Region

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria's second-largest city Aleppo has fallen from government control for the first time since the country's conflict began more than a decade ago, a war monitor said on Sunday, after a surprise advance by rebels.

An Islamist-dominated rebel alliance has pressed a lightning offensive against forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed Syrian government since Wednesday, the same day a fragile ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed Hizbollah group after two months of all-out war.

The Syrian army -- supported by Russian air power -- had recaptured in 2016 rebel-held areas of Aleppo, a city dominated by its landmark citadel.

Damascus also relied on Hizbollah fighters to regain swathes of Syria lost to rebels early in the war which began in 2011 when the government crushed protests. But Hizbollah has taken heavy losses in its fight with Israel.

Hayat Tahrir Al Sham and allied rebel factions "control Aleppo city, except the neighbourhoods controlled by the Kurdish forces", Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.

For the first time since the conflict started, "Aleppo city is out of control of Syrian regime forces," Abdel Rahman said.

Several northern districts inside Aleppo are predominantly inhabited by Syrian Kurds under authority of the People's Protection Units (YPG), the main component of the Syrian Democratic forces.

The SDF are the de facto army in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northeast Syria. They are a US-backed force that spearheaded fighting against the Daesh group before Daesh’s territorial defeat in Syria in 2019.

Separately, the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham(HTS) and allied rebel factions seized Aleppo's airport and dozens of nearby towns on Saturday after overrunning most of Aleppo, the observatory said.

Tanks seized 

Damascus ally Moscow responded with its first air strikes on Aleppo since 2016.

Prior to this offensive, HTS, led by Al Qaeda's former Syria branch, already controlled swathes of the Idlib region, the last area outside President Bashar Assad's government control, in Syria's northwest.

HTS also held parts of neighbouring Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces. Allied Turkish-backed rebel factions have also been taking part in the offensive.

The fighting has killed more than 370 people, most of them combatants but also including at least 48 civilians, according to the observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria.

The observatory said rebel advances came with little resistance.

AFP images showed fighters posing with seized tanks.

The observatory on Sunday said the army strengthened its positions around Syria's fourth largest city Hama, about 230 kilometres  south of Aleppo, and sent reinforcements to the north of the surrounding province.

Syria's defence ministry said army units in Hama province "reinforced their defensive lines with diverse means of fire, equipment and personnel", fighting to prevent a rebel advance.

Rebels took dozens of towns across the north, including Khan Sheikhun and Maaret Numan, roughly halfway between Aleppo and Hama, the observatory said.

Some welcomed the rebels' arrival.

"Yesterday was my wedding but I didn't distribute sweets," Khaled Al Yussef said, holding up pastries beside a car. "I'm distributing them today in celebration of the liberation of Maaret Al Numan."

'Weak' government 

But in Idlib on Sunday, bodies lay in a hospital and vehicles were torched in the street, AFP images showed, after what the observatory called Russian air strikes.

Air strikes also occurred Saturday in Aleppo, where an AFP photographer saw charred cars, including a minibus. Inside one car, the body of a woman lay slumped in the back seat with a handbag beside her.

Russian air strikes on parts of Syria's second city are the first since 2016.

Aaron Stein, president of the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute," said "Russia's presence has thinned out considerably and quick reaction air strikes have limited utility".

He said the rebel advance is "a reminder of how weak the regime is".

Another analyst, Dareen Khalifa of the International Crisis Group think tank, said the rebel alliance see their action in a "broader regional and geostrategic shift", including when "the Iranians are weakened".

Syria's "reliance on Russia and Iran", along with its refusal to move forward with a 2015 peace process outlined by the UN Security Council, "created the conditions now unfolding", said US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett.

The United States maintains hundreds of troops in Syria's northeast.

Diplomacy 

Iran's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left Tehran for Damascus to deliver what state media said would be a message of support for Syria's government and armed forces.

Araghchi again called the surprise rebel offensive a plot by the United States and Israel and vowed that "the Syrian army will once again win".

Assad vowed to defeat the "terrorists", however big their attacks.

