Last night’s talk shows focused on the swift offensive by several armed factions targeting Syrian army positions in multiple cities in the country’s northwest, including Aleppo — Syria’s largest city.

“This is an extremely complex situation, and no one can decisively say what’s happening in Syria now,” Middle East Forum for Strategic Studies head Samir Ghattas told Amr Adib (watch, runtime: 17:54). “Turkey is deeply involved, as it sponsors these factions. The attack has been in the works for nearly six months, based on all indicators. Turkey wants to expand its influence over Syrian territory under the pretext of countering the formation of a Kurdish state, which may be a key driver behind these events,” Ghattas said. He also warned that “the partition of Syria is a very likely scenario” and argued that “Turkey is targeting Hezbollah and Iran in Syria as a way to align itself with the incoming US administration.”

Who’s benefiting from the chaos? Israel and Turkey are the two major players gaining from the current situation, argued Ahmed Moussa (watch, runtime: 1:14). “Israel has a significant role in supporting these militias, while the US is looking to reshape the political order in Syria and remove Bashar Al Assad from power,” he said.

“These are not opposition factions — they’re terrorist organizations,” Moussa added, questioning the timing of the attack, which coincided with the implementation of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah (watch, runtime: 3:12).

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