Russia Raids Central, Northwestern Syria

Russian air raids on Jabal al-Zawiya, south Idlib (Idlib News)
Russian air raids on Jabal al-Zawiya, south Idlib (Idlib News)
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Russia Raids Central, Northwestern Syria

Russian air raids on Jabal al-Zawiya, south Idlib (Idlib News)
Russian air raids on Jabal al-Zawiya, south Idlib (Idlib News)

Russian and Syrian regime warplanes targeted ISIS sites in the Syrian desert, within the administrative regions east of Homs, Raqqa, and Deir Ez-Zor, coinciding with Russian raids in Jabal al-Zawiya, south of Idlib.

Regime forces and affiliated militias also targeted the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo, northwest Syria.

A source in eastern Homs said that the Russian fighters, along with helicopters of the Syrian regime forces, carried out about 90 airstrikes, during which they targeted sites of ISIS fighters in Deir Ez-Zor and Raqqa countryside from the southern side and other areas in Homs.

He added that the Russian and regime escalation on ISIS remnants in the middle of the Syrian desert came after they lost contact with a group affiliated with the Afghan Fatimiyoun Brigade.

It coincided with massive military reinforcements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and forces affiliated with the Fourth Division.

The forces combed the areas from al-Sukhna to the Iraqi-Syrian border and failed to find the group.

The source explained that massive military forces affiliated with the regime’s Fourth Division, Iran-affiliated groups, and the Lebanese Hezbollah units are preparing to launch a new combing operation within Homs, Raqqa, and Deir Ez-Zor.

The groups want to search the area for ISIS remnants to curb its recent activity, which targeted military convoys of the regime and Iranian-backed militias on the Deir Ezor-Sukhna road, east of Homs.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) indicated that four days ago, Russian warplanes launched more than 40 airstrikes on the Syrian desert, totaling 172 raids since the beginning of April.

Activist Mulhem al-Hassan reported that the Russian fighters carried out a series of air raids with high-explosive vacuum missiles on areas around Sufuhun, al-Fatirah, and Flaifel in Jabal al-Zawiya, south of Idlib.

He indicated that violent clashes erupted in the Lattakia countryside between the two parties with heavy artillery, tanks, and rocket launchers, amid reports of casualties among the regime forces.

Hassan pointed out that a new Turkish military convoy, including armored vehicles, personnel carriers, and logistical trucks, entered the Syrian territory from the Kafr Losin crossing.

The vehicles were distributed to several Turkish military bases and other units in Jabal al-Zawiya and west of Aleppo, during which a military convoy of the Turkish forces entered the military points near the Aleppo-Latakia international road (M4).



Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military announced that one of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Gaza on Wednesday, but a security source said the death appeared to have been caused by "friendly fire".

"Staff Sergeant Ofri Yafe, aged 21, from HaYogev, a soldier in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.

A security source, however, told AFP that the soldier appeared to have been "killed by friendly fire", without providing further details.

"The incident is still under investigation," the source added.

The death brings to five the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect on October 10.


Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
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Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the process of merging the SDF with Syrian government forces “may take some time,” despite expressing confidence in the eventual success of the agreement.

His remarks came after earlier comments in which he acknowledged differences with Damascus over the concept of “decentralization.”

Speaking at a tribal conference in the northeastern city of Hasakah on Tuesday, Abdi said the issue of integration would not be resolved quickly, but stressed that the agreement remains on track.

He said the deal reached last month stipulates that three Syrian army brigades will be created out of the SDF.

Abdi added that all SDF military units have withdrawn to their barracks in an effort to preserve stability and continue implementing the announced integration agreement with the Syrian state.

He also emphasized the need for armed forces to withdraw from the vicinity of the city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), to be replaced by security forces tasked with maintaining order.


Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of "encouraging the migration" of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

"We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state," said Smotrich, speaking at an event organized by his Religious Zionism Party late on Tuesday.

"We will finally, formally, and in practical terms nullify the cursed Oslo Accords and embark on a path toward sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

"There is no other long-term solution," added Smotrich, who himself lives in a settlement in the West Bank.

Since last week, Israel has approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over the West Bank, including in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, in place since the 1990s.

The measures include a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property" and facilitate direct purchases of land by Jewish Israelis.

The measures have triggered widespread international outrage.

On Tuesday, the UN missions of 85 countries condemned the measures, which critics say amount to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.

"We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel's unlawful presence in the West Bank," they said in a statement.

"Such decisions are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed.

"We underline in this regard our strong opposition to any form of annexation."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on Israel to reverse its land registration policy, calling it "destabilizing" and "unlawful".

The West Bank would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state. Many on Israel's religious right view it as Israeli land.

Israeli NGOs have also raised the alarm over a settlement plan signed by the government which they say would mark the first expansion of Jerusalem's borders into the occupied West Bank since 1967.

The planned development, announced by Israel's Ministry of Construction and Housing, is formally a westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin, or Adam, settlement situated northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.