Turkey‘s foreign minister will meet with his Russian and Iranian counterparts in Doha on Saturday to try to find a solution to the renewed fighting in Syria and avoid chaos on its doorstep.
The three countries have been partners since 2017 in the Astana process seeking to end the civil war in Syria. This is despite the fact they have supported opposite sides on the battlefield.
(December 6, 2024)
Bashar al-Assad’s family fled to Russia in the days after rebel forces launched a shock offensive that captured swathes of territory across northern Syria, it has been revealed.
It comes after a source close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg News that Moscow had no plans to rescue the Syrian president, with Vladimir Putin said to be disgusted by reports of regime troops fleeing their positions. (…)
Egyptian and Jordanian officials are understood to have urged the Syrian president to leave the country and form a government-in-exile.
Daraa and Quneitra are near the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, where Israel said it was boosting its troop presence, and Jordan, which late Friday urged its citizens to leave Syria „as soon as possible.“
Iraq allowed hundreds of troops from the Syrian army in, some of them wounded, amid the offensive, according to two Iraqi security sources speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP). The soldiers from President Bashar al-Assad‘s forces „have fled the front lines“ and entered Iraq through the Al-Qaim border crossing, said one senior security official, adding that „the wounded have been hospitalized“ in the area.
According to Israel, a UN post on the edge of the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights came under attack.
„The [Israeli army] is currently assisting the UN forces in repelling the attack,“ Israel said.
On Friday, the military completed a General Staff exercise in the northern Jordan Valley and the southern Golan Heights.
During the exercise, General Staff readiness was drilled by the Operations Directorate, by both air and land, to assess response time and reaction to an emerging incident in real time.
“We do not want escalation to continue in the region,” the Turkish president claimed.
“Idlib, Hama, and Homs are in the hands of the Syrian opposition, and they are continuing towards Damascus. We extended our hand to Bashar al-Assad but he did not respond,” he added.
(November 30, 2024)
Russia appears to be „letting the Syrian rebels overthrow“ President Bashar al-Assad according to Richard Grenell, who served as acting director of National Intelligence for a time during Donald Trump‘s first administration.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Grenell, who had been tipped as a possible member of Trump‘s incoming administration, commented: „Russia seems to be letting the Syrian rebels overthrow Assad. Big. Time to play chess.“
The offensive is led by Hayʼat Tahrir ash-Sham (HTS), a Sunni Islamist opposition group backed by Turkey and designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.
On Friday, the rebels entered the old city of Aleppo and took over several key sites, including the historic citadel and the Umayyad Mosque, according to videos posted on social media.
Araghchi held a telephone conversation with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam al-Sabbagh on Friday, where both officials examined the evolving situation in Syria and broader regional developments.
„The reactivation of terrorist groups in Syria is a U.S.-Zionist scheme after failure in Lebanon,“ Araghchi stated while reaffirming Tehran‘s unwavering support for Damascus in its ongoing struggle against terrorism.
Syrian armed rebels have entered Aleppo just three days into their surprise offensive, marking the first time they have set foot in the country’s second largest city since government forces recaptured the city in 2016.
Rebel forces launched a surprise attack this week, sweeping through several villages outside the city and reigniting conflict that had been largely static for years.
(November 24, 2024)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given his general until early February to eject the Ukrainians from western Russia. But the real deadline, it seems, is the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to end Russia’s wider war on Ukraine but whose offhand proposals hinge on an unenforceable ceasefire that would freeze the front line in place.
Western countries and Israel share the same values of settler-colonialism, racism, white supremacy and genocide – all of which are imperial tools to protect their interests
War in the West Bank was planned before Hamas‘s attack on 7 October last year, a senior Fatah member with close links to security circles told me.
It was postponed by the Gaza war, but also refined and honed by it.
When Israel saw just how much Palestinian blood the US and Europe were prepared to tolerate in Gaza – how much destruction, how many millions would be continually displaced, and for how long – Israel felt emboldened to visit the same hell on its real target: the occupied West Bank.
