kamal adwan had the only paediatric facility in northern gaza.ng to get some details, to be honest, about what happened to the babies. exactly as you said, kamal adwan hospital is the only hospital that had a paediatric unit. the information is coming in slower manner and in parts. i cannot confirm exactly what took place with the babies in kamal adwan hospital. all what we know is actually according to the who, that it is empty now — 15 critical cases and probably 50 health care givers and some staff were moved to a hospital nearby which already has a lack of medical supplies and enough staff so it is really challenging in that area and in kamal adwan right now. are there any hospitals in operational anywhere in gaza at the moment that can cope with some of the paediatric needs on the ground? according to the who, there is not even one single hospital that is fully functional in the gaza strip, out of 36 hospitals. we are talking no less than probably 16 of them that are partially functional, not even one single that is fully functional. what do

kamal adwan has been destroyed.been besieged for more than 80 days, there was director sniper fire than 80 days, there was director sniperfire into than 80 days, there was director sniper fire into the hospital, shelling is, quad copter is dropping explosives into the courtyard, palestinian health workers killed and injured. now, more than 100 people, including the director of the hospital, have been forcibly detained and we believe as of this morning that the director has been arrested by the israeli military. fix, by the israeli military. a spokesperson from the who says that for those severely injured in gaza, this is a death sentence. is that fair? i think it is more _ sentence. is that fair? i think it is more than _ sentence. is that fair? i think it is more than fair, - sentence. is that fair? i think it is more than fair, probably| it is more than fair, probably an understatement. i think it has been a death sentence for palestinians in gaza four months, more than 1a months of what amnesty international and t

on fire and encircled sterling. >> kamal adwan. lulu garcia-navarro and mar-a-lago.amal adwan. >> patients and staff gather anxiously at the entrance of northern gaza's last major functioning hospital. others fight flames. >> john harwood can ken hon doctor hussam mubasher. al niamh kennedy. can you tell me these words from a nurse at kamal adwan hospital, in the midst of an evacuation order from the israeli military doctor hussam abu safiya, the hospital's director, is one of the last doctors in northern gaza. >> he had been documenting the horror inside his hospital in the wake of an israeli offensive that began in early october, with him. >> we had spoken and appealed to the world to protect and neutralize the medical system, but unfortunately, this is the grim reality we are witnessing. >> on friday, he was assaulted and detained by israeli forces. witnesses tell cnn on saturday, the idf said he was being questioned in gaza, suspected of being a hamas terrorist operative, but didn't provide evidence for the claim. meantime, video shared widely appears to show the

a hospital on fire and encircled sterling iran. >> kamal adwan lulu garcia-navarro kamal adwan. >> patientsnd staff gather anxiously at the entrance of northern gaza's last major functioning hospital. others fight flames. >> john harwood michael mccann, a ken hon doctor. hussam al can you tell me these words from a nurse at kamal adwan hospital in the midst of an evacuation order from the israeli military? >> doctor hussam abu safiyya, the hospital's director, is one of the last doctors in northern gaza. he had been documenting the horror inside his hospital in the wake of an israeli offensive that began in early october and. >> became the had the ball. >> we had spoken and appealed to the world to protect and neutralize the medical system, but unfortunately, this is the grim reality we are witnessing. >> on friday, he was assaulted and detained by israeli forces. witnesses tell cnn on saturday, the idf said he was being questioned in gaza, suspected of being a hamas terrorist operative, but didn't provide evidence for the claim. meantime, video shared widely appears to show the front of ka

right now. that area and in kamal adwan right nova— right now.ny hospitals _ right now. are there any hospitals in _ right now. are there any hospitals in operation i right now. are there any - hospitals in operation anywhere in gaza at the moment that can cope with some of the paediatric needs on the ground? according to the who, there is not even one single hospital thatis not even one single hospital that is fully functional in the gaza strip, out of 36 hospitals. we are talking a less than probably 16 of them that are partially functional, not even one single that is fully functional.— not even one single that is fully functional. what does that mean _ fully functional. what does that mean for— fully functional. what does that mean for babies - fully functional. what does that mean for babies and l that mean for babies and children that need care? it means that they will continue, sadly, to pay the highest price of the conflict, just like any other children in the world. we are coming to the end of the year and it doesn't seem that this will

