Iranian Proxy Militias in Syria Open Recruitment to Support Hamas

Iranian proxy militias in Deir Ezzor
Iranian proxy militias in Deir Ezzor
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Iranian Proxy Militias in Syria Open Recruitment to Support Hamas

Iranian proxy militias in Deir Ezzor
Iranian proxy militias in Deir Ezzor

Iranian proxy militias in Syria kicked off a campaign to support and aid the Hamas movement that launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in Israel, local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday.

They said Iranian Revolutionary Guards militia commanders launched the campaign from cultural centers in the Deir Ezzor province to gather support for Hamas.

Also, public meetings were held to discuss the unprecedented escalation in Palestine. The militias launched donation campaigns and started accepting all those willing to engage in the fight against Israel on the southern Syrian front.

The director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) Rami Abdul Rahman told Asharq Al-Awsat that Iranian proxy militias, including the Lebanese Hezbollah and the “Syrian Resistance for the Liberation of the Golan,” have ordered their fighters to stay on high alert within their positions in the western countryside of Damascus, at the borders with Lebanon and in the occupied Golan.

At the southern front on the border with the occupied Golan, several sources confirmed that government forces, allied militias affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah members were placed on high alert in anticipation of an Israeli attack inside Syrian territory.

Meanwhile, the military leadership in Damascus called on officers, non-commissioned officers, and individuals working at airports and military institutions to join their work, and they also suspended leaves.

Sources reported frenzy movements by Iranian proxy militias near the Syria-Lebanon border in the Damascus countryside and areas near the border with the occupied Syrian Golan and Al-Qunaitrah countryside.

They brought in military and logistical reinforcement to fortify these positions, moved weapons to safer places and put on high alert to deal with any possible Israeli attacks, in light of the current situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Local sources said that weapons and military equipment had been transferred from warehouses belonging to Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the Damascus countryside and the vicinity of the Damascus International Airport, to the southern front.

Meanwhile, security sources told Syria’s Voice of the Capital website that special units from Hezbollah deployed along the border in southern Syria with the Syrian territories occupied by Israel.

The site also reported that Iranian Revolutionary Guard officer, Hajj Muhammad Assadullah, and fighters from the Revolutionary Guards, left the town of Sayyida Zeinab, south of Damascus, and headed to the Al-Quneitra governorate.

Assadullah and his group had supervised the transfer of drones from the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards in Daraa Governorate to military sites close to the Golan Heights and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Meanwhile, Sada Al-Sharqiya website said the leadership of the Iranian militias in the city of Al Bukamal, located within areas of Iranian influence in Deir Ezzor governorate, held a meeting with their local fighters and called on them to donate in support of the resistance.

The site also reported that the security official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Al Bukamal announced that the Guard’s leadership would move its members from Deir Ezzor to the Damascus countryside and Al-Quneitra.

Also, Naher Media website confirmed reports saying a convoy of 12 vehicles had entered on Sunday from Iraq to Syria from the border point controlled by Iran, east of Deir Ezzor.

The vehicles were moved in small batches for fear of being targeted by coalition or Israeli aircrafts. Al Bukamal residents were advised not to approach the main street where the convoy will pass, under penalty of punishment, adding that the final destination of the convoy was unknown.



UN Inquiry Finds Israeli Forces Shield Settlers during Attacks on Palestinians

Men attempt to extinguish a fire in a field in the Palestinian town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank on June 6, 2026, after a reported arson attack by Israeli settlers according to local officials. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Men attempt to extinguish a fire in a field in the Palestinian town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank on June 6, 2026, after a reported arson attack by Israeli settlers according to local officials. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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UN Inquiry Finds Israeli Forces Shield Settlers during Attacks on Palestinians

Men attempt to extinguish a fire in a field in the Palestinian town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank on June 6, 2026, after a reported arson attack by Israeli settlers according to local officials. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Men attempt to extinguish a fire in a field in the Palestinian town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank on June 6, 2026, after a reported arson attack by Israeli settlers according to local officials. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Israeli authorities are directly involved in settler attacks that have killed, injured and displaced Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, while Israeli security forces provide protection to settlers, a UN inquiry said on Tuesday.

The report by the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory found that Israeli authorities have enabled settler attacks through financial and military support, in a climate of impunity fostered by judicial and law-enforcement bodies, Reuters said.

It said attacks on Palestinian villages and agricultural land have surged since 2023, rising by 130%, including incidents involving groups of masked assailants. Israeli security forces have routinely accompanied settlers and acted as a shield for the violence, the report said.

The Israeli Prime Minister Office and military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel rejects charges that its troops shield settlers during attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, saying ‌such actions are rogue ‌incidents that violate military protocol and are investigated. Israeli and Palestinian rights groups say ‌such investigations ⁠rarely lead to ⁠punishment.

Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live among millions of Palestinians on land Israel captured in a 1967 war, where Palestinians hope to build a state. Most countries and the UN's top court consider such settlements a violation of international law, which Israel disputes citing historical and biblical ties to the land.

At least seven Palestinians were killed and 832 injured last year, with violence continuing into 2026 in the form of near-daily attacks, according to the United Nations.

“The increasing participation of Israeli security forces in settler attacks amounts to a de facto collapse of the distinction between settlers and soldiers,” the report found.

It said such violence has been ⁠used to advance state policy, including the unlawful occupation, displacement of Palestinians and the annexation ‌of Palestinian territory.

The Commission documented cases of assaults, abductions and abuse of Palestinian ‌children by settlers. In one incident on April 19, 2025, a 12-year-old girl and her 3-year-old brother were abducted at knifepoint, dragged ‌to an olive grove and tied to a tree with plastic restraints until their family intervened. In July 2024, the ‌International Court of Justice issued a non-binding advisory opinion that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and its settlements there are illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible, in its strongest findings to date on the conflict.

The Commission also said settlers committed or threatened sexual violence to instill fear and harassed Palestinian women.

“The relentless, daily assaults by Israeli settlers against Palestinians are intolerable — and must end,” said the commission's ‌head, S. Muralidhar, an Indian former senior judge. He urged the international community to pressure Israel to dismantle settlements and outposts and curb the violence.

Despite periodic condemnations and ⁠the dismantling of some unauthorized outposts, ⁠Israeli authorities have not taken sustained measures to stop the attacks, the report said.

HAMAS VIOLATIONS

The report said it was also gravely alarmed by serious abuses it documented in the Gaza Strip, another Palestinian territory, by the militant group Hamas which controls it.

Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the findings.

The commission found that Hamas-affiliated forces were involved in at least 60 of 249 documented cases of executions and severe physical violence in 2024 to 2025, including beatings with metal pipes and bone-breaking as punishment for alleged collaboration with Israel or looting aid.

In two instances, 11 men were publicly executed. The Commission said these acts amount to war crimes and violations of international law.

The Commission found that October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas and other armed groups, which killed 1,200 people and involved hostage-taking and destruction of property, amounted to war crimes. The attacks precipitated an Israeli assault on Gaza which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed much of the territory.

A previous report by the Commission found that Israel had committed genocide during its military offensive in Gaza, and that senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had incited these acts. Israel rejected those allegations as "scandalous".


Pakistan, Lebanon Army Chiefs Meet as Middle East Mediation Drags On

This handout photograph taken and released on June 9, 2026 by Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) shows Pakistan's Army Chief and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (R) speaking with General Rodolphe Haykal, Commander-in-Chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces during their meeting in Rawalpindi. (Photo by Handout / Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released on June 9, 2026 by Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) shows Pakistan's Army Chief and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (R) speaking with General Rodolphe Haykal, Commander-in-Chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces during their meeting in Rawalpindi. (Photo by Handout / Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) / AFP)
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Pakistan, Lebanon Army Chiefs Meet as Middle East Mediation Drags On

This handout photograph taken and released on June 9, 2026 by Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) shows Pakistan's Army Chief and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (R) speaking with General Rodolphe Haykal, Commander-in-Chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces during their meeting in Rawalpindi. (Photo by Handout / Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released on June 9, 2026 by Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) shows Pakistan's Army Chief and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (R) speaking with General Rodolphe Haykal, Commander-in-Chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces during their meeting in Rawalpindi. (Photo by Handout / Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) / AFP)

The heads of the Pakistani and Lebanese armed forces agreed to boost cooperation on Tuesday as they met in Pakistan with peace talks over the Middle East war dragging on.

Pakistan has been mediating between the United States and Iran to end the months-long conflict, with Tehran insisting that any deal should include Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah, reported AFP.

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal left on Saturday to meet his powerful Pakistani counterpart Asim Munir, with a Lebanon-based source telling AFP the visit was linked to the broader peace talks.

The two military commanders discussed "matters of mutual interest, (the) evolving regional security environment, defense cooperation and prospects for enhancing bilateral military relations", a statement from the media wing of the Pakistani military said on Tuesday.

Munir "underscored (the) Pakistan Army's commitment to expanding defense collaboration with the Lebanese Armed Forces," it said, after Haykal received a guard of honor ahead of the meeting in the city of Rawalpindi.

Conflict in Lebanon has become a centerpiece of weeks of stop-start efforts to bring a formal end to the war.

Armed hostilities flared further during Haykal's visit, though both Iran and Israel indicated on Monday that they had halted the fighting.

