Israel Kurds expect Turkish attack in northern Syria
According to Kurdish sources, Turkey and its allied militias are preparing an offensive against the northern Syrian border town of Kobane.
22.12.2024, 05:10
SDA
The Turkish army and its Syrian allies are sending reinforcements to the region south of the Kurdish-held city, the spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Farhad al Shami, told the German Press Agency. An attack on the city from the south and from the west is possible. There has been fierce fighting around the city for some time.
The SDF had made contact with the US-led coalition and the US government in order to stop the Turkish offensive, said al Shami. The SDF's commander-in-chief, Maslum Abdi, had already proposed a buffer zone for northern Syria on Tuesday. They were prepared to set up a demilitarized zone in Kobane in which security forces would be deployed under US supervision and presence. A demilitarized zone under international protection could serve as a security guarantee for the Kurds and ease Turkey's concerns about the Kurds.
Kurds allies for the USA and PKK offshoots for Turkey
Turkey is accused of wanting to use the power vacuum in Syria following the fall of ruler Bashar al-Assad to take control of the areas under the administration of Kurdish militias in the north of the country. The Kurds and the SDF are supported by the USA, for whom the SDF are an important partner in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Turkey, on the other hand, sees the militia as an offshoot of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) - and therefore as a terrorist organization.
Syrian transitional government makes new appointments to key posts
According to official information, the rebel-led transitional government in Syria has appointed a foreign minister and a defense minister. Asaad Hassan al-Shaybani will take over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the former state agency Sana reported on Telegram. According to the interim government, the new defense minister is agricultural engineer Marhaf Abu Kasra, one of the best-known leaders of the rebels who overthrew the ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Al-Shaybani had been active in the opposition since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in spring 2011. Syria was deeply divided during the civil war. Assad brutally cracked down on all opposition forces and controlled around two thirds of the country until his overthrow. In the north-west, the Islamist group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) founded a parallel administration in 2017.
Shaibani had set up the political affairs department there. He is said to have worked in the humanitarian sector and for foreign affairs. He had established good connections with the United Nations, among others, according to informed sources.
US military attacks Huthi positions in Yemen
Meanwhile, US forces once again bombed Huthi militia positions in Yemen. According to the US Central Command Centcom, airstrikes were flown on a missile depot and a command center of the Iranian-backed militia near the capital Sanaa. In addition, several rebel drones and a cruise missile were shot down over the Red Sea. There were initially no reports of casualties. Since the beginning of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, the rebels, who are allied with the Islamists, have regularly attacked targets in Israel and ships in the Red Sea with rockets and drones. On Saturday, Israel was once again the target of a rocket attack from Yemen. A projectile fell in the port metropolis of Tel Aviv, causing 16 minor injuries. The Houthi militia claimed responsibility for the attack.
Following the failed attempt to intercept the missile fired by the Houthi militia, the Israeli army said it had launched an investigation. It was the third Houthi missile to hit Israel in December.
Hospital in Gaza: unable to treat patients
A hospital in the north of the embattled Gaza Strip urgently appealed to the international community for supplies of medicine and food. According to the Ministry of Health, which is controlled by the Islamist Hamas, Israeli shelling is continuing around the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia and patients can no longer be cared for. There was also hardly any food and drinking water left. According to Palestinian reports, the Israeli army demanded the evacuation of the hospital in the evening. Despite a request, the Israeli army did not provide any information.
The Israeli army has been fighting in the coastal strip since the massacre by Hamas and other extremists from the Gaza Strip in Israel on October 7, 2023, which left 1,200 dead and around 250 displaced. Efforts to achieve a ceasefire have failed time and again.
Pope Francis speaks of "cruelty" in Gaza
In a speech at the Vatican, Pope Francis recalled the devastating consequences of the war in Gaza. The head of around 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide lamented that children had been bombed in the Gaza Strip the day before. "This is cruelty. This is not war. I want to say this because it touches the heart," said the pontiff, visibly moved. Israel described the Pope's words as "disappointing", as the Pontiff ignored the fact that Israel was waging a multi-front war that had been forced upon it.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Francis of addressing the accusation of cruelty to the wrong address. "Cruelty is when terrorists hide behind children while trying to murder Israeli children; cruelty is when 100 hostages, including a baby and children, are held and abused by terrorists for 442 days," Saar explained.
