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‘Major Surprise Plan’ in Store for Israel in Gaza, Says Iranian Tasnim Agency

Israeli tanks move near the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 11, 2023. (AP)
Israeli tanks move near the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 11, 2023. (AP)
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‘Major Surprise Plan’ in Store for Israel in Gaza, Says Iranian Tasnim Agency

Israeli tanks move near the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 11, 2023. (AP)
Israeli tanks move near the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 11, 2023. (AP)

A great surprise is in store for the Zionist soldiers in case they launched a ground invasion, well-informed sources in the Palestinian resistance said.

Speaking to Iranian Tasnim news agency, the sources said since the beginning of planning for the Al-Aqsa Storm operation, Hamas had thought of plans for countering an Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas has prepared the necessary measures to counter it, the agency added.

“There is a major surprise plan in store that would create a big nightmare for the Zionist troops in case of a ground operation,” according to the sources.

“The resistance has previous experiences of taking preemptive measures to disrupt the Zionist entity’s plans. One example is the 33-day war in which soldiers from the Zionist enemy were captured, forcing Tel Aviv to change its plan of occupying southern Lebanon and ultimately facing defeat in its operation.”

This time, Hamas has launched an operation to force Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to react and send the army into Gaza without making the necessary preparations.

Another major point is that since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2005, Israel has launched four major military operations but failed to maintain its occupation of even an iota of the land of Gaza.

Meanwhile, the military power of Hamas has multiplied compared to the early years after it seized control of Gaza. The possibility of the seizure of Gaza is now equal to zero.

International observers - even Israeli analysts - acknowledge that the Al-Aqsa Storm operation has proven to be a major intelligence fiasco for the Zionist entity.

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Arab World

ISIS Lashes Out at Syria's Sharaa, Announces ‘New Phase of Operations’

A Syrian government soldier outside Al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa, which holds ISIS detainees (AFP)
A Syrian government soldier outside Al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa, which holds ISIS detainees (AFP)
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ISIS Lashes Out at Syria's Sharaa, Announces ‘New Phase of Operations’

A Syrian government soldier outside Al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa, which holds ISIS detainees (AFP)
A Syrian government soldier outside Al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa, which holds ISIS detainees (AFP)

Syria’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that a Syrian army soldier and a ‌civilian were killed a day earlier by “unknown assailants” in the northern city of Raqqa.

ISIS claimed ‌responsibility for two attacks targeting Syrian army personnel in northern and eastern Syria.

The militant group said on its Dabiq news agency that it had targeted “an individual of the apostate Syrian regime” in the city of Mayadin in Deir Ezzor province using a pistol, and attacked two other personnel with machine guns in Raqqa.

The attacks came after ISIS blasted Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, calling him a “puppet without a soul” controlled by Western countries, adding that his fate eventually will be similar to that of ousted leader Bashar Assad.

In an audio message released late Saturday by the group’s spokesman, who identifies himself as Abu Huzaifa al-Ansari, he called on ISIS followers around the world to attack Jewish and Western targets as they have in past years.

The ‌group also said it had begun a “new phase of operations” in Syria.

Al-Ansari sent greetings to ISIS militants from the group’s leader Abu Hafs al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi who was named as the head of the group three years ago.

The audio is the first to be released by the group in months and comes after ISIS was blamed for attacks that left dozens dead or wounded in recent months in Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and other parts of the world.

The latest incidents come two days after ISIS claimed responsibility for another attack in Deir Ezzor that killed a member of the Interior Ministry’s internal security forces and wounded another.

In December, the group was blamed for an attack in central Syria that left three Americans dead and triggered intense US airstrikes on the extremists’ suspected hideouts in the country.

Arab World

Hamas Official Says Group in Final Stage of Choosing New Chief

Tents are erected to house displaced Palestinian families in the al-Zahara neighborhood, north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central of Gaza Strip on February 21, 2026. (Photo by Eyad Baba / AFP)
Tents are erected to house displaced Palestinian families in the al-Zahara neighborhood, north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central of Gaza Strip on February 21, 2026. (Photo by Eyad Baba / AFP)
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Hamas Official Says Group in Final Stage of Choosing New Chief

Tents are erected to house displaced Palestinian families in the al-Zahara neighborhood, north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central of Gaza Strip on February 21, 2026. (Photo by Eyad Baba / AFP)
Tents are erected to house displaced Palestinian families in the al-Zahara neighborhood, north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central of Gaza Strip on February 21, 2026. (Photo by Eyad Baba / AFP)

A senior Hamas official told AFP on Sunday that the Palestinian movement was in the final phase of selecting a new leader, with two prominent figures competing for the position.

Hamas recently completed the formation of a new Shura Council of more than 80 members, a consultative body largely composed of religious scholars, as well as a new 18-member political bureau, the official said.

Since the war in Gaza began after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Israeli forces have killed several Hamas leaders, including two former chiefs.

"The movement has completed its internal elections in the three regions and has reached the final stage of selecting the head of the political bureau," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly.

According to AFP, he said the race for the group's leadership was now between Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya.

A second Hamas source confirmed the development, while a third source said the new leader would lead the movement only "for one year.”

Despite a US-brokered ceasefire that entered its second phase last month, violence has continued in Gaza, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other for violating the agreement.

Members of the council are elected every four years by representatives from Hamas's three branches: the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and the movement's external leadership.

Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails are also eligible to vote.

The council subsequently elects the political bureau, which in turn selects the head of the movement.

Arab World

Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Parliamentary Elections Will Be Held on Time 

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (Lebanese parliament)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (Lebanese parliament)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Parliamentary Elections Will Be Held on Time 

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (Lebanese parliament)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (Lebanese parliament)

Lebanon continues to come under pressure to postpone the parliamentary elections in May with international powers believing that priority in the country lies in disarming Hezbollah and granting Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government more time to approve financial, economic and administrative reforms.

Israel also continues to apply pressure on Lebanon as it maintains its attacks against Hezbollah, targeting its members and fighters across the country and delivering a message that it has no choice but to disarm.

Despite the pressure, parliament Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that the elections will be held on time.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said he had conveyed this position to the ambassadors of the quintet committee countries, who want to delay the polls.

“I do not support the postponement or the extension of parliament’s term,” he added.

“I was the first to announce my nomination,” he noted, explaining that he did so to block claims that he wanted to delay the elections and extend the term of parliament.

“This is a message to whom it may concern inside Lebanon and beyond: I am committed to seeing the elections through to the end,” Berri declared, saying he had advised several members of his Amal movement to submit their candidacies.

Moreover, the speaker said the postponement “was not justified.”

The elections will be held on time and according to the current electoral law, he vowed. “Those who want to postpone them should assume responsibility for their position and not blame it on others.”

Commenting on the latest Israeli strikes on Lebanon that targeted the central and northern Bekaa in the east, he described them as a “new war aimed at pressuring the country to surrender to Tel Aviv’s conditions.”

A prominent military source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the raids sought to deliver a message to Hezbollah members and fighters that they no longer had a safe place to hide.

Israel can pursue them and assassinate them anywhere, it added.

The success of these attacks means that the Iran-backed party has been breached, something that has been acknowledged by several of its MPs, who have vowed to investigate the issue, it said.