Israel Unveils ‘Secret’ Commando Unit in Gaza

Israeli soldiers walk next to tanks near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, on its Israeli side May 15, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israeli soldiers walk next to tanks near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, on its Israeli side May 15, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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Israel Unveils ‘Secret’ Commando Unit in Gaza

Israeli soldiers walk next to tanks near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, on its Israeli side May 15, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israeli soldiers walk next to tanks near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, on its Israeli side May 15, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

The Israeli Army Command has revealed that a secret commando war unit had operated in the Gaza Strip during the war last May.

This revelation came when the army command decided to honor the secret units that operated in the enclave in the recent war, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Thursday.

Army Chief of Staff General Aviv Kochavi will honor the unit members, the newspaper added.

“These are previously undisclosed units that carried out major, complex and secret operations in Gaza during the last war,” Kochavi was quoted as saying.

He will also honor combat and intelligence units for operating in Gaza and other fronts, Ynet news noted.

Military sources refused to give any information that would reveal anything about the nature of the unit’s work and what makes it different from the other units.

However, they affirmed that it mastered the sensitive and risky operations, and for this reason, it will be granted an award of excellence.



Syrian Security Forces Detain Cousin of Toppled Leader Assad

A giant picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad lies on the ground as a Syrian opposition fighter stands nearby, inside the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
A giant picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad lies on the ground as a Syrian opposition fighter stands nearby, inside the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
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Syrian Security Forces Detain Cousin of Toppled Leader Assad

A giant picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad lies on the ground as a Syrian opposition fighter stands nearby, inside the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
A giant picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad lies on the ground as a Syrian opposition fighter stands nearby, inside the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Syria's security forces have detained Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad, state news agency SANA said on Saturday.

Wassim al-Assad was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 for leading a paramilitary force backing Assad's army and for trafficking drugs including the amphetamine-like drug captagon, Reuters said.

Bashar al-Assad was toppled by the opposition factions in December and fled to Moscow. Most of his family members and inner circle either fled Syria or went underground.

Syria’s new security forces have been pursuing members of the former administration - mainly those involved in the feared security branches accused of rights abuses.

Rights groups have called for a fully-fledged transitional justice process to hold them to account.