Israel condemns Sharaa regime’s ‘attacks against Kurdish minority’ in Syria’s Aleppo

Syrian government orders residents of contested northern province to flee amid deadly clashes with Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces

Israel on Thursday condemned the Syrian government over “grave and dangerous” attacks against the Kurds in the northern city of Aleppo as Damascus ordered civilians to evacuate the area amid deadly clashes that have displaced tens of thousands of people.

Israel’s condemnation of Syria came two days after the countries agreed on a joint mechanism aimed at lowering bilateral tensions.

“Attacks by the Syrian regime’s forces against the Kurdish minority in the city of Aleppo are grave and dangerous,” wrote Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on X, adding: “Systematic and murderous repression of Syria’s various minorities contradicts the promises of a ‘new Syria.'”

Sa’ar said the violence in Aleppo could increase if the international community remained silent.

“The international community in general, and the West in particular, owes a debt of honor to the Kurds who fought bravely and successfully against ISIS,” he said.

Deadly clashes erupted this week between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The sides have failed to implement a March deal to merge the Kurds’ semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria’s new government.

The Kurds are pushing for decentralized rule, an idea Syria’s new Islamist authorities have rejected. In the city of Qamishli in the Kurdish-controlled northeast, thousands of protesters gathered Thursday, chanting in support of the SDF and against the government offensive.

Though Damascus has vowed to protect all Syrians, minorities remain wary of their future under the new regime of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the ouster of Syria’s longtime Iran-backed president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 after a 13-year civil war.

Israel has also expressed distrust in Sharaa, the head of a former al-Qaeda affiliate. Shortly after Assad’s ouster, Israel took over the Syrian side of the two countries’ demilitarized zone, citing concern it would fall into the wrong hands. Israel has also carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, at times citing a need to protect the Druze minority from government-backed bloodshed.

Despite Israel’s concerns, US President Donald Trump, who received Sharaa in Washington in November, has been pushing for a security deal between Syria and Israel.

Under US pressure, Israel and Syria on Tuesday agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism, an unprecedented step as the two countries edge toward a security agreement after decades of hostilities.

Following discussions in Paris, Israel and Syria agreed to establish “a dedicated communication cell” under US supervision that will seek to lower bilateral tensions, according to a joint statement by the US, Israel and Syria.

Over 46,000 displaced by Aleppo clashes, local authorities say

Amid the clashes on Thursday, the government of Aleppo gave residents until 1 p.m. local time to evacuate in coordination with the army via a corridor that Syrian authorities had opened for them.

State news agency SANA, citing the army, said the military would begin “targeted operations” against SDF fighters in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid half an hour after that deadline.

The military later issued a series of maps with the areas under evacuation order.

An Associated Press journalist at the scene heard sporadic sounds of shelling as civilians streamed out of the area Thursday morning. As of Wednesday, more than 46,000 people had been displaced across the province, according to Aleppo’s Directorate of Social Affairs and Labor.

Mohammad Ali, operations director with the Syrian Civil Defense in Aleppo, said some 11,000 more fled Thursday. “There’s a large percentage of them with difficult medical issues, elderly people, women, and children,” he said.

The SDF has said that at least eight civilians were killed in the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods, while government officials reported at least five civilians and one soldier have been killed in the surrounding government-controlled areas in the fighting that broke out Tuesday. Dozens more on both sides have been wounded.

Each side has accused the other of deliberately targeting civilian neighborhoods and infrastructure.

St. Ephrem Syrian Orthodox Church in Aleppo city was hosting about 100 people who had fled the fighting. Parishioners had donated mattresses, blankets and food, priest Adai Maher said.

“As soon as the problems started and we heard the sounds (of clashes), we opened our church as a shelter for people who are fleeing their homes,” he said.

Among them was Georgette Lulu, who said her family is planning to travel to the city of Hasakeh in SDF-controlled northeast Syria when the security situation allows.

“There was a lot of bombing and loud noises and a shell landed next to our house,” she said. “I’ve been through these circumstances a lot so I don’t get frightened, but my niece was really afraid so we had to come to the church.”

Hassan Nader, a representative of the Ministry of Social Affairs in Aleppo, said about 4,000 were staying in shelters in the city while tens of thousands had gone to other areas of the province, and the ministry was working with NGOs to supply them with food, medicine and other necessities.

Political impasse

The clashes come amid an impasse in political negotiations between Sharaa’s government and the SDF, which controls much of Syria’s northeast.

Under a March 10 deal with the government, the SDF was supposed to merge with the Syrian army by the end of 2025. There have been disagreements on how it would happen. In April, scores of SDF fighters left Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh as part of the deal.

Officials from the central government and SDF met again on Sunday in Damascus, but government officials said that no tangible progress had been made.

Despite the long-running US support for the SDF, the Trump administration, seeking warmer ties with Sharaa’s government, has urged the Kurds to implement the March 10 deal.

Responding to the Aleppo clashes on Thursday, a US State Department official said in a statement that the US “is closely monitoring the situation” and urged “restraint on all sides.” It said US envoy Tom Barrack is trying to facilitate dialogue between the two sides.

“All parties should focus on how to build a peaceful, stable Syria that protects and serves the interests of all Syrians, rather than pushing the country back into a cycle of violence,” the statement said.

The SDF has for years been the main US partner in Syria in fighting against the Islamic State terror group, but Turkey considers the SDF itself a terror group because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey.