Hamas Says Three Members Killed after Infiltrating into Israel from Lebanon

Rockets are launched from the coast of the Gaza Strip towards Israel by militants of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, Gaza City, 14 October 2023. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Rockets are launched from the coast of the Gaza Strip towards Israel by militants of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, Gaza City, 14 October 2023. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Hamas Says Three Members Killed after Infiltrating into Israel from Lebanon

Rockets are launched from the coast of the Gaza Strip towards Israel by militants of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, Gaza City, 14 October 2023. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Rockets are launched from the coast of the Gaza Strip towards Israel by militants of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, Gaza City, 14 October 2023. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, claimed responsibility in a statement on Sunday for yesterday’s infiltration from Lebanon towards Israel and announced that 3 of its fighters were killed after they managed to “penetrate into” Israel.

The group said its fighters managed to blow the border fence between the two countries and target the surveillance and access point inside occupied Palestine.

Clashes with Israeli forces caused losses on both sides, added Hamas, explaining that an Israeli aircraft targeted its fighters “during the clash” which led to their death, the Agence France-Presse reported.

On Saturday, for the second consecutive day, armed groups tried to infiltrate into Israel from Lebanon. The Israeli army said it detected “a terrorist commando trying to enter Israeli territory from Lebanon,” and that an Israeli patrol opened gunfire killing many of them.

Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee said Sunday that warplanes were able to kill Bilal al-Qudra, the commander of an elite Hamas unit in Khan Yunis, who was said to have been responsible for an attack by the movement in Nirim and Nir-Oz, according to the Arab World News Agency.

“Under the intelligence guidance of the Shin Bet, warplanes were able to eliminate the so-called Bilal al-Qudra, commander of Hamas’ elite unit in the South Khan Yunis Battalion... A number of other activists in (Hamas) and (Islamic Jihad) were also eliminated,” Adraee said on X platform.

The spokesman stated that the Israeli army raided more than 100 targets last night in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, Khan Yunis, and western Jabalia to weaken Hamas’ capabilities.



King of Jordan Sends Syria’s Assad Message on Regional Developments

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad holds talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi in Damascus on Sunday. (SANA)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad holds talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi in Damascus on Sunday. (SANA)
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King of Jordan Sends Syria’s Assad Message on Regional Developments

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad holds talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi in Damascus on Sunday. (SANA)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad holds talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi in Damascus on Sunday. (SANA)

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi arrived on an official unannounced visit to Damascus on Sunday.

He held talks with President Bashar al-Assad, delivering a verbal message from King Abdullah II on the “current dangerous developments in the region,” said an official Syrian statement.

The message was related to several bilateral and regional affairs, as well as the Syrian crisis, it added.

Assad and Safadi also discussed bilateral ties between their countries and the return of Syrian refugees back to their home country.

Assad stressed that providing the conditions for the safe return was a “priority for the Syrian state,” added the statement. Syria has made strides in this regard, it stressed.

Jordan is doing everything in its power to return the refugees home, Safadi was quoted as saying. Amman supports Syria’s stability and recovery given its importance to the region.

Safadi also held talks with his Syrian counterpart Bassam al-Sabbagh.

Informed sources in Damascus told Asharq Al-Awsat that the surprise visit means Safadi was in Syria to discuss the escalation in the region and the “Arab role Damascus is expected to play to avert the expansion of the war.”

He was also seeking to overcome the impasse in reaching a political solution to the crisis in Syria, they remarked.

Moreover, they noted the drugs and arms smuggling from Syria to Jordan that has been a major cause for concern in the kingdom.

Iran-backed militias in Syria are accused of being behind the smuggling.

Amman has been urging Damascus to intensify its efforts to combat the illicit activity, which has decreased, but not stopped, despite increased efforts.

The sources said Safadi likely discussed this issue in Syria given that Israel has struck smuggling routes between Syria and Lebanon.

Earlier this month, the Jordanian military announced that it had thwarted a drug smuggling attempt through the use of a drone.

The army has been firmly combating the smuggling, resorting to force on occasion.