US Fighter Jets Fire Warning Flares to Russian Aircraft over Syria

Two US fighter jets fired warning flares on Wednesday after two Russian jets entered an agreed de-confliction zone over Syria.(Reuters)
Two US fighter jets fired warning flares on Wednesday after two Russian jets entered an agreed de-confliction zone over Syria.(Reuters)
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US Fighter Jets Fire Warning Flares to Russian Aircraft over Syria

Two US fighter jets fired warning flares on Wednesday after two Russian jets entered an agreed de-confliction zone over Syria.(Reuters)
Two US fighter jets fired warning flares on Wednesday after two Russian jets entered an agreed de-confliction zone over Syria.(Reuters)

Two US fighter jets fired warning flares on Wednesday after two Russian jets entered an agreed de-confliction zone over Syria.

The two US F-22 fighter aircraft fired warning flares after the Russian Su-25 jets entered the de-confliction area in airspace east of the Euphrates river in Syria, the US military said.

The Russian jets left the area after the flares were fired, an American official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Politically, the eighth round of the Geneva talks ended on Thursday in what United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura called a “missed opportunity” after the regime refused to hold direct negotiations with the opposition.

Syrian regime negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari said that de Mistura’s call on Russian President Vladimir Putin to exert pressure on Damascus hampered his mission as a mediator.

He also accused the opposition of sabotaging the Geneva talks.

Jaafari said Damascus did not want the talks to fail but the opposition had put down a precondition with a declaration that Assad had no role in Syria’s political transition.

Opposition spokesman Yehya al-Aridi told Asharq Al-Awsat that Jaafari cannot declare the end of the Geneva talks or the Riyadh 2 declaration.

“From now on, there should be greater solidarity in Geneva in confronting the arrogance of the regime and its defiance of international law and the UN,” he added.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill 15

A man carries the body of a child during the funeral of Palestinians killed overnight in Israeli attacks on a tent and on people seeking aid, according to Gaza's health ministry, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
A man carries the body of a child during the funeral of Palestinians killed overnight in Israeli attacks on a tent and on people seeking aid, according to Gaza's health ministry, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill 15

A man carries the body of a child during the funeral of Palestinians killed overnight in Israeli attacks on a tent and on people seeking aid, according to Gaza's health ministry, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
A man carries the body of a child during the funeral of Palestinians killed overnight in Israeli attacks on a tent and on people seeking aid, according to Gaza's health ministry, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Gaza's civil defense agency said Friday that overnight Israeli strikes killed at least 15 people, after nearly 21 months of war in the Palestinian territory.

Israel has recently expanded its military operations in the Gaza Strip, where the war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the territory's population of more than two million.

Gaza civil defense official Mohammad al-Mughayyir told AFP that seven people, including a child, were killed in an Israeli air strike on displaced people's tents near the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.

Mughayyir said eight more people were killed in two other strikes on tent encampments on the coast of Khan Yunis, including one that killed two children early Friday.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it could not comment on specific attacks without precise coordinates, but noted it was "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities".

On Thursday, the agency reported that 73 people were killed in Israeli strikes.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense.

Israel's military campaign has killed at least 57,130 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.