Russia-Backed ‘Eighth Brigade’ Arrests Hezbollah Agent in Southern Syria

A Russian patrol and members of the Eighth Brigade in southern Syria (Horan Free Group)
A Russian patrol and members of the Eighth Brigade in southern Syria (Horan Free Group)
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Russia-Backed ‘Eighth Brigade’ Arrests Hezbollah Agent in Southern Syria

A Russian patrol and members of the Eighth Brigade in southern Syria (Horan Free Group)
A Russian patrol and members of the Eighth Brigade in southern Syria (Horan Free Group)

The Eighth Brigade of the Russian-backed Corps, in the eastern countryside of Daraa, southern Syria, released the confessions of a Hezbollah operative admitting to his group plotting and carrying out assassinations in Daraa.

Based in the village of Saida in the eastern countryside of Daraa, Badr al-Shaabin was videotaped acknowledging that he was coordinating with an officer from the Syrian air force intelligence to target leaders and officers of the Eighth Brigade.

Al-Shaabin revealed that for each operation he plotted and implemented was receiving financial rewards that reach up to SYP 3 million.

Abu Mahmoud al-Horani, the official spokesman of the opposition’s Horan Free group, told Asharq Al-Awsat that a local group affiliated with the Eighth Brigade had raided al-Shaabin’s residence with the goal of arresting him after confirming his involvement in assassinations.

The Eighth Brigades had planted two moles in al-Shaabin’s cell to uncover its operations.

The cover of one of the moles was compromised and they were detained by al-Shaabin’s group. Eighth Brigade leaders then tried to mediate for the release of their spy with al-Shaabin’s father, but al-Shaabin was still answering the orders of his air force intelligence employers.

Al-Shaabin was ordered to kill the mole.

During mediation efforts, al-Shaabin fired shots injuring both his father and brother.

After hearing rounds of fire, Eighth Brigade units stationed around al-Shaabin’s residence stormed in and arrested al-Shaabin.

Before the arrest was made, clashes erupted for over two hours. Nidal al-Shaabin, one of al-Shaabin’s associates, was killed.

Al-Shaabin then surrendered, released the Eighth Brigade’s undercover agent, and taped his confessions.

Al-Hourani added that WhatsApp conversations between al-Shaabin and an assistant in the air force intelligence services nicknamed “Abu Wael,” showed his involvement in assassinations for the air force intelligence branch and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia, in exchange for money, weapons and ammunition.



Red Cross: Israel's Aid Blockade to Gaza 'Unacceptable'

FILE PHOTO: A view shows humanitarian aid with the logo of World Central Kitchen (WCK) at the Kerem Shalom border crossing to Gaza, Israel, May 1, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view shows humanitarian aid with the logo of World Central Kitchen (WCK) at the Kerem Shalom border crossing to Gaza, Israel, May 1, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/File Photo
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Red Cross: Israel's Aid Blockade to Gaza 'Unacceptable'

FILE PHOTO: A view shows humanitarian aid with the logo of World Central Kitchen (WCK) at the Kerem Shalom border crossing to Gaza, Israel, May 1, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view shows humanitarian aid with the logo of World Central Kitchen (WCK) at the Kerem Shalom border crossing to Gaza, Israel, May 1, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/File Photo

The Red Cross on Thursday denounced the human cost of the war raging in Gaza, slamming Israel's "unacceptable" full blockade on aid into the besieged and conflict-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of a growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which they say has been exacerbated by an Israeli blockade on all aid since early March, reported AFP.

"It is unacceptable that humanitarian aid is not allowed into the Gaza Strip," Pierre Krahenbuhl, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told reporters in Geneva.

"That's just fundamentally against anything that international humanitarian law provides."

The situation in Gaza is on a "razor's edge" and "the next few days are absolutely decisive", he added.

"There's a moment where we will also run out of anything that's left in terms of medical supplies and other" aid, he said.

Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18 after talks to prolong a ceasefire stalled.

The country denies a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where it plans to expand military operations to force Hamas to free hostages held there since the Iran-backed group's unprecedented October 2023 attack.

'We should all be terrified'

"What we would need is an immediate return to a ceasefire situation to ease the pressure," Krahenbuhl said.

"I think everybody should feel deep indignation about what is happening in Gaza. I can't reconcile myself with the human cost of this conflict," he said.

"Frankly, if this is the future of warfare, we should all be terrified, and we should all be aware that this questions the very foundations of our humanity."

Israel is reportedly aiming to shut down the existing UN-led aid distribution system in Gaza, forcing all deliveries to go through Israeli hubs.

Krahenbuhl stressed that "there is no monopoly among humanitarian organizations" to deliver aid. "States can undertake it."

But he insisted that any delivery of aid must respect humanitarian principles "such as the impartiality of aid, that it actually reaches people, that it's not politically motivated and directed".

Every effort to get aid to Gazans in need should be "taken seriously", Krahenbuhl said.

"But right now, the most effective way to get aid to people is to lift... actions or decisions that were taken to prevent aid from reaching" inside Gaza.

"There are huge quantities of aid that are on the borders of Gaza that can go in tomorrow," he insisted.