This approach prevented his assassination until he was struck in his vehicle alongside three bodyguards on December 13, following multiple failed elimination attempts. One such effort unfolded in summer 2024, when the Israeli Air Force targeted a structure in the Shati camp – an area housing both a mosque and a school.

Saad handled diverse responsibilities within Hamas, spanning the organization's "civilian" infrastructure. Over three decades, he occupied a succession of critical positions directly linked to the October 7 massacre: operations chief, founder of the Nukhba (Hamas's elite commando force), naval force architect, and weapons production director. Throughout the war, he oversaw explosive manufacturing that claimed numerous IDF soldiers' lives. During the ceasefire, he orchestrated the restoration of the organization's strength.

"Generational transition"

Following his elimination, Israel Hayom has learned that Hamas is experiencing an accelerated "generational transition" due to dozens of senior operatives killed across two years. Today, scarce veteran figures populate the leadership, including "military wing head" Izz al-Din al-Haddad and intelligence director Mohammed Awda. They too face mounting responsibility portfolios. According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Awda was appointed commander of the northern Gaza Strip brigade. Al-Haddad himself managed the hostages dossier.

Consequently, the terrorist organization increasingly depends on junior terrorist commanders possessing minimal experience, restricted authority, and diminished capabilities. This dynamic threatens decision-making capacity and strategic planning.

Hamas has enlisted thousands of fresh terrorists throughout the conflict. Nevertheless, these recruits have only basic training, lacking experience and authority, and have marginal capabilities.

Yet alongside them, a hardened nucleus of veteran, proficient terrorists has endured. Therefore, Hamas sustains operations via emergency committees and apparatuses controlling the economy, transit, and education, while attempting to terrorize the population through executions and public prosecutions. Simultaneously, certain local clans demonstrate resistance.

Regarding the Palestinian population, Hamas' core supporter base has remained steadfast. Conversely, support for Hamas has declined according to multiple surveys. Furthermore, numerous Gazans exhibit passivity amid Gaza's humanitarian conditions, particularly during winter storms. Gaza has reported that at least 16 Palestinians have perished from weather-related damage thus far, including building wall collapses.

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Before being summoned back to Syria from Britain in the 1990s to prepare for succession after his father, Hafez al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad had trained as an ophthalmologist in London.

A source close to the Assad family said the former Syrian president is currently studying Russian and relearning the field of ophthalmology. "It's his passion," the source said. "Obviously, he doesn't need the money. Even before the war began, he practiced in Damascus." The sources estimated that members of Moscow's "elite" could become his clients in the future.

A year after the collapse of his rule in Syria, following a long civil war in which he massacred his own people, Assad and his family are living lives of luxury in Moscow and the United Arab Emirates.

Two sources estimated that the Assad family is residing in Rublyovka, one of Moscow's most exclusive neighborhoods.

"These are quiet lives," a family friend told The Guardian. "He barely has any contact with the outside world." According to the source, Assad is in touch only with a small number of figures from the former regime, including Mansour Azzam, a former minister, and businessman Yasser Ibrahim.

A source close to the Kremlin said Assad has largely become irrelevant to Putin and to Russia's elite.

"Putin has little patience for leaders who lose their grip on power, and Assad is no longer seen as an influential figure or even as an interesting guest to invite to dinner," the source said.

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According to him, "Honestly, this is a strange and thoughtless decision. If Netanyahu had agreed at the beginning to open the crossing according to the agreement, he would have achieved the following things – respect from the international community, embarrassment for Egypt, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would have left, only a few hundred would have entered, and the US would have received this as a gift. This is a diplomatic failure."

Nevertheless, Israel views this as an appropriate sanction for the ongoing delay in delivering all deceased hostages.

That is, first a Palestinian police force would be deployed, then a technocratic government would be established, and the PA would return to managing the Strip, and only at the end would the disarmament process begin. According to this proposal, the weapons would pass to the custody of the Palestinian Authority, which would oversee their storage, and its role would be to prevent terrorists from accessing them. It has also been reported that Doha and Ankara are proposing an alternative to the PA: "international supervision."

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As part of the training and preparation at the camp, the terrorists underwent shooting drills and additional training in the use of various types of combat equipment, for the purpose of planning and executing terror operations against IDF forces and Israeli citizens.

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Sources in Lebanon have written off the Egyptian initiative, which was based on the complete disarmament of Hezbollah in the area south of the Litani River and a commitment not to use weapons in areas north of it against Israel.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese News Agency reported that an Israeli force blew up a residential building on the outskirts of the village of Meis al-Jabal in southern Lebanon.

In addition, European diplomatic officials in Beirut were reported to have quoted American envoy Morgan Ortagus as saying that Israel intends to carry out "large and harsh strikes" against Hezbollah, particularly in Dahieh and the eastern Bekaa region, if the terror organization does not hand over precision missiles and drones by the beginning of the new civil year.

