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Turkish Forces Shell Villages of Ain Issa Countryside

A Syrian in the street of Idlib last Monday (AFP)
A Syrian in the street of Idlib last Monday (AFP)
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Turkish Forces Shell Villages of Ain Issa Countryside

A Syrian in the street of Idlib last Monday (AFP)
A Syrian in the street of Idlib last Monday (AFP)

Turkish forces and its loyal factions stepped up Tuesday their missile strikes in the vicinity of the town of Ain Issa, which is under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern countryside of Raqqa.

The exchange of fire between the SDF and Turkish-backed factions coincided with an infiltration attempt by Turkish-backed factions into SDF posts in the village of Maalak near the M4 road.

Turkish forces also shelled the towns of Sayda in the same area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

The clashes were accompanied by an exchange of fire, amid confirmed reports of casualties.

Also, Turkish forces and proxy factions shelled positions in Ain Issa, where several shells fell near a Russian post in the area.

According to SOHR, after Turkey conducted a cross-border attack into northeastern Syria in October 2019, Russia reached a ceasefire deals with Ankara, which allowed Turkish troops to control the area between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain.

However, Turkey continues to periodically target areas held by the Kurdish-led forces.

For her part, Head of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) Ilham Ahmad earlier called on Russia and the US to prevent further Turkish attacks, warning of a possible new Turkish operation near Ain Issa.

She highlighted unprecedented escalation in Tal Tamer and Ain Issa by Turkey in a statement she posted in Twitter.

“We hold the guarantor countries [to] the responsibility to bind Turkey to ceasefire agreements,” she stressed in her statement,

Meanwhile, SOHR sources reported that Syrian regime forces have renewed ground bombardment on areas in the Idlib countryside, targeting with rocket-propelled grenades al-Fatira, Kansafra, Safohin, Benin, Ruwayha, Madlia, Kadoura and other areas in eastern and southern Idlib provinces.

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Arab World

Lebanon Reports Israeli Strikes as Hezbollah Claims Attacks Against Troops in South

Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
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Lebanon Reports Israeli Strikes as Hezbollah Claims Attacks Against Troops in South

Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
Workers clean the debris following Israeli airstrikes that hit the previous day, near the archaeological site of the Roman hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 8, 2026. (AFP)

An Israeli strike hit a vehicle in the city of Tyre, south Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese state media reported, as Israel vowed to press attacks on Hezbollah despite Iranian warnings.

Hezbollah meanwhile said it targeted Israeli troops in Lebanon, but did not claim any attacks on Israeli territory.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that "an enemy airstrike targeted a car with a missile in the city of Tyre, near the Lebanese Red Cross building".

An AFP photographer in Tyre saw flames erupting from a car on a coastal road as residents gathered at the scene and an ambulance and paramedics headed towards it.

Reporting airstrikes from the early morning, the NNA said Israeli raids hit more than a dozen locations in the south, including Burj al-Shemali near Tyre.

A Lebanese culture ministry official said Israeli bombardment on the city a day earlier damaged a UNESCO World Heritage site there, and AFP correspondents saw dust and debris at the site.

The NNA said some of Monday's strikes caused casualties, though Lebanon's health ministry has not yet released any tolls.

Iran's military command on Monday afternoon said it was halting its operation against Israel after the two sides exchanged fire for the first time since a truce in the Middle East war took effect in April.

Iran had delivered a "painful response" to Israel and "accordingly, the cessation of armed forces operations is hereby announced", the Khatam al-Anbiya central command said in a statement carried by state television.

"However, it is emphasized that should acts of aggression and hostility continue, including in southern Lebanon, much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow," it added.

But Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz later vowed that the military would "continue to operate in Lebanon against the terrorist organization Hezbollah".

He added that Israel would strike Beirut's southern suburbs in retaliation for every attack on northern Israel.

"We categorically reject Iran's threats. Any Iranian attempt to link Lebanon and Iran and attack Israel will be met with great force, as happened yesterday," Katz said.

Iran insists a halt to the broader Middle East conflict must include a ceasefire in Lebanon, and on Sunday fired missiles at Israel in response to Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs earlier in the day.

On Monday, Hezbollah claimed a series of attacks on Israeli troops who have invaded south Lebanon.

