BEIRUT: Syrian government forces surrounded a Turkish observation post in the northwest Friday after overrunning nearby areas, sparking anger from Ankara which vowed not to leave its outpost.
Speaking at a news conference in the Lebanese capital, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said “our observation point there is not cut-off and nobody can isolate our forces and our soldiers.”
“We are there, not because we can’t leave but because we don’t want to leave,” he said, adding that the issue was being discussed with Damascus allies Russia and Iran.
The Syrian regime has upped the stakes with Turkey in its months-long Russian-backed offensive against the extremist-ruled Idlib region.
Moscow said on Friday that it has agreed with Ankara to “activate mutual efforts” to ease the situation in Syria’s last major opposition bastion.
The town of Morek, where the Turkish troops have been cut off, lies in the north of Hama province, part of the region centered on neighboring Idlib province that has been under government assault since late April.
Government forces took control of Morek and nearby towns including Kafr Zita on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA said.
Extremists and allied rebels withdrew from the area ahead of the army’s entry into the strategic town of Khan Sheikhun on Wednesday and government forces took control without resistance, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“Regime forces have surrounded the Turkish observation post in Morek after capturing other towns and villages in this pocket,” said the Britain-based monitor.
The Morek observation post, established under a deal with Moscow, is one of 12 the Turkish army set up along the front line between Syrian government forces on one side — and the extremists and Ankara’s rebel allies on the other side — last year.
On Tuesday Cavusoglu vowed that the Turkish army “will do whatever is necessary” to defend these positions.
The Turkish presidency has also said that it will not abandon any of its observation posts in Syria.
The Turkish troops’ mission was to oversee the establishment of a buffer zone agreed by Ankara and Moscow in September.
But the extremists failed to pull back from the zone as agreed and in April, government and Russian forces resumed intense bombardment of the region.
The Kremlin on Friday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to “activate mutual efforts” to ease the situation in the Idlib region.
“They discussed the issues of Russian-Turkish cooperation in the context of stabilization of the de-escalation zone,” a statement said.
Erdogan is to host his Russian and Iranian counterparts for a summit in Ankara next month to discuss the latest developments.
The Turkish presidency on Friday said regime attacks in Idlib have led to a “grave humanitarian crisis.”
“These attacks damage the efforts to regulate the Syrian conflict,” it said.
The pro-government Al-Watan newspaper on Friday said the latest regime gains in Idlib will force amendments to the buffer zone deal.
Since January, the Idlib region has been ruled by the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham alliance, which is led by extremists from Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate.
Other rebel groups allied with Turkey were forced to cede overall control.
On August 8, Syrian government forces launched a ground offensive with Russian support against the southern part of the rebel-held region, eyeing control of the main highway from Damascus through Idlib province to second city Aleppo.
Khan Sheikhun and Maarat Al-Numan both lie along the highway.
The Syrian army on Friday said that its military “push is ongoing,” after it captured Morek and neighboring areas.
“Armed terrorist groups have lost the ability to stop our army’s heroes” it said.
Damascus said Thursday it will open a corridor for civilians to leave the area.
But most civilians had already fled before the pocket was cut off, according to the Observatory.
Since the end of April, more than 400,000 people have fled their homes, particularly in the south of Idlib and north Hama, the United Nations says.
Around 900 civilians have been killed, according to the Observatory.
Following a string of victories against extremists and other rebel groups, Assad’s government now controls around 60 percent of Syrian territory.
The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people since it started with the brutal suppression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Syria regime forces surround Turkish army post
Syria regime forces surround Turkish army post
- The town of Morek, where the Turkish troops have been cut off, lies in Hama province, part of the region centered on neighboring Idlib province that has been under government assault
- Extremists and allied rebels withdrew ahead of the army’s entry into the strategic town of Khan Sheikhun on Wednesday and government forces took control without resistance
Nine killed in Iran as bus, fuel truck collide — state media
- Iran has a poor road safety record, with over 20,000 deaths recorded between March 2023 and March 2024
- In August, 28 Pakistani Muslim pilgrims en route to Iraq were killed when their bus crashed in central Iran
TEHRAN: At least nine people were killed on Monday when a bus collided with a fuel truck in Iran’s southeast, state media reported, the second mass casualty road accident within days.
Mohammad Mehdi Sajjadi, head of the Red Crescent Society in Sistan-Baluchestan province, told the official IRNA news agency that “nine people lost their lives and 13 others were injured in the accident in which a bus collided with a fuel truck near Zahedan.”
On Saturday, 10 people were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine in Iran’s western Lorestan province.
Iran has a poor road safety record, with more than 20,000 deaths in accidents recorded between March 2023 and March 2024, according to figures from the judiciary’s Forensic Medicine Organization cited by local media.
In August, 28 Pakistani Muslim pilgrims en route to Iraq were killed when their bus crashed in central Iran.
Impoverished Sistan-Baluchestan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, saw one of Iran’s deadliest accidents in 2004, when a gasoline tanker collided with a bus, sparking a massive fire that killed more than 70 people.
Gaza official says Israel strikes on hospital ‘terrifying’
- The area has been the focus of an intense air and ground campaign by Israeli forces since October 6, aimed at prevent Hamas from regrouping
Gaza Strip: An official from one of only two functioning hospitals in northern Gaza told AFP on Monday that Israeli forces were continuing to target his facility and urged the international community to intervene before “it is too late.”
Hossam Abu Safiyeh, director of Kamal Adwan hospital in the city of Beit Lahia, described the situation at the medical facility as “extremely dangerous and terrifying” owing to shelling by Israeli forces.
An Israeli military spokesman denied that the hospital was being targeted.
“I am unaware of any strikes on Kamal Adwan hospital,” he told AFP.