the indonesian hospital and kamal adwan hospital.he hospital you were just speaking about the indonesian hospital was mostly put out of service about a week ago by the israeli military. the electricity supply, the water supply and the oxygen generators were destroyed. you cannot run a hospital without those things. it also doesn't have medical supplies. when you when cnn minutes ago mentioned that the israeli authorities have said they had organized safe evacuations for the patients from kamal adwan hospital, i'm afraid that is false. that is inaccurate. what they did was forcibly evacuate and detain under gunpoint much of the patients and medical workers within kamal adwan hospital and the critically ill patients that weren't able to to to evacuate the hospital. we have heard they have been transferred to the indonesian hospital, the same hospital that third hospital in northern gaza that has already been, for the most part, destroyed. it has no electricity, no water, no no oxygen. we have a colleague, a nursing colleague who was se

we lost contact with staff from kamal adwan yesterday morning.hey were, as your reporter has said, they were forcibly displaced from the hospital. there are about 30 individuals, health care workers and patients, that were taken to the indonesian hospital, which is a short distance away. now, the indonesian hospital itself was heavily damaged by the israeli military last week. patients there yesterday had no water, no electricity, no medicine. as we speak now, we understand that the ministry of health in gaza and the who are trying to negotiate with the israeli military to bring some supplies and to repair the facility or to otherwise remove the patients from what is left of the indonesian hospital. kamal adwan has been destroyed. it has been besieged now for more than 80 days. there was direct sniper fire into the hospital, direct shellings, quadcopters dropping explosives into the hospital courtyard. palestinian health care workers have been killed and injured. and now, as your reporter mentions, more than 100 people, including the director of

on friday the israeli military forcibly evacuated kamal adwan.aeli military defences said it targeted military operations but the health minister in gaza said the idf indiscriminately burned down health facilities. china kallio is injerusalem. —— shaimaa khalil. we've managed to get through to the gaza deputy health minister, dr youssef abu el—rish, who gave us an update on the situation. he said the kamal adwan hospital had been completely evacuated with parts of its departments badly burned. he said that the ministry lost contact with some of the health staff, the medical staff, and that some others were taken into questioning in a nearby building. he also added that some of the patients who are in serious conditions and were taken to the in nearby indonesian hospital. the problem is is that this hospital itself was evacuated and bombarded a few days ago so he's saying you can't really call it a hospital, it's a shelter but there is no electrically, no generators, no water, no oxygen, so it's unclear how these patients in serious conditions are

on fire and encircled sterling iran. >> was kamal adwan. lulu garcia-navarro.ar-a-lago kamal adwan. >> patients and staff gather anxiously at the entrance of northern gaza's last major functioning hospital. others fight flames. >> john harwood emmanuel macron, a geoff duncan doctor, hassan mubasher all you can eat these words from a nurse at kamal adwan hospital in the midst of an evacuation order from the israeli military doctor hussam abu safiya, the hospital's director, is one of the last doctors in northern gaza. >> he had been documenting the horror inside his hospital in the wake of an israeli offensive that began in early october and quickly became. >> the had we had had we had spoken and appealed to the world to protect and neutralize the medical system. >> but unfortunately, this is the grim reality we are witnessing. >> on friday, he was assaulted and detained by israeli forces. witnesses tell cnn. on saturday, the idf said he was being questioned in gaza, suspected of being a hamas terrorist operative, but didn't provide evidence for the claim. meant

throughout gaza, patients forced out of the kamal adwan hospital by the israeli military are arriving brought in with assistance, others arriving by foot, bringing with them stories of how they were interrogated. translation: they took us one or two at a time - to the school's bathroom, ordering us to remove our pants and lift up our shirts. when we refused, they beat us. this happened three times, and each time we were beaten for refusing. eventually we were forced to comply, because they aimed their guns at us and threatened to shoot. for weeks, kamal adwan staff issued desperate pleas for the israeli military to stop targeting the facility, situated in an area of northern gaza the united nations says israel has placed under a near—total siege. then, on friday morning, the military gave staff and patients 15 minutes to leave. some were marched, nearly naked, to be interrogated. this evening the israeli military said 240 "terrorists" have been arrested from what they've called a hamas stronghold. weapons, they say, were found at the hospital. dr hossam abu safiya, the well—known dire

