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Hezbollah Massacred Syrians; They Are Glad for Israel’s Help
An Iranian flag hangs as smoke rises after what the Iranian media said was an Israeli strike on a building close to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, April 1, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
Israel’s assassination of the senior leaders of the Hezbollah terror group, including its chief, Hassan Nasrallah, was mourned by many Shiite Muslims and celebrated by even larger numbers of Sunni Arabs.
But for one group of people in the small mountain town of Madaya, Syria, the elimination of Hezbollah’s senior leadership was especially important.
Madaya is located about 40km north-west of Syria’s capital, Damascus, and about 52km from the Lebanon border. During the Syrian civil war, the town was the site of one of Hezbollah’s cruelest and most vicious attacks.
Between July 2015 and April 2017, Madaya was besieged by Hezbollah. Hezbollah sent thousands of its fighters from Lebanon to support Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in his battle to defeat anti-regime forces opposed to his authoritarian regime.
This campaign to was characterized by widespread violence, including massacres, and inhuman acts of cruelty against civilians.
By October 2016, one million Syrians were actively under siege according to news reports, while some 4.5 million were in need of humanitarian aid.
Hezbollah planted some 12,000 landmines around Madaya, and created 65 checkpoints manned by snipers to stop food, fuel, and medicine being delivered to the town, and prevent residents from leaving.
According to survivor testimony, Hezbollah killed children, raped women, and buried people alive.
An International Committee of the Red Cross worker described the townspeople as experiencing a “colossal level of suffering.”
Over the course of the 22 months of the siege, Madaya dissolved into a genuine hellscape for its inhabitants and those sheltering there, more than 20,000 at the time, as Madaya took in people from nearby villages who were attempting to escape the terrorist group.
Disease and infection including typhoid and meningitis broke out, but the town’s two doctors had nothing but the most basic supplies at just one field hospital.
There was also a lack of access to clean water, electricity, and basic goods. At the time, Doctors Without Borders Director of Operations Brice de le Vingne said, “There is no way in or out, leaving the people to die,” he said.
There were reports of starving residents resorting to eating grass to stay alive, and desperate residents walking through the 12,000-strong minefield in search of food, many losing limbs or their lives in the process.
Starving residents were described as “walking skeletons.”
And so, following news of attacks against thousands of Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and Syria via explosives hidden in their pagers and walkie talkies on Sept. 17 and 18, widely attributed to Israel, scores of Syrians openly celebrated the demise of those who had tortured and murdered their family, friends, and neighbors.
Many Syrians also took to social media to express their satisfaction over the death of senior Hezbollah commander Hussein Ali Ghandour in a highly sophisticated Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh district on Sept. 20. Syrian activist Ashakaki tweeted: “No one should ask the residents of Madaya why they are rejoicing today. When one of the murderers is gone, the world becomes better.”
Syrians also openly celebrated the death of long-time Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah one week later, on Sept. 27, with fireworks. Ahmed al-Ali, who lost multiple friends to Hezbollah terrorists, described it as the “the most beautiful day of my life.”
Yasmine Muhammad said upon hearing of Nasrallah’s death, “I consider this revenge for the thousands of Syrians who were killed by Hezbollah, the main support of Bashar al-Assad. Hezbollah committed the most heinous massacres against Syrians, and it also participated in the starvation and displacement of thousands of Syrians.”
The starvation and displacement that Muhammad spoke of was a hallmark of Hezbollah’s siege warfare across Syria.
Today, while it has reduced in intensity, Syria’s ongoing civil war — now in its 14th year — is still not over. Tens of thousands of Iranian-backed Shi’ite terror operatives, including Hezbollah, remain entrenched in Syria, forming part of Iran’s “Ring of Fire” around Israel that includes Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), Iran, Iraq, and Syria.
But as the reactions of many Syrians to Israel’s strikes against Hezbollah demonstrate, it is not just Israelis who have suffered as a result of Iran’s strategy of aggression and expansionism.
And many Syrians, Lebanese, and others, whether or not they are able to say so publicly, will be rooting for Israel to finish the job of demolishing Hezbollah, a central part of Iran’s “Ring of Fire.”
Alana Schetzer is a Policy Analyst at the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).
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Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
i24 News – The United States has warned the UK and France not to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference scheduled for June 17 in New York, the Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host this conference on the two-state solution, with Paris reportedly preparing to unilaterally recognize Palestine. France is also pressuring London to follow this path, according to sources from the British Foreign Office.
French media reports indicate that French authorities believe they have the agreement of the British government. Meanwhile, Arab states are encouraging this move, measuring the success of the conference by the recognitions obtained.
This initiative deeply divides Western allies. If France and the UK were to carry out this recognition, they would become the first G7 nations to take this step, causing a “political earthquake” according to observers, given their historical ties with Israel. The Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened last week to annex parts of the West Bank if this recognition took place, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly opposes unilateral recognition, stating that London would only recognize a Palestinian state when we know that it is going to happen and that it is in view.
However, pressure is mounting within the Labour Party. MP Uma Kumaran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the government was elected on a platform that promised to recognize Palestine as a step towards a just and lasting peace. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes that there is no legitimate reason for the United States to interfere in a sovereign decision of recognition, while highlighting the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump on this issue.
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Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack
A small number of Jewish worshipers pray during the priestly blessing, a traditional prayer which usually attracts thousands of worshipers at the Western Wall on the holiday of Passover during 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police thwarted another Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis, according to a statement on Tuesday, arresting a resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly carrying out missions for the Islamic Republic.
Iranian agents recruited the suspect, who in turn recruited members of his family. He is a resident of the Isawiya neighborhood in his 30s, and is accused of maintaining contact with a hostile foreign entity to harm the state by carrying out a terrorist attack against Jews.
The suspect had already begun perpetrating acts of sabotage and espionage, including collecting intelligence about areas in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market. He also hung signs, burned Israeli army uniforms, and more in exchange for payment totaling thousands of shekels.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack in central Israel, including setting fire to a forest, and was told to transfer weapons to terrorist elements in the West Bank.
The suspect’s sought the help of family members, including his mother. A search at his home revealed sums of cash, a spray can used in some of his activities, airsoft guns, suspected illegal drugs, and more.
His indictment is expected to be filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
The statement said that the case is yet another example of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis. “We will continue to coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism and terrorist elements, including those operating outside Israel, while attempting to mobilize local elements in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet and Police said.
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Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
“Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional,” he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totaled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
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