The Communist Party of Israel (CPI) and Hadash issued a common communique who said “The occupation’s attacks in the West Bank is a continuation of the campaign of destruction in Gaza.” They called for occupation forces to cease military operations in the West Bank.
According to Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, “The assault by the occupation forces on the West Bank has nothing to do with the security of Israel. It is just another layer in the total war that the Israeli government has been waging against the entire Palestinian people to annex their land and expel them from their homeland. Stop the war! End the occupation!”
MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash) called it the “Gazafication of all Palestinian land” and part of a plan to “ethnically cleanse the West Bank.
His Majesty reaffirmed that Jordan will not allow for a regional war to unfold on its land, nor accept any actions that threaten its stability, the statement said.
The King also noted the importance of creating a political horizon to achieve just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution.
A State Department spokesperson told MEE that Washington recognises „Israel’s very real security needs, which includes countering terrorist activity in the West Bank“.
„At the same time, we continue to insist that Israeli authorities take measures to protect all civilians from harm,“ the spokesperson said.
The president’s announcement that he was prepared to condition American weaponry on Israel’s actions amounts to a turning point in the seven-month conflict between Israel and Hamas. And his acknowledgement that American bombs had been used to kill civilians in Gaza was a stark recognition of the United States’ role in the war.
The president has come under extraordinary pressure, including from members of his own party, to limit shipments of arms amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In dem CNN-Interview wurde Biden gefragt, ob mit dem Typ an US-Bomben, deren Lieferung vorerst auf Eis liege, Zivilisten in Gaza getötet worden seien. Biden sagte dazu: „Zivilisten wurden im Gazastreifen infolge dieser Bomben und anderer Methoden, mit denen sie Bevölkerungszentren angreifen, getötet.“
Biden machte zugleich deutlich, die US-Regierung werde weiter sicherstellen, dass Israel ausreichend militärische Ausrüstung zur eigenen Verteidigung habe, etwa das Raketenabwehrsystems Iron Dome.
The White House last week paused a shipment of weapons to Israel, as Israeli leaders closed in on a decision to launch an operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior administration official said Tuesday.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Wednesday in testimony to Congress that „we paused one shipment of high payload munitions.„
(06.05.2024)
President Biden updated the Prime Minister on efforts to secure a hostage deal, including through ongoing talks today in Doha, Qatar. The Prime Minister agreed to ensure the Kerem Shalom crossing is open for humanitarian assistance for those in need. The President reiterated his clear position on Rafah.
(14.03.2024)
Israel has not revealed when the offensive in Rafah will begin, nor when the evacuation will occur. Announcing the „humanitarian islands“ plan, Hagari said only that Israel wanted the timing to be right operationally and to be coordinated with neighbouring Egypt, which has said it does not want an influx of displaced Palestinians crossing its border.
(03.05.2024)
The Israeli military has informed aid groups and the Biden administration of a plan to begin removing Gazans from Rafah ahead of an invasion, according to a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the situation.
The Israel Defense Forces recently told the U.S. government and aid groups operating on the ground that they had developed a plan to move people out of Rafah, the main humanitarian hub in the enclave, to al-Mawasi, a small strip of land on the southern Gaza coast.
(04.05.2024)
According to an unnamed U.S. official and two other people familiar with the plan, Israel would „move people out of Rafah, the main humanitarian hub in the enclave, to al-Mawasi, a small strip of land on the southern Gaza coast.“ Politico also obtained a copy of a map containing some details of the plan.
Israels Regierungschef Benjamin Netanyahu hatte kürzlich erklärt, die israelische Armee werde ungeachtet der internationalen Kritik und unabhängig von einer möglichen Einigung auf ein Abkommen über eine Waffenruhe im Gazastreifen ihre Pläne für eine Bodenoffensive in Rafah umsetzen.
Israeli fighter jets have bombed two homes in Rafah in overnight strikes, killing a total of 10 people, including six children and women.
(today)
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
(18.04.2024)
The US has approved a potential Israeli Rafah operation in exchange for the Jewish state not conducting counterstrikes on Iran, according to a Thursday report from the Qatari newspaper The New Arab.