lulu garcia-navarro and layla kamal adwan.ients and staff gather anxiously at the entrance of northern gaza's last major functioning hospital. others fight flames. >> john harwood can. ken hon doctor husam mubasher all you can eat. >> these words from a nurse at kamal adwan hospital in the midst of an evacuation order from the israeli military doctor hussam abu safiya, the hospital's director, is one of the last doctors in northern gaza. he had been documenting the horror inside his hospital in the wake of an israeli offensive that began in early october. >> he had we had spoken and appealed to the world to protect and neutralize the medical system, but unfortunately, this is the grim reality we are witnessing. >> on friday, he was assaulted and detained by israeli forces. witnesses tell cnn on saturday, the idf said he was being questioned in gaza, suspected of being a hamas terrorist operative, but didn't provide evidence for the claim. meantime, video shared widely appears to show the front of kamal adwan hospital with peop

-- kamal adwan hospital. thank you for havin: adwan hospital. thank you for having me. i spoke _ adwan hospital. thank you for having me. i spoke to - adwan hospital. thank you for having me. i spoke to his- adwan hospital. thank you for having me. i spoke to his wife| having me. i spoke to his wife and his son and they told me that they got verification from eyewitnesses that he was detained in one of the prisons in the desert. some said he bears the signs of torture on his face. i hope it is not true. this is a humanitarian — one of the best physicians in gaza. i got to know him since 2019. he cares about his patience, his hospital, his community. he had the option to leave gaza as he has dual citizenship with his wife and family but he chose to stay in service and it is unfortunate that he is detained after an ordeal. his hospital was under siege for 84 days, it was bombed multiple times. himself, he was injured and his son unfortunately was killed a couple of months ago, and now he is detained.— he is detained. and the idf is accusina he is

no one, uh, except around the kamal adwan hospital.pital, there is a lot of patient, wounded and injured patients there. and there is a no surgeon there. so only young medical student or general practitioners who, uh, do and serve, uh, patients there. a lot of cases every day. and there�*s a lot of bombing around the hospital. so a lot of patient is die even after we serve them. so we already stayed there for about five days. and every day there is a bomb, continuously bombing and, you know, quadcopter attacking around the hospital. and even, it caused, uh, the medical staff of the hospital injured, and we have to do surgery for them. dr rik peeperkorn, the world health organisation�*s representative for the west bank and gaza, gave this rundown of what happened. based on our information, and that is from various sources, including the emergency medical team who left, yeah, who left the place — there�*s no official evacuation order. however, i think, first of all, heavy bombing around hospital, very close to us all night. then an idf t

the kamal adwan hospital has been under siege by the idf for weeks. staff say air strikes there on friday killed 50 people. the head of the hospital's nursing department told the bbc the army gave them only a is—minute warning to evacuate patients and staff, before the israeli army entered the hospital and removed anyone that remained. israel says the hospital was being used by hamas as a command centre, but has not provided any evidence to support this. our correspondent, shaimaa khalil, sent this report from jerusalem. we've managed to get through to the gaza deputy health minister, dr youssef abu el—rish, who gave us an update on the situation. he said the kamal adwan hospital had been completely evacuated with parts of its departments badly burned. he said that the ministry lost contact with some of the health staff, the medical staff, and that some others were taken into questioning in a nearby building. he also added that some of the patients who are in serious conditions and were taken to the nearby indonesian hospital. the problem is is that t

on. >> a hospital. >> on fire and encircled. >> kamal adwan. lulu garcia-navarro.eyla kamal adwan. >> patients and staff gather anxiously at the entrance of northern gaza's last major functioning hospital. others fight flames, john harwood mccann, a geoff duncan doctor who niamh kennedy to get these words from a nurse at kamal adwan hospital in the midst of an evacuation order from the israeli military doctor hussam abu safiyya, the hospital's director, is one of the last doctors in northern gaza. he had been documenting the horror inside his hospital in the wake of an israeli offensive that began in early october and became. >> the bill halldin. >> we had spoken and appealed to the world to protect and neutralize the medical system, but unfortunately, this is the grim reality we are witnessing. >> on friday, he was assaulted and detained by israeli forces. witnesses tell cnn on saturday, the idf said he was being questioned in gaza, suspected of being a hamas terrorist operative, but didn't provide evidence for the claim. meantime, video shared widely appears to s