Israel's military intercepted three projectiles fired from Lebanon, an AFP correspondent near the border reported, as Israel's military said the munitions had targeted its forces operating in Lebanon's south.

Lebanon says Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,600 people since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East conflict on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader.

After an April 17 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began, Israel announced a so-called Yellow Line inside Lebanese territory about a dozen kilometers from its northern border where its ground troops are operating.

Arab World

Iraq Reopens Airspace after Iran Ends Operation against Israel

A picture shows Iraq Airlines planes parked at the Baghdad International Airport on April 24, 2024 - AFP
A picture shows Iraq Airlines planes parked at the Baghdad International Airport on April 24, 2024 - AFP
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Iraq Reopens Airspace after Iran Ends Operation against Israel

A picture shows Iraq Airlines planes parked at the Baghdad International Airport on April 24, 2024 - AFP
A picture shows Iraq Airlines planes parked at the Baghdad International Airport on April 24, 2024 - AFP

Iraq reopened its airspace on Monday, the country's civil aviation body said, following Iran's announcement that it was halting its military operation against Israel, AFP reported.

The Civil Aviation Authority was reopening "Iraqi airspace to flights to and from all airports" and will continue to "monitor and assess the regional situation", it said in a statement.

It had announced a 72-hour closure of its airspace on Sunday evening after Iranian missile strikes on Israel, the first since a ceasefire in the Middle East war began on April 8.

Arab World

Israeli Military Kills Six in Gaza and Expands Control Zone, Locals Say

Palestinians assess damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on June 7, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinians assess damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on June 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Military Kills Six in Gaza and Expands Control Zone, Locals Say

Palestinians assess damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on June 7, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinians assess damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on June 7, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli strikes killed six Palestinians, including a child, in the Gaza Strip on Monday, health officials there said, as Israel's military expanded the area under its control, according to residents. 

The reports came as mediators in Cairo said they were pressing on with efforts to salvage a fragile US-brokered ceasefire deal that has ended major clashes but left many key points unresolved. 

Medics said two people were killed when an Israeli strike hit near a tent encampment in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the south of the enclave. 

In the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, medics said three Palestinians, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed and others were wounded in an ‌Israeli airstrike that ‌hit near a group of people digging a well. 

Later on Monday, an ‌Israeli ⁠airstrike near the ⁠Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip, killed one person and wounded three others, medics said, taking Monday's death toll to six. 

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reports of the attacks or of its forces moving markers to expand the "Yellow Zone" under their control. 

Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce. Israeli strikes have killed more than 950 people since the truce, health officials say, while Israel says four soldiers were killed by fighters during the same period. 

ISRAEL'S NETANYAHU ORDERED EXPANSION 

Israeli ⁠troops still control more than 60% of Gaza's territory, where they have ordered ‌residents out and destroyed remaining buildings. Nearly the entire population of ‌2 million people now live in a tiny strip of land along the coast, mainly in makeshift tents or damaged ‌buildings, under Hamas control. 

The territory has been bombarded to ruins by Israel's two-year military assault that ‌followed the 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel. On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that he had directed Israel's military to expand its hold and take control of 70% of the enclave. 

"We are not allowing them to arm themselves or harm us, and we are also eliminating their senior commanders," he said in a speech. 

Witnesses in the ‌southern Gaza areas said the Israeli forces have in the past few days expanded the "Yellow Zone", in some areas in eastern Khan Younis and northern ⁠Rafah where new markers ⁠and concrete blocks have been placed. 

They added that new markers bring forces closer to areas populated with tents and displacement centers. 

In Bani Suhaila town, in eastern Khan Younis, some people say they could see the tanks from their tents. 

MEDIATORS PRESS ON WITH TALKS 

Three days into a new round of ceasefire talks in Cairo, leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian groups told mediators that Israel must end attacks to allow discussion on the second phase. 

They demanded more flow of aid and goods into Gaza, and the retreat of Israeli forces to original October ceasefire lines. 

A Hamas official told Reuters on Monday that Israel had so far refused to make commitments to mediators over any of the demands made by Hamas and the factions. 

No agreement has been reached to implement a further US-backed plan for Israeli troops to withdraw, Hamas to disarm and Gaza to be rebuilt. 

"Israel refuses to end attacks on civilians in Gaza, allow 600 trucks of aid and goods into Gaza as agreed and it continues to occupy more land every day," the official said.