It was also noted that US Ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa conveyed a message that the diplomatic track is separate from the war track against Hezbollah. Issa met with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and later explained, "Israel separates between negotiations with the Lebanese government and its war with Hezbollah. What is happening is an attempt to reach a solution."

Against this backdrop, all parties were reported to be waiting for the end of the current month – the final deadline of the Lebanese army's plan to collect Hezbollah weapons in the area south of the Litani River and move north. Hezbollah has emphasized that the ceasefire agreement applies only to the area south of the Litani, while Israel and the US are waiting for steps by the army.

At the same time, informed sources told Al-Akhbar that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reference to economic cooperation with Lebanon was not made in a vacuum. According to the sources, the Israeli side raised the matter in meetings of the oversight committee.

The sources noted that when the issue of economic cooperation was raised, according to the American vision for rehabilitating the border region, Lebanese representative Simon Karam made clear that "Lebanon first wants the occupation to end, the attacks to stop, residents of the area to return to their homes and villages, and no interference with the rehabilitation process. Lebanon sees this as a mandatory condition for any discussion about the future of this region."

The sources added that Lebanon has previously heard such ideas from American envoy Tom Barrack, including a proposal for an infrastructure project in the border area. For example, it was reported that "security stability will enable a process of building an economic cooperation zone" in which Gulf investors would operate. According to the sources, Tom Barrack estimated that "disarmament [of Hezbollah] is a difficult thing, and it is not possible to convince people to give up weapons without offering an alternative."

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"The genocide in Gaza has caused the killing of more than 70,000 people. This constitutes a grave violation of the values in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Unfortunately, the injustices in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories continue despite all the efforts of the international community," Erdoğan charged, according to statements quoted by the Turkish news agency.

The Turkish leader further emphasized that "the rehabilitation of Gaza, which has been turned into a pile of rubble, is a shared responsibility that rests on the shoulders of all humanity toward the Palestinians."

Meanwhile, Erdoğan addressed the domestic situation in his country, stating, "We will first achieve the goal of a Turkey without terrorism, and then, with God's help, we will announce the goal of a region without terrorism, based on development, solidarity, cooperation, and peace."

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The footage joins a series of incidents indicating growing friction between the IDF and armed forces in Syria. On Monday, the IDF reported that during operations in the Quneitra area in southern Syria, a disturbance developed in which several suspects approached the forces and posed a threat to them. IDF forces initiated a suspect arrest procedure, during which they fired into the air for distancing purposes, and after the suspects did not distance themselves, forces fired at the lower body of two central instigators, and the disturbance dispersed.

Meanwhile, footage circulated on social media in recent days illustrates how significant the friction between the IDF and armed forces in Syria has become. A convoy of vehicles filled with armed fighters loyal to al-Sharaa was seen passing by an IDF vehicle, with soldiers watching the passing convoy.

About two weeks ago, an IDF force from the reserve brigade "Tip of the Spear" encountered intense exchanges of fire with terrorists in the village of Beit Jinn in southern Syria, during an operation to arrest suspects from the "Al-Jama'a Al-Islamiyya" organization who promoted terror plans against Israel. In the battle, during which air support was provided to the forces, six fighters were wounded – three seriously, one moderately, and two lightly. The IDF completed the operation successfully, all suspects were arrested, and several terrorists were eliminated.

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Al-Shibl was an adviser who accompanied Assad in footage published in recent days on the Saudi channel Al Arabiya, in which he mocked Syria, Syrians and even Russian President Vladimir Putin's plastic surgeries. The magazine also reported on the circumstances of the disappearance of al-Shibl's brother and his wife at the end of April 2024. An event that occurred after the Israeli strike on a building near the Iranian embassy in Damascus, in which Zahedi was killed – the Quds Force commander in Lebanon and Syria.

The documents include a transcript of a conversation between Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated in 2020, and Ali Mamlouk, head of the national security apparatus in Assad's regime. According to the documents, the two held a brief conversation about al-Shibl, during which Soleimani explained why he believed she was a spy.

Al-Shibl, born in Damascus in 1974, came from a Druze family. Her mother raised her alone and worked in the Ba'ath Party (the ruling party in Syria). Al-Shibl later became active in the party's youth organization and integrated into the regime's media. Subsequently, al-Shibl moved to work for Al Jazeera and married a Lebanese journalist, through whom she obtained Lebanese citizenship. She later divorced him and married a Syrian citizen.

In 2008, al-Shibl met Syrian President Assad for the first time. According to various testimonies, the media figure developed a "special relationship" with him. Within two years, she moved to work for him. Initially, she worked in the office of the security apparatus headed by senior Syrian official Ali Mamlouk. In the previous decade, she was appointed head of Assad's media office.

