Israel Warns Hamas Against Attacks During Jewish Holidays

Israeli security forces at the site of a stabbing attack at the Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on September 6 (EPA)
Israeli security forces at the site of a stabbing attack at the Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on September 6 (EPA)
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Israel Warns Hamas Against Attacks During Jewish Holidays

Israeli security forces at the site of a stabbing attack at the Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on September 6 (EPA)
Israeli security forces at the site of a stabbing attack at the Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on September 6 (EPA)

Senior Israeli security officials warned Hamas through mediators that any escalation in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip during the Jewish holidays next week would be met with force.

The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that the security services in Israel are preparing to confront and thwart attack operations estimated at approximately 200 warnings per day.

Security concerns prompted officials to warn Hamas against attempts to attack or launch rockets.

Israel said it would hold Hamas responsible for any attacks from Gaza or the West Bank during Jewish holidays and respond to any attacks forcefully and with a possible military operation.

However, Israel is preparing for an expected escalation that may become a multi-front confrontation during next week's Jewish holidays.

Israeli media said that the security establishment decided to raise the state of high alert during the holidays, increasing the number of warnings of Palestinian attacks.

Kan channel confirmed that the security apparatus decided to increase the army's activity in the West Bank on the eve of the Jewish holidays and is preparing for an escalation in several arenas.

Israeli security officials believe the escalation will begin in the West Bank and may spread to Gaza and Lebanon.

The Israeli army is training for a multi-front confrontation scenario that could include a confrontation with Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday warned groups "not to test" Israel during the upcoming Jewish holiday season and vowed a "crushing" response if they launch attacks.

"We are in a complex security period in all the areas, especially in [the West Bank] and surrounding Jerusalem," Gallant said during an assessment with senior military and defense officials.

"To make sure that the citizens of Israel will get through the holiday season safely, the defense establishment is being widely deployed, in intelligence, in the protection of the roads and settlements, and operations to foil operatives and those who send them," he said.



Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Syrian Youth Will Resist Incoming Government

A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Syrian Youth Will Resist Incoming Government

A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)

Iran's supreme leader on Sunday said that young Syrians will resist the new government emerging after the overthrow of President Bashar sl-Assad as he again accused the United States and Israel of sowing chaos in the country.

Iran had provided crucial support to Assad throughout Syria's nearly 14-year civil war, which erupted after he launched a violent crackdown on a popular uprising against his family's decades-long rule. Syria had long served as a key conduit for Iranian aid to Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in an address on Sunday that the “young Syrian has nothing to lose" and suffers from insecurity following Assad's fall.

“What can he do? He should stand with strong will against those who designed and those who implemented the insecurity," Khamenei said. “God willing, he will overcome them.”

He accused the United States and Israel of plotting against Assad's government in order to seize resources, saying: “Now they feel victory, the Americans, the Zionist regime and those who accompanied them.”

Iran and its armed proxies in the region have suffered a series of major setbacks over the past year, with Israel battering Hamas in Gaza and landing heavy blows on Hezbollah before they agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon last month.

Khamenei denied that such groups were proxies of Iran, saying they fought because of their own beliefs and that Tehran did not depend on them. “If one day we plan to take action, we do not need proxy force,” he said.