US President Donald Trump, who has expressed frustration at the slow progress of peace talks, said on Tuesday that negotiators were in the "final throes" of reaching a deal.

Lebanon was drawn into the war when Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israel on March 2 to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader.

Israel responded with an extensive campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion that have killed nearly 3,600 people. Exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have not stopped despite an ongoing truce.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said a US-Iranian agreement to end the war was "about to be achieved" when fresh fighting between Iran and Israel erupted on Sunday.

Even after an April 17 ceasefire agreement began, the Israeli military announced a so-called Yellow Line inside Lebanese territory about a dozen kilometers from its northern border where its ground troops are fighting with Hezbollah, who have fired rockets at Israel.


Lebanon Caught between US, Iran in Reclaiming its Independent Decision-making

 Lebanese army soldiers carry the coffin of captain Elie Khoury, who was killed on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral procession in Kfar Jarra, southern Lebanon, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP)
Lebanese army soldiers carry the coffin of captain Elie Khoury, who was killed on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral procession in Kfar Jarra, southern Lebanon, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP)
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Lebanon Caught between US, Iran in Reclaiming its Independent Decision-making

 Lebanese army soldiers carry the coffin of captain Elie Khoury, who was killed on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral procession in Kfar Jarra, southern Lebanon, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP)
Lebanese army soldiers carry the coffin of captain Elie Khoury, who was killed on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral procession in Kfar Jarra, southern Lebanon, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP)

Iran’s attack on Israel in retaliation to Israeli strikes on Sunday on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, carried several messages.

It was seen as an attempt to reinforce its claim over Lebanon as a bargaining chip in its confrontation with the United States and Israel that it can use in the ongoing negotiations in Pakistan.

It remains to be seen if Iran has succeeded in seizing the initiative in this file and tie Lebanon’s stability to its own negotiations with the US, or if the attack deepened the Lebanese state’s drive to separate the Lebanese file from the Islamabad talks and further pursue the US-sponsored negotiations with Israel.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun openly slammed Iran last week for using Lebanon as a “bargaining chip” in its negotiations with the US and demanded that it cease interfering in its internal affairs. Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has been adamant that Lebanon be included in the Pakistan negotiations, putting it at odds with the Lebanese state.

Head of the Saydet El Jabal Gathering, former MP Fares Souaid noted that since 1969, Lebanon has witnessed several conflicts between foreign powers over usurping the country’s independent decision-making and holding negotiations on its behalf with or without consulting it.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization tried to do so decades ago, then it was followed by the Syrian regime, under Hafez al-Assad, that imposed hegemony over Lebanon for several years and now, the country finds itself in the Iranian sphere of influence, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The Lebanese state, represented by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, has now succeeded in reclaiming the initiative for the first time since 1969,” Souaid added.

This has been achieved with evident US support after Washington realized the importance of separating the Lebanese file from Iran and preventing Tehran from negotiating in its name, he went on to say.

“Iran has been trying to claim that the Lebanese negotiations with Israel are a farce and that Lebanon will be unable to achieve its demands, or impose an Israeli withdrawal without it. Iran has been claiming that it alone will be able to achieve this [for Lebanon], but it will fail,” stressed Souaid.

This handout photograph taken and released on June 9, 2026 by Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) shows Pakistan's Army Chief and Field Marshal Asim Munir (R) speaking with General Rodolphe Haykal, Commander-in-Chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces during their meeting in Rawalpindi. (Handout / Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) / AFP)

The Iranian embassy in Beirut posted on its social media an image of two clasped hands, with one covered with the Lebanese flag and the other the Iranian one, and the statement “always with you” in Lebanese dialect.

The post sparked hundreds of comments in support and criticism from users about Iranian and Lebanese interests.

Souaid noted the “sharp division in Lebanon between one camp that wants the country to be a mere bargaining chip for Iran, and another that wants to consolidate the authority of the Lebanese state and its independent decision-making.”

“The state is committed to its independent decision-making, while Iran is trying to usurp it through sparking a war in Lebanon and exploit the Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs as if to say that it alone holds the keys to the solution,” he added.

“Iran will not succeed in reclaiming Lebanon’s decision-making or again impose its authority over the country,” he stressed.

Army commander in Pakistan

Amid the developments, Lebanese army commander Rodolphe Haykal was in Islamabad at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart Asim Munir .

The military has not revealed details about the visit.

An informed source confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that he was visiting at his counterpart’s invitation and that the trip was coordinated with President Aoun.

Pakistan has expressed its readiness to offer assistance to the Lebanese army in terms of its deployment in the South after the Israeli withdrawal, it said, noting that Islamabad enjoys the trust of the Americans, Iranians and the Israelis given its role in the mediation efforts between the US and Iran.