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Houthis Deploying Forces in Syria as ‘Prelude to New Escalation’
A general view shows the town of Majdal Shams near the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights March 25, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
i24 News – A Houthi source confirmed the arrival of Houthi fighters from Yemen to Syrian territory, according to reports.
The confirmation comes after a Syrian source told i24NEWS’ Hebrew channel that the Iran-backed Yemeni group was on its way to Israel’s border with Syria in the Golan Heights.
The Yemeni armed group claimed that “this is a prelude to a new phase of escalation against Israel.” The Russian Sputnik news agency said that they had moved into Syria
“In recent days, Houthis from Iraq arrived in the south of the country – to open a new firing front – using drones against Israel,” the source told i24NEWS last Wednesday.
“The Houthis are on their way to the borders of the Golan and there are tunnels for smuggling from Jordan,” he said.
He also revealed during his speech that during the smuggling operation from Syria to Jordan through tunnels guarded by the Iranians, an operation similar to that taking place in Gaza, the purpose of smuggling weapons is to deliver them to the West Bank and to undermine the government in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Russian news outlets, on the other hand, claimed they were arriving from Iran.
Arms smuggling from Syria to Jordan and from Jordan to Israel is a well-known Iranian strategy in Israeli defense circles. According to the official, “it is going exactly as in the Gaza Strip, because under the Jordanian border there are tunnels used by the Iranians to smuggle weapons that reach the West Bank and elements in Jordan working to undermine the rule of the Hashemite royal family.”
The source said that some in Syria have informed Israel about the tunnels, which are used by Iran via Hezbollah despite guards stationed at crossings.
“They come in 4×4 vehicles loaded with weapons and stay for a specified period in these areas, and then the vehicles return empty,” he said. “There are Jordanian officers and Jordanian tribal elders who collude with the smugglers in exchange for huge sums of money paid to them by Iran and Hezbollah.”
The post Houthis Deploying Forces in Syria as ‘Prelude to New Escalation’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and Others Join Gaza Film as Executive Producers Before Venice Premiere
Brad Pitt attends the “F1: The Movie” European premiere in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and other high-profile figures in the Hollywood film industry have joined the Gaza-based drama “The Voice of Hind Rajab” as executive producers ahead of its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, Deadline reported.
“The Zone of Interest” director Jonathan Glazer is also joining the film as an executive producer as well as “Roma” director Alfonso Cuaron. Meanwhile, Dede Garner and Jeremy Kleiner from Pitt’s production company Plan B. Britain’s Film4 and the Saudi Arabian state-owned MBC Studio are also supporting the film, according to Deadline.
Written and directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” focuses on the real-life death of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was trapped in a car that had allegedly come under fire by Israeli military forces in the Gaza Strip in January 2024 and later found dead. Israel claimed its military troops were not in the area at the time. The movie is based on real audio recordings of Rajab’s calls to Red Cresent volunteers, who tried to keep her on the line and get an ambulance to help her. Her death sparked global outrage including at Columbia University, where anti-Israel students broke into the academic building Hamilton Hall and symbolically renamed it as Hind’s Hall in April 2024.
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” will premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 3 before making its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“I cannot accept a world where a child calls for help and no one comes,” Ben Hania said in a released statement. “That pain, that failure, belongs to all of us. This story is not just about Gaza. It speaks to a universal grief. And I believe that fiction (especially when it draws from verified, painful, real events) is cinema’s most powerful tool. More powerful than the noise of breaking news or the forgetfulness of scrolling. Cinema can preserve a memory … May Hind Rajab’s voice be heard.”
Ben Hania’s film “Four Daughters” was nominated for an Oscar last year and her previous project, “The Man Who Sold His Skin,” was selected as the Tunisian entry for best international feature film at the Academy Awards in 2021.
The 82nd Venice Film Festival opened on Wednesday, almost six weeks to the second anniversary of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7 2023, that resulted in the murder of 1,200 people while 251 were taken as hostages back to Gaza. The festival ends Sept. 6.
