Turkey: Operation in North Syria Neither Postponed Nor Cancelled

Turkey-backed Syrian fighters gather along the frontlines opposite Kurdish forces near the town of Dadat north of Manbij in Syria's northern Aleppo province, on July 5, 2022. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
Turkey-backed Syrian fighters gather along the frontlines opposite Kurdish forces near the town of Dadat north of Manbij in Syria's northern Aleppo province, on July 5, 2022. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
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Turkey: Operation in North Syria Neither Postponed Nor Cancelled

Turkey-backed Syrian fighters gather along the frontlines opposite Kurdish forces near the town of Dadat north of Manbij in Syria's northern Aleppo province, on July 5, 2022. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
Turkey-backed Syrian fighters gather along the frontlines opposite Kurdish forces near the town of Dadat north of Manbij in Syria's northern Aleppo province, on July 5, 2022. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)

Turkey announced on Sunday that it will neither cancel nor delay a military operation against sites controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkish forces are being targeted by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, YPG, the largest components of the SDF.

Speaking from the military base in Daglica district of southeastern Hakkari province along the Turkish-Iraqi border, the Minister denied that Ankara was advised, during the summit of the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries in Madrid, not to launch a military operation in northern Syria.

In May, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would launch a cross-border operation against the YPG in Tal Rifaat and Manbij areas in the countryside of Aleppo to clear them of “terrorists,” without giving a specific timeline.

Akar confirmed Erdogan’s announcement, saying the operation would be carried out during nighttime.

The Turkish minister said his country does not seek to clash with the United States, which backs the SDF as part of its war against ISIS in Syria. However, he affirmed Ankara’s commitment to carry out the operation.

Akar added that his country will continue its military operations against the Kurdish units in northern Syria and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, to prevent the formation of a “terror corridor” on Turkey’s southern borders.

He mentioned the rising trend in terrorist attacks against Turkish troops in Manbij and Tal Rifaat in the countryside of Aleppo.

The Minister said Turkey is following up on these threats and has plans to eliminate them.

Akar then revealed that Turkey has “neutralized” more than 2,200 terrorists in cross-border operations in northern Syria and Iraq since the start of the year.

Ankara says its cross-border operations into Syria aim at establishing a 30-kilometer deep safe zone along its southern border.

In the past few days, Turkey has brought military reinforcements to its troops deploying in Aleppo.



UN: Lifelines Keeping People Alive in Gaza Are Collapsing

21 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Mourners pray near the bodies of Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes, according to medics, during the funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
21 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Mourners pray near the bodies of Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes, according to medics, during the funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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UN: Lifelines Keeping People Alive in Gaza Are Collapsing

21 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Mourners pray near the bodies of Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes, according to medics, during the funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
21 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Mourners pray near the bodies of Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes, according to medics, during the funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is appalled by an accelerating breakdown of humanitarian conditions in Gaza "where the last lifelines keeping people alive are collapsing," his spokesperson said on Monday.

"He deplores the growing reports of children and adults suffering from malnutrition," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

"Israel has the obligation to allow and facilitate by all the means at its disposal the humanitarian relief provided by the United Nations and by other humanitarian organizations."

Israeli ground troops for the first time Monday pushed into areas of a central Gaza city where several aid groups are based, in what appeared to be the latest effort to carve up the Palestinian territory with military corridors.

Deir al-Balah is the only Gaza city that has not seen major ground operations or suffered widespread devastation in 21 months of war, leading to speculation that the Hamas militant group holds large numbers of hostages there. The main group representing hostages’ families said it was “shocked and alarmed” by the incursion, which was confirmed by an Israeli military official, and demanded answers from Israeli leaders.

Israel says the seizure of territory in Gaza is aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages, but it is a major point of contention in ongoing ceasefire talks.

The UN food agency, meanwhile, accused Israeli forces of firing on a crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid over the weekend. Gaza's Health Ministry called it one of the deadliest attacks on aid-seekers in the war that has driven the territory to the brink of famine.