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Syria Detains Two Leaders of Palestinian ‘Jihad’

The head of the Islamic Jihad's operations in Syria, Khaled Khaled. File photo
The head of the Islamic Jihad's operations in Syria, Khaled Khaled. File photo
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Syria Detains Two Leaders of Palestinian ‘Jihad’

The head of the Islamic Jihad's operations in Syria, Khaled Khaled. File photo
The head of the Islamic Jihad's operations in Syria, Khaled Khaled. File photo

Syrian authorities have detained two senior members of the Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad, which took part in the October 2023 attacks on Israel from Gaza, the group's armed wing and a Syrian official said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Al Quds Brigades said Khaled Khaled, who heads Islamic Jihad's operations in Syria, and Yasser al-Zafari, who heads its organizational committee, had been in Syrian custody for five days.
The group said the men had been detained "without any explanation of the reasons" and "in a manner we would not have hoped to see from brothers", and called for their release.
An official from Syria's interior ministry confirmed the detentions, but did not respond to Reuters follow-up questions on why the pair had been arrested. A Palestinian source in Damascus also confirmed the arrests.
Islamic Jihad joined its ally Hamas, Gaza's ruling group, in the attack on Israel in 2023. It is a recipient of Iranian funding and know-how, and has long had foreign headquarters in Syria and Lebanon.

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Israel Targets Suspected Arms Smuggler in Airstrike Near Beirut

Lebanese soldiers inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a vehicle south of Beirut (AFP)
Lebanese soldiers inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a vehicle south of Beirut (AFP)
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Israel Targets Suspected Arms Smuggler in Airstrike Near Beirut

Lebanese soldiers inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a vehicle south of Beirut (AFP)
Lebanese soldiers inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a vehicle south of Beirut (AFP)

An Israeli airstrike killed a suspected arms smuggler south of Beirut on Thursday, in a sharp escalation in Lebanon that coincided with internal talks over Hezbollah’s disarmament in line with US demands, Lebanese officials said.

The strike targeted a vehicle on the coastal highway in the Khalde area, just south of the Lebanese capital, according to the state-run National News Agency. Social media footage showed a missile hitting a car, which came to a halt before a second strike hit the driver as he attempted to flee.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed one person was killed and three others wounded in the attack.

The Israeli military said the strike eliminated an operative working on behalf of Iran’s Quds Force, accusing him of trafficking weapons and planning attacks against Israeli civilians and military forces.

Israel’s Army Radio reported that the individual was affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The strike comes amid rising tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border and as Lebanese factions discuss the future of Hezbollah’s weapons amid pressure from Washington to curtail the group’s military power.

Thursday’s airstrike was one of the few Israeli attacks in or near Beirut since the truce with Hezbollah took effect in November.

Only two other strikes have been recorded in the area over the past eight months, including one on Eid al-Fitr that killed a senior Hezbollah figure allegedly linked to coordination with Hamas in the group’s southern Beirut stronghold.

Another strike in Naameh, south of the capital, targeted and killed a senior official from the Islamic Group, a Sunni faction with ties to southern Lebanon’s Hasbaya region.

The latest escalation comes as Lebanese leaders prepare a unified response to a US-backed proposal calling for Hezbollah to disarm and place all weapons under state control.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel has maintained positions in southern Lebanon beyond the agreed February withdrawal deadline and continues to carry out airstrikes across southern and eastern Lebanon, following more than a year of cross-border hostilities with Hezbollah.