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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Takes Over Idlib After Ceasefire Deal

The militant-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, whose fighters are seen here during an exercise on August 14, 2018, have taken control of the whole of Syria's last major rebel bastion Idlib under a ceasefire deal with rival Turkish-backed rebels | AFP
The militant-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, whose fighters are seen here during an exercise on August 14, 2018, have taken control of the whole of Syria's last major rebel bastion Idlib under a ceasefire deal with rival Turkish-backed rebels | AFP
    Beirut, London- Asharq Al-Awsat
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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Takes Over Idlib After Ceasefire Deal

The militant-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, whose fighters are seen here during an exercise on August 14, 2018, have taken control of the whole of Syria's last major rebel bastion Idlib under a ceasefire deal with rival Turkish-backed rebels | AFP
The militant-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, whose fighters are seen here during an exercise on August 14, 2018, have taken control of the whole of Syria's last major rebel bastion Idlib under a ceasefire deal with rival Turkish-backed rebels | AFP

A militant group dominated by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Thursday sealed its grip on northern Idlib, the last major rebel bastion, in a deal ending days of fighting with rival factions.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) signed a ceasefire with what was left of a rival alliance that sees it confirm its supremacy and unites the region under a jihadist-led administration.

Under an accord reached by rebel backer Turkey and regime ally Russia in September, Ankara was expected to rein in Idlib factions to stave off a threatened regime offensive with potentially disastrous humanitarian repercussions.

The militants' deal, a copy of which was circulated on local media outlets, brings an immediate end to the fighting between HTS and the rival National Liberation Front, which was directly backed by Turkey.

"This morning, HTS and NLF signed an agreement to put an end to ongoing fighting... and establish the control of the salvation government in all areas," the group's propaganda channel Ebaa said.

The self-proclaimed Salvation Government is an HTS-dominated body which had been administering large parts of the Idlib area, including its eponymous capital.

Its reach now extends to most of the Idlib province and parts of the neighboring provinces of Aleppo and Hama.

The deal sees Ankara-backed radical factions Ahrar al-Sham and Suqur al-Sham stand down, as areas they once held come under HTS administrative control.

These include the two major towns of Ariha and Maarat al-Noman.

Last week, HTS seized dozens of villages from another key NLF component, Noureddine al-Zinki, in the northeast of the enclave.

Other militants-- such as the Al-Qaeda-linked Hurras al-Deen group and Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) -- maintain a presence in the Idlib region but are allied with HTS.

The clashes between HTS and its NLF rivals in Idlib had killed 137 people on both sides since the start of the year, most of them fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

The deal announced on Thursday provides for an immediate cessation of hostilities, an exchange of detainees, the lifting of all checkpoints inside the region, and its unification under the authority of the Salvation Government.

Analyst Sam Heller said the latest development put HTS squarely in control of the Idlib region.

"Now it can present itself to Turkey and others as an indispensable interlocutor in any non-military solution to Idlib," said the analyst with the International Crisis Group.

It was however unclear if it would make it harder for Turkey to implement the September deal for a buffer zone around Idlib, reached in the Russian resort town of Sochi.

"It's not clear whether the Sochi deal's success and the continuation of the Idlib de-escalation actually depends on the memorandum's literal implementation, or more political atmospherics such as the health of the Turkish-Russian bilateral relationship," he said.

Simultaneously, Ankara has been threatening to launch a cross-border offensive against the Kurdish militia controlling large parts of northeastern Syria.

The recent announcement by US President Donald Trump that he was ordering a full troop pullout from Syria has left Washington's Kurdish allies more exposed than ever.

They have had to cozy up to Damascus, at the expense of their plans for increased autonomy, to guarantee their survival in the face of Turkish threats.

Turkey, which considers the Kurdish YPG militia a terrorist organization, could move into northern Syria to create a buffer along its border.

It made its intentions clear Thursday and warned that it would launch an offensive against Syrian Kurdish forces if the United States delays the withdrawal of its troops from the war-torn country.

"If the (pullout) is put off with ridiculous excuses like Turks are massacring Kurds, which do not reflect the reality, we will implement this decision," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told NTV television.

Syria's war has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

The Russia-backed regime notched up a series of victories against the rebels and extremists last year, and is now in control of around two-thirds of the country.

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Arab World

Israel Rejects Lebanon Withdrawal, Presses on With Destruction in South

Rubble of homes in the town of Mayfadoun, with traces of a large explosion that struck in southern Lebanon seen in the background (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Rubble of homes in the town of Mayfadoun, with traces of a large explosion that struck in southern Lebanon seen in the background (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Israel Rejects Lebanon Withdrawal, Presses on With Destruction in South

Rubble of homes in the town of Mayfadoun, with traces of a large explosion that struck in southern Lebanon seen in the background (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Rubble of homes in the town of Mayfadoun, with traces of a large explosion that struck in southern Lebanon seen in the background (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Israel has hardened its stance against Lebanese demands for a withdrawal, insisting it will remain in a “security zone” it has carved out inside Lebanon covering about 700 square kilometers.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz summed up the policy bluntly: “We destroy there and build here,” referring to Lebanon and Israel.

The position poses a major challenge to Lebanon and to US-led mediation aimed at securing an Israeli withdrawal and placing all weapons across Lebanese territory exclusively under state control.

US General Joseph Clearfield, head of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon (MCG4L), is visiting Tel Aviv with Lebanese proposals for a mechanism to inspect designated pilot zones and plans to expand them.

He is due back on Friday to discuss with the Lebanese army the proposed arrangements and missions for implementing the “framework agreement.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam discussed developments in the south, particularly continued Israeli attacks and the destruction and demolition of homes and property in several villages and towns.

They also discussed Clearfield’s visit and reviewed items on the cabinet meeting agenda, the Lebanese presidency said.

Three-pronged destruction plan

Israel is pressing ahead in the border area with a three-pronged destruction campaign: bulldozing homes and civilian structures, burning buildings still standing, and blowing up tunnels, homes and other civilian facilities.

Security sources in southern Lebanon told Asharq Al-Awsat that what Lebanese observers could see in the occupied area was “the destruction of all urban infrastructure and the obliteration of the manifestations of life.”

They said Israel was also building military positions and raising mounds over the ruins of homes and villages.

The work was advancing “at a rapid pace,” the sources said, with explosions intensifying over the past two weeks alongside military measures, deployments across towns along the Yellow Line and incursions toward nearby villages.

Ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the most dangerous Israeli action in the south was the reshaping of border towns and villages.

The villages no longer resemble what they once were, the sources said, citing changes to the geography of towns and neighborhoods, the opening of new roads and the razing of homes and orchards.

Some villages had not originally been fully surveyed topographically, they added, deepening the impact of the changes underway.

Salam on Wednesday condemned the Israeli bulldozing and demolitions.

“Attempts to justify the razing and destruction on the grounds that military facilities are being targeted are contradicted by the nature of what is actually being struck on the ground,” he said.

“Lebanon’s sovereignty, the security of its people and the right of southerners to return to their land and rebuild their villages are not matters open to compromise.”

After the post was published, Salam’s account on X was hacked and the statement deleted. He later reposted it.

Bulldozing reaches Bani Hayyan

After carrying out hundreds of explosions and bulldozing operations in the border area, the Israeli army on Thursday began razing homes in Bani Hayyan, about 10 kilometers from the border.

The move came two days after a large explosion in the town and marked the first incursion by Israeli bulldozers there.

Local media reported Israeli sweeping operations in Bani Hayyan alongside shelling and the burning of several homes. Israeli military vehicles were also seen moving around the town.

An Israeli infantry force was also reported moving between Aita al-Jabal and Beit Yahoun in the Bint Jbeil district.

Systematic destruction

The repeated explosions and bulldozing point to a systematic Israeli strategy of destruction, one Katz described openly on Thursday after touring southern Lebanon a day earlier and highlighting the scale of the damage caused by Israeli forces.

He said he had seen “the homes of dozens of villages, the Lebanese border villages, that were destroyed, demolished and turned into ruins,” claiming they had been “Hezbollah positions in every sense of the word.”

“Here we build, and there is ruin,” Katz said, adding that Israel had “removed once and for all” the threat he said those areas had posed.

