U.S.-Backed Forces Advance Toward Raqqa

Kurdish-led forces are close to encircling areas north of the so-called Islamic State’s stronghold in northern Syria, the Associated Press reported.

A spokeswoman for the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, said they were advancing on two fronts north of Raqqa.

“The operations are ongoing according to the plan,” said Cihan Ehmed, adding that once the forces on both fronts merge they will surround 212 square miles (550 square km) of land controlled by Islamic State (ISIS).

In total, 17 villages have been taken from the extremists since the SDF launched its offensive – known as Euphrates Rage – on Sunday, according to the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Residents are fleeing the clashes north of Raqqa, intensified by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes.

Iran Cannot Have Military Bases in Syria, Israel Says

Israel will not allow Iran to base itself militarily in Syria, said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, Al Jazeera reported.

“We are determined to … prevent Iran … from establishing itself militarily in Syria, on the ground, in the air or at sea,” Netanyahu said at talks in Jerusalem with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev. “We are also determined to prevent it from bringing about the establishment of Shia militias, which it is organizing, and of course, the arming of [Lebanese] Hezbollah with dangerous weapons aimed at us.”

Iranian troops and Lebanese Shiite fighters from the armed Hezbollah movement are fighting in Syria alongside the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, playing an important role in key battles, including the fight for Aleppo.

Israel has largely stayed on the sidelines of Syria’s war, now in its sixth year. However, in April, Netanyahu said the Israeli military had targeted dozens of arms convoys destined for Hezbollah in Syria.

Israel and Russia are “partners in the war on radical Islamic terror,” said Netanyahu, and “share the goal of eliminating” the so-called Islamic State.

Russia and Israel are both facing the challenge of terrorism, Medvedev said, and “must stand together against it.”

Russia is a key ally of the Syrian government, beginning its military intervention in the war in September 2015 and establishing military and naval bases.

Eastern Aleppo Running Out of Food, U.N. Warns

The last food rations in besieged eastern Aleppo are being handed out, the United Nations warned on Thursday, BBC News reported.

Rebel-held parts of Aleppo city have been besieged since July by government and allied forces. The 275,000 people living there will not have food next week, warned Jan Egeland, the U.N.’s humanitarian adviser. Food airdrops are not possible, he said, because the area is so densely populated.

A failed ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and Russia in September led to an intense government and allied forces’ offensive on eastern Aleppo. Rebel forces fought back in October in an attempt to break the siege, with little progress.

More than 700 civilians have been killed by government airstrikes and shelling on east Aleppo in the past weeks, said the U.N., as well as more than 70 by rebel fire on government-held areas.

The last significant aid delivery to Aleppo was in July, and humanitarian agencies have been unable to reach eastern parts of the city since September.

Recommended Reads

• The New Yorker: Trump and Syria
• Agence France-Presse: Shelter Lends Helping Paw to Animal Victims of Syria War
• The Washington Post: Obama Directs Pentagon to Target al-Qaida Affiliate in Syria, One of The Most Formidable Forces Fighting Assad
• Syria Direct: With All Eyes on Raqqa, U.S.-Backed Rebels Take on the Islamic State in Syria’s Mountains
• Agence France-Presse: Syria Kurd Women Fighters out for Revenge Against Jihadists