"Terrorism only understands the language of force, and that is the language which we will break it and eliminate it with, whoever its supporters and sponsors are," he said.

Russia, whose air support was previously decisive in helping Syria's government win back lost territory, joined Iran in expressing "extreme concern" over their ally's losses.

"Strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic was reaffirmed," the Russian foreign ministry said in a summary of a call between its top diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, and Araghchi.

Since 2020, the Idlib rebel enclave has been subject to a Turkish- and Russian-brokered truce that had largely been holding despite repeated violations.

Lavrov also spoke with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Saturday and agreed on the need to "coordinate joint action to stabilise the situation", Moscow said.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Extremist-led rebels seized Aleppo airport and dozens of nearby towns on Saturday after overrunning most of Syria's second city of Aleppo, a war monitor said.

Damascus ally Moscow responded with its first air strikes on Aleppo since 2016 as the extremists and allies pressed a lightning offensive they launched on Wednesday as a ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon.

The fighting has killed at least 327 people, most of them combatants but also including 44 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) and allied factions... took control of most of the city and government centres and prisons without meeting great resistance," the Britain-based war monitor said.

They also overran Aleppo airport after government forces withdrew, and took control of "dozens of strategic towns without any resistance", it added.

The Syrian army confirmed that the rebels had entered "large parts" of the city of around two million people, adding that "dozens of men from our armed forces were killed and others wounded".

HTS is a extremist alliance led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch which, with its allies, has long controlled a rebel enclave in the Idlib region of the northwest.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that "at this moment, the Syrian regime appears to have been abandoned by its main allies Iran and Russia, with Moscow until now carrying out symbolic strikes".

Russia carried out air strikes in parts of Aleppo overnight, the Observatory said. 

Later on Saturday, "at least 16 civilians were killed and 20 others wounded" in fresh strikes.

France called on all sides to protect civilians in Aleppo.

AFPTV footage showed fires burning after the strikes, while AFP images showed rebels outside the city's landmark citadel.

 'Waiting 10 years' 

The Syrian army said the rebels launched "a broad attack from multiple axes on the Aleppo and Idlib fronts" and reported fierce battles "over a strip exceeding 100 kilometres."

As the fighting raged for a fourth day, the Observatory said that the government had lost 100 troops and militiamen, while the rebels had lost 183.

It said the rebels had taken dozens of towns across the north, including Maaret Al Numan and Khan Sheikhun.

"We've been waiting for this" for years, rebel fighter Mohamed Hammadi told AFP in a square in Aleppo, Syria's pre-war manufacturing hub.

The 29-year-old said the offensive was "to liberate Aleppo... and to lift the oppression against our brothers in the city".

"We are going to clear all of Syria, God willing," he added.

Gunfire 

Pro-government radio station Sham FM reported that "armed groups were present in a number of streets and neighbourhoods in Aleppo".

"Most civilians are avoiding leaving their homes and public and private institutions in the city are almost completely shut," it added.

The Observatory said "the governor of Aleppo and the police and security branch commanders withdrew from the city centre".

Some extremist fighters let off volleys of celebratory gunfire as they reached the city centre, where a rebel flag hung from a traffic light, images showed.

Western districts of Aleppo had been under rebel control until 2016, when an army siege forced a negotiated evacuation. 

Russia, whose air support was decisive in turning the tide in the government's favour, joined Iran on Saturday in expressing "extreme concern" over their ally's losses.

"Strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic was reaffirmed," the Russian foreign ministry said in a readout of a call between Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

Tehran said Araghchi would travel to Damascus on Sunday for talks on the rebel assault, which saw the Iranian consulate in Aleppo come under attack.

Since 2020, the Idlib rebel enclave has been subject to a Turkish- and Russian-brokered truce, which had largely been holding despite repeated violations. 

The Iranian minister will also hold consultations in Ankara, his ministry said.

Lavrov spoke with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Saturday and agreed on the need to "coordinate joint action to stabilise the situation".

Ankara had issued a statement on Friday calling for an end to Moscow's retaliatory bombing of the rebel enclave.

