Turkey Withdraws from its Largest Military Post In Syria's Hama

Turkish troops on Aleppo international road (File photo: AFP)
Turkish troops on Aleppo international road (File photo: AFP)
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Turkey Withdraws from its Largest Military Post In Syria's Hama

Turkish troops on Aleppo international road (File photo: AFP)
Turkish troops on Aleppo international road (File photo: AFP)

Turkey began withdrawing its troops from the “ninth” military observation point in Morek city, in northwestern Syria, as vehicles and trucks were seen entering the facility and moving soldiers to another location.

The Turkish forces stationed in Morek, which is under the control of the regime forces, began dismantling their equipment, in preparation for their withdrawal from the military point in the northern Hama countryside.

The observation post in Morek is the largest Turkish military point in that area and the forces have been stationed there for nearly two years and four months.

News correspondent of Sputnik agency in Hama confirmed that units of the besieged Turkish point began to dismantle the logistical equipment and the control towers.

Security sources confirmed to the Russian Agency that the Turkish forces had decided to withdraw towards Zawiya Mountain in the southern countryside of Idlib, which indicates that the decision was made in coordination with Russia.

The sources added that the troops are expected to be withdrawn from this point within the next 24 hours, unless there is a sudden development.

Earlier, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar asserted that Turkey will not evacuate its military observation points in the de-escalation zones in Idlib, saying the issue is non-negotiable.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that Turkish forces have evaded paying the rent to the owner of the land where the Turkish post is established.

SOHR sources reported that the owner asked al-Sham Corps to pay the rent of his land since the military corps had previously mediated between him and the Turkish forces to establish the observation post there.

However, the Turkish forces and al-Sham Corps have not paid the rent due to the land for nearly two years and three months.



Palestinian President Welcomes Joint International Statement Rejecting E1 Settlement Plan

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday (EPA)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday (EPA)
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Palestinian President Welcomes Joint International Statement Rejecting E1 Settlement Plan

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday (EPA)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday (EPA)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed a joint statement issued by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, and Norway rejecting the Israeli occupation government's continuation of the E1 settlement plan and demanding an immediate halt to settlement expansion across the occupied West Bank.

Abbas called on the Israeli occupation government to immediately cancel the plan, stressing that severing the northern West Bank from its southern territory and isolating East Jerusalem constitutes a flagrant violation of international law, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2334, and undermines the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, SPA reported.

The Palestinian president urged the signatory nations, the European Union, the UN Security Council, and the international community to translate their positions into concrete measures to halt settlement activities and to refuse recognition of any unlawful changes imposed on occupied Palestinian land.


UN Warns 94% of Gaza's Population Urgently Needs Shelter and Basic Aid

People stand at a site destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)
People stand at a site destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)
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UN Warns 94% of Gaza's Population Urgently Needs Shelter and Basic Aid

People stand at a site destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)
People stand at a site destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that civilians in the Gaza Strip continue to face severe risks from airstrikes, shelling, and gunfire, reporting ongoing casualties, including child deaths, SPA reported.

OCHA stated that the remains of 50 people, including 19 children, were recently recovered and buried after being discovered under rubble in Gaza City, where they had remained trapped for over two years, SPA reported.

The office highlighted that 94% of Gaza's 2.1 million residents require urgent shelter and basic household assistance, with nearly two-thirds of families enduring rapidly deteriorating conditions in tents or temporary shelters.


Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian Man in West Bank Raid

The wife of 58-year-old Fathi Khazem, who was killed by the Israeli military as they tried to arrest him, stands at the bedroom door near a pool of his blood at their home in the northern city of Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank on August 21, 2026. (AFP)
The wife of 58-year-old Fathi Khazem, who was killed by the Israeli military as they tried to arrest him, stands at the bedroom door near a pool of his blood at their home in the northern city of Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank on August 21, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian Man in West Bank Raid

The wife of 58-year-old Fathi Khazem, who was killed by the Israeli military as they tried to arrest him, stands at the bedroom door near a pool of his blood at their home in the northern city of Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank on August 21, 2026. (AFP)
The wife of 58-year-old Fathi Khazem, who was killed by the Israeli military as they tried to arrest him, stands at the bedroom door near a pool of his blood at their home in the northern city of Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank on August 21, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man on Friday in the city of Jenin, in the north of the occupied West Bank, with the military saying he had attempted to stab a soldier.

Fathi Zidan Hazem, 58, "died from injuries sustained after being shot by Israeli forces early Friday in the city of Jenin," the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement, adding that his body was being withheld by Israel.

The Israeli military said a "terrorist armed with a knife attempted to stab an Israeli soldier" while troops were operating in the area of Jenin.

"The soldiers responded by firing toward the terrorist and eliminating him," it said, adding no injuries were reported among troops.

Hazem was a retired colonel in the Palestinian National Security Forces.

In April 2022, after his son, Raad Hazem, carried out a shooting spree in Tel Aviv in which he killed three Israelis and wounded several others, Israeli authorities demanded that Fathi Hazem hand himself in.

His son was shot dead by Israeli forces after a massive manhunt.

A second son, Abdul Rahman Hazem, was killed during an Israeli military raid targeting alleged militants in the Jenin refugee camp in September 2022.

AFP footage from the scene on Friday showed a pool of blood and bullets scattered among groceries in the family's home.

A Palestinian eyewitness, who declined to give her name to AFP, said Israeli forces raided her neighbor's house in the early hours and told Hazem to raise his hands, which he refused to do.

"He then attacked them with a knife, and they shot him seven times in front of his 10-year-old son. They dragged him down the stairs and took him with them," she said.

Violence in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, has surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Since then, at least 1,098 Palestinians, including fighters, have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers, according to Palestinian figures.

Official Israeli data shows that at least 48 Israelis, both civilians and security personnel, have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or during Israeli military operations.