Israeli army arrests Iranian 'terror cell' in southern Syria, report
sraeli troops arrested several members of a terror cell deployed by Iran in southern Syria in an overnight raid, the military says.
The cell was operating in two locations near the border with Israel and was targeted based on intelligence gathered over recent weeks, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
During the raid, troops from the 474th Golan Regional Brigade, who carried out the raid together with field investigators from Military Intelligence's Unit 504, also seized weapons, including firearms and grenades.
The IDF says it will continue efforts to thwart the entrenchment of Iranian-linked terror groups in Syria, particularly near the Israeli border.
Israeli troops have been stationed in Syria since the fall of the former Assad regime in December, where they are holding a small buffer zone near the border.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. While most of the international community regards it as occupied Syrian land, US President Donald Trump recognised Israeli sovereignty over it during his first term in office , a move that was described as illegal by the International community.
Following the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel moved further and invaded the UN buffer zone between the Golan Heights and southern Syria, and carried out an aerial campaign targeting the country's military capabilities.
Israeli officials also
approved the expansion
of illegal settlements there. There are about 31,000 Israeli settlers spread across dozens of illegal Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights.
Iran had supported al-Assad since Syria's war erupted in 2011, providing him with fighters, weapons and military advice in the form of an IRGC presence that aimed to keep him in power.His fall was a huge setback for Iran and its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, since the majority of Hezbollah arms were shipped via Syria to Lebanon
Times of Israel/ Al Jazeera
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
11 minutes ago
- Nahar Net
Iran says it detained 21,000 suspects during the June war with Israel
by Naharnet Newsdesk 12 August 2025, 19:43 Iran's police detained 21,000 suspects during the 12-day air war between Israel and Iran in June, state media reported on Tuesday. A report by state TV quoted a police spokesperson, Gen. Saeed Montazeralmahdi, as saying people reported the suspects to the authorities. "The arrest of 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war indicated high awareness and participation of people in providing security," he said. Montazeralmahdi did not elaborate on what charges the suspects might face. However, he said more than 260 were suspected of spying and other 172 were arrested because of illegal filming. He added that police put more than 1,000 checkpoints across the country during the conflict, between June 13-24. This is the first time Iran's police has given a total number of arrests during the war. In recent weeks Iran occasionally reported about the arrests of suspects on spying charges. Since the end of June, Iran has executed seven men convicted of spying for Israel, sparking fears from activists that the government could conduct a wave of executions. Israel carried out waves of airstrikes on Iran, killing nearly 1,100 people, including many military commanders. Retaliatory Iranian strikes killed 28 people in Israel.
Nahar Net
11 minutes ago
- Nahar Net
US, Jordan offer Syria support in upholding Sweida ceasefire
by Naharnet Newsdesk 12 August 2025, 19:46 Syrian and Jordanian foreign ministers and a U.S. envoy agreed on Tuesday to form a working group to help Damascus uphold a ceasefire in Sweida province, rocked by recent sectarian clashes. In a joint statement issued after a meeting in Amman, Jordan and the United States said they "agreed to respond to the Syrian government's request to establish a trilateral working group (Syrian–Jordanian–American) to support the Syrian government's efforts to consolidate the ceasefire" in Sweida and "resolve the crisis" there. They also agreed to hold another meeting in the coming weeks. The Syrian foreign ministry said its top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani met with Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and U.S. envoy for Syria Tom Barrack to discuss "ways of strengthening cooperation and coordination between the three sides" in order to serve Syria's stability, "sovereignty and regional security". Damascus said the sides had agreed to form a working group "to support the Syrian government's efforts to consolidate the ceasefire in Sweida province, and work to find a comprehensive solution to the crisis". The meeting on Tuesday was a continuation of discussions held between the officials in Amman on July 19 about deadly clashes in the Druze-majority Syrian province of Sweida, where a week of sectarian violence killed 1,400 people before a ceasefire put an end to the bloodshed. Syria's minority communities have expressed concerns for their safety since December, when an Islamist-led offensive toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who