Israeli Foreign Minister Warns Over Aleppo Clashes, Highlights Kurds’ Role in Fighting ISIS

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – As violent clashes and shelling continue in Aleppo, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar publicly commented on the fighting between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian army, stressing the moral responsibility of the international community toward the Kurds and warning that silence would fuel further violence.

Sa’ar’s remarks came amid a sharp escalation in Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods, where intense shelling and a tightening siege have pushed civilian casualties higher for the third consecutive day.

Commenting on the recent clashes, Sa’ar said, according to Israel in Arabic, a page affiliated with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
“He attacks by Syrian regime forces against the Kurdish minority in the city of Aleppo are dangerous and alarming. The international community in general, and the West in particular, has a moral debt toward the Kurds who fought bravely and successfully against ISIS.”

He added that “the systematic and deadly repression of various minorities in Syria contradicts the promises of a ‘new Syria,’” warning that “the silence of the international community will lead to an escalation of violence by the Syrian regime.”

Escalation enters third day

On the ground, shelling and siege conditions intensified for a third consecutive day in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo. Civilian casualties rose sharply as factions affiliated with the Damascus government continued artillery, rocket, and tank fire, alongside the use of drones, against densely populated areas.

According to the Internal Security Forces (Asaysh) in Aleppo, the death toll among civilians climbed to eight, with fifty-seven others wounded as a result of the ongoing bombardment. The attacks have targeted residential neighborhoods in what the force described as a systematic and bloody escalation against civilians.

During nighttime hours, the factions intensified shelling of residential areas, a move described as a deliberate attempt to cause the highest possible number of casualties while residents remained inside their homes. Drone flights continued over the neighborhoods, coinciding with the deployment of additional armored vehicles and tanks, as well as the mobilization of thousands of fighters, including individuals of foreign nationalities.

These steps, according to the Internal Security Forces, were aimed at tightening the siege and increasing humanitarian pressure on the civilian population.

In the field, the factions failed to achieve any advance on the Castello axis due to what the Internal Security Forces described as strong resistance. Following that failure, the forces said the attackers resorted to collective punishment, cutting electricity supplies and preventing the entry of food and medical materials into Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh.

The Internal Security Forces said these actions constitute a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.

The Internal Security Forces described the situation in the two neighborhoods as an organized bloody campaign carried out under the cover of official incitement, directly targeting civilians through siege, indiscriminate shelling, and starvation as tools to subdue the population and impose realities by force.

The force held the attacking parties, as well as those providing them with cover, fully responsible for these crimes and their consequences, including violations of the April 1 agreement. It warned that the continuation of this aggressive approach would lead to serious and dangerous outcomes.

According to Syria’s state news agency SANA, a security source said Internal Security Forces carried out a security operation in the al-Wuroud neighborhood in the Damascus countryside, arresting a number of individuals described as “outlaws.”

Separately, a SANA correspondent in Aleppo reported that the SDF targeted the Sheikh Taha neighborhood with artillery and struck the Lairamoun area and Sheihan Roundabout with heavy machine-gun fire.

In an official statement, the Syrian government said that the measures taken around the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods are carried out exclusively within the framework of maintaining security and preventing any armed activities inside residential areas or their use as leverage against the city of Aleppo. The statement said the state is fully committed to protecting civilians, ensuring their safety, and refraining from harming their property.

As international reactions begin to surface, the fighting in Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods continues to exact a heavy civilian toll, raising renewed warnings that silence and inaction may further deepen the violence and humanitarian crisis.