Israeli Military: Division Deployed in Lebanon Now Preparing for Gaza

General view of destroyed buildings in North Gaza, as seen from the Israel-Gaza border, March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
General view of destroyed buildings in North Gaza, as seen from the Israel-Gaza border, March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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Israeli Military: Division Deployed in Lebanon Now Preparing for Gaza

General view of destroyed buildings in North Gaza, as seen from the Israel-Gaza border, March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
General view of destroyed buildings in North Gaza, as seen from the Israel-Gaza border, March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

The Israeli military said on Sunday that one of its divisions that had operated in Lebanon was preparing for possible activity in Gaza.

"Following the situational assessment, the 36th Division has begun preparations for operations in the Southern Command. Over the past months, the division has completed operations in Lebanon and several months of operational activity in the northern arena," the military said in a statement.

It distributed video of tanks unloaded in a field and a caption that read: "Preparations of the 36th Division for Operations in the Gaza Strip."



Damascus Arrests Drug Trafficker Linked to Maher al-Assad, Others Held Over Tadamon Massacre

Members of Syria's security forces. (Idlib Governorate)
Members of Syria's security forces. (Idlib Governorate)
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Damascus Arrests Drug Trafficker Linked to Maher al-Assad, Others Held Over Tadamon Massacre

Members of Syria's security forces. (Idlib Governorate)
Members of Syria's security forces. (Idlib Governorate)

Security forces in the Damascus countryside announced the arrest of Shadi Adel Mahfouz, describing him as one of the individuals involved in recent attacks on security forces in the coastal region.

Mahfouz was reportedly employed by the ousted regime’s Military Intelligence Branch 277 and was responsible for recruitment on behalf of Military Security.

Security forces also arrested two suspects linked to the 2013 massacre in the Tadamon district of Damascus: Kamel Sharif Abbas and Maher Hadeed.

Hadeed, a member of the National Defense Forces, is accused of committing additional war crimes against Syrian civilians. Authorities suspect a connection between Hadeed and Amjad Youssef, the primary suspect in the Tadamon massacre.

The arrests follow just over a month after Syrian security forces captured three individuals involved in the 2013 Tadamon massacre. One of the suspects confessed to killing more than 500 people in the Tadamon district at the start of the revolution against the former regime.

The massacre took place on Nasreen Street in Tadamon, near the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in Damascus.

It remained undiscovered for nearly nine years until footage surfaced in April 2022, published by the Guardian. The video revealed Syrian regime forces executing 41 civilians, including seven women and several children.

In related developments, local media sources reported the arrest of Mohannad Naaman, a close associate of Maher al-Assad and senior officers in the Fourth Division.

Naaman, originally from Harasta in the Damascus countryside, is accused of overseeing one of the major captagon pill production sites in both the Damascus countryside and along Syria’s coastal region, including a ship anchored off Syria’s shores.