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New Iran-Backed Group Emerges in Syria to Confront Israel
Khaled Brigade, a part of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), hold a military parade, after Syria’s Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
An armed organization calling itself the “Islamic Resistance Front in Syria” has demanded that Israeli forces withdraw from southern Syria and the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights, claiming responsibility for several recent attacks against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The Iran-backed group, formerly known as the “Southern Liberation Front,” has emerged as a new force to oppose Israel, which borders Syria’s southern region. On Tuesday, the nascent militant organization announced that it has become a permanent front aimed at countering attempts at “division and displacement.”
According to its statement, the “resistance” group seeks to be a “unifying force for all segments of Syrian society,” regardless of religion, while prioritizing the protection of the country’s security and territorial integrity, Iraqi-based Shafaq News reported.
The group said its formation was a response to “the systematic and coordinated Zionist-Turkish-American transfer plan, backed by Arab support, to divide Syria following the end of the era of the resistant and defiant Syrian regime [of long-time Syrian President Bashar al-Assad], which had been the backbone of all resistance and liberation movements worldwide from 1970 until the end of 2024.”
“The front emerged from the Syrian people to confront any attempts to undermine the country’s security, amid the absence of the political and social forces that previously governed Syria,” the statement read.
In late January, Ahmed al-Sharaa became Damascus’s transitional president after leading a rebel campaign that ousted Assad, whose Iran-backed rule had strained ties with the Arab world during the nearly 14-year Syrian war.
The collapse of Assad’s regime was the result of an offensive spearheaded by Sharaa’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate.
Part of the Iranian-led “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and US influence in the region, the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria is the religious extension of the battle of “the promise of the Hereafter,” a reference to a Quranic verse that has been interpreted as the final battle to “liberate Palestine,” according to Ahmad Sharawi and Joe Truzman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, DC-based think tank.
“The establishment of The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria is still in its infancy, and it’s unclear how the group is structured, what other armed organizations have joined its cause, and if it is a legitimate threat to Israeli troops operating on the Syrian border,” Sharawi and Truzman explained in the Long War Journal, an FDD publication.
In its statement, the group said its goal is “to restore the nation’s glory and protect it from terrorism and occupation,” while calling on Syrians to unite and stand against oppression.
“This step is a natural and legitimate response to the attempts at division and displacement facing the country,” the group’s general commander was quoted as saying in the announcement.
The statement was accompanied by a logo resembling those of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian regime’s chief proxy, the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, featuring a raised hand holding a rifle.
According to Alma, an Israeli research and education center, the Syrian National Socialist Party (SNSP) issued an official statement last year announcing the establishment of the Southern Liberation Front. However, at the beginning of this year, the group’s name was changed to the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria.
First published on the party’s website and social media platforms, the SNSP stated that the organization was established to protect the Syrian people and drive Israel out of Syrian territory. The SNSP also criticized Israel’s presence and activities in the country (referred to in the statement as “the Israeli enemy” and “the Israeli occupation”), as well as the silence from both Damascus’s new government and the broader Arab world on the issue.
Following Assad’s fall in December, Israel moved troops into a buffer zone along the Syrian border to secure a military position to prevent terrorists from launching attacks against the Jewish state. The previously demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights was established under the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Damascus and Jerusalem that ended the Yom Kippur War. However, Israel considered the agreement void after the collapse of Assad’s regime.
Syria’s new government has called for Israel to withdraw its forces but has used a noticeably less hostile tone than Iran or its proxies when speaking about the Jewish state.
Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not tolerate the presence of HTS or any forces affiliated with Syria’s new rulers south of Damascus and demanded the area be demilitarized.
During a recent meeting in Brussels of the EU-Israel Association Council, which oversees the European bloc’s relationship with the Jewish state, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar dismissed any hope for real change in Syria despite the formation of a new government, calling for “realistic expectations” in Europe and labeling talks of regime transition as “ridiculous.”
The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria’s announcement came as a top Hezbollah official admitted this week that the collapse of Assad’s regime in Syria was “a major strategic loss” that weakens the terrorist group’s efforts against Israel.
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‘Moderate’ Palestinian Authority Tells Its People That Jews Poison the Water
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, Sept. 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has once again used medieval blood libels of Jews, saying that Jews poison the wells. Such libels are meant to justify hatred and terror against Jews, just as they did in Europe in the Middle Ages.
After Israeli police helped return a flock of sheep stolen from Israelis by Palestinians, a PA official said the following on television:
Advisor to Head of The Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall Ayed Morrar: “There was an attack on the village of Ras Al-Auja, and they [settlers] took all the livestock they could find, between 800-1,500. Some claim that a total of 1,500 animals were stolen … Moreover, they poisoned the water to kill the Palestinians’ livestock.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, March 9, 2025]
Ayed Morrar has a history of antisemitism. Just three months ago, he spread the libel that Jews are only in the Land of Israel because it is good for them financially and they would do anything for money.
