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Türkiye Begins Setting up New Military Base in Syria

A firefighter extinguishes a blaze in a field, on a hot summer day on the banks Euphrates river, near the village of Tawayhinah in Syria's northern Raqqa governorate on July 12, 2022. (AFP)
A firefighter extinguishes a blaze in a field, on a hot summer day on the banks Euphrates river, near the village of Tawayhinah in Syria's northern Raqqa governorate on July 12, 2022. (AFP)
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Türkiye Begins Setting up New Military Base in Syria

A firefighter extinguishes a blaze in a field, on a hot summer day on the banks Euphrates river, near the village of Tawayhinah in Syria's northern Raqqa governorate on July 12, 2022. (AFP)
A firefighter extinguishes a blaze in a field, on a hot summer day on the banks Euphrates river, near the village of Tawayhinah in Syria's northern Raqqa governorate on July 12, 2022. (AFP)

Turkish forces have started to establish a new military base in the Raqqa province northeastern Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday a large number of Turkish troops were active inside their bases along the Aleppo-Latakia international highway to set up the base in an area east of the town of Ain Issa in Raqqa.

Türkiye had set up bases along the 140-km long highway, known as M4. It has established each base around 3 kms apart.

They were formed in wake of the 2019 Sochi agreement between Moscow and Ankara that ended Türkiye’s Operation Peace Spring against the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces deployed in areas east of the Euphrates.

In spite of the calm on the ground, tensions persist in the region.

On Tuesday, Turkish forces and their allied factions shelled with heavy artillery several regions held by the SDF in the Tal Tamr countryside northwest of al-Hasakeh.

Clashes ensued between the Kurdish forces and pro-Türkiye Syrian National Army.

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Arab World

Israeli Defense Minister Says ‘No US Demand’ to Withdraw from Lebanon

A man walks past the rubble of buildings destroyed in previous Israeli airstrikes in the town of Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP)
A man walks past the rubble of buildings destroyed in previous Israeli airstrikes in the town of Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP)
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Israeli Defense Minister Says ‘No US Demand’ to Withdraw from Lebanon

A man walks past the rubble of buildings destroyed in previous Israeli airstrikes in the town of Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP)
A man walks past the rubble of buildings destroyed in previous Israeli airstrikes in the town of Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP)

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the United States has not demanded that Israel withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, a condition reportedly set by Tehran in ceasefire negotiations.

"We have announced that in any case we are not withdrawing and, as of this moment -- and this is a diplomatic achievement -- there is no American demand for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon," Katz said in an interview at a convention of local leaders in Tel Aviv.

When asked if the army would adhere to such a US request if it arrived, Katz said he told US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Donald Trump that "we are there to protect the residents of the north".

Arab World

Gaza Reconstruction Bodies to Gather in Cyprus

Tents housing displaced Palestinians stand amid summer heat in Gaza City, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Tents housing displaced Palestinians stand amid summer heat in Gaza City, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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Gaza Reconstruction Bodies to Gather in Cyprus

Tents housing displaced Palestinians stand amid summer heat in Gaza City, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Tents housing displaced Palestinians stand amid summer heat in Gaza City, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Representatives of bodies tasked with Gaza's post-war governance and reconstruction will gather in Cyprus next week, Nicosia and an official with the US-backed Board of Peace said Wednesday, with Israeli media describing the meeting as a chance for a "reset".

The committee of Palestinian technocrats who are meant to assume day-to-day governance of the territory will also attend, a committee member told AFP.

Cypriot government spokesperson Constantinos Letymbiotis said the meeting would take place next Tuesday and Wednesday.

A Board of Peace official told AFP that it "regularly holds internal meetings of its component elements" and the "meeting planned for Cyprus is no different".

The board, he added, "is actively preparing measures to advance reconstruction and governance for the people of Gaza".

The Times of Israel reported that representatives of the various bodies operating under the board's framework would reassess their strategy after a "difficult" first six months that produced few results.

The Israeli news site cited an Arab diplomat and a Palestinian official as describing the gathering as an opportunity to "reset" and "recalibrate".

The Board of Peace was established earlier this year as part of a US-backed ceasefire plan for Gaza endorsed by the UN Security Council.

The initiative aims to facilitate a transition away from Hamas rule while supporting the restoration of civilian administration and basic services.

However progress has been slow, and the Palestinian technocratic committee has yet to even enter Gaza.

The member of the committee said the Cyprus meeting would discuss "the committee's transfer to Gaza and the commencement of its work".

Under the stalled second phase of the US-backed deal, Israel was to gradually pull out of the territory and Hamas was to hand over its weapons, neither of which has happened.

Arab World

US Forces Killed ISIS Leader in Syria Airstrike, Central Command Says

A still from a video released by US Central Command on Friday showing US Air Force F-16 fighter jets refueling mid-air during a patrol mission over the Middle East (CENTCOM)
A still from a video released by US Central Command on Friday showing US Air Force F-16 fighter jets refueling mid-air during a patrol mission over the Middle East (CENTCOM)
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US Forces Killed ISIS Leader in Syria Airstrike, Central Command Says

A still from a video released by US Central Command on Friday showing US Air Force F-16 fighter jets refueling mid-air during a patrol mission over the Middle East (CENTCOM)
A still from a video released by US Central Command on Friday showing US Air Force F-16 fighter jets refueling mid-air during a patrol mission over the Middle East (CENTCOM)

The US military conducted an airstrike in northwestern Syria last week that killed a senior ISIS leader, US Central Command said on Wednesday.

The strike, carried out on Friday, was part "of ongoing US efforts to disrupt and eliminate terrorists seeking to attack Americans abroad or the US homeland" and killed Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi, it said in a statement on X.

ISIS has declared a new phase of operations in Syria against the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, carrying out a spate of attacks since February. Last year, Sharaa's government joined the US-led coalition fighting ISIS.

On Saturday, the militant group claimed responsibility for an attack near the city of Manbij in Syria's northeastern Aleppo province.

ISIS controlled around a quarter or more of Syria at the peak of its power during the Syrian civil war a decade ago, before being driven out of the territory by a US-led coalition and other foes.