Israeli Airstrike Kills Gunmen In Cross-Border Fire In Syria
An Israeli airstrike killed at least five gunmen in Southern Syria on Tuesday (25th) after the group opened fire at Israeli troops across the border in the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said.
The gunmen fired on Israeli forces operating in the buffer zone near the Yarmouk River, in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights. Israeli troops were not hurt in the exchange and called in air support which carried out the strike, the military said.
According to Syrian media, the incident took place in the village of Kuwaya in the Daraa province. Reports varied on the number of fatalities, with pro-Hezbollah outlet Al-Mayadeen reporting six deaths, while other sources said five or seven. The strike marked the highest number of Syrian casualties since the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began operating in the area nearly four months ago.
The targeted area was once controlled by a radical Islamic affiliate, according to the Israeli military.
Earlier Tuesday (25th), the Israeli Air Force conducted additional strikes deeper inside Syria, hitting military infrastructure at the T4 and Tadmur airbases. The Israeli military said the strikes targeted “military capabilities” that had been monitored in recent weeks and were linked to the Assad regime. The airbases have previously been used by Iranian forces, with the approval of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The latest strike followed an earlier operation over the weekend in which Israeli jets targeted remaining strategic assets at the same airfields. Israeli officials said the operations were part of a broader effort to maintain air superiority and prevent a renewed military buildup in Syria.
Israel has intensified military activity in Syria since the collapse of the Assad regime in December. Israeli forces have moved into the Syrian side of the buffer zone, including parts of Mount Hermon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have called for the full demilitarization of the area south of Damascus.
Some Israeli strikes have also aimed to prevent the entrenchment of Palestinian military factions in Syria, particularly under the country’s new jihadist leadership headed by Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Hundreds Of Gazans March In Rare Anti-Hamas Protest
On Tuesday (25th), in a rare event under the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, hundreds of Gazan citizens marched in the northern town of Beit Lahiya carrying white flags, calling to end the Hamas rule, and even calling to hand over the Israeli hostages.
The protests took place in front of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. One protester who filmed the events questioned where Qatari Al-Jazeera and its Gaza correspondent Amas Sharif are, implicitly referring to the channel’s lack of criticism of Hamas policy.
“The people are demanding the press to cover these events!” he said. “People are demanding freedom, they’re demanding a halt to the hostilities against Gaza, they’re demanding peace and an end to this war.” One of them said, “the press entered the hospital so as to not document this event!”
Slogans shouted in the protest included, “Out, out, out, Hamas out,” “where is the press?” “We want to live!.” Also signs held by protesters included slogans such as, “We refuse to be the ones who die,” and “stop the war.”
Another video showed hundreds of marchers walking in the streets of Beit Lahiya with the cameraman saying : “Large crowds are protesting now against the rule of Hamas. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic . The people here are calling to free the prisoners so we can remain alive,” referring to the remaining Israeli hostages.
“Hamas is demanding our people to remain steadfast. But how can we remain steadfast when we’re dying and bleeding? Hamas must stop what is happening in Gaza… we’re sending a message to the entire world: we reject the rule of Hamas.”
Another video saw the cameraman commenting “Rivers of people are marching to end the rule of Hamas and stop the war on Gaza.”
Though extremely rare, this is not the first time in which an anti-Hamas protest took place in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip since the war began, as January 2024 saw what appeared to have been smaller and more sporadic events.
Some of these slogans are reminiscent of smaller but similar protests in 2020 and 2023.
However, in all cases, so far, Hamas has acted quickly and brutally to oppress all these demonstrations.
IDF Carrying Out ‘Most Powerful’ Operations In Judea And Samaria Since 2002, Says Civil Administration Head
The Israel Defense Forces sounter-terrorism raids in Judea and Samaria are the “most powerful” since “Operation Defensive Shield” in 2002, BG Hisham Ibrahim, the head of the Israel Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration told local leadership in a meeting this week.
“The past year was the most powerful in terms of operational activity in Judea and Samaria since ‘Defensive Shield,’ Ibrahim declared during the meeting with dozens of mayors from Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, Hebrew media reported on Tuesday (25th).
OC Central Command MG Avi Bluth, together with the division and all the units operating in the area, are leading a very powerful use of force against the terror nests in the terror camps in northern Samaria,” he said. “We are seeing the results on the ground.”
As part of the IDF’s preparedness for “a variety of possible scenarios,” the army has worked to provide additional “security components” for the 500,000 residents of Jewish communities throughout the territory.
“As part of the work, dozens of plans were launched to improve the security of the communities, including unique access roads for IDF forces, landing pads and more,” Ibrahim revealed. “All of this is based on the understanding that we must be prepared for every scenario.
