SDF Commander: We Are Ready to Deter Any Turkish Attack

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AFP file photo)
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AFP file photo)
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SDF Commander: We Are Ready to Deter Any Turkish Attack

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AFP file photo)
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (AFP file photo)

Tensions have been high in northeastern Syria along the battle lines separating the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkish-backed factions of the Syrian National Army in wake of an escalation of shelling by the two sides.

The tensions have mounted in the areas surrounding the town of Tal Tamr, Nahiyat Abou Rasein, Zurkan in the Hasakah province’s northern countryside, and the two n of Ain Issa in Raqqa.

A senior SDF military leader warned that the forces would repel any aggression against their lands and areas of influence.

“We are ready to face any aggression by the Turkish occupation army or its mercenaries, and we have enough strength and determination,” said Mattai Hanna, the official spokesman for the Syriac Military Council, one of the SDF formations.

“Our forces are responding to the artillery shelling as it is our legitimate right to defend our lands,” he added, noting that the Turkish attacks targeted villages and areas populated by unarmed civilians, as well as schools and power lines.

“All of this aims to create chaos and instability in the region in order to undermine the democratic project that the Autonomous Administration and its military forces seek to implement,” Hanna underlined.

A military official and residents of Tal Tamr reported that the Turkish army and loyal Syrian factions launched a violent attack on the Assyrian villages of Tal Jumaah, Tal Shanan and Tal Kaifji, northeast of Tal Tamr overnight on Sunday.

Aram Hanna, the official spokesman for the SDF, noted the silence of the international community and countries involved in Syria over these attacks, accusing Ankara of seeking to create a state of chaos and instability.

“The Turkish attacks affect our efforts in the fight against terrorism and the pursuit of active and sleeper cells that come from Turkish-controlled areas, which have become fertile ground for the export of terrorism,” he stated.



52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including four children, hospital officials said Saturday. Also, 24 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites.

The children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital said. Another four people were killed in strikes near a fuel station, and 15 others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.

The Israeli military said in a statement that over the past 48 hours, troops struck approximately 250 targets in the Gaza Strip, including militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels and additional Hamas infrastructure sites. The military did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment on the civilian deaths.

The Hamas-led group killed some 1,200 people in their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and abducted 251. They still hold 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

US President Donald Trump has said that he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war. But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there were no signs of a breakthrough.