Russia Deploys Jets to US-Held Regions in Syria's East

Russian helicopters at Qamishli airport on Saturday. (Russian and Kurdish media)
Russian helicopters at Qamishli airport on Saturday. (Russian and Kurdish media)
TT

Russia Deploys Jets to US-Held Regions in Syria's East

Russian helicopters at Qamishli airport on Saturday. (Russian and Kurdish media)
Russian helicopters at Qamishli airport on Saturday. (Russian and Kurdish media)

The Russian military sent fighter helicopters and jets to Qamishli airport in the region east of the Euphrates River in Syria's east, where American forces and their allies, the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), are deployed.

The development took place amid reports that Turkey was preparing to launch an offensive in northeastern Syria.

Six Russian helicopters carried out surveillance flights along the Syrian-Turkish border on Saturday.

An informed military source from the SDF said the Syrian army and Russian forces have reinforced their positions in the cities of Hasakeh and Qamishli and nearby areas.

American forces, meanwhile, deployed patrols in northeastern Syria, inspected the border and listened to the locals' concerns over the possible Turkish operation.

Turkey's current and future military operations on its southern borders do not target its neighbors' sovereignty but are necessary for Turkish security, the country's National Security Council (MGK) said on Thursday.

The MGK statement followed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's declaration on Monday that Ankara would soon launch new military operations on its southern borders to expand 30-km (20-mile) deep safe zones and combat what he described as terrorist threats there.

"Operations being carried out now and in the future to remove the terrorism threat on our southern borders do not target our neighbors' territorial integrity and sovereignty in any way," it said after a three-hour meeting chaired by Erdogan.

Any operations were expected to target northern Syria, where Turkey has launched several incursions since 2016, mainly targeting the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

Erdogan reiterated on Saturday that Turkey was not seeking to undermine the sovereignty of its neighbors, but it will also "not allow anyone to violate Turkish territories."

A YPG spokesman said Saturday the forces were taking Turkey's threats seriously and they were ready to defend their gains, forces and people. "We will resist to the end," he vowed.

He stressed that the forces have committed to the de-escalation agreements and ceasefire reached between Washington, Moscow and Ankara in 2019.

"We withdrew our forces to avoid a war, but are on alert for any attacks," he added.

Moreover, he stressed that any Turkish attack on the regions east of the Euphrates would not be possible without the agreement of international forces.

"We are in daily contact with Moscow and Washington, but we are relying on our forces instead of international ones," he remarked.

Russia and the US are guarantors of the de-escalation agreements with Turkey, so they should assume their responsibilities, he urged.



Syria State Media Says 3 Dead in Clashes in Latakia Province

A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus, June 4, 2025. (AFP)
A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus, June 4, 2025. (AFP)
TT

Syria State Media Says 3 Dead in Clashes in Latakia Province

A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus, June 4, 2025. (AFP)
A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus, June 4, 2025. (AFP)

Syrian state media said three people were killed Wednesday in clashes with security forces in coastal Latakia province, the heartland of the country's Alawite minority community.

"Three members of remnants of the former regime were killed after clashes with internal security forces" outside the city of Jableh, state television said.

State news agency SANA had earlier reported "clashes with a group of wanted outlaws" in the area, and said an unspecified number of security personnel were wounded.

Since last December's ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite, Syria's new authorities have frequently reported security operations against remnants of his government.

Syria's coastal areas saw the killing of Alawite civilians in March, with authorities accusing armed Assad supporters of sparking the violence by attacking security forces.

A national commission of inquiry said at least 1,426 members of the minority community were killed at the time.

Last month, thousands of people demonstrated on the Alawite coast in protest of fresh attacks targeting their community.


Israel Demolishes Home of Palestinian Accused of Attack

A picture taken on September 30, 2025 shows the demolished house of Yahya Abu Ghaliyeh, a Palestinian from a Bedouin village near the town of Al-Eizariya, also known as Bethany, east of Jerusalem. (AFP)
A picture taken on September 30, 2025 shows the demolished house of Yahya Abu Ghaliyeh, a Palestinian from a Bedouin village near the town of Al-Eizariya, also known as Bethany, east of Jerusalem. (AFP)
TT

Israel Demolishes Home of Palestinian Accused of Attack

A picture taken on September 30, 2025 shows the demolished house of Yahya Abu Ghaliyeh, a Palestinian from a Bedouin village near the town of Al-Eizariya, also known as Bethany, east of Jerusalem. (AFP)
A picture taken on September 30, 2025 shows the demolished house of Yahya Abu Ghaliyeh, a Palestinian from a Bedouin village near the town of Al-Eizariya, also known as Bethany, east of Jerusalem. (AFP)

The Israeli army demolished on Wednesday the home of a Palestinian accused of carrying out a stabbing and shooting attack that killed an Israeli earlier this year, the military said, AFP reported.

