Syria Opposition Factions Kill 15 Regime Loyalists after Russia Air Strike

A fighter with the Turkey-backed Faylaq al-Sham faction in Syria shoots in the air during the funeral of 10 of the faction's fighters killed in a Russian air strike. (AFP)
A fighter with the Turkey-backed Faylaq al-Sham faction in Syria shoots in the air during the funeral of 10 of the faction's fighters killed in a Russian air strike. (AFP)
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Syria Opposition Factions Kill 15 Regime Loyalists after Russia Air Strike

A fighter with the Turkey-backed Faylaq al-Sham faction in Syria shoots in the air during the funeral of 10 of the faction's fighters killed in a Russian air strike. (AFP)
A fighter with the Turkey-backed Faylaq al-Sham faction in Syria shoots in the air during the funeral of 10 of the faction's fighters killed in a Russian air strike. (AFP)

Pro-Turkish Syrian opposition factions have killed at least 15 Moscow-backed Syrian regime fighters in retaliation for Russian strikes that left dozens dead among their ranks, a war monitor said Tuesday.

Moscow's air strikes Monday hit a training camp of the Faylaq al-Sham faction near the Turkish border in Syria's last major opposition bastion of Idlib, killing 78 fighters and wounding 90 more.

The National Liberation Front (NLF), an umbrella group of Ankara-backed opposition fighters based in Idlib that includes Faylaq al-Sham, vowed retaliation.

Faylaq al-Sham is an extremist group that has acted as Turkey's proxy during several Turkish military campaigns on Syrian soil and has also been the source of pro-Ankara mercenaries sent to fight in Libya and in the Caucasus over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said 15 pro-government fighters were killed over the past 24 hours in NLF bombardment on regime-held areas in the south and east of Idlib, as well as parts of the adjacent Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces.

NLF spokesman Naji Mustafa told AFP: "The NLF immediately responded" by targeting regime positions, especially in the south of Idlib province and north of Hama province.

"The retaliation is ongoing and will be fierce," he said.

Monday's strikes were the bloodiest surge in violence since a Russian-Turkish truce came into force almost eight months ago in northwest Syria.

That deal stemmed a Russia-backed regime offensive on the bastion that had killed more than 500 civilians and displaced almost a million people in one of the worst humanitarian crises of Syria's nine-year war.

NLF spokesman Mustafa accused the Russians of scuppering the months-long ceasefire with Monday's air strikes.

Also on Tuesday, fighters loyal to Damascus fired back on opposition factions in the south of Idlib and Hama province, the Observatory said.

At least one opposition fighter was killed on the edges of the town of Saraqeb in Idlib, according to the war monitor.

The last major opposition stronghold covers around half of Idlib province as well as slivers of adjacent provinces.

It is dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a coalition led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, but other factions including the NLF are also present.

Syria's war, which broke out after the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011, has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions at home and abroad.



Hamas Says It Has Given a 'Positive' Response to the Latest Ceasefire Proposal in Gaza

TOPSHOT - A Palestinian mother and her daughter rush for cover during an Israeli strike in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
TOPSHOT - A Palestinian mother and her daughter rush for cover during an Israeli strike in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
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Hamas Says It Has Given a 'Positive' Response to the Latest Ceasefire Proposal in Gaza

TOPSHOT - A Palestinian mother and her daughter rush for cover during an Israeli strike in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
TOPSHOT - A Palestinian mother and her daughter rush for cover during an Israeli strike in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Hamas said Friday it has given a “positive” response to the latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza but said further talks were needed on implementation.

It was not clear if Hamas’ statement meant it had accepted the proposal from US President Donald Trump for a 60-day ceasefire. Hamas has been seeking guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war, now nearly 21 months old. Trump has been pushing hard for a deal to be reached, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit the White House next week to discuss a deal.

The Hamas statement came as Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza early Friday, while a hospital said another 20 people died in shootings while seeking aid, The Associated Press reported.

The UN human rights office said it has recorded 613 Palestinians killed within the span of a month in Gaza while trying to obtain aid. Most were killed while trying to reach food distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organization, while others were massed waiting for aid trucks connected to the United Nations or other humanitarian organizations, it said.

Efforts ongoing to halt the war

Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, during which the US would "work with all parties to end the war.” He urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen.

In its statement late Friday, Hamas said it “has submitted its positive response” to Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

It said it is “fully prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations regarding the mechanism for implementing this framework.” It did not elaborate on what needed to be worked out in implementation.

A Hamas official said the ceasefire could start as early as next week but he said talks were needed first to work out how many Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for each freed Israeli hostage and to specify the amount of aid that will enter Gaza during the truce. Hamas has said it wants aid to flow in greater quantities through the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the response with the press.

The official also said that negotiations would start from the first day of the truce on a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in return for the release of remaining hostages. He said that Trump has guaranteed that the truce will be extended beyond 60 days if needed for those negotiations to reach a deal. There has been no confirmation from the United States of such a guarantee.

Previous rounds of negotiations have run aground over Hamas demands of guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war's end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the destruction of the Hamas group.

“We’ll see what happens. We’re going to know over the next 24 hours,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One late Thursday when asked if Hamas had agreed to the latest framework for a ceasefire.