OCUUPIED JERUSALEM — The Israeli military carried out air strikes in Lebanon Saturday against Hizbollah activities that it said "posed a threat", days into a fragile ceasefire between it and the Iran-backed group.

The army said it had also struck "military infrastructure" on the Syria-Lebanon border, where it accused Hizbollah of smuggling weapons in violation of the truce.

In a speech this week announcing his government was ready to accept a ceasefire after more than a year of war on Lebanon, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned that Israel would maintain "full military freedom of action" in the event of any breach.

Lebanon's health ministry said that an Israeli "strike on a car in Majdal Zoun wounded three people including a seven-year-old child".

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported "continued violations of the ceasefire" by Israel, including an incident in which an Israeli tank "crushed a number of cars and surrounded some families" who were later evacuated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Separately, Israel's military said it had launched a "strike on military infrastructure sites adjacent to border crossings between Syria and Lebanon that were actively used by Hizbollah to smuggle weapons", adding that the alleged smuggling took place after the ceasefire took effect. 

US general discusses ceasefire 

The ceasefire deal, which was intended to end more than a year of cross-border exchanges of fire and two months of all-out war, went into effect early on Wednesday.

As part of the terms of the agreement, the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws over a period of 60 days.

Hizbollah is also meant to withdraw its forces north of the Litani river, approximately 30 kilometres from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon. 

On Friday, the group's chief Naim Qassem vowed to cooperate with the Lebanese army "to implement the commitments of the agreement".

NNA reported that army chief Joseph Aoun met US Major General Jasper Jeffers to discuss "the general situation and coordination mechanisms between concerned parties in the south".

The US military's Central Command said Jeffers arrived in Beirut this week "to serve as co-chair for the implementation and monitoring mechanism of the cessation of hostilities".

According to Lebanon's health ministry, at least 3,961 people have been killed in the country since October 2023 as a result of the Israel-Hizbollah conflict, most of them in recent weeks.

On the Israeli side, the hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.

Hamas publishes hostage video 

Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hizbollah in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

Israel's campaign has killed 44,382 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

Hamas's armed wing published a video Saturday of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.

In the video, Alexander addresses US President-elect Donald Trump in English and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Hebrew, and calls on Israelis to put pressure on the government to secure the release of the hostages.

"The shocking video of Edan, an American-Israeli citizen, is definite proof that despite all the rumours -- there are living hostages and they are suffering greatly," the Hostage Families Forum campaign group said in a statement, adding that "returning the hostages is only possible through a deal".

Meanwhile, the US charity World Central Kitchen said Saturday it was "pausing operations in Gaza" after an Israeli air strike hit a vehicle carrying its workers.

The Israeli military earlier confirmed that a strike in Gaza killed a Palestinian employee of the charity, accusing the worker of being a "terrorist" who "infiltrated Israel and took part in the murderous October 7 massacre in Kibbutz Nir Oz".

While WCK confirmed a strike had hit its staff, it did not confirm any deaths, noting it was "working with incomplete information".

Earlier Saturday, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the bodies of "at least five dead were transported (to hospital), including the three employees of World Central Kitchen".

Israeli representatives demanded that WCK "order an urgent examination regarding the hiring of workers who took part in the October 7 massacre", an army statement said.

In its statement, WCK said it "had no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7 Hamas attack".

GENEVA — The WHO warned Thursday of dire shortages of medicines, food, shelter and fuel in Gaza, especially in the north, demanding that Israel allow in more aid and facilitate humanitarian operations.

The World Health Organisation described a "catastrophic" situation on the ground.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that when the war in Gaza erupted more than a year ago following Hamas's deadly October 7 attack inside Israel, almost all of those displaced by the conflict sheltered in public buildings or with family members.

"Now, 90 percent are living in tents," he told a press conference at the WHO's headquarters in Geneva.

"This leaves them vulnerable to respiratory and other diseases, [while] cold weather, rain and flooding are expected to exacerbate food insecurity and malnutrition," he said.

The situation was particularly dire in the blockaded north, where a UN-backed assessment this month said famine looms.

