In a First, Israel Strikes Syrian, Hezbollah Positions in Idlib

An explosion following the Israeli strikes on Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
An explosion following the Israeli strikes on Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
TT

In a First, Israel Strikes Syrian, Hezbollah Positions in Idlib

An explosion following the Israeli strikes on Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
An explosion following the Israeli strikes on Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

Israeli jets carried out on Saturday strikes against joint positions held by Syrian forces and Hezbollah in the Saraqeb region in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

This is the first time that Israel targets regions held by the regime and opposition factions.

Israel also struck a scientific research center in the vicinity of the city of Al-Safira near Aleppo.

The Syrian Defense Ministry confirmed the strikes that took place overnight on Friday.

It said the attacks left several military personnel wounded and caused material damage.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli jets flew over the international coalition base in the al-Tanf region on the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi border after flying over Syria’s Sweida and Daraa regions.

Syrian government radars detected the jets without intercepting them, added the rights monitor.

Local media sources said the strikes on Saraqeb targeted positions held by Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Seven people were killed and 15 injured in the attack.

The attack took place hours after a meeting between Turkish and Russian officials at a position held by Russian forces in the village of al-Tronba near Saraqeb.

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by armed group Hamas on Israeli territory.



Erdogan Says Türkiye Ready to Help with Ceasefire in Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Erdogan Says Türkiye Ready to Help with Ceasefire in Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Türkiye was ready to help in any way possible to establish a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, and expressed satisfaction with the ceasefire agreement that has come into effect in Lebanon.

Türkiye, which has fiercely criticized Israel's offensives in Gaza and Lebanon, has previously said it discussed a potential truce in Gaza with Palestinian armed group Hamas and gave the group recommendations on how to proceed with the negotiations.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said the United States would again push for an elusive ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza "with Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others".

"We are stating that, as Türkiye, we are ready to provide any contribution for the massacre in Gaza to end and for a lasting ceasefire to be achieved," Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party in parliament.

Asked about Biden's remarks, a Turkish official told Reuters a ceasefire in Lebanon without a truce in Gaza was not enough to achieve regional stability, adding Ankara was ready to help reach a deal in Gaza, just as it had supported previous efforts.

"We are again ready to help achieve a permanent ceasefire and a lasting solution in Gaza," the official said.

While Ankara has repeatedly traded insults with Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war, it has not officially severed ties with it. Unlike Israel and its Western partners, Türkiye does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization and regularly hosts some of its senior members.