Hundreds of Italian and international artists signed an open letter calling on the Venice Film Festival to condemn what they claim is Israel’s genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Israel has adamantly denied the charge, noting it’s targeting a terrorist group in Gaza that tries to embed itself among the civilian population to create more casualties.
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New Play About Establishment of Israel During Truman’s Presidency to Make World Premiere Off-Broadway in October
US President Harry Truman receives a menorah gifted by visiting Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion and Abba Eban, Israel’s envoy to Washington. Photo: National Photo Collection of Israel / Government Press Office
A play about the creation of the Jewish state during the administration of US President Harry Truman is set to make its world premiere Off-Broadway in New York City in October.
From playwright Willian Spatz and director Randy White, “Truman vs. Israel: Abzug and the Undressing of Truman” will play at the Theatre at St. Clements with a preview on Oct. 9 before officially opening on Oct. 16. Its limited run will end on Jan. 4, 2026. The play is produced by Greenhouse Theater Center
“President Harry S. Truman’s unlikely rise to power led to one of history’s most pivotal moments: the founding of Israel. In [the play] he faces the sharp mind and relentless questioning of trailblazing lawyer Bella Abzug, as the truth behind one of his most consequential decisions comes to light,” reads a synopsis of the play provided by Playbill. “This gripping new play strips away the layers of legacy, power, and politics to reveal the man behind the presidency. Smart and provocative — this is history in the hot seat.”
The cast includes Willy Falk, who will play Truman, Sasha Eden, as Bella Abzug, Matt Caplan and Mark Lotito. Falk created the role of Chris in the original Broadway production of “Miss Saigon.” He has also appeared in the plays “Les Misérables” and “Marilyn,” and recently in the HBO series “And Just Like That….”
“Truman is just a compelling character,” White said in a statement cited by Playbill. “A man at the center of so many consequential decisions, and getting it from all sides. But claiming to have no regrets. So, when a young Bella Abzug shows up – eager to make her mark as a young lawyer – the interrogation begins. ‘Truman vs. Israel’ is like a fabulous (in all senses) and riveting first draft of history.”
In 1947, Truman supported the idea of partitioning what was then known as the Palestine Mandate under British administration into Jewish and Arab territories. On May 14, 1948, Truman was the first world leader to officially recognize Israel as a legitimate Jewish state, only eleven minutes after David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel.
Abzug was a Jewish lawyer from the Bronx, New York, and a Columbia Law School graduate who served three terms in the US Congress, where she introduced and supported legislation about economic and military aid to Israel. She was the first Jewish woman to be elected to the House of Representatives and fought heavily to reverse the 1975 UN resolution that defined Zionism as a form of racism. The resolution was eventually revoked in December 1991.
When she was younger, as part of the Zionist youth group Hashomer Hatzir, Abzug helped raised money to build a Jewish state in the land of Israel. One of her fundraising tactics was to lecture about Zionism at New York City subway stops, according to the Center for Israel Education.
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Shawn Mendes Calls Out Antisemitism Amid Israel-Hamas War During Concert in Portugal
Shawn Mendes poses on the red carpet for the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards at Manchester Co-op Live in Manchester, Britain, Nov. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mina Kim
Canadian singer Shawn Mendes said during his concert on Thursday night at the MEO Arena in Lisbon, Portugal, that the suffering Palestinians are facing in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war is not an excuse for targeting Jews with hatred.
“What’s been happening in Gaza has been absolutely breaking my heart, and turning pain and suffering into hatred towards Jewish people as a whole is wrong,” the Grammy-nominated artist told the audience at his show. “Turning pain and suffering into hatred, period, is wrong and it’s not the way.”
“I really believe in our generation,” added Mendes, who is Portuguese. “I feel like it’s our generation’s job to learn from the wisdom of our parents and grandparents but also learn from the mistakes of those generations. The future is truly in our hands and I feel like it’s our responsibility to stop these cycles of pain and to choose love.”
Mendes is not Jewish and this is seemingly the singer’s first time speaking out about antisemitism and the Israel-Hamas war.