Iranian Rocket Shipment Enters Syria through Iraq

Iraqi militants who are loyal to Iran are seen in Deir Ezzor. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Iraqi militants who are loyal to Iran are seen in Deir Ezzor. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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Iranian Rocket Shipment Enters Syria through Iraq

Iraqi militants who are loyal to Iran are seen in Deir Ezzor. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Iraqi militants who are loyal to Iran are seen in Deir Ezzor. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

A new arms shipment of rockets has been delivered to pro-Iran militias in Syria, said sources in the region west of the Euphrates River.

The shipment consisted of short and medium range rockets. It arrived in the Deir Ezzor countryside from an illegal border crossing with Iraq on Monday morning.

Three military vehicles, belonging to Iranian militias, and a car, belonging to the Fourth Armored Division, accompanied the shipment after it entered Syrian territories.

Sources from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two trucks were unloaded at warehouses belonging to the Afghan Fatemiyoun Division militia in the western Deir Ezzor countryside.

The two other trucks made their way to the eastern countryside of the Raqqa province.

Local sources in Deir Ezzor said the regime’s security agencies were closely monitoring the activity of Iranian militias in the Alboukamal and al-Mayadeen regions. They were closely studying the new local recruits to the groups and locals who are collaborating with them.

Some two weeks ago, Syrian security forces arrested a resident of the town of al-Herri that is located on the Syrian-Iraqi border. He was detained in Damascus on charges of helping carry out attacks against Iranian militias in Alboukamal.

The detainee is among the most prominent collaborators with Iranian militias and is close to the regime. He is known for his smuggling operations across the border and his relations with armed factions that control eastern parts of Syria. He had also cooperated with ISIS before Iranian militias swept in their place.

Iranian militias are deployed in the Deir Ezzor countryside west of the Euphrates. The Kurdish-Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are deployed east of the river. The Iranian militias boast some 15,000 fighters from different nationalities.



Israeli Strikes Kill 14 People in Gaza, Mediators Strive for a Truce Deal

 Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 14 People in Gaza, Mediators Strive for a Truce Deal

 Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 14 Palestinians in three separate attacks in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, taking the weekend death toll to 102, Palestinian medics said, as US and Arab mediators stepped up efforts to conclude a ceasefire deal.

Health officials said an Israeli airstrike killed five people in a house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, while another airstrike killed four others in Jabalia in the northern edge of the enclave, where Israeli forces have been operating for three months.

Later on Sunday, an Israeli airstrike hit a police station in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing five people, medics said. It wasn't immediately clear if all the dead were policemen.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Sunday's strikes.

Earlier on Sunday, the health ministry of Hamas-run Gaza said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed at least 88 Palestinians and wounded more than 200 others in the past 24 hours.

In Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, relatives and neighbors rushed to the Zuhd family's house, which was struck by an Israeli airstrike late on Saturday, killing seven people, medics said. The search continued on Sunday morning for four others believed to be trapped under the rubble.

A hand belonging to one of the dead could be seen amongst the ruins, with the rest of his body buried under collapsed masonry. Three men removed dirt with their bare hands to retrieve bodies and search for possible survivors.

"Three young men, the son’s wife, and three children are still here. We retrieved this cousin of mine. Another cousin has been martyred and is now in the hospital. Approximately 11 people have been martyred here," Ammar Zuhd, a relative, told Reuters.

ISRAEL SAYS DOZENS OF HAMAS MILITANTS KILLED

The Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday that its forces had attacked more than 100 targets across Gaza over the weekend, killing dozens of Hamas fighters. It said it had also destroyed rocket launching sites that had been used to wage rocket attacks on Israel in recent days.

A renewed push is underway to reach a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, and return Israeli hostages who were taken to Gaza, before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Israeli negotiators were dispatched on Friday to resume talks in Doha brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, while US President Joe Biden's administration, which is helping to mediate, urged Hamas to agree to a deal.

Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement as soon as possible, but it was unclear how close the two sides were.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza in response to an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas fighters on communities in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's military campaign, with the stated goal of eradicating Hamas, has leveled swathes of the enclave, driving most people from their homes, and has killed 45,805 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.