i'm the paramedic at kamal adwan hospital, walid al—badri.u safiya to bring patients down to the hospital's courtyard. in 15 minutes from now, the army will enter the hospital. this is the message verbatim which dr hussam hasjust received from the occupation army. 0ur correspondent, shaimaa khalil, sent this report from jerusalem. we've heard from medical staff, who say that, as you mentioned, they were given very, very short time to evacuate the hospital — both the patients and the medical staff — and that israeli soldiers went into the hospital and evacuated the rest. we're unsure where the patients and the medical staff had gone. we also heard reports from the medical staff inside the hospital that some people were taken in the courtyard and told to strip, to take off their clothes, in very, very cold conditions. we haven't heard a comment from the israeli military about that. 0ne concerning point is that we're unaware, or we're not sure, where the patients and the medical staff are being taken after the evacuation of the hospital. there h

the kamal adwan hospital has been under siege by the idf for weeks.ealth organization said it was deeply concerned for the safety of patients who were forced to leave. the head of the hospital's nursing department told the bbc the army gave them only a is—minute warning to evacuate patients and staff before the israeli army entered the hospital and removed anyone that remained. palestinian health officials say around 100 medical staff were ta ken into an interrogating site and questioned last night and the director of the hospital was detained. some of the medical staff who have been released have now reached the indonesian hospital. israel says the kamal adwan hospital was being used by hamas as a command centre, but has not provided any evidence to support this. patients and medical staff have described what they witnessed during the evacuation. take a listen. the army came to the hospital and asked all the medical staff and patients and people accompanying them to go into the court. then, they grouped everyone. the medical teams alone, the patients

the kamal adwan hospital has been under siege by the idf for weeks.riday killed 50 people. the head of the hospital's nursing department told the bbc the army gave them only a fifteen—minute warning to evacuate patients and staff before the israeli army entered

we were told that by the director of the kamal adwan hospital who said that there was bombardment ing near the hospital. and you could see in the video there was a drone, a quad copter that was dropping explosives on that building. now, the idf has told us that they're unaware of any medical staff who were killed and that they're looking into the reports, but they also said they were conducting an operation in the area near the hospital that they called a hamas stronghold. i mean, if you look at the area around the hospital, the vicinity around the hospital, the destruction is nearly complete. the buildings are nearly razed to the ground, there is rubble everywhere — these are neighbourhoods that have been now experiencing relentless bombardment and shelling for weeks and weeks, since that military campaign in october by the israeli military who say they are going after hamas, trying for them not to regroup in the area. and the medical officials have told us that the kamal adwan wasn't just a hospital that offered medicalfacilities, it offered people hope that they were going to get

i'm the paramedic at kamal adwan hospital, walid al—badri.pation army is now besieging - kamal adwan hospital and is asking dr hussam abu safiya to bring patients down to the hospital's courtyard. in 15 minutes from now, the army will enter the hospital. this is the message verbatim which dr hussam safiya hasjust received from the occupation army. translation: the internet will be i cut off now and we will turn off. our phones and chargers. some eyewitnesses on the ground, speaking to our colleagues at bbc arabic. our correspondent injerusalem, shaimaa khalil, has been following this story. here's what we've learned so far. we've heard from medical staff, who say that, as you mentioned, they were given very, very short time to evacuate the hospital — both the patients and the medical staff — and that israeli soldiers went into the hospital and evacuated the rest. we're unsure where the patients and the medical staff had gone. we also heard reports from the medical staff inside the hospital that some of the some people were taken in the courty

this critically ill man evacuated from kamal adwan, still in an ambulance saturday after he was evacuateday earlier inside another hospital. this man tries to explain what happened to him, appearing to make signs of gunfire and beating, all the while, gaza's healthcare system, in a seemingly never ending freefall. elliott gotkine, cnn, jerusalem. >> okay, stay with cnn for the very latest on our breaking news story. we will have more on the deadly plane crash in south korea just ahead. >> they say things take time and effort, but it's worth the wait. >> i can tell some stories. i'm so excited. >> twitter brought the world together and the world was not ready to see itself. you read the comments. >> yeah, i might recommend that you don't. >> yeah, that's how i get by. >> we never backed away. >> he never stepped down oh, that's how i give up. >> i feel at home here. lord. >> that's how i get by. >> my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the picture. now i have skyrizi. i've got places to go. >> and i'm feeling free. controlling my crohn's means everything to me. control is e