Safiyeh reported that the hospital, which is currently treating 91 patients, had been targeted on Monday by Israeli drones.
“This morning, drones dropped bombs in the hospital’s courtyards and on its roof,” said Safiyeh in a statement.
“The shelling, which also destroyed nearby houses and buildings, did not stop throughout the night.”
The shelling and bombardment have caused extensive damage to the hospital, Safiyeh added.
“Bullets hit the intensive care unit, the maternity ward, and the specialized surgery department causing fear among patients,” he said, adding that a generator was also targeted.
“The world must understand that our hospital is being targeted with the intent to kill and forcibly displace the people inside.
“We face a constant threat every day. The shelling continues from all directions... The situation is extremely critical and requires urgent international intervention before it is too late,” he said.
On Sunday, Safiyeh said he received orders to evacuate the hospital, but the military denied issuing such directives.
Located in Beit Lahia, the hospital is one of only two still operational in northern Gaza.
The area has been the focus of an intense air and ground campaign by Israeli forces since October 6, aimed at prevent Hamas from regrouping.
Most of the dead and injured from the offensive are brought to Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda hospitals.
The United Nations and other organizations have repeatedly decried the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, particularly in the north, since the latest military offensive began.
Rights groups have consistently appealed for hospitals to be protected and for the urgent delivery of medical aid and fuel to keep the facilities running.
Israeli officials have accused Hamas militants of using the hospitals as command and control centers to plan attacks against the military.
The war in Gaza broke out on October 7 last year after Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 45,259 people, a majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, figures the UN says are reliable.
Some gaps have narrowed in elusive Gaza ceasefire deal, sides say
- Palestinian official familiar with the talks said some sticking points had been resolved
- But identity of some of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel in return for hostages yet to be agreed
CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Gaps between Israel and Hamas over a possible Gaza ceasefire have narrowed, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials’ remarks on Monday, though crucial differences have yet to be resolved.
A fresh bid by mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States to end the fighting and release Israeli and foreign hostages has gained momentum this month, though no breakthrough has yet been reported.
A Palestinian official familiar with the talks said while some sticking points had been resolved, the identity of some of the Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel in return for hostages had yet to be agreed, along with the precise deployment of Israeli troops in Gaza.
His remarks corresponded with comments by the Israeli diaspora minister, Amichai Chikli, who said both issues were still being negotiated. Nonetheless, he said, the sides were far closer to reaching agreement than they have been for months.
“This ceasefire can last six months or it can last 10 years, it depends on the dynamics that will form on the ground,” Chikli told Israel’s Kan radio. Much hinged on what powers would be running and rehabilitating Gaza once fighting stopped, he said.
The duration of the ceasefire has been a fundamental sticking point throughout several rounds of failed negotiations. Hamas wants an end to the war, while Israel wants an end to Hamas’ rule of Gaza first.
“The issue of ending the war completely hasn’t yet been resolved,” said the Palestinian official.
Israeli minister Zeev Elkin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told Israel’s Army Radio that the aim was to find an agreed framework that would resolve that difference during a second stage of the ceasefire deal.
Chikli said the first stage would be a humanitarian phase that will last 42 days and include a hostage release.
HOSPITAL
The war was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 45,200 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population of 2.3 million has been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.
At least 11 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, medics said.
One of Gaza’s few still partially functioning hospitals, on its northern edge, an area under intense Israeli military pressure for nearly three months, sought urgent help after being hit by Israeli fire.
“We are facing a continuous daily threat,” said Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital. “The bombing continues from all directions, affecting the building, the departments, and the staff.”
The Israeli military did not immediately comment. On Sunday it said it was supplying fuel and food to the hospital and helping evacuate some patients and staff to safer areas.
Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently depopulate northern Gaza to create a buffer zone, which Israel denies.
Israel says its operation around the three communities on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip — Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia — is targeting Hamas militants.
On Monday, the United Nations’ aid chief, Tom Fletcher, said Israeli forces had hampered efforts to deliver much needed aid in northern Gaza.
“North Gaza has been under a near-total siege for more than two months, raising the specter of famine,” he said. “South Gaza is extremely overcrowded, creating horrific living conditions and even greater humanitarian needs as winter sets in.”
Palestinians in Jenin observe a general strike
- The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centers in the West Bank
JENIN: Palestinians in the volatile northern West Bank town of Jenin are observing a general strike called by militant groups to protest a rare crackdown by Palestinian security forces.
An Associated Press reporter in Jenin heard gunfire and explosions, apparently from clashes between militants and Palestinian security forces. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded. There was no sign of Israeli troops in the area.
Shops were closed in the city on Monday, the day after militants killed a member of the Palestinian security forces and wounded two others.
Militant groups called for a general strike across the territory, accusing the security forces of trying to disarm them in support of Israel’s half-century occupation of the territory.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority is internationally recognized but deeply unpopular among Palestinians, in part because it cooperates with Israel on security matters. Israel accuses the authority of incitement and of failing to act against armed groups.
The Palestinian Authority blamed Sunday’s attack on “outlaws.” It says it is committed to maintaining law and order but will not police the occupation.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centers in the West Bank. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast War, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
Israel’s current government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and says it will maintain open-ended security control over the territory. Violence has soared in the West Bank following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there.
Qatari minister arrives in Damascus on first Qatar Airways flight since Assad’s fall
DUBAI: Qatar’s minister of state for foreign affairs arrived in Damascus on Monday on the first Qatar Airways flight to the Syrian capital since the fall of President Bashar Assad two weeks ago, Doha’s foreign ministry said.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Mohammed Al-Khulaifi was the most senior official of the Gulf Arab state to visit Syria since militants toppled the Assad family’s 54-year-long rule.