“It can be stated that the good relationship between the local authorities and the IDF is a major component in maintaining security,” he added.
The military has been conducting an offensive in northern Samaria, dubbed “Operation Iron Wall.” since January 21. On February 23, Israeli tanks were spotted near the terrorist hotspot of Jenin for the first time since “Defensive Shield,” which lasted from March to May 2002.
Overnight on Sunday (23rd), Israeli security forces arrested 18 suspected terrorists in operations throughout the Judea and Samaria regions, including in the Jenin area, according to an official IDF statement.
During an operation in Yatta, near Hebron in the Judea Brigade area of deployment, forces confiscated explosives, weapons and ammunition.
Israeli security officials are aware that a “more intense fight” could open in Judea and Samaria amid the resumption of fighting with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on March 19.
Also, earlier this month, it was reported that the Israeli army was putting together a bank of targets to be attacked by the Israeli Air Force in the case of an Oct. 7, 2023-style terrorist attack in Judea and Samaria.
The plan would see IAF fighter jets, drones and helicopters attack access roads to Jewish communities in the territory, as well as other strategic targets, to slow down terrorists’ advance.
Report: Palestinian Authority Continues To Fund Terrorist Families
The Palestinian News & Information Agency – Wafa reported on Tuesday (25th) that the Palestinian Authority’s General Intelligence Service has transferred financial aid to the families of terrorists.
According to the report, twenty-eight families of killed terrorists and ten families of security prisoners received the funding, according to the instructions of the head of the General Intelligence Service, MG Majed Faraj.
The transfer of the aid was received by the Palestinian National Institute for Economic Empowerment. The order states that future payments will be conditional on the social status of the families, apparently in an attempt to avoid exposing the payments to deductions by the Israeli government or international sanctions.
Adnan Abu Ayash, director of general intelligence in the Jenin district, said that the move was being carried out in accordance with Mahmoud Abbas’ declaration that “even if there is only a penny left, it will be given to the families of the shahids and prisoners.”
Pakistani Civic Leaders Visit Israel – Felice Friedson
Sabin Agha, a Pakistani investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker, recently visited Israel with a delegation of Pakistani civil society leaders organized by Sharaka, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting dialogue and coexistence in the Middle East. She said that despite the general pro-Palestinian sentiment in Pakistan, state repression has prevented mass anti-Israel protests from breaking out.
Agha wondered what was so egregious about Israel to warrant the Pakistani passport being marked with “This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel. I wanted to find out what Israel had done to Pakistan. And I found out completely the opposite,” she said.
“In Israel, whenever we would go to a restaurant or meet people on the streets, if we mentioned…I’m from Pakistan…there was an opulence of smiles and warm welcomes. ‘Oh, you’re from Pakistan, welcome to Israel.’’
One participant, S., said of Pakistani society, “We are an antisemitic nation. The state has peddled this narrative for a long time, and seminaries are preaching it day in and day out. Even in the supposedly cosmopolitan city of Karachi, the main street has been painted with American and Israeli flags so that pedestrians trample on them. (Media Line-Ynet News)
No Difference Between Hamas Politicians And Terrorists – Khaled Abu Toameh
President Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said on March 21, that he does not rule out the possibility that Hamas could be politically active in Gaza after it disarms. Witkoff, who doubtless has the best intentions, seems to believe that Hamas would ever agree to lay down its weapons or halt its terrorist attacks against Israel.
There is no difference between a Hamas political leader and a military commander. They all share the same extremist ideology, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and calls for destroying it through jihad (holy war). They all belong to the same school of the Muslim Brotherhood organization.
Hamas’ 1988 covenant starts by quoting the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna, as saying: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” Hamas’ slogan is clearly outlined in the covenant: “Jihad is its path, and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes.” The Hamas covenant was written by the group’s political leaders, who devise the strategy and set the goals, while the military leaders are entrusted with following them.
Hamas should have no political or military role in Gaza, especially not after Oct. 7. Hamas, which has brought death and destruction upon both Israelis and Palestinians, has no right to exist, either as a political or a military entity. Did it ever occur to anyone to allow the political leaders of ISIS or Al-Qaeda to play any role in Syria and Iraq?
If Hamas is permitted to continue its political activities in Gaza, it will comfortably continue its jihad against Israel. Talk about a possible political role for Hamas is dangerous because it implies that the U.S. continues to view the terror group as a legitimate player in the Palestinian arena.
The writer, a veteran Israeli journalist, is a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs. (Gatestone Institute)
