By: Rania Kisar

★ Turkiye and the Gaza Crisis.

Without specifying the location of the meeting, Ismail Haniyeh visited Turkiye this Saturday shortly before foreign affairs minister boarded the plane to come to New York to attend a United Nations Security council meeting on Gaza. The sources explained that the talks held by Haniyeh dealt with the “release” of detainees in the Gaza Strip , noting that the last talks between Haniyeh and Fidan dated back to last October 16 and took place via telephone call.

★ Turkiye’s Air Campaign in Northern Syria.

On Saturday, the Turkish army renewed its targeting of the positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of Aleppo Governorate, northern Syria, after the SDF targeted a Turkish army base in the region. The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that Turkish forces neutralized 7 PKK/YPG fighters in the “Euphrates Shield,” “Peace Spring,” and “Bavdik” areas of northern Syria.

Turkish air strikes on the infrastructure and institutions of the SDF and its affiliated Autonomous Administration of Northeast Syria (AANES) have caused a severe disruption of the economic situation and public services in northeast Syria, including a fuel shortage crisis that affects all sectors of life in the region. Syria TV reported that the SDF estimates Turkish airstrikes and raids have caused more than one billion dollars’ worth of damage to oil facilities, infrastructure, commercial companies, and factories in northeast Syria.

For an ACLS video briefing on the northern Syria conflict, see “Turkiye’s Escalated Response to PKK: Strikes, Detentions, and Accusations in Growing Syria Crisis”.

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