Yasmeen Altaji gives a round-up of today’s trends
Trending Middle East
Syria's Christians on edge and rebels take Hama
This is trending with daily rundown of news from the Middle East and around the world brought to you by the National. From Abu Dhabi, I'm Yasmin Al Thaji, here are today's headlines. Syria's dwindling Christian community fears another wave of persecution, a decade after ISIS systematically attacked them, as fighting intensifies between the Syrian army and rebel groups. This country was once home to a large Christian population. Before the start of the civil war in 2011, Christians made up about 10% of Syria's 23 million population. Today, the community has shrunk to an estimated 300,000. Direct attacks on the Christian community by militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is leading the offensive, have not been reported. Conflicting reports have emerged from the northern city of Aleppo captured by rebel groups last week. Meanwhile, rebel forces entered the central city of Hamah, Thursday after a two-day battle. It's another major territorial gain in their week-long offensive against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies. Syria's military confirmed that rebel forces had entered Hamah after intense clashes, prompting its units to redeploy outside the city, according to a statement published by state media. The UAE has contributed 42% of the total aid sent to Gaza since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, topping the list of donor countries. These aid contributions have been valued at $828 million. The Emirates was among the first countries to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with President Sheikh Mohammed launching the Gallant night operation to send vital aid by land, air, and sea. That's all for this morning's headlines. You can get these stories at our site and visit the nationallose.com/podcasts for more like this. Miss Minal Taji, The National. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)