The WHO and its partners this week conducted a three-day mission to the north, visiting more than a dozen health facilities.

Tedros said the team had seen "high number of trauma patients and increasing number of patients with chronic diseases needing treatment".

"There are critical shortages of essential medicines." 

The WHO is "doing everything we can -- everything Israel allows us to do -- to deliver health services and supplies", he added.

Out of 22 requested missions to the north in November, only nine had been facilitated, Rik Peeperkorn, the WTO representative in the Palestinian territories, told reporters.

He said he hoped a planned mission on Saturday would go ahead to the only two remaining even "minimal" functioning hospitals in the north: Kamal Adwan and Al Awda.

"They are in need for everything," Peeperkorn said.

He described a dire lack of fuel especially, warning that "without fuel there are no humanitarian operations at all".

On a positive note, Peeperkorn said the WHO had facilitated this week the medical evacuation of 17 patients from Gaza to Jordan, 12 of whom would go on to the United States for treatment.

They were among nearly 300 patients who had been able to leave since Israel shuttered Gaza's main Rafah border crossing in early May, Peeperkorn said.

But around 12,000 patients are currently waiting in Gaza to be evacuated for medical reasons, he said, demanding medical corridors out of the territory.

"If we continue at this pace, we will be busy for the next 10 years," he said.

BINT JBEIL, Lebanon — Hizbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Wednesday the group was cooperating with the army's deployment across south Lebanon under the terms of a ceasefire with Israel, insisting "there will be no problem".

His remarks from the border town of Bint Jbeil came as tens of thousands of residents streamed home after a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah took effect before dawn, ending more than a year of hostilities and two months of full-scale war.

They also came as the Lebanese army said it had begun reinforcing its presence in the south.

Responding to an AFP question about Hizbollah fighters' withdrawal north of the Litani River in accordance with the truce, Fadlallah said the matter was "linked to Lebanese state measures and strengthening the army presence".

"There is full cooperation on this issue and there will be no problem there," he said.

The truce, which involves implementing a UN Security Council resolution that ended a 2006 war between Israeli and Hizbollah, requires the group to pull back north of the Litani, some 30 kilometres from the border with Israel.

It also requires the dismantling of Hizbollah's military infrastructure in south Lebanon, where analysts have said it likely has an extensive network of tunnels. 

Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the army would shore up its presence in the south, while urging Israel to respect the terms of the ceasefire and withdraw.

The Lebanese military said it had "begun reinforcing its presence in the South Litani sector and extending the state's authority in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)".

An AFP journalist saw troops and vehicles in two areas of south Lebanon.

'Will not sit idly by' 

Fadlallah said Hizbollah had "no visible weapons or bases" in the south, but at the same time, noted the group "is a secret resistance... not a regular army".

"Hizbollah's people are the people of these villages and towns, and most of the dead are from these villages," he said.

"Nobody can make residents leave their villages."

Lebanon says at least 3,823 people have been killed since Hizbollah began cross-border exchanges with Israel over the Gaza war in October 2023, most of them in recent weeks.

But Fadlallah insisted "it's the Israeli enemy who launched this war", from the bombing of Hizbollah communications devices in mid-September to the huge air strikes which killed longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders.

He said Hizbollah had not wanted "a broader war".

"We had set up a support front [for Gaza] in a narrow area," he said, insisting that Israel "has not won the war".

Israel "announced it wanted to destroy Hizbollah, but today Hizbollah has a strong presence in all Lebanon's regions, particularly south of the Litani", he said defiantly.

Hizbollah has prevented Israel "from realising its objectives in Lebanon", he added.

The group is ready to respond if Israel violates the truce, Fadlallah warned, noting the agreement recognises "the right of the two parties to self-defence".

"When our country is attacked, we will not sit idly by."

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel told the International Criminal Court(ICC) on Wednesday that it will appeal against arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister.

It also asked the court to suspend the warrants for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant pending the outcome of the appeal, the prime minister's office said in a statement.

The ICC issued the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant last week on suspicion of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza, triggered by the Palestinian militant group's October 7, 2023 attack.