can you tell me these words from a nurse at kamal adwan hospital in the midst of an evacuation orderthe israeli military? >> doctor hussam abu safiya, the hospital's director, is one of the last doctors in northern gaza. he had been documenting the horror inside his hospital in the wake of an israeli offensive that began in early october, with him. >> we had spoken and appealed to the world to protect and neutralize the medical system, but unfortunately, this is the grim reality we are witnessing. >> on friday, he was assaulted and detained by israeli forces. witnesses tell cnn on saturday, the idf said he was being questioned in gaza, suspected of being a hamas terrorist operative, but didn't provide evidence for the claim. meantime, video shared widely appears to show the front of kamal adwan hospital with people walking between a number of tanks. many appear to be holding their own clothes with hands held above their heads. >> from kamal adwan hospital to al-fakhura. they made us strip down to our underwear. it was a tough situation and they assaulted the wounded and women. >> in

the army asked us to leave kamal adwan and head to faarah.road, just deep sand. my father kept having to pull me out of it. it is difficult to walk with an injury. translation: the patients that were evacuated - now have been held for interrogation for 24 hours, despite their injuries. - the army didn't care - that they were injured and left them out in the cold for 24 hours, and they were left i on the roundabout and we, as paramedics, got to - the closest point despite i the dangers, and evacuated a large number of patients. the head of the world health organisation has told the bbc that it was public knowledge he was in yemen on thursday when israel launched air strikes at houthi targets. this footage reportedly captured the incident from inside the airport. dr tedros adhanom ghebreyesus, who's now injordan, said the main target, the international airport in sanaa, was a civilian facility and should not have been hit. at least six people were killed. israel says it was targeting military infrastructure. alon pinkas, israeli diplomat and wr

a school sheltering displaced families and the kamal adwan hospital are among the sites hit.ating tyson fury.

the occupation army is bee seasonaling kamal adwan and dr.r to bring patients down to the hospital courtyard. if 15 minutes from now the army will enter. that is the message verbatim which dr. has sam just received. >> some witnesses speaking to our colleagues at b.b.c. arabic. we have it report from juvenile. >> we heard from medical staff who say that as you mentioned they were given very short time to evacuate the hospital both the patients and medical staff and that israeli soldiers wept into the hospital and evacuated the rest. we are unsure where the patients and medical staff have gone. we also heard reports from the medical staff inside the hospital and that some of the, some people were taken in the courtyard and told it strip to take off their clothes in very cold conditions. we haven't heard a comment from the israeli military about that. one concerning poison is we are not sure where the patients and medical staff are being taken after the evacuation of the hospital. there has been a statement by israeli military official ear earl

staff at the kamal adwan hospital say the facility has been repeatedly targeted by the israeli military out precise strikes against hamas militants. meanwhile, hamas and two other palestinian armed groups have said that an agreement to end the fighting is now "closer than ever". the statement says a deal for a truce and the release of hostages would depend on israel not asking for new conditions in negotiations. here's our correspondent emir nader with an update. there's been a series of israeli air strikes on the gaza strip — across the gaza strip overnight and into the recent hours. and that includes a school that was housing displaced families in gaza city, where we understand that eight people were killed, including children. the civil defence forces there, the first responders who've got there, say they found children amongst the dead and pulled out bodies from the rubble. we reached out to the israeli army, the israeli military, about this particular set of strikes, and they said that that school was... they said it was a command and control centre being used by hamas. now, that i

the kamal adwan hospital has been under siege by the idf for weeks.ay airstrikes overnight that targeted the area killed 50 people. the head of the nursing department at the hospital told the bbc the army had given them a 15—minute warning to evacuate patients and staff into the courtyard. the israeli army subsequently entered the hospital and has been removing the patients that remained. israel has not commented on the evacuation. let's speak to our middle east correspondent shaimaa khalil. shejoins us from she joins us from jerusalem. good to hear you. what is the latest you're hearing about the situation at kamal adwan? we have heard from medical staff who say that, as you mention, they were given very, very short time to evacuate the hospital, both the patients and the medical staff, and that is really soldiers went into the hospital and evacuated the rest. —— is really soldiers. we also heard reports from medical staff inside the hospital that some of the people were taken in the courtyard and told to strip and take off their clothes in very, ver

