BEIRUT: Turkey says it may launch a cross-border operation into the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin in northern Syria if it constitutes a “constant security threat.”
Defense Minister Fikri Isik told state-run television TRT on Tuesday that Turkey’s military will continue to respond to the “slightest fire” into Turkish territory from Afrin. He spoke hours after reports that Turkey’s military retaliated overnight to fire from areas controlled by Syrian Kurdish groups.
Turkey considers the main Syrian Kurdish militia, which is supported by the United States, to be an extension of Kurdish rebels fighting in Turkey. The US views the Syrian Kurds as the most effective ground force battling the Daesh group in Syria.
Last year, Turkey sent troops into Syria to help Syrian opposition forces battling to oust Daesh militants from another border region and to curb the territorial advances of the Syrian Kurdish militia.
Isik said: “We would not abstain from doing what is necessary if Afrin becomes a constant security threat.”
The US military says allied Syrian forces have breached the wall around Raqqa’s Old City, where they are fighting to drive Daesh militants from the extremists’ self-declared capital.
Central Command said in a statement Monday that by punching through two “small portions” of the Rafiqah Wall they were able to enter the Old City while avoiding booby traps and IS snipers. It says the strikes left most of the 2,500-meter (yard) wall intact.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led militia, is battling IS in Raqqa with the help of US-led airstrikes and US special operations forces.
Several IS leaders were once based in Raqqa, where the group is believed to have plotted attacks in Europe. The loss of the northern Syrian city would deal a major blow to IS.
Turkey says it may strike Syrian Kurds
Turkey says it may strike Syrian Kurds
Gaza’s ceasefire had some momentum. Now, some fear a new war will distract the world
- Residents say they are scared of neglect and deprivation, with Israel in the wake of the weekend strikes closing all crossings into their shattered territory of over 2 million people
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Some Palestinians say they fear the widening war sparked by US and Israeli attacks against Iran could overshadow the fragile situation in Gaza, just over a week after US President Donald Trump rallied billions of dollars in pledges for the territory’s reconstruction and tried to nudge a ceasefire forward.
Residents say they are scared of neglect and deprivation, with Israel in the wake of the weekend strikes closing all crossings into their shattered territory of over 2 million people.
Palestinians told The Associated Press they were rushing to markets, haunted by memories of painful food scarcity last year under months of Israel’s blockade. Part of Gaza, around Gaza City, was found to be in famine.
“When the crossings shut down, everything was suspended from the market,” said Osamda Hanoda from Khan Younis. “The prices go up, and people live in misery.”
Reports show prices of goods rising sharply
The shaky Israel-Hamas ceasefire had led to more humanitarian aid and other supplies entering Gaza, even as the United Nations and aid partners say more of everything from basic medical supplies to fuel is needed.
Now, Palestinians are hoarding again, with reports of prices rising sharply for basic goods such as bags of flour.
“We are afraid of not finding milk” and diapers for the kids, or food and water, said Hassan Zanoun, who was displaced from Rafah.
COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing civilian affairs in Gaza, did not respond to a request for comment Sunday. In its announcement of the closings, it asserted that the food supply inside the territory “is expected to suffice for an extended period.” It added that the rotation of humanitarian workers in and out of Gaza is postponed.
It was not clear when any crossing might reopen. Israeli authorities focused on Iran, and citizens dashed repeatedly for shelter as sirens wailed.
Ramadan is disrupted
The war in Gaza began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and it’s been marked from the start by restrictions on people and supplies being allowed into the territory — and terrified people, including medical evacuees in need of treatment, getting out.
A month ago, Gaza’s main Rafah border crossing with the outside world — its only crossing not with Israel — reopened, allowing a small and tightly controlled flow of Palestinian traffic in both directions. No cargo was allowed through.
Now all crossings are closed again in the middle of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, a time of chosen deprivation, evening feasts and prayer. Images have shown Palestinians lined up at long tables in the middle of bombed-out debris.
The strikes on Iran shook that routine.
“All the people rushed to markets, and they all wanted to shop and hide,” said Abeer Awwad, who was displaced from Gaza City, as word of the explosions in Tehran began to spread.
Under the Oct. 10 US-brokered ceasefire, the heaviest fighting has subsided, though regular Israeli fire continues in Gaza. The UN World Food Program has noted progress in the enclave but said in its latest food security analysis last week that hunger remains.
“Households reported an average of two meals per day in February 2026, compared to one meal in July,” it said. “Still, one in five households consumed only one meal daily.”
A challenge for aid groups and others
Refocusing the world’s attention on Gaza is a challenge for aid groups and others as Iran scrambles for new leadership and explosions continue in Tehran, Israel and around the Middle East.
Trump has said bombing in Iran could continue through the week or longer, and warned Tehran of “A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!” if it escalates attacks.
It’s a dramatic turn from Trump’s launch less than two weeks ago of his new Board of Peace, a gathering of world leaders that is aimed at ending the war in Gaza but has ambitions of resolving conflicts elsewhere.
Even with that bump in momentum on Gaza, major challenges remain for the ceasefire. They include disarming Hamas, assembling and deploying an international stabilization force, and getting a newly appointed Palestinian committee meant to govern Gaza into the territory.
As the Middle East turns to another war, some Palestinians see a benefit: Israel’s military is distracted.
“The good thing is that the sound of booms and demolitions is rare now near the yellow line,” said Ahmed Abu Jahl, of Gaza City, speaking about the line dividing Gaza and marking out roughly half the territory controlled by Israeli forces.
“Even the drones, they are still flying overhead, but their number has gone down.”