The warrants drew furious condemnation from Netanyahu and other Israeli politicians.

The prime minister accused the court of anti-Semitism and vowed not to be deterred from defending Israel.

" Israel challenges the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court [ICC] and the legitimacy of the arrest warrants issued," Netanyahu's office said.

"If the court rejects this request, it will further demonstrate to Israel's friends in the United States and around the world how biased the International Criminal Court is against the State of Israel," it added.

The ICC did not make a direct comment on Israel's appeal.

"If requests for appeal are submitted, it would be for the judges to decide," ICC spokesman Fadi Abdallah told reporters when asked about the appeal.

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif. Israel said in early August it had killed Deif in an air strike in southern Gaza in July, but Hamas has not confirmed his death.

The court said on November 21 it had found "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore "criminal responsibility" for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.

WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden will launch a renewed drive Wednesday for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, now that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a truce in Lebanon, his national security adviser said.

The truce that began before dawn Wednesday in the south Lebanon war means Iran-backed Hizbollah is no longer fighting in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. That will increase pressure on the militant Palestinian group to agree to a ceasefire and hostage deal, Jake Suillivan told MSNBC.

Biden spoke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu right before the US- and French-brokered truce with Hizbollah was announced Tuesday and they agreed to try again for a Gaza agreement that has eluded negotiators for months, Sullivan said.

"President Biden intends to begin that work today by having his envoys engage with Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and other actors in the region," Sullivan said.

"We believe that this is the beginning of an opportunity for a more stable Middle East in which Israel's security is assured and US interests are secured," he added.

The Israel-Hezbollah deal was a rare boost for Biden as he prepares to leave the White House and hand over to Donald Trump on January 20. 

As he announced the agreement Tuesday, Biden said the United States, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Israel would make another push for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel is still at war with Hamas following the Palestinian group's deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Biden said Washington would also push for a long-explored deal to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Hamas is ready to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a senior official in the Palestinian Islamist group said Wednesday, hailing the ceasefire that took hold in Lebanon.

"We have informed mediators in Egypt, Qatar and Turkey that Hamas is ready for a ceasefire agreement and a serious deal to exchange prisoners," the official told AFP, however accusing Israel of obstructing a deal.

In a statement released later Wednesday, Hamas said "the enemy's acceptance of the agreement with Lebanon without achieving its preconditions marks a significant milestone in shattering [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's illusions of reshaping the Middle East through force".

The group also praised the "pivotal" role of its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority expressed hope that the ceasefire would bring stability to the region, especially in war-torn Gaza.

"We hope that this step will contribute to stopping the violence and instability that the region is suffering from," the Palestinian presidency said in a statement, highlighting the need to enforce a UN resolution for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he would bring a US-brokered proposal for a ceasefire with Hizbollah in Lebanon to his security Cabinet for a vote as soon as this evening.

Citizens of Israel, this evening I will bring a ceasefire outline for the Cabinet's approval," Netanyahu said in a televised address. "The length of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon."

The United States, European Union, United Nations and G7, among others, have pushed for a halt to the long-running hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah, which escalated into full-scale war in late September.

But as the pressure for a truce has intensified, so too have air raids and ground battles between Israel and Iran-backed Hizbollah.

Waves of strikes pounded Hizbollah's south Beirut stronghold Tuesday after a flurry of Israeli evacuation warnings, AFPTV footage showed, in the heaviest raids since Israel's air campaign escalated.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said that "a belt of fire has encircled [the city's] southern suburbs" as raids targeted Burj Al Barajneh, Haret Hreik and Hadath.

The NNA reported that another strike in the central "Nweiri area in Beirut destroyed a four-storey building housing displaced people". It killed three people and injured 26, the health ministry said.

Rola Jaafar, who lives in the building opposite, said: "We were blown away and the walls fell on top of us."

Israel's military said it attacked 20 Hizbollah "terror targets" in the Beirut area, including command centres, "weapons storage facilities" and "components of Hizbollah's financial system".

