Latest news with #MartyrMohammedDeifBrigades
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel strikes Syria again, claims to have killed alleged Hamas member
The Israeli army has again bombed Syria, claiming it killed a Hamas member during an air strike in the south of the country, in the latest in its series of attacks on Syria in the wake of former President Bashar al-Assad's ouster last December. In a statement on Telegram on Sunday morning, the Israeli army said it had struck the alleged Hamas member in the Mazraat Beit Jin area. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that one person was killed and two others were wounded in the Israeli attack targeting a vehicle in the town near the United Nations-patrolled buffer zone. Hamas has not yet commented on the death of the alleged member. The observatory says Israel has carried out 61 attacks – 51 by air and 10 by ground – in Syria so far this year. Two rockets launched from Syria targeted Israel earlier this week, a first since the fall of al-Assad. Two groups claimed responsibility for the attack. The first group, named the 'Martyr Mohammed Deif Brigades', is a little-known group named after the Hamas military commander who was killed last year. A second little-known group, the 'Islamic Resistance Front in Syria', called for action against Israel from southern Syria a few months ago. Israel struck southern Syria shortly afterwards, with Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz saying that he was holding Syria 'directly responsible'. Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani condemned Israel's attacks and called them 'coordinated provocations aimed at undermining Syria's progress and stability'. 'These actions create an opening for outlawed groups to exploit the resulting chaos,' he said, adding, 'Syria has made its intentions clear: we are not seeking war, but rather reconstruction'. Syria and Israel had recently engaged in indirect talks to ease tensions, a significant development in relations between states that have been on opposite sides of conflicts in the Middle East for decades. But Israel has relentlessly waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that has destroyed much of Syria's military infrastructure. It has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and taken more territory in the aftermath of al-Assad's removal, citing lingering concerns over the country's new government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who it dismisses as a 'jihadist.' Syria's new government has taken several major steps towards international acceptance after the United States and European Union lifted sanctions on the country last month, giving a nation devastated by nearly 14 years of civil war a lifeline to recovery.
The National
6 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Hezbollah splinter group in Syria risks confrontation with Israel after rare rocket attack
A small group in southern Syria that once formed part of a Hezbollah network is suspected of carrying out an overnight rocket attack on an Israeli-occupied area in the Golan Heights, sources said on Wednesday as Syrian authorities denied Israeli claims that Damascus was responsible. The two rockets hit an open area and caused no casualties, according to the Israeli military, which responded with air raids on several Syrian military sites. The US envoy to Syria, Thomas Barack, visited the Golan Heights on Wednesday, indicating the seriousness of the incident. It was the first such attack on Israel from Syria since rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham group toppled former president Bashar Al Assad in December. New President Ahmad Al Shara has sought to consolidate control of the country in the face of sectarian violence, and now faces the fresh challenge of handling Israel's response. A previously unknown group calling itself the Martyr Mohammed Deif Brigades claimed responsibility. Mr Deif was the military chief of Hamas who was killed by Israel last year in its war to eliminate the Palestinian militant group from Gaza. Two sources in Jordan, which borders the Golan Heights, said the attack appeared to be the work of a local group with 12 members comprising Palestinian refugees and Syrians from the district of Nawa in Deraa governorate. The rockets were fired from the Sahm Al Golan area, south of Nawa, they said. It is one of many of small groups that Hezbollah and Iran set up in southern Syria around 2018, three years after Russia's intervention in the Syrian civil war caused significant defeats for rebels fighting the former regime. Tehran and Moscow were the main backers of Mr Al Assad's 24-year rule. "These groups were designed to be small, nimble and hard to detect," one of the sources said, adding that many of them had kept open lines of communications with Hezbollah and Hamas. "The Israelis have reacted strongly because they don't want the south to become a launch pad against them again," the source said. In the final year of the Assad regime, Israeli troops faced increasing rocket and drone attacks that Israel blamed on Iran and its militia allies. Israel does not trust the HTS-led government that replaced Mr Al Assad and is upset about the support it has received from countries in the region and the West, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the US and the EU. HTS, a group formerly linked with Al Qaeda, was allied with Turkey when it launched the offensive that ended five decades of Assad family rule on December 8. "We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7," said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, referring to the surprise Hamas attack on Israel that started the present war in GAz Israel responded to the regime change by sending its troops into Syrian territory across the UN buffer zone in the Golan Heights, south-west of Damascus, and bombing military and militia installations across Syria, particularly in southern areas. This has vastly curbed the ability of the new Syrian government to deploy troops and military hardware in the south as it seeks to establish control over the entire country. Israel's attacks on Syria have subsided in recent weeks, with reports emerging that the two sides had engaged in talks. On Wednesday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said Syria does not "pose a threat to anyone in the region" and that "peaceful solutions" are needed across the region. "The utmost priority in Syria's south is to spread the authority of the state and end the presence of non-state arms," a ministry statement said.
