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The statement comes after some Syrian media outlets reported earlier that at least 18 militia members had been killed in a drone strike in eastern Syria. The unmanned aerial vehicles reportedly attacked militias near the city of Al Bukamal, close to the Syrian-Iraqi border.

Israel has conducted scores of air attacks against Syria over the past few years, saying that the strikes were aimed at countering alleged Iranian presence in the country.

Damascus condemns the attacks as a blatant violation of international law, while Iran insists that its presence in Syria has been limited to military advisers helping Damascus fight terrorist groups. Tehran denies the Jewish state's right to exist, promising to wipe it off the political map should it take any action against Iran.

Israel-Lebanon Tensions

The IDF's Monday statement comes amid an escalation of Israel-Lebanon tensions which were preceded by the Israeli military launching massive mortar, artillery and air strikes against multiple targets in southern Lebanon, following a Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack targeting IDF positions along the border.

While Lebanese President Michel Aoun made it clear that Lebanon will have every right to respond if Israel renews its military "aggression" against the country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel has suffered no injuries, "not even a scratch" in the back and forth barrage of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Commenting on the security situation in the area, Netanyahu stressed that he had instructed the military to "be prepared for any scenario" in accordance with developments on the ground.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin took to Twitter to warn "all those who seek to harm us" that Israel was "ready and willing to defend Israel's citizens wherever they are, without hesitation."

Tel Aviv has repeatedly claimed that Hezbollah - whose primary goal is the destruction of the Jewish state - is a proxy of Iran and that it receives weapons and equipment from Tehran, which the latter denies.

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Israeli media accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of seeking to avoid publicising information about Iran's alleged nuclear materials stockpile at a 'secret nuclear warehouse' facility in the Iranian capital.

IAEA inspectors have carried out an inspection of a warehouse mentioned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his speech to the UN General Assembly last September, finding traces of uranium which Iran has yet to account for, two diplomats who follow the agency's work have told Reuters.

One of the diplomats clarified that the uranium traces were not of a weapons-grade quality, and not purified to 'anywhere close' to the levels required for a nuclear bomb. It remains unclear whether the alleged uranium traces predate the 2015 nuclear treaty, or are more recent.

"Netanyahu plans to disclose on Monday new details based on Mossad intelligence, obtained during the seizure of the Iranian nuclear archive," an unnamed official was quoted as saying by the Channel 13 broadcaster. He added that Netanyahu was considering providing more details "about the known nuclear sites of Iran and those which are involved in the Iranian nuclear program."

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Six Turkish-flagged vehicles have joined US-flagged cars in Syria, about 15 km east of the Turkish border town of Akcakale, east of the Euphrates, near the Syrian city of Tel Abyad, according to Anadolu.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up mainly of Kurdish fighters, said they were ready to support the construction of a security zone in northern Syria in exchange for protection by the international community in the event of a foreign invasion, they said earlier this year.

An SDF commander stressed that such assistance would include "protecting all ethnic groups (residents in the area) from the danger of genocide." The SDF said they posed no threat to any country, including Turkey, and said they hoped to "achieve mutual understanding for stability and security in border areas" with Ankara.

The two NATO allies are also planning to establish a joint operations center. However, Washington wants to shelter its Kurdish allies in the zone, while Erdogan wants them removed as Turkey considers them terrorists.

Turkey has been waging a low-intensity military campaign against Kurdish militias along its Syrian border for four decades, a back-and-forth campaign that has claimed the lives of nearly 40,000 people, mostly Kurds.

"We want to create an area cleared of Daesh (Islamic State) along with the PKK and its extensions PYD-YPG-SDG," Erdogan said. "Only in this way we can ensure that our Syrian brothers and sisters living in our country, in Europe or elsewhere can return to their homes and live in peace and security."

As Erdogan delivered his speech, American and Turkish troops embarked on the first joint patrols through the proposed site of the safe zone. Backed by reconnaissance drones and helicopters, the troops set out from near the Turkish border town of Akcakale on Sunday morning. It is "insufficient" to form a safe zone in northern Syria with "3-5 helicopter flights, 5-10 vehicle patrols and a few hundred soldiers in the area," he told the crowd in Malatya.

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