Türkiye Insists on Restoring Relations with Syria amid US Objection

Erdogan stressed that the situation in the region requires new foreign policy equations (Turkish Presidency)
Erdogan stressed that the situation in the region requires new foreign policy equations (Turkish Presidency)
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Türkiye Insists on Restoring Relations with Syria amid US Objection

Erdogan stressed that the situation in the region requires new foreign policy equations (Turkish Presidency)
Erdogan stressed that the situation in the region requires new foreign policy equations (Turkish Presidency)

Türkiye has conveyed new messages about maintaining efforts to restore normal ties with Syria, despite Damascus’ insistence on the Turkish military withdrawal, which currently seems to be far-fetched.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had intensified talk about this matter in recent weeks, ordering the fulfillment of the Syrian demand, and stressing that his country attaches great importance to increasing the number of its friends.
This came a day after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced that he would not oppose meeting with the Turkish president.
“In a period when our region is constantly on edge, establishing new equations in foreign policy is not just a choice but a necessity for Türkiye,” Erdogan said in his address after the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday evening.
He stressed that he could not allow anyone to confine Türkiye within “their narrow molds,” adding: “We neither turn our back on the East for the West nor neglect the West for the East.”
He continued: “We advance our relations with everyone, starting from our neighbors, in line with the interests of our country.”
Everyone must understand that increasing regional cooperation and solidarity will strengthen resilience against growing threats, the Turkish president underlined, adding: “Otherwise, we cannot prevent our region’s borders from being redrawn with bloodshed and tears as they were a century ago.”
He said that Türkiye sincerely hopes for the resolution of conflicts through mutual dialogue at the negotiation table.
In the same context, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Guler stressed that his country does not set its sights on anyone’s land or sovereign rights, and that Ankara’s battle is against terrorist organizations that harm peace and prosperity in the region.
During a meeting with the commanders of the armed forces, Guler said: “We are closely following developments in Syria, and I would like to remind you that the fate of Syria will be determined by its people, not those who rejoice in their sadness.”
Meanwhile, the United States announced that it does not support Türkiye’s efforts to normalize relations with Assad, stressing that these attempts will not yield results.
On Wednesday, Turkish media quoted a US State Department spokesman as saying that the United States’ position is clear and that it does not accept the normalization of ties with the Assad government without taking serious steps to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

 

 



94 Palestinians Killed in Gaza, Including 45 People Waiting for Aid

A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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94 Palestinians Killed in Gaza, Including 45 People Waiting for Aid

A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Airstrikes and shootings killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, including 45 while attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid, hospitals and the Health Ministry said Thursday.

Israel’s military did not have immediate comment on the strikes, The Associated Press reported.

Five people were killed while outside sites associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the newly created, secretive American organization backed by Israel to feed the Gaza Strip’s population, while 40 others were killed waiting for aid trucks in other locations across the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of people were killed in airstrikes that pounded the Strip Wednesday night and Thursday morning, including 15 people killed in strikes that hit tents in the sprawling Muwasi zone, where many displaced Palestinians are sheltering, and a strike on a school in Gaza City sheltering displaced people.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has passed 57,000, including 223 missing people who have been declared dead. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its death count but says that more than half of the dead are women and children.

The deaths come as Israel and Hamas inch closer to a possible ceasefire that would end the 21-month war.

Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. But Hamas’ response, which emphasized its demand that the war end, raised questions about whether the latest offer could materialize into an actual pause in fighting.

The Israeli military blames Hamas for the civilian casualties because it operates from populated areas. The military said it targeted Hamas members and rocket launchers in northern Gaza that launched rockets towards Israel on Wednesday.

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages.

The war has left the coastal Palestinian territory in ruins, with much of the urban landscape flattened in the fighting. More than 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been displaced, often multiple times. And the war has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, leaving hundreds of thousands of people hungry.