Katz said the Israeli army now controls about 700 square kilometers of what Israel calls a “security zone” inside Lebanon, stretching “from the sea area in the west to al-Shaqif and the outskirts of the summit of Mount Hermon in the east.”

He described the area as “empty of residents” and said Israeli troops were deployed there while what he called Hezbollah infrastructure above and below ground was being destroyed.

Long-term occupation

Katz said Israel would not withdraw from the territory it occupies in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah was disarmed and what he called its “threat” eliminated across the country.

He said he had ordered the military to prepare for a “long-term presence” there.

“This position is clear and we stand behind it, the prime minister and I, whether in direct talks with the US leadership or in practice and everywhere,” Katz said.

He said he had instructed the army “to prepare for a prolonged presence in the area in order to protect the fighting forces and the communities until this goal is fully achieved.”

“We promised the residents of the north security, and that is exactly what we have done and what we will do,” he added.

Katz also said on Thursday that Israel’s position on remaining in Lebanon had been raised “in direct talks with the US leadership,” underscoring the continuing dispute over how the framework agreement should be interpreted and the conditions for withdrawal.

A senior US State Department official had said that “a permanent Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon is inconsistent with the commitments made under the framework agreement and is not compatible with long-term peace and security for both countries.”

The official said Washington remained committed to the agreed path for the gradual redeployment of Israeli forces, alongside steps to verify Hezbollah’s disarmament and the destruction of its military infrastructure.

Arab World

Yemeni Forces Repel Houthi Attacks on Multiple Fronts

Yemeni Forces repel Houthi attacks on several fronts - Military Media
Yemeni Forces repel Houthi attacks on several fronts - Military Media
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Yemeni Forces Repel Houthi Attacks on Multiple Fronts

Yemeni Forces repel Houthi attacks on several fronts - Military Media
Yemeni Forces repel Houthi attacks on several fronts - Military Media

The Iran-backed Houthi group has intensified attacks across several fronts in Yemen, striking civilian areas and facilities in Taiz as government forces said they had repelled assaults and infiltration attempts in Taiz, Shabwa and Dhale and inflicted losses on the group.

Military and local sources said the Houthis had attacked military positions and civilian areas in several locations in recent hours, pointing to a widening of fighting across multiple fronts.

In the southwestern province of Taiz, Houthi mortar fire struck a mosque and a school in Maqsab village in the al-Atqa area of Mawza district, damaging both buildings but causing no casualties, local sources said.

The attack on the mosque came hours after the Houthis shelled al-Jeel al-Jadeed school in the same area.

The sources said the strikes were part of continuing Houthi attacks on places of worship, schools, civilian facilities and residential neighborhoods in the province.

On the northeastern front of Taiz city, the Houthis shelled government positions at Tabbat al-Wakeel and Tabbat al-Mawshki with medium weapons and projectiles, causing no casualties among the troops, a military source was quoted by Yemen’s Saba news agency as saying.

Government forces returned fire on Houthi positions near the Sofitel and International Hospital sites, silencing the sources of fire as clashes continued.

Fighting spreads across fronts

Clashes also spread to the Hayfan front southeast of Taiz, where the two sides fought in Ayrim, al-Mafalis, Tabbat Saeed Taha, al-Abliya and al-Manzara with light, medium and heavy weapons.

Local and military sources said government forces repelled a Houthi attack and forced the fighters to retreat, while continuing to target their firing positions. The forces said they remained ready for further attacks.

In Shabwa province, government troops thwarted Houthi attacks and infiltration attempts on fronts in Harib, Ain, Bayhan and Upper Markha districts.

A military source said forces deployed in the province foiled the infiltration attempts and inflicted losses in personnel and equipment. Government drones then struck Houthi positions and reinforcements in response, the source said.

In Dhale province, artillery fire hit Houthi gatherings and reinforcements near al-Fakher market west of Qataba as the fighters prepared to attack government positions, killing or wounding a number of them. Drone strikes also targeted the reinforcements.

Houthi media report 84 dead in a week

Houthi media acknowledged the deaths of 84 fighters over roughly a week, including 28 field commanders, in an indication of the scale of the group’s reported losses.