had presented himself as a protector of minorities. While the new Syrian authorities have repeatedly stated their intent to protect all of the country's ethnic and religious groups, the killing of more than 1,700 mostly Alawite civilians along the coast in March and the violence in Sweida have raised doubts about their ability to manage sectarian tensions. Barrack, in a post on X, described the talks on Tuesday as "productive", adding that the Syrian government had "pledged to utilize all resources to hold perpetrators of the Suwayda atrocities accountable," using an alternative transliteration of the province's name. "Syria will fully cooperate with the UN to investigate these crimes, including the horrific violence at Suwayda National Hospital", he added. Jordan's King Abdullah II separately met with Shaibani and Barrack, expressing his "support for Syria's efforts to preserve its security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity", a royal statement said. It noted "the importance of Washington's role in supporting the reconstruction process in Syria in a manner that preserves the rights of all Syrians". The king also said Jordan was ready "to share its expertise in all fields to help develop and strengthen the capabilities of Syrian institutions" and "noted the need to step up Jordanian-Syrian cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and preventing arms and drug smuggling", the statement added. According to the Syrian statement, the foreign ministers' meeting welcomed Damascus's efforts to "restore basic services, hold perpetrators of violations to account, and prepare the conditions for the return of displaced people to their homes."
Nahar Net
11 minutes ago
- Nahar Net
Egypt says Gaza mediators 'working very hard' to revive truce plan
by Naharnet Newsdesk 12 August 2025, 19:52 Egypt said Tuesday it was working with fellow Gaza mediators Qatar and the United States to broker a 60-day truce, as part of a renewed push to end the Israel-Hamas war. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty made the announcement at a press conference in Cairo, as two Palestinian sources told AFP that a senior Hamas delegation was due to meet Egyptian officials for talks on Wednesday. Diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal in the 22-month-old war has stalled for weeks, after the latest round of negotiations broke down in July. Abdelatty said that "we are working very hard now in full cooperation with the Qataris and Americans", aiming for "a ceasefire for 60 days, with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions". One of the Palestinian sources earlier told AFP that the mediators were working "to formulate a new comprehensive ceasefire agreement proposal" that would include the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza "in one batch". Mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to secure a breakthrough since a short-lived truce earlier this year. The Hamas delegation expected in Cairo, led by the group's chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, is scheduled to meet Egyptian officials on Wednesday to "discuss the latest developments" in negotiations, said the second Palestinian source. News of the potential truce talks came as Gaza's civil defense agency said Israel has intensified its air strikes on Gaza City in recent days, following a government decision to expand the war there. - Intensified strikes - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has not provided an exact timetable on when forces may enter the area, but civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said on Tuesday that air raids had already begun increasing over the past three days. Bassal said the neighborhoods of Zeitun and Sabra have been hit "with very heavy air strikes targeting civilian homes". "For the third consecutive day, the Israeli occupation is intensifying its bombardment" using "bombs, drones, and also highly explosive munitions that cause massive destruction", he said. Bassal said that Israeli strikes across the territory, including on Gaza City, killed at least 33 people on Tuesday. "The bombardment has been extremely intense for the past two days. With every strike, the ground shakes," said Majed al-Hosary, a resident of Gaza City's Zeitun. "There are martyrs under the rubble that no one can reach because the shelling hasn't stopped." An Israeli air strike on Sunday killed five Al Jazeera employees and a freelance reporter outside a Gaza City hospital, with Israel accusing one of the slain Al Jazeera correspondents of being a Hamas militant. Israel has faced mounting criticism over the war, which was triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 2023 attack. U.N.-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allowed in. Netanyahu is under mounting pressure to secure the release of the remaining hostages -- 49 people including 27 the Israeli military says are dead -- as well as over his plans to expand the war. The Israeli premier has vowed to keep on with or without the backing of Israel's allies. Hamas's 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, whose toll the United Nations considers reliable.