Official PA television regularly features officials and reporters repeating the well-poisoning libel, such as when a columnist said that Israel was “liable to poison the water” and a reporter said that Jewish rabbis “permit poisoning water wells.”
This recurring libel is patently false because both Israelis and the Arabs of Judea and Samaria drink water from the same Mountain Aquifer.
Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Itamar Marcus is PMW’s Founder and Director. A version of this article originally appeared at PMW.
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Gal Gadot Gets Emotional Becoming First Israeli to Receive Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Actor Gal Gadot gestures during the unveiling ceremony for her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, US, March 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Israeli actress Gal Gadot received a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, on Tuesday, and its unveiling was attended by her family and close friends, including “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins and her “Fast & Furious” costar Vin Diesel.
Gadot, 39, is the first Israeli actress and the 2,804th person to be honored with a star on the Walk of Fame, which is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Her star is located on 6840 Hollywood Boulevard adjacent to the El Capitan Theatre. The actress, who was born in Rosh HaAyin, Israel, and stars in Disney’s new “Snow White” remake as the Evil Queen, attended the unveiling ceremony with her husband, Yaron Varsano, and four daughters – Alma, Maya, Daniella, and Ori.
“This is very surreal, and I feel like I’m the luckiest woman. I feel very humbled and grateful,” Gadot said on stage at the event while getting visibly emotional.
“I’m just a girl from a town in Israel,” she continued, garnering loud applause from the audience. “And I could never imagine such a moment. I never dreamt of becoming an actress and I never knew that these things are possible. To me it’s even more than any award because we can share it with the world. I’m not taking it home. This is for everybody. This star will remind me that with hard work and passion and some faith anything is possible.”
Gadot thanked her fans for their love and support and told them: “If a girl from Rosh can get a star on the Hollywood [Walk of Fame], anything is possible.” She also shared a message in Hebrew with her friends and family watching the event being live streamed from Israel. Gadot looked into the camera and said in Hebrew she loves them and even though they are far away, they will always be close to her heart.
The actress concluded by thanking her husband and her children. She told her daughters in part: “Everything I do, I do for you. Being your ima [mother] is my greatest, greatest privilege and the most meaningful thing I’ve ever done. Thank you for being a part of the circus. You allow me to fulfill my dreams, and I hope that you know you can do the same. You inspire me every day to strive to be a better person – strong and kind and brave, just the way that you are — and I hope that you’re proud.”
Diesel spoke on stage at the unveiling about his close relationship with Gadot, whom he starred alongside in the “Fast & Furious” film franchise. Diesel cast her to play Gisele Yashar in 2009’s “Fast & Furious” and it was Gadot’s first film role. She went on to reprise the role in “Fast Five,” “Fast & Furious 6,” and “Fast X.”
Diesel praised Gadot as an “incredible actress” and also called her family, saying that she was in his life when he became a father and is now known as “Auntie Gal” to his children. The actor also talked about the support Gadot gave him after the death of his friend and “Fast & Furious” costar Paul Walker in 2013.
“After Paul left, Gal was the first one at my house to wipe my tears,” Diesel said. “I just love her so much.”
Gadot thanked Diesel for her big movie break during her own speech. “Vin, you took a chance on a complete unknown and invited me to the ‘Fast & Furious’ family. Talk about starting big,” she told him on stage. “It was my first movie ever and your faith in me completely changed the course of my life. Thank you so much for your trust, for showing up, and your love. I love you and we’re always family.”
Jenkins – who directed Gadot in 2017’s “Wonder Woman” and also the 2020 action film “Wonder Woman 1984” – described Gadot as a “movie star” and her “best friend forever on set.” She shared some of her fondest memories with Gadot, which included them living together during the COVID-19 pandemic, and listed some of her favorite things about the Israeli star.
“[Gal] never stops from giving powerful performances, somehow always being the happiest, kindest, most loving, most heroic person on the set,” Jenkins said. “You never complain and … she is Wonder Woman. She is the most wonderful, kind, gracious person, [and] what a gift to have somebody like that embody a hero that I care so much about. There are so many reasons to be in this industry [and] I’m so honored to walk through this with someone who’s really here to make the world a better place. And it’s a much better place with you in it.”
Gadot called Jenkins “my Wonder Woman behind the camera.” She added: “I’m so grateful that the world has brought us together. Working with you has taught me to trust myself and my powers as an actress and it was only after our movie [‘Wonder Woman’] that I finally started to call myself an actress. Thank you for your inspiration and for being such a friend.”
Others who attended the unveiling of Gadot’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame include Israeli actress Shira Haas, “Snow White” director Mark Webb, and the film’s producer Marc Platt. “Snow White” lead actress Rachel Ziegler did not attend.