the kamal adwan hospital has been under siege by the idf for weeks.ght that targeted the area killed 50 people. the head of the nursing department at the hospital told the bbc the army had given them a 15 minute warning to evacuate patients and staff into the courtyard. the israeli army subsequently entered the hospital and has been removing the patients that remained. israel has not commented on the evacuation. a short time ago i spoke to our correspondent injerusalem, emir nader, who told me more about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in gaza and the last remaning hospital there. this is a hospital that its staff have been issuing desperate pleas in recent weeks, saying that their hospital has been hit repeatedly by the israeli military in, uh, on various departments of its hospital. and we heard previously from an israeli official who said they intended to relocate the hospital, its staff and patients to another hospital that itself had been, uh, has been evacuated earlier this week. now, kamal adwan, as you said, is one of the last remaini

the who said that they were appalled by the kamal adwan raid.f north gaza puts the lives of tens of thousands of palestinians at risk. syria's new islamist leader has said that it may take up to three years to draft a new constitution and four to organise elections. ahmad al—sharaa told arab media that it could be a year before syrians saw any real change and improvement after the overthrow of bashar al—assad. there've been protests after claims that people associated with the former regime have been attacked. the bbc�*s yogita limaye reports from syria. just weeks ago, these men were part of bashar al—assad's forces. now they are thronging to so—called reconciliation centres run by the insurgents they were fighting against. it's a picture of the transition that's under way in syria. mohammed ramadan was posted on the outskirts of damascus when it fell to the rebels. he's come to hand in his kalashnikov. in return, he'll get a civilian id and an assurance of amnesty. mohammed explains why assad's military collapsed so quickly. translation: there

gaza's health ministry says israeli forces detained the director of kamal adwan hospital, dr abu safiyaon the facility. the paediatrician has become well—known for his appeals to the international community, calling for the protection of gaza's health facilities. on friday, the israeli military forcibly evacuated kamal adwan, one of northern gaza's last functioning hospitals.the world health organisation says functioning hospitals. the world health organisation says it is now out of service. the israel defence forces said it conducted "targeted operations" against palestinian fighters, but gaza's deputy health minister said the idf indiscriminately burned down hospital facilities. a senior hospital official told the bbc that israeli soldiers gave them 15 minutes to evacuate patients, before troops entered and removed remaining patients. some patients and staff are believed to have been relocated to indonesian hospital, which is already out of order and had been evacuated by israeli forces the previous day. the dead included hospital staff and theirfamilies. our correspondent shaimaa kha

initial reports showed key departments were severely burned and destroyed in yesterday's raid on kamal adwan hospital. israel said hamas had used the site as a command centre, but provided no evidence. in the uk, forecasters are warning that thick fog that's caused travel disruption is likely to continue for much of the day. there have been delays and cancellations at airports after air traffic controllers imposed safety restrictions. indians gather to pay their respects to former prime minister manmohan singh at his state funeral, the man key to the country's economic liberalisation. india's first sikh leader died on thursday at the age of 92. now on bbc news, the watermelons. daeva is a rebel leader. he's talking to a spy inside the enemy camp, a soldier in the myanmar military. like watermelons, they're green on the outside, appearing to be loyal to the army. but inside, they're red, working for the pro—democracy uprising. why are they prepared to risk everything? chanting daeva leads a unit of unlikely fighters — city protesters turned jungle rebels. they call themselves the people's def

the who said that they were appalled by the kamal adwan raid.em and the siege of over 80 days of north gaza puts the lives of tens of thousands of palestinians at risk. shaimaa khalil reporting. there've been protests in the last few days over the suspected reprisal killings of people from the alawite community which syria's deposed president bashar al—assad belongs to. the rebel group hayat tahrir al—sham, who have formed the de facto government of the country, have denied carrying out reprisal attacks, and have promised a general amnesty for members of the former regime. tens of thousands of the former regime's forces have been crowding at hts centres to surrender. the bbc�*s yogita limaye has been speaking to them. just weeks ago, these men were part of bashar al—assad's forces. now they are thronging to so—called reconciliation centres run by the insurgents they were fighting against. it's a picture of the transition that's under way in syria. mohammed ramadan was posted on the outskirts of damascus when it fell to the rebels. he's come to h