of Afghan civilian casualties was not true.

"Many people counted as civilians in this report were targeted by the Taliban because of their links to the intelligence service or because they cooperated with military operations," the Taliban said.

Earlier in the day, the Taliban praised the killing of two US service members Monday in southern Kandahar province. The Afghan soldier who turned his gun on the Americans was wounded and is in custody, according to U.S. officials.

The Taliban called the shooter a "hero" and said the Afghan soldier had opened fire at the Americans inside a military base in the Shah Wali Kot district in Kandahar. The US military has so far not identified the slain Americans, pending notification of their families.

Even with the Taliban-US talks underway, there appears to be no end in sight for the violence.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated his explosives at a market in southern Kandahar province on Tuesday morning, killing at least three children, said Jamal Naser Barekzai, spokesman for the provincial police chief.

A Taliban attack on a checkpoint left three police officers dead in northern Baghlan province, said Jawed Basharat, spokesman for the provincial police chief.

Late on Monday, insurgents targeted a checkpoint in the Kushk Kuhna district in western Herat province, killing at least 11 Afghan security forces, said Wakil Ahmad Karokhi, a provincial councilman.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attacks.

The post Report: More Afghans killed by gov't, coalition forces than by Taliban or militias appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Rebel fighters captured the villages of al-Jabin and Tel Melah in northern Hama province in early June during a counter attack against government forces that have been waging a Russian-backed offensive in the area since late April.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

A rebel commander in the area said opposition fighters had withdrawn from al-Jabin after heavy bombardment.

The Syrian state news agency SANA said the army had established full control over both villages and was continuing operations against "terrorist organizations" in the northern Hama and southern Idlib areas.

The pro-Damascus al-Watan newspaper earlier reported the Syrian army had advanced in the area as Syrian and Russian warplanes targeted militant positions and after several days of preparatory fire.

More than 400 civilians have been confirmed killed in the escalation of violence in northwestern Syria over the last three months and more than 440,000 displaced, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said last week.

Ongoing shelling and air strikes included the use of "indiscriminate weapons, such as barrel bombs," it said. The use of these weapons, which are dropped from helicopters, by the Syrian army has been widely recorded in the eight-year conflict.

The targeted area is part of the last major foothold of the rebellion against Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has vowed to take back "every inch" of Syria. However, his side has failed to make significant gains during the latest campaign.

The Idlib area of the northwest is dominated by Tahrir al-Sham, the jihadists formerly known as the Nusra Front. It is proscribed as a terrorist group by the UN Security Council. Groups backed by Turkey also have a presence in the area.

The Syrian government has described its operations as a response to militant violations of ceasefire agreements.

The post Syria: Russian-backed government forces retake 2 rebel-held villages appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.