It also said it had hit 30 targets in south Lebanon since the morning, and troops had "engaged in close-quarters combat with terrorists" and destroyed hidden weapons caches during ground raids in the Litani River region.

On the diplomatic front, Israel's deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel said the security cabinet would meet later Tuesday to discuss a ceasefire deal, though she declined "to go into details about it because of the sensitivity of the issue".

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said previously the cabinet would make its decision on Tuesday evening.

The United States and France have led the efforts to broker a ceasefire, and US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday talks had reached a "point where we're close".

G7 foreign ministers called Tuesday for an "immediate ceasefire" in Lebanon, saying in a statement: "Now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement."

Britain also called for a truce, saying this was "the only way to restore security" for civilians in Lebanon and northern Israel, while Germany said a deal was "within reach".

US news outlet Axios reported that the draft agreement included a 60-day transition period.

During that time, Israeli forces would withdraw, the Lebanese army would redeploy near the border and Hizbollah would move its heavy weapons north of the Litani River, Axios said.

A US-led committee would oversee implementation, with provisions allowing Israel to act against imminent threats if Lebanese forces failed to intervene.

Defence minister Israel Katz told the UN's Lebanon envoy on Tuesday that Israel would have "zero tolerance" when defending its security interests, even after a truce.

"If you do not act, we will do it, forcefully," Katz told Janine Hennis-Plasschaert during a meeting in Tel Aviv, a statement from his office said.

Deal a 'mistake' 

Israeli media have reported that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to endorse the US ceasefire proposal.

The war in Lebanon followed nearly a year of limited cross-border exchanges of fire initiated by Hizbollah.

The Lebanese group said it was acting in support of Hamas after the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

Lebanon says at least 3,799 people have been killed in the country since October 2023, most of them in the past several weeks.

On the Israeli side, the Lebanon hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.

CAIRO — Rescuers on Tuesday recovered four bodies and four survivors a day after a diving boat capsized off Egypt's eastern coast, Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi said, with eight people still missing.

Among the survivors were two Belgians, one Swiss national and one Egyptian, the governor said, bringing the total number of survivors from the vessel to 32.

The four dead have not yet been identified and eight people remain missing.

"Rescue operations are ongoing today, supported by a military helicopter and a frigate in addition to multiple divers," Hanafi told AFP.

The vessel was carrying 31 tourists of multiple nationalities and a 13-member crew when it was hit by a large wave early on Monday, leading it to capsize near Marsa Alam in southeastern Egypt.

The "Sea Story" had embarked on a multi-day diving trip on Sunday and had been due to dock on Friday at the town of Hurghada, 200 kilometres (124 miles) north.

The governor on Monday said the boat had sunk within 5-7 minutes of its impact with the wave, leaving some passengers -- among them European, Chinese and American tourists -- unable to escape their cabins in time.

Survivors 

Rescuers from the military and a passing tourist boat had pulled 28 people from the waters on Monday.

According to a source at a hospital in Marsa Alam, six tourists and three Egyptians were admitted with minor injuries and discharged on Monday.

The tourists included "two Germans, two Britons, one Spaniard and one Swiss national," the hospital administrator told AFP, requesting anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

According to the governor's office, the boat was carrying tourists from Belgium, Britain, China, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.

Among the missing are two Polish and two Finnish tourists, according to both countries' foreign ministries.

Authorities have said the vessel was fully licensed and had passed all its inspection checks. A preliminary investigation showed no technical fault.

The Marsa Alam area experienced at least two similar boat accidents earlier this year but there were no fatalities. 

The Red Sea coast is a major tourist destination in Egypt, a country of 107 million that is in the grip of a serious economic crisis.

Nationally, the tourism sector employs two million people and generates more than 10 percent of its GDP.

Dozens of dive boats crisscross between Red Sea coral reefs and islands off Egypt's eastern coast every day, where safety regulations are robust but unevenly enforced.

Earlier this month, 30 people were rescued from a sinking dive boat near the Red Sea's Daedalus reef.

In June, two dozen French tourists were evacuated safely before their boat sank in a similar accident.

Last year, three British tourists died when a fire broke out on their yacht.