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Damascus, Jul 16 (Prensa Latina) Israeli fighters bombed today the building that houses the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff in Damascus, the Syrian capital, Prensa Latina reported here.

Five violent raids left the military headquarters located in the emblematic Umayyad Square almost destroyed, while the National Library, the Opera House, the Radio and Television and residential buildings were damaged.

Ambulances rushed to the scene amid initial reports of dozens of military personnel and civilians among the dead and wounded.

Earlier, Israeli warplanes resumed their missile attacks on Syrian army positions in the southern city of Sweida, where violent clashes between Druze militias and government forces have left at least 200 dead and more than 400 wounded since last Sunday.

Israel escalated since last Sunday its air raids against government forces in the provinces of Sweida and Deraa, in the south of the country.

According to the official news agency SANA, several soldiers lost their lives and material damage was caused.

Tel Aviv assured that it would continue its bombardments unless the government forces withdrew from the province of Sweida, inhabited by the Druze minority which Israel claims it wants to protect.

‘The lack of sensitivity in the approach to vulnerability is highly questionable,’ President Diaz-Canel said. After reviewing the resignation request of Cuba’s Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feito Cabrera, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba and the Council of State approved her release from her duties.

This followed her recent appearances before two parliamentary commissions — the Commission for Attention to Local Organs of People’s Power and the Commission for Attention to Youth, Children and Women’s Rights — which took place Monday ahead of the fifth regular session of the National Assembly.

“As a result of the analysis conducted by the Party and government leadership with Marta Elena Feito Cabrera regarding her remarks at the joint meeting of two Permanent Working Commissions of the National Assembly of People’s Power, the comrade acknowledged her mistakes and submitted her resignation,” the official statement said.

“This request was submitted to the Political Bureau and the Council of State, which agreed to her removal, based on the lack of objectivity and sensitivity with which she addressed issues that are currently central to the political and governmental agenda — one focused on addressing real and never-desired phenomena in our society,” added the statement, which was broadcast during the prime-time edition of the Cuban National Television News.

The day before, Feito Cabrera made remarks regarding people in vulnerable situations and dismissed instances of homelessness in the country. Referring to individuals who clean windshields on the streets, she stated: “No, that’s not a homeless person. That’s someone who has found an easy way to make a living at a traffic light, cleaning windshields, and possibly then uses that money to buy alcoholic drinks on the corner.”

In response, top political and government authorities voiced criticism via digital platforms. Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and president of the Republic, said: “The lack of sensitivity in the approach to vulnerability is highly questionable. The Revolution cannot leave anyone behind — that is our motto, our militant responsibility.”

Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz also emphasized the need for great sensitivity in addressing the complexities of vulnerability and in seeking, with everyone’s participation, effective solutions to ensure no one is left behind. He described care for individuals, families and communities in vulnerable situations as a priority of the Revolution, highlighting humanism and social justice.

Damascus, Jul 20 (Prensa Latina) The death toll after a week of violent clashes in the southern Syrian province of Sweida exceeded a thousand, according to a new balance documented today by human rights organizations.

Reports published by several media outlets detailed that 336 fighters and 298 civilians from the Druze community were killed, including 194 who were executed.

Also, 342 members of the Ministry of Defense and the General Security Service lost their lives during the clashes, in addition to 21 Bedouin tribal fighters, three of whom were civilians executed by Druze militants.

On the other hand, Israeli air strikes during the escalation resulted in the death of 15 members of the government forces. In this context, Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba announced that the town of Sweida has been evacuated of all tribal fighters and that clashes in urban neighborhoods have ceased.

In turn, Interior Minister Anas Khattab said that after several bloody days, the Internal Security Forces managed to impose a ceasefire in Sweida, paving the way for the exchange of prisoners and the gradual return to stability throughout the governorate.

Amid the critical humanitarian situation in the region, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent has sent a convoy of humanitarian aid to Deraa as part of its emergency response.

The organization explained in a statement that the trucks that arrived today are in addition to seven earlier ones, bringing the total number to 17, with supplies for some five thousand displaced families from Sweida.

The government also sent a convoy of medical assistance, food and humanitarian aid to Sweida.

However, according to allegations by the authorities, Druze leader Hikmat Al-Hajri refused to allow the official government delegation to enter.

Earlier, the Syrian presidency announced an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in response to the critical humanitarian and security situation in the country, in order to stop the bloodshed and preserve the unity of the national territory.

Some 800,000 inhabitants of Sweida are facing dramatic conditions due to shortages of basic commodities, food, medicines and a serious lack of milk for children.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk declared that the bloodshed and violence must stop in Sweida, and called for building “a new Syria that works for all its citizens, equal in dignity and without discrimination”.