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CNN: Hezbollah Could Strike Israel Independent of Iran

Hezbollah fighters carry the casket of slain top commander Fuad Shukr, during his funeral procession in Beirut's southern suburbs on August 1, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
Hezbollah fighters carry the casket of slain top commander Fuad Shukr, during his funeral procession in Beirut's southern suburbs on August 1, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
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CNN: Hezbollah Could Strike Israel Independent of Iran

Hezbollah fighters carry the casket of slain top commander Fuad Shukr, during his funeral procession in Beirut's southern suburbs on August 1, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
Hezbollah fighters carry the casket of slain top commander Fuad Shukr, during his funeral procession in Beirut's southern suburbs on August 1, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group looks increasingly like it may strike Israel independent of whatever Iran may intend to do, sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN on Thursday.
Last week, Israel killed the top military commander for Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, in Lebanon.
One of the sources said “Hezbollah is moving faster than Iran in its planning and is looking to strike Israel in the coming days."
Iran, meanwhile, appears to still be working out how it plans to respond to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader and former Palestinian Prime Minister, in Tehran, multiple officials have told CNN.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, could act with little to no notice, given Lebanon’s proximity to Israel as its direct neighbor to the north, which is not true of Iran, a second source familiar with the intelligence told the US news agency.
It is not clear how or if Iran and Hezbollah are coordinating on a possible attack right now, the person added.
On Thursday, Israel warned of a "disproportionate response" if Hezbollah attacks civilians or military bases in central Israel.
A German news agency reported that Israeli media conveyed concern that Hezbollah might attack Israeli military bases in the center of Tel Aviv.
Israel told the US that if Hezbollah harms Israeli civilians as part of its retaliation for the assassination of its top military commander, Israel’s response would be “disproportionate."

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Türkiye Says It Believes Kurdish Fighters Will Be Forced Out of All Syrian Territory

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Says It Believes Kurdish Fighters Will Be Forced Out of All Syrian Territory

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)

Türkiye believes Syria's new rulers, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive Kurdish YPG fighters from all territory they occupy in northeastern Syria, Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on Sunday.

Türkiye regards the Syrian YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington, and the European Union.

The YPG spearheads an alliance, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is backed by the United States and controls territory in northeastern Syria. Since the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, Türkiye and Syrian groups it backs have fought against the SDF, seizing the city of Manbij.

"We believe that the new leadership in Syria and the Syrian National Army, which is an important part of its army, along with the Syrian people, will free all territories occupied by terrorist organizations," Guler said during a visit to Turkish troops on the Syrian border with military commanders.

"We will also take every necessary measure with the same determination until all terrorist elements beyond our borders are cleared," he said in a video released by his ministry.

Ankara has demanded the Syrian Kurdish fighters disband, and has called on Washington to withdraw its support. The US military acknowledged last week it has 2,000 troops on the ground in Syria, twice as many as it had said previously.

On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye would do "whatever it takes" to ensure its security if Syria's new administration was unable to address its concerns.