Turkey Says Will Intervene in Afrin and Manbij, ‘Not Satisfied' with US Assurance 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu / AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu / AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN
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Turkey Says Will Intervene in Afrin and Manbij, ‘Not Satisfied' with US Assurance 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu / AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu / AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN

Turkey on Thursday said it will intervene in Syria's Afrin and Manbij to counter the threat posed by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), describing as far from satisfactory US assurances playing down plans to create a border force made up of the Kurdish forces.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told CNN Turk in an interview that Turkey would intervene in Afrin and Manbij to counter the YPG.

Washington's support of the YPG has infuriated Turkey, particularly after the US-led coalition said it would help set up a new 30,000-strong border force that includes the YPG.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday he had met with Cavusoglu to clarify the issue and said it had been "misportrayed, misdescribed".

Although the Pentagon said late Wednesday it does not plan to create an "army," Cavusoglu stressed that "the establishment of a so-called terror army would cause irreversible damage in our relations ... it is a very serious situation.”

The Pentagon said the force is aimed at fighters from ISIS and maintaining stability in areas recaptured from the militants.

"Did this satisfy us in full? No, it did not," Cavusoglu told CNN-Turk.

Turkey accuses the YPG of being a branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that has waged an insurgency in its southeast since 1984.



Planes from Jordan and UAE Airdrop Humanitarian Aid into Gaza

28 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Humanitarian aid supplies are airdropped by military cargo planes over the western part of Deir al-Balah. (dpa)
28 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Humanitarian aid supplies are airdropped by military cargo planes over the western part of Deir al-Balah. (dpa)
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Planes from Jordan and UAE Airdrop Humanitarian Aid into Gaza

28 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Humanitarian aid supplies are airdropped by military cargo planes over the western part of Deir al-Balah. (dpa)
28 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Humanitarian aid supplies are airdropped by military cargo planes over the western part of Deir al-Balah. (dpa)

Two planes from the Jordanian and UAE Air Force airdropped 17 tons of humanitarian aid in Gaza on Monday, Jordan's military said.

The aid packages come as hunger continues to soar across the enclave.

The airdrops took place for the second day as Israel faces increasing pressure over Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. However, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, warned that airdrops are “expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians.”

The 17 tons of airdropped aid amounts to less than one aid truck carrying food, based on the World Food Program’s calculation of nearly 19 tons per truck.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that Germany intends to conduct an airlift of humanitarian aid to Gaza along with Jordan. 

Merz didn’t provide details of the plan after a meeting of his security Cabinet, but said his defense minister will consult with France and Britain, “which are also prepared to make available such an airlift for food and medical goods.” Jordan’s King Abdullah II is due to meet Merz in Berlin on Tuesday. 

Merz said Israel’s move to lift some aid restrictions is “an important first step” but “further ones must follow quickly.” He also stressed the need for a comprehensive ceasefire. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Spain will airdrop 12 tons of food aid into Gaza from Jordan later this week, via Spanish air force planes. 

Sanchez acknowledged this isn’t a solution to hunger, but hopes it offers “minimal relief” alongside aid from other nations. 

Spain’s government has been a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza and has repeatedly called for a ceasefire. 

On Sunday, 180 trucks carrying aid entered Gaza, according to the Israeli military body in charge of overseeing humanitarian aid.

As the death toll from two years of war in Gaza nears 60,000, a growing number of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Gaza health authorities say, with images of starving children shocking the world and fueling international criticism of Israel over sharply worsening conditions.

On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours of starvation and malnutrition, bringing the war's death toll from hunger to 147, including 88 children, most in just the last few weeks.