Author: Anadolu Agency

The White House said Monday that it is in “active conversations” with Türkiye, Qatar and Egypt over efforts to broker a cease-fire to end Israel’s over year-long war on the besieged Gaza Strip. “Without doubt, 100% of our energy and effort is being put to try to get this, and really the main stumbling block continues to be Hamas. And we believe that as they look at the world right now, they ought to see just how isolated and weakened they are,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “It’s time for Hamas to come to the table, and…

Armed groups opposing Bashar al-Assad’s regime have captured eight more settlements in the Syrian province of Hama. The opposition forces, engaged in clashes with regime forces for six days, have made significant territorial gains, taking control of regional hub Aleppo, as well as areas south of northwestern Idlib province toward regime-held Hama. After reclaiming most of Aleppo’s city center and all of Idlib province from regime forces, the groups have most recently taken control of eight more settlements, including Al-Jalamah, Al-Zakah, Jubbayn, Tal Meleh, Kirkat, Al-Mughayr, and Al-Mabatan. Also, the anti-regime forces targeted a location near Hama city used by…

Germany on Monday urged Israel to do more to protect civilian lives after a deadly airstrike in North Gaza killed at least 200 people, among them women and children. “We expect the Israeli side to change the conduct of operations in order to protect as many civilians as possible in Gaza,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said at a press briefing in Berlin, pointing to the “shockingly high number of victims” in the enclave. He reiterated that his country was “extremely concerned over the humanitarian situation” in Gaza, while calling for a “swift cease-fire.” At least 200 people were killed…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday that recent developments in Syria cannot be attributed solely to external intervention, but rather stem from “unresolved” problems over the past 13 years. Speaking at a news conference alongside his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, who is on an official visit to Türkiye, Fidan said that it was a “mistake” by the Syrian regime to ignore the legitimate demands of the opposition and to fail to engage in the political process. “The reason for the resumption of large-scale conflict in Syria is that the country’s interconnected problems have remained unresolved for more than 13…

Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has suggested that temporary territorial concessions to Russia could help establish a cease-fire in the ongoing Ukrainian conflict. In an interview with German media outlet Table.Briefings published on Monday, Stoltenberg emphasized that diplomatic negotiations and compromise could pave the way toward a cease-fire agreement. “We need a cease-fire line, and of course ideally this (the Ukrainian part) should include all areas currently under Russian control. But we see that this may not be realistically achievable in the immediate future,” Stoltenberg said. “If the cease-fire line means that Russia continues to control all occupied territories,…

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has collected more evidence and information in the past 18 months than it has in the 20 years since it was founded, its chief prosecutor said on Monday. Karim Khan emphasized the court’s recent intense efforts during his address at the 23rd session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the ICC’s Rome Statute. The ICC has received the most evidence and documents in its history in the last year, with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and victims submitting a large number of documents and evidence under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, he noted. Of…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will travel to Brussels to take part in a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers starting on Tuesday. According to Turkish diplomatic sources, the meeting in the alliance’s headquarters will be held in three sessions. In the first session, which will be attended by Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the crisis in the Middle East and cooperation between NATO and Amman will be discussed. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas are expected to attend the NATO-Ukraine Council session. This session will discuss the latest situation…

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced Sunday that Israel does not intend to support any party in the ongoing conflict in Syria. During his participation in a security conference organized by the daily Israel Hayom, Sa’ar stated: “Israel is not a direct party to the military operations but is closely monitoring developments in the Syrian scene.” Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government is closely following developments in Syria and is determined to protect what he claimed as “our vital interests.” On Nov. 27, clashes erupted between Syrian armed opposition factions and forces of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in the…

The Syrian National Army (SNA) captured 33 Syrian regime soldiers during the Operation Dawn of Freedom. A post shared on the operation’s social media account confirmed the capture of the regime soldiers. The video shared announced that 33 regime soldiers were taken as prisoners along the Aleppo-Raqqa highway during the operation. – Operation Dawn of Freedom The operation began after opposition armed groups launched an offensive against Aleppo on Nov. 27. In response, Syrian regime forces allied with the PKK/YPG and ceded certain areas to the terrorist group. The PKK/YPG, reinforced by additional forces from eastern Syria, began fortifying these…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan Sunday discussed the latest developments in Syria with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. According to sources from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the two ministers discussed Syria during their phone conversation. The talks come as the Syrian National Army Sunday gained full control over the central district of Tel Rifaat in its Operation Freedom Dawn, launched against the PKK/YPG terror group in Syria. The army also liberated Hirbil village to the east of the district and is progressing in other areas on the periphery. Located 18 kilometers (11 miles) from the…