Israeli Chief of Staff Accuses Iran of Planting Explosives in Golan Heights

 Israeli Chief of Staff Accuses Iran of Planting Explosives in Golan Heights
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Israeli Chief of Staff Accuses Iran of Planting Explosives in Golan Heights

 Israeli Chief of Staff Accuses Iran of Planting Explosives in Golan Heights

The four members of the Syrian cell who died while planting several explosives in Golan Heights earlier this week were operating on Iranian orders, Israel Forces Chief of General Staff Aviv Kochavi said on Friday.

Kochavi said Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and al-Quds Brigade were directly responsible for this cell.

The General was speaking during a meeting with soldiers from the Maglan reconnaissance unit, who foiled last week's attack.

He said that the cell operated on direct Iranian orders, contrary to early assumptions that claimed it belonged to the Lebanese Hezbollah and was trying to avenge the killing of one of its members in Damascus last month.

Kochavi stated that the goals of the “war between wars” were to foil the establishment of a radical axis on the northern front, and prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

The General stressed that Israel would continue to work to prevent its enemies from acquiring dangerous weaponry.

“We are going to continue this process of striking our enemies and depriving them of these abilities 360 degrees, from the northern arena to Judea and Samaria, in the southern arena and in other various circles that we will not discuss here,” he said.

Kochavi called on his officers to be vigilant, analyze the current situation in the various fields, and propose the best solutions that preserve the Israeli "superiority".

Another military official indicated that Tehran’s envoys to the Golan Heights were trying to recruit young Syrians for their military purposes, and a Syrian militia affiliated with Iran was leading its members.

He explained that Iran was taking advantage of the dire economic situations in southern Syria, and offered a salary equivalent to $20 a month to each new recruit.

The official explained how that was not limited to the cell, but a widely spread phenomenon where hundreds of young Syrians joined the Iranian units.

He indicated that Iran’s expansion activities continued despite an Israeli-Russian-Iranian understanding to keep forces 80 kilometers from the frontier on the Golan Heights.



Israel Confirms a Gaza Hospital Director Is at Notorious Military Prison in West Bank

Supporters of the Health Workers 4 Palestine movement demonstrate in solidarity with Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan hospital in the Gaza Strip, in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, 06 January 2025. (EPA)
Supporters of the Health Workers 4 Palestine movement demonstrate in solidarity with Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan hospital in the Gaza Strip, in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, 06 January 2025. (EPA)
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Israel Confirms a Gaza Hospital Director Is at Notorious Military Prison in West Bank

Supporters of the Health Workers 4 Palestine movement demonstrate in solidarity with Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan hospital in the Gaza Strip, in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, 06 January 2025. (EPA)
Supporters of the Health Workers 4 Palestine movement demonstrate in solidarity with Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan hospital in the Gaza Strip, in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, 06 January 2025. (EPA)

An Israeli rights group says Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of a north Gaza hospital who had disappeared since he was taken by Israeli troops during a raid two weeks ago, is being held in a notorious Israeli military prison in the occupied West Bank.

The group, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, said the Israeli military confirmed in an email that Abu Safiya is at Ofer Prison. A lawyer for Abu Safiya’s family was told that he will not be allowed to see him until Jan. 29, said a spokesman for PHRI, Ran Yaron, told The Associated Press. The military had previously refused to comment when asked by the AP about Abu Safiya’s location.

Colleagues and family have expressed fears over the safety of Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, after troops seized him and dozens of others during a Dec. 27 raid on the hospital. Former detainees have reported harsh conditions at Ofer Prison, including beatings, minimal food rations and refusals of medical care.

A prominent Palestinian surgeon detained in a hospital raid in December 2023 died in Ofer Prison the following April.

The military has said Abu Safiya is being investigated on suspicion of cooperating with or working for Hamas. It claims that Hamas fighters were using the hospital as a refuge and base amid Israel’s months-long offensive in surrounding areas of north Gaza. It says it detained 240 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members from the hospital in the raid, although it has provided no evidence.

Staff deny the claims, and the Gaza Health Ministry says at least 60 medical staff were among those detained. Colleagues say the 51-year-old Abu Safiya kept Kamal Adwan Hospital operating even as Israeli troops besieged it for around 85 days starting in October.

He became known for his frequent videos, pleading for international help as Israeli fire hit the hospital multiple times during the siege. One of his sons was killed by an Israeli drone strike during the siege, and Abu Safiya was wounded by shrapnel from another strike.

Naji Abbas, of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, said the refusal to allow a lawyer to meet Abu Safiya “raises serious concerns about the treatment he is enduring in detention.”