On July 10, two attackers killed 22-year-old Shalev Zvuluny in a shopping area near Jerusalem, before the Israeli army shot them dead.

On Wednesday, Israeli army bulldozers entered the village of Bazzaryah in the occupied West Bank, destroying the family home of one of the attackers after it had been evacuated.

Israeli forces "demolished the home of the terrorist who carried out the shooting and stabbing attack at the Gush junction, during which Shalev Zvuluny... was murdered", the army said in a statement.

Hazem Yassine, head of the Bazzaryah municipal council, denounced what he called a "heinous crime".

He told AFP that Israeli forces had sealed off the village's entrances since dawn in preparation for the demolition.

"Schools were closed as a precaution," he said, adding that the assailant's family had moved out around a month ago after being notified of the decision to demolish the house.

An AFP photographer saw children climbing on piles of rubble after the demolition, waving the Palestinian flag.

Israel, whose army has occupied the West Bank since 1967, regularly demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly attacks against Israelis.

The government defends the deterrent effect of these demolitions, but critics denounce the practice as a form of collective punishment that leaves families homeless.

Violence in the West Bank surged during the war in Gaza, which erupted on October 7, 2023 with Hamas's attack on Israel.

Since then, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed more than a thousand Palestinians in the West Bank, many of them militants but also including civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian Authority data.

At the same time, according to official Israeli figures, at least 44 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids in the area.


Israel Accuses Hamas of Violating Gaza Truce, Says It Will Respond

A woman sits next to her tent on an alley of a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A woman sits next to her tent on an alley of a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
TT

Israel Accuses Hamas of Violating Gaza Truce, Says It Will Respond

A woman sits next to her tent on an alley of a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A woman sits next to her tent on an alley of a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas on Wednesday of violating the Gaza ceasefire by refusing to disarm, and said Israel would retaliate after a military officer was wounded by what the military described as a bomb. 

In a speech at a graduation ceremony for Air Force pilots, Netanyahu mentioned the attack in Rafah, part of Gaza where Israeli forces still operate, and said Hamas had made clear it had no plan to disarm as foreseen under the October truce deal. 

"Israel will respond accordingly," he said. 

The Israeli military earlier said that an explosive device had detonated against a military vehicle in the Rafah area ‌and that one ‌officer had been lightly injured. 

Hamas denied responsibility. ‌The ⁠blast was "caused ‌by bombs left behind by the enemy that had not exploded previously, and we have informed the mediators of this," said Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi in an X post. 

A 20-point plan issued by US President Donald Trump in September calls for an initial truce followed by steps towards a wider peace. So far, only the first phase has taken effect, including a ceasefire, release of ⁠hostages and prisoners, and partial Israeli withdrawal. 

Trump's plan ultimately calls for Hamas to disarm and have ‌no governing role in Gaza, and for ‍Israel to pull out. Hamas has said ‍it will hand over arms only once a Palestinian state is ‍established, which Israel says it will never allow. 

Violence has subsided but not stopped since the Gaza truce took effect on October 10, with the sides regularly accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.  

Gaza's health ministry says Israel has killed more than 400 people in the territory since the ceasefire went into effect. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in militant ⁠attacks. 

Hamas "openly declares it has no intention of disarming, in complete contradiction to President Trump's 20-point plan," Netanyahu said. 

He added that Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Israel severely weakened in strikes last year that also ended in a US-brokered truce, also had no intention to disarm "and we are addressing that as well".  

Israel still needs to settle accounts with Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen as well as Iran itself, he added. 

"As these old threats change form, new threats arise morning and evening. We do not seek confrontations, but our eyes are open to every possible danger," Netanyahu said. 

Netanyahu is set to meet with ‌Trump next week, mainly to discuss the next phase of Trump's Gaza plan.