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Swedish Maccabi Haifa Player Wants to Leave Team Amid Safety Concerns During Israel-Hamas War: Report
Daniel Sundgren, right, of Maccabi Haifa battling for the ball during the Conference League second leg match between ACF Fiorentina and Maccabi Haifa at Stadium Artemio Franchi in Florence, Italy, on March 14, 2024. Photo: Andrea Martini via Reuters Connect
Swedish professional soccer player Daniel Sundgren wants to be released from the Israeli soccer team Maccabi Haifa because he fears for his safety in Israel amid the country’s ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, according to Ynet.
Sundgren’s family — he has a daughter with his Swedish fiancé, who is Jewish — does not wish to return to Israel because of the war and concerns about a possible confrontation in northern Israel with the Hezbollah terrorist organization, Ynet added in its report. Maccabi Haifa officials are reportedly aware of Sundgren’s concerns and will not stand in his way if he decides to leave the team.
The 33-year-old signed with Maccabi Haifa in 2022 and plays as a right-back for the Israeli Premier League club. He became an Israeli citizen last year, but in November 2023, he came under fire for refusing to join his teammates in holding a banner on the soccer field that called for the return of the hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir appealed to revoke Sundgren’s Israeli citizenship in light of his refusal to hold the banner, Israel’s Kan reported at the time.
Following the incident, Sundgren took to social media to defend himself. “It’s just about a misunderstanding that caused a lot of damage,” he reportedly wrote in an Instagram post. “I came back to play for a club I love, Maccabi Haifa. We didn’t know what was on the banner, and all we want is peace. I hope all the hostages can be released and return to their families. I am grateful for everyone showing love. I love you guys, and I hope we’ll be able to figure this out.”
The post Swedish Maccabi Haifa Player Wants to Leave Team Amid Safety Concerns During Israel-Hamas War: Report first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Kurdish-led SDF Say Five Members Killed During Attack by Islamic State in Syria
Islamic State slogans painted along the walls of the tunnel was used by Islamic State militants as an underground training camp in the hillside overlooking Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017. Photo: via Reuters Connect.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Sunday that five of its members had been killed during an attack by Islamic State militants on a checkpoint in eastern Syria’s Deir el-Zor on July 31.
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Islamic State in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The Islamic State has been trying to stage a comeback in the Middle East, the West and Asia. Deir el-Zor city was captured by Islamic State in 2014, but the Syrian army retook it in 2017.
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Armed Groups Attack Security Force Personnel in Syria’s Sweida, Killing One, State TV Reports
People ride a motorcycle past a burned-out military vehicle, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes, and government forces, in Syria’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria, July 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Armed groups attacked personnel from Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, and fired shells at several villages in the violence-hit southern province, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Sunday.
The report cited a security source as saying the armed groups had violated the ceasefire agreed in the predominantly Druze region, where factional bloodshed killed hundreds of people last month.
Violence in Sweida erupted on July 13 between tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in the name of the Druze.
The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had long-standing tensions over land and other resources.
A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week. Syria said it would investigate the clashes, setting up a committee to investigate the attacks.
The Sweida bloodshed last month was a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, after a wave of sectarian violence in March that killed hundreds of Alawite citizens in the coastal region.
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Netanyahu Urges Red Cross to Aid Gaza Hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he spoke with the International Red Cross’s regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.