“Being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a testament to Gadot’s incredible talent, dedication, and impact on the entertainment industry,” said Ana Martinez, Walk of Fame producer. “It is a recognition of her hard work and contributions to the world of entertainment that will forever be immortalized on Hollywood’s iconic sidewalk. Gal Gadot is well deserving of this honor.”
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Aid Workers or Terrorists? The Truth Behind the Claims of a ‘British Charity’
The bodies of people, some of them elderly, lie on a street after they were killed during a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Last week, the IDF conducted a successful operation, eliminating eight terrorists, including individuals who infiltrated Israel on October 7. This was a clear victory for those who seek a world free from terrorism. However, Western media coverage of the event tells a different story.
ELIMINATED: Several terrorists operating under the cover of journalists in Gaza
The IAF struck a terrorist cell yesterday in the Beit Lahia area that also included a terrorist who infiltrated Israeli territory during the Oct. 7 massacre. The terrorists struck were operating a… pic.twitter.com/XxKZ0elKm3
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 15, 2025
Many outlets like Sky News, the BBC, The Washington Post, and others barely mentioned the IDF’s account, burying it in brief paragraphs while prioritizing alternative narratives.
As expected, Hamas officials were among the primary sources either under the disguise of neutral terms “civil defense authorities in Gaza,” “the head of Gaza civil defense,” or directly.
For example, Sky News ran the headline: “Nine Palestinians killed, including three journalists, in Israeli airstrike, Gaza health ministry says.” Compare that to what could have been a more accurate headline: “Eight terrorists, including October 7 infiltrators, killed.”
Also, while Sky News openly cites Hamas (the so-called Gaza Health Ministry) as a credible source, other media don’t, ensuring that headline readers absorb Hamas’ version as fact.
A second, more elusive source in this case was a “London-based aid organization,” which some outlets avoided naming altogether.
- Washington Post: “Israeli strikes kill eight aid workers in Gaza, British charity says.”
- BBC: “Aid workers killed in Israeli air strike in Gaza, charity tells BBC.”
- Sky News: “An NGO says six volunteers were ‘deliberately targeted’ while delivering aid.”
- NPR: “Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 9, including aid workers and journalists.”
The organization in question? The Al-Khair Foundation — an international Muslim aid NGO based in the UK and Turkey. Not a single major outlet noted its religious affiliation, which would at least have questioned whether this NGO is a neutral and impartial entity.
Here’s the Al-Khair Foundation’s official statement:
It is with deep sadness and regret that we report the tragic loss of eight dedicated humanitarian aid workers in Gaza. The individuals, who were part of a relief mission, lost their lives in a drone airstrike that occurred despite an agreed ceasefire being in place. <…> we categorically refute any claims that those who were killed had any links to militant activities or connections with Hamas. These individuals were solely engaged in humanitarian work, striving to provide essential aid to those affected by the ongoing crisis.
This statement became the basis for media claims that those killed were aid workers. Yet, just hours later, the IDF published names and photos of six of the deceased, confirming their affiliations with Hamas. Among them:
- Mahmoud Yahya Rashdi Al-Sarraj — terrorist in Hamas’ engineering unit.
- Bilal Mahmoud Fouad Abu Matar — Hamas terrorist operating under the cover of a photographer.
- Mahmoud Imad Hassan Aslim — terrorist in Hamas’ Zeitoun Battalion, posing as a journalist.
Despite this, media outlets still parroted Al-Khair’s claims, failing to mention the IDF’s findings. A simple background check could have exposed the Al-Khair Foundation’s connections to terrorists in the Middle East.
Take Adham Abu Salmiya, Al-Khair’s Director of Marketing and Arab Relations in Istanbul. From 2009 to 2013, he was a media spokesperson for Hamas’ Ministry of Health in Gaza. He’s also a writer and activist whose essays make his position crystal clear.
In “Israel’s Strategic Defeat and the Resurgence of the Palestinian Narrative,” he refers to October 7 as the beginning of a Palestinian “strategic victory” without mentioning Hamas’ massacre even once. His conclusion leaves no doubt about his ideology: “For Palestinians, 7 October transcends direct hardships, pain and anger from Israeli massacres; it emerges as a defining moment where the balance of conflict tipped in their favour, representing a significant shift towards justice.”
The website “All4Palestine,” which profiles prominent Palestinians, states that Abu Salmiya supports armed resistance and believes in reclaiming all of “historic Palestine” through military means. So ultimately his ideology is not about aid — it’s about Israel’s destruction.
The Al-Khair Foundation has also been named as one of several NGOs responsible for setting up pro-Hamas crowdfunding sites.
Once again, the media has failed to report essential context, instead elevating Hamas-linked narratives while ignoring documented evidence. This is not just bias — it’s journalistic malpractice.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
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