The National
6 days ago
- General
- The National
Israel-Syria tensions spike after rocket attack in Golan Heights
A small group in southern Syria that once formed part of a Hezbollah network is suspected of carrying out an overnight rocket attack on an Israeli-controlled area in the Golan Heights, sources said on Wednesday as Syrian authorities denied Israeli claims that Damascus was responsible. The two rockets hit an open area and caused no casualties, according to the Israeli military, which responded with air raids on several Syrian military sites. The US envoy to Syria, Thomas Barack, visited the Golan Heights on Wednesday, indicating the seriousness of the incident. It was the first such attack on Israel from Syria since rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham group toppled former president Bashar Al Assad in December. New President Ahmad Al Shara has sought to consolidate control of the country in the face of sectarian violence and now faces the fresh challenge of Israel's response. A previously unknown group calling itself the Martyr Mohammed Deif Brigades claimed responsibility. Mr Deif was the military chief of Hamas who was killed by Israel last year in its war to eliminate the Palestinian militant group from Gaza. Two sources in Jordan, which borders the Golan Heights, said the attack appeared to be the work of a local group with 12 members comprising Palestinian refugees and Syrians from the district of Nawa in Deraa governorate. The rockets were fired from the Sahm Al Golan area, south of Nawa, they said. It is one of many of small groups that Hezbollah and Iran set up in southern Syria around 2018, three years after Russia's intervention in the Syrian civil war caused significant defeats for rebels fighting the former regime. Tehran and Moscow were the main backers of Mr Al Assad's 24-year rule. "These groups were designed to be small, nimble and hard to detect," one of the sources said, adding that many of them had kept open lines of communications with Hezbollah and Hamas. "The Israelis have reacted strongly because they don't want the south to become a launch pad against them again," the source said. In the final year of the Assad regime, Israeli troops faced increasing rocket and drone attacks that Israel blamed on Iran and its militia allies. Israel does not trust the HTS-led government that replaced Mr Al Assad and is upset about the support it has received from countries in the region and the West, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the US and the EU. HTS, a group formerly linked with Al Qaeda, was allied with Turkey when it launched the offensive that ended five decades of Assad family rule on December 8. Israel responded to the regime change by sending its troops into Syrian territory across the UN buffer zone in the Golan Heights, south-west of Damascus, and bombing military and militia installations across Syria, particularly in southern areas. This has vastly curbed the ability of the new Syrian government to deploy troops and military hardware in the south as it seeks to establish control over the entire country. Israel's attacks on Syria have subsided in recent weeks, with reports emerging that the two sides had engaged in talks. On Wednesday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said Syria does not "pose a threat to anyone in the region" and that "peaceful solutions" are needed across the region. "The utmost priority in Syria's south is to spread the authority of the state and end the presence of non-state arms," a ministry statement said.
Middle East Eye
6 days ago
- General
- Middle East Eye
Israel strikes Syria hours after missiles launched towards occupied Golan Heights
Israeli air strikes targeted southern Syria on Wednesday morning, just hours after two missiles were launched towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The missiles were reportedly fired from the town of Tasil in Syria's Daraa Governorate - an area where Israel conducted military operations in April as part of its ongoing incursions into Syrian territory. A previously unknown group calling itself the Martyr Mohammed Deif Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. The group is named after the late commander of Hamas' armed wing. "From the heart of occupied Palestine, we announce the establishment of the Martyr Mohammed Deif Brigades, in loyalty to the pure blood shed and as a continuation of the resistance path," the group said in a statement. "We are a generation born under bombardment and raised to the sound of guns. We will not accept a life of humiliation or subjugation. It is either a life that pleases our friends or a death that angers our enemies. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "We will be a sword hanging over your necks. Wherever you are, you will find us there, fighting you with everything we have." The statement described the group as "neither a party nor an organisation," but rather "a free revolutionary resistance movement, present in every street, camp, and alley - echoing every cry from beneath the rubble." Middle East Eye could not independently verify the authenticity of the statement or the accuracy of its claims. 'We will not cease until the shelling of the vulnerable in the Gaza Strip stops' - Martyr Mohammed Deif Brigades statement A source from the group told Al Jazeera that the missiles launched from Syria, the first such incident since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December, was in response to "the massacres in Gaza". "We will not cease until the shelling of the vulnerable in the Gaza Strip stops," the source said. Syria's Foreign Affairs Media Office denied any official involvement in the missile launch. In a statement to Al Ekhbariyah TV, it said there was "no accurate information" about attacks and warned that "several parties are seeking to destabilise the region to serve their own interests." "Syria has not and will not pose a threat to any party in the region,'"the statement said. "The priority in southern Syria is to restore full state authority and prevent the presence of unauthorised weapons, in order to ensure the safety and stability of all citizens." The office also strongly condemned Israel's retaliatory strikes on villages and towns in the Daraa region, calling them a violation of Syrian sovereignty and a dangerous escalation of tensions. Israel blames Sharaa Israel responded to the missiles by launching air strikes on southern Syria for the first time in nearly a month, targeting what it said were government-held weapons sites. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was "directly responsible for any threat or fire directed at the State of Israel". The Israeli military warned that the new Syrian government "will continue to bear the consequences as long as hostile activity continues from its territory." Translation: Watch the moment of the violent Israeli bombing of areas in the northern and eastern countryside of Daraa The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported strikes near the city of Quneitra and across the Daraa countryside. Ahmed al-Sharaa confirms Syria and Israel in indirect deconfliction talks Read More » The Syrian foreign ministry said: "We call on the international community to assume its responsibilities in stopping these attacks, and to support efforts aimed at restoring security and stability to Syria and the region." Since Assad's removal in December, Israel has sent troops to occupy a swath of southwestern Syria and conducted regular bombing campaigns. Last month, Israeli fighter jets struck an area near Sharaa's presidential palace. Israeli troops currently occupy a UN-patrolled buffer zone along the 1974 armistice line through the Golan Heights, although they have also pushed deeper into Syrian territory. Last month, Sharaa said that his government was holding "indirect talks" with Israel to calm tensions between the two countries. The 1974 agreement sought to limit border tensions between Syria and Israel after the 1967 War and was negotiated by US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