A senior official told The New Arab that „Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu managed to obtain American approval for a military operation in Rafah, in exchange for [Israel] refraining from carrying out a wide military operation against Iran in response to its recent attack.“
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz said during a press conference in Sderot on Wednesday that Hamas was militarily defeated following the IDF‘s operation in Gaza.
„From a military point of view – Hamas is defeated. Its fighters are eliminated or in hiding. Its abilities are cut off, and we will continue to strike what remains.
However, “from a military point of view – Hamas is defeated. Its fighters are eliminated or in hiding” and its capabilities “crippled,” he continues, stating that “victory will come step by step” and that Israel “will not stop. We will enter Rafah. We will return to Khan Younis. And we will operate in Gaza. Wherever there are terrorist targets – the IDF will be there.”
„It‘s very, very important,“ Ziv said of U.S. military aid to Israel. Placing conditions on it, he said, „creates a dangerous precedent for Israel because it just wasn‘t in the cards up until now.“ (…)
The U.S. could continue to abstain or even support United Nations resolutions that Israel finds unfavorable, as it did this week.
(27.03.2024)
It‘s a sharp reversal by Netanyahu who on Monday canceled the same trip by the same people in protest over the U.S. not vetoing a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The fallout over the canceled trip and a deadlock in hostage talks added to already spiraling relations between Netanyahu and the Biden administration.
A copy of the new draft resolution, obtained by Al Jazeera, reads: “The Security Council determines the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, allow for the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance, and alleviate humanitarian suffering and towards that end unequivocally supports ongoing international diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.” (…)
No vote has yet been scheduled on this text.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the U.S. has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council that calls „for an immediate ceasefire“ in Gaza that‘s „tied to the release“ of hostages held by Hamas.
(21.03.2024)
Two senior US officials told The Times of Israel on Tuesday that the US will present alternative plans for how Israel can continue pursuing Hamas without launching a major ground operation in Rafah during an upcoming meeting with a visiting Israeli delegation in Washington.
(19.03.2024)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted President Biden’s invitation to send a senior delegation to Washington, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, to “hear U.S. concerns” over Israel’s plans to invade Rafah, the city in southern Gaza where displaced Palestinians are concentrated.
“We have a disagreement with the Americans about the need to enter Rafah,” Netanyahu told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. “Not about the need to eliminate Hamas — the need to enter Rafah. We do not see a way to eliminate Hamas militarily without destroying these remaining battalions. We are determined to do it. ”
“I made it clear to the president in our conversation, in the clearest way, that we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah,” said Netanyahu. “There is no way to do it, except by going in on the ground.”
Briefing lawmakers on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that he made it „supremely clear“ to US President Joe Biden „that we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there‘s no way to do that except by going in on the ground“.
Two Israeli officials told Politico that the Israel Defense Forces is still developing a plan for protecting the civilians.
But unnamed US officials told Politico that in private meetings, top administration officials have told the Israelis that the US would back a strategy for “counterterrorism operations” in Rafah rather than the full-scale war waged elsewhere in Gaza.
Israel has continued it‘s bombardment of Gaza on the first day of Ramadan, as hunger persists in the besieged enclave.
Israeli strikes against the Sabra neighbourhood in Gaza city has killed 16 people, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. Strikes were also reported in Gaza‘s southern city of Rafah.
The strike comes amid low aid flows into the territory, with the situation in north Gaza putting hundreds of thousands on the brink of famine, at least 20 already having died from starvation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has doubled down on Israel‘s war effort, saying that he intends to press ahead with an invasion of Rafah following Biden‘s comments that such an invasion would be a „red line“.
Israel‘s war on Gaza, which has been ongoing since 7 October, has killed 31,112 Palestinians, injuring a further 72,760.
Biden and his aides have urged Netanyahu in strong terms not to launch a major offensive in Rafah until Israel crafts a plan for mass evacuation of civilians from the last area of Gaza it has not yet invaded with ground forces. More than half of Gaza‘s 2.3 million people are sheltering in the Rafah area.
“There‘s other ways to deal, to get to, to deal with … the trauma caused by Hamas,” Biden said, referring to the Islamist group’s Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed.