Israel Drops Warning Leaflets over Syria’s Quneitra

Israeli soldiers during a military exercise in the occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday. (AFP)
Israeli soldiers during a military exercise in the occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday. (AFP)
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Israel Drops Warning Leaflets over Syria’s Quneitra

Israeli soldiers during a military exercise in the occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday. (AFP)
Israeli soldiers during a military exercise in the occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday. (AFP)

The Israeli army dropped warning leaflets over Syria’s Quneitra region overnight Tuesday, reported Israel’s Kan radio.

The leaflets were dropped in wake of an attack blamed on Israel that night, said Syrian opposition figures on Wednesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that fires had broken out in a military position belonging to regime forces and Iranian militias west of the town of Khodr in Quneitra’s northern countryside after being struck by three rockets fired by Israel on Tuesday night.

The leaflets delivered warnings to the Syrian military against cooperating with the Lebanese Hezbollah party, specifically one its senior members, whom it identified as Hajj Jawad Hashem, who is active in Syria and had been named in previous leaflets.

“Carrying out dirty work for Hezbollah has become a priority for the Syrian army,” read the leaflet.

It added: “Hajj Hashem and his men roam positions in southern Syrian, including positions in Qars al-Naql and the 90th Brigade that were targeted the night before yesterday.”

“The members of the Syrian army have been turned into Hezbollah’s dummies without them even realizing it,” it read.

It warned that the members of the Syrian military are being closely watched and that they should be careful of their actions.

“Abetting Hajj Hashem will lead to your destruction,” it warned.

Syrian television on Tuesday reported that Israel had struck the border region of Quneitra near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Syrian opposition sources said the attack targeted military positions, including one affiliated with Hezbollah. The other belongs to the military’s 90th Brigade.



Biden: Joseph Aoun is ‘First-Rate Guy’

FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
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Biden: Joseph Aoun is ‘First-Rate Guy’

FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)

US President Joe Biden welcomed the election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanon's president on Thursday, saying in a statement that the army chief was the “right leader” for the country.

“President Aoun has my confidence. I believe strongly he is the right leader for this time,” said Biden, adding that Aoun would provide “critical leadership” in overseeing an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

Aoun's election by Lebanese lawmakers ended a more than two-year vacancy and could mark a step towards lifting the country out of financial meltdown.

“We finally have a president,” Biden said later, at the end of a meeting on the response to major wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles.

He said he had spoken to Aoun by phone on Thursday for “20 minutes to half an hour,” describing the Lebanese leader as a “first-rate guy.”

Biden pledged to continue US support for Lebanon’s security forces, and for Lebanon’s recovery and reconstruction, the White House said in a readout of Biden’s call with Aoun.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Aoun's election “a moment of historic opportunity,” which offered Lebanon a chance to “establish durable peace and stability.”

Aoun, who turned 61 on Friday, faces the difficult task of overseeing the fragile ceasefire with Israel in south Lebanon.

Separately, Biden spoke about the hostage talks between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“We’re making some real progress,” he told reporters at the White House, adding that he had spoken with US negotiators earlier Thursday.

“I know hope springs eternal, but I’m still hopeful that we’ll be able to have a prisoner exchange.”

Biden added: “Hamas is the one getting in the way of that exchange right now, but I think we may be able to get that done. We need to get it done.”