The toll included 47 fighters whose funerals were held over two days, among them 14 officers.

Forty of those reported killed were from Sanaa province, while others came from Dhamar, Amran, Hajjah, Saada, Mahwit and Ibb.

The figures announced by Houthi media suggest the losses extended into the group’s field command and were spread across several areas under its control.

The escalation comes as Rashad al-Alimi, Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, said the state’s position toward the Houthis had changed and that any attack by the group would face a coordinated response and deterrence.

Al-Alimi said the armed forces were now operating through a single operations room and were better prepared to protect civilians, facilities and national institutions.

He said the state’s strategic goal was to restore its institutions and end the coup.

Al-Alimi said the government’s experience over recent years had shown that the Houthis used truces to rebuild their military capabilities and prepare for renewed fighting.

The government, he said, did not want another truce that repeated previous experiences, but a lasting peace based on a state that held sole authority over arms and sovereignty.

He said Houthi attacks on oil facilities and international shipping, along with threats to regional security, had helped shift international perceptions of the group.

The international question, in his view, was increasingly how to protect the Yemeni state, waterways and international peace and security rather than merely how to accommodate the Houthis.

Al-Alimi said the most significant military development was the growing unity and coordination among the fronts, citing simultaneous activity in Marib, Taiz, Shabwa, Dhale, Lahj, Hajjah, Saada and elsewhere.

He urged Yemen’s armed forces to protect civilians and respect the law, saying the strength of the state rested not only on weapons but also on the values and institutions it sought to restore.

Addressing the Houthis, Al-Alimi said the group still had an opportunity to lay down its weapons, enter political life and compete through the ballot box.

Yemen, he said, had room for everyone under the authority of the state and the law.

Arab World

Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill Two Including Senior Policeman

Palestinian firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire after an Israeli military strike targeted a vehicle belonging to Gaza Police Chief Jamal Abu Kamil south of Gaza City, 13 August 2026. (EPA)
Palestinian firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire after an Israeli military strike targeted a vehicle belonging to Gaza Police Chief Jamal Abu Kamil south of Gaza City, 13 August 2026. (EPA)
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Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill Two Including Senior Policeman

Palestinian firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire after an Israeli military strike targeted a vehicle belonging to Gaza Police Chief Jamal Abu Kamil south of Gaza City, 13 August 2026. (EPA)
Palestinian firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire after an Israeli military strike targeted a vehicle belonging to Gaza Police Chief Jamal Abu Kamil south of Gaza City, 13 August 2026. (EPA)

Israeli strikes in Gaza killed two people including a senior police officer on Thursday, health officials said, the second straight day of bombardment after a lull due to a US peace push.

The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas commander in the Khan Younis area who it said had been planning attacks against troops, in the second such targeting in as many days.

"The terrorist was struck in an aerial strike in order to remove the threat to Israeli troops," the military said, adding that "steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians."

Gaza's civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas, said an airstrike west of Khan Younis killed one person, with the city's Nasser Hospital confirming the arrival of a body following the attack.

In a separate incident in Gaza City, the civil defense said one person was killed and several others injured in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the Sheikh Ajlin neighborhood.

Al-Shifa Hospital said it had received the body of Gaza City's police governor Jamal Abu Kamil.

Gaza's interior ministry confirmed Abu Kamil "was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike targeting his vehicle on Al-Rashid Street, southwest of Gaza City".

When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was checking the reports.

Israel on Wednesday carried out its first airstrike in Gaza since August 3.

The hiatus in airstrikes came after US President Donald Trump's announcement of a "major milestone" in his plan to end the war.

Hamas had announced that it would disarm by giving its weapons to a nascent Palestinian governing committee.

Trump's Board of Peace, in charge of implementing the ceasefire deal, had initially announced that Israel in turn would start a phased withdrawal from much of the Gaza Strip.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday publicly rejected the deal and vowed no Israeli pullout, even after the Board of Peace reassured him that Israel would not have to withdraw until complete Hamas disarmament.

Israeli operations in Gaza have killed 1,260 Palestinians since the ceasefire, according to the territory's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks during the same period.