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IDF Reportedly Targets Hezbollah Site Near Damascus

Illustrative. Damaged buildings are shown after what Syrian authorities said was an Israeli air strike in the western suburbs of Damascus, Syria in this handout released by state news agency SANA on April 27, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
JNS.org – The Israel Defense Forces conducted a targeted strike on an apartment in Sayyidah Zaynab, a hub for Iranian terrorist activity south of Damascus, Syrian state media claimed on Sunday afternoon.
Syria’s SANA news agency, citing a military source, reported that the Israeli Air Force targeted a building “in the Sayyidah Zaynab area of the Damascus countryside, resulting in a number of martyrs and wounded.”
IAF fighter jets targeted two buildings occupied by Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based war monitor affiliated with Syria’s opposition.
“The Israeli missiles targeted specific individuals in an apartment in one of the buildings, killing three people and injuring others,” the NGO said.
Israel rarely acknowledges attacks in Syria, although in February, Jerusalem revealed that it had struck more than 50 targets belonging to Hezbollah and other Iran-backed terrorist organizations in Syria since Oct. 7, 2023.
On Nov. 5, IAF fighter jets launched renewed raids on Hezbollah targets in the Syrian town of Al-Qusayr, near the border with Lebanon, attacking munitions depots used by the Lebanese terrorist army.
“Hezbollah’s Munitions Unit is responsible for storing weapons inside Lebanon and has recently expanded its activities into the area of Al-Qusayr, near the Syria-Lebanon border,” the military confirmed on X.
Israeli jets previously struck terrorism-related targets in Al-Qusayr on Oct. 31, including arms-storage facilities, and command and control centers used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force and its Munitions Unit.
On Nov. 4, the IAF attacked Hezbollah’s local intelligence headquarters in Sayyidah Zaynab. The site, located about six miles south of Damascus, was operating as “Hezbollah’s central intelligence body, responsible for intelligence assessments, the direction of intelligence activities, and the intelligence gathering and detection capabilities,” the IDF said.
Earlier this month, the IDF revealed that its forces captured a pro-Iranian regime terrorist operative during a raid in Syria. The raid was carried out by members of the Egoz commando unit along with field interrogators of the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504.
Ali Soleiman al-Assi, a Syrian from Saida in the southern part of the country, was tasked by Iran with “gathering intelligence on IDF troops in the border area for future terror activity of the network,” the military said.
“The operation prevented a future attack and led to the exposure of the operational methods of Iranian terror networks located near the Golan Heights. Al-Assi was transferred for further questioning,” it added.
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Germany’s Scholz Rebukes Vance, Defends Europe’s Stance on Hate Speech and Far Right

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to the media after he met former prisoners following the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West in decades, at the military area of Cologne Bonn Airport in Cologne, Germany, August 1, 2024. Photo: Christoph Reichwein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a strong rebuke on Saturday to US Vice President JD Vance’s attack on Europe’s stance toward hate speech and the far right, saying it was not right for others to tell Germany and Europe what to do.
Vance lambasted European leaders on Friday, the first day of the Munich Security Conference, accusing them of censoring free speech and criticizing German mainstream parties’ “firewall” against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
“That is not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that,” Scholz told the conference on Saturday, adding there were “good reasons” not to work with the AfD.
The anti-immigration party, currently polling at around 20% ahead of Germany’s February 23 national election, has pariah status among other major German parties in a country with a taboo about ultranationalist politics because of its Nazi past.
“Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war. That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism,” Scholz said, referring to the ideology of Adolf Hitler’s 1933-45 Nazi regime.
Vance met on Friday with the leader of AfD, after endorsing the party as a political partner — a stance Berlin dismissed as unwelcome election interference.
Referring more broadly to Vance’s criticism of Europe’s curtailing of hate speech, which he has likened to censorship, Scholz said: “Today’s democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realization that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats.
“And this is why we’ve created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies, and rules that do not restrict or limit our freedom but protect it.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot added his voice to the defense of Europe’s stance on hate speech.
“No one is required to adopt our model but no one can impose theirs on us,” Barrot said on X from Munich. “Freedom of speech is guaranteed in Europe.”
UKRAINE
The prospect of talks to end the Ukraine-Russia war had been expected to dominate the annual Munich conference after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week, but Vance barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine in his speech to the gathering on Friday.
Instead, he said the threat to Europe that worried him most was not Russia or China but what he called a retreat from fundamental values of protecting free speech – as well as immigration, which he said was “out of control” in Europe.
Many conference delegates watched Vance’s speech in stunned silence. There was little applause as he delivered his remarks.
Asked by the panel moderator if he thought there was anything in Vance’s speech worth reflecting on, Scholz drew laughter and applause in the crowd when he responded, in a deadpan manner: “You mean all these very relevant discussions about Ukraine and security in Europe?”
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Trump Team to Start Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Saudi Arabia in Coming Days, Politico Reports

US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) speaks on Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, July 15, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar
Senior officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration will start peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, Politico reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the plan.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia, the report said. Special envoy for Ukraine-Russia talks, Keith Kellogg, will not be in attendance, according to the report.
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UN Peacekeeping Mission Deputy Commander Injured After Convoy Attacked in Beirut

FILE PHOTO: A UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicle is seen next to piled up debris at Beirut’s port, Lebanon October 23, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
The outgoing deputy force commander of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon was injured on Friday after a convoy taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport was “violently attacked,” UNIFIL said.
The mission demanded a full and immediate investigation by Lebanese authorities and for all perpetrators to be brought to justice, it said in a statement.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack on Saturday, saying that security forces would not tolerate anyone who tries to destabilize the country, according to a statement from his office.
The French government also condemned the attack.
“France calls on the Lebanese security forces to guarantee the security of blue-helmet peacekeeping forces, and calls on Lebanon’s judicial authorities to shed all light on this unacceptable attack and to go after those responsible,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar called for an emergency meeting before noon on Saturday to discuss the security situation, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.
“He affirmed the Lebanese government’s rejection of this assault that is considered a crime against UNIFIL forces,” NNA reported, citing the minister.
He also gave instructions to work on identifying the perpetrators and referring them to the relevant judicial authorities.
The minister told reporters on Saturday that more than 25 people had been detained for investigation over the attack.
The United States earlier condemned the attack. A State Department statement said the attack was carried out “reportedly by a group of Hezbollah supporters”, referring to the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.
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