According to Al-Majalla, as part of her role at the time, al-Shibl worked to push out the previous office head, Bouthaina Shaaban. A bitter rivalry developed between the two. Over the years, al-Shibl consolidated her influence and simultaneously developed a close relationship with the dictator's wife, Asma al-Assad.

Al-Shibl's power grew until she became a mediator on various issues. For example, she conducted lengthy meetings with the Hamas terror organization's political bureau chief at the time, Khaled Mashaal, before he left Damascus. Despite this, it was reported that Maher al-Assad, Bashar's brother and a Syrian general, never trusted her.

According to information obtained by Al-Majalla and sources who spoke with the magazine, Maher al-Assad warned Bashar against al-Shibl, as did Qasem Soleimani, who believed she was a spy. In a document revealed in the magazine, an exchange appeared between Soleimani and Mamlouk at the end of 2019. The conversation took place a few moments after al-Shibl left Mamlouk's office, when Soleimani had just arrived.

"Who is that?" Soleimani asked, according to the transcript. "Luna al-Shibl, the president's adviser," Mamlouk replied. "I know," Soleimani said, "but who is he really? Where does he work?" Mamlouk replied that at the Qatari network, Al Jazeera. According to Al-Majalla, the Quds Force commander at the time used masculine pronouns, as is customary in such contexts.

Soleimani then asked about al-Shibl's salary, and Mamlouk did not know how to respond. The Iranian official answered him himself, "I'll tell you – $10,000. And what is his salary today?"

Mamlouk again did not know how to respond, and Soleimani replied to him once more, "I'll tell you – half a million Syrian pounds. Does it make sense that he would give up $10,000 for half a million Syrian pounds? He's a spy." It should be noted that even today, the value of the Syrian currency is almost zero compared to the dollar.

Despite the warnings, Syrian President Assad only brought al-Shibl closer into his inner circle, appointing her as a special adviser. His wife, Asma, supported her and appointed her as a trustee of a private university.

However, in 2023, Asma began to distance herself from al-Shibl because of the earthquake in northwestern Syria, after which the wife requested that she serve as her adviser, instead of her husband's – a request that al-Shibl did not comply with. According to the publication, from that moment on, the adviser's influence waned. Her associates said she frequently expressed an aspiration, even obsessively, "to become Syria's first lady." When she learned that Asma al-Assad had fallen ill again with cancer, it was reported that she responded, "Inshallah, she will die."

At the beginning of 2024, additional signs emerged raising suspicion about her activities. For example, she purchased real estate in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, worth eight million dollars. Two years earlier, she opened a Russian "luxury restaurant" in the al-Mazzeh neighborhood in Damascus, called Nash Krai. According to rumors, the restaurant was a gift from Assad himself.

Al-Shibl's assets abroad were registered under her sister-in-law, Nasrin Mohammad (she and her husband, Mulham, "disappeared" last year). Following these matters, Asma al-Assad began to suspect al-Shibl's unusual enrichment.

According to the Al-Majalla publication, Luna and her brother expressed great hostility toward Iran, Hezbollah, and members of the pro-Iranian axis. These statements raised accusations among Assad regime circles and Tehran's allies that al-Shibl was an "Israeli agent." Against the backdrop of the series of assassinations of senior Iranian and Lebanese officials in Damascus, these suspicions grew.

In July 2024, Luna al-Shibl was injured in a car accident while driving to her home in Syria. She was hospitalized, but died there. According to photos of the armored BMW in which she was traveling, only minor damage was caused to the vehicle.

Eyewitnesses told Al-Majalla that another vehicle hit her after the accident. According to testimonies, after her bodyguard exited, an unknown person approached the vehicle, struck al-Shibl on the head, and paralyzed her. This strengthened the magazine's suspicions that this was a political assassination.

The Syrian presidential office announced al-Shibl's death in a brief statement. A modest funeral was subsequently held, attended by several Syrian officials. Bashar Assad was absent. Before al-Shibl's death, her brother Mulham and his wife were arrested on April 26, several weeks after the assassination of senior Quds Force official Zahedi in Damascus.

According to Al-Majalla, in circles close to Iran in Damascus, they claimed they "worked for Israel," and were in contact with the Iranian delegation that was attacked as part of that assassination. Luna al-Shibl's brother did not appear again, and there is an assessment that the Assad regime operatives murdered him.

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Sources disclosed to the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday that US-mediated discussions between Damascus and Jerusalem in recent months produced "a written security agreement" slated for signing on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September. Syria's de facto president, Ahmed al-Sharaa (also known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani), attended that assembly. Nevertheless, according to the sources, Netanyahu declined to sign the written accord.

The sources emphasized that conditions in southern Syria have become deeply troubling, with Damascus anticipating that Washington will leverage its influence over Israel to curtail the escalation in the region. The officials stated that the expectation is "to restore the status quo ante," given that "President Trump possesses the capability to persuade Israel to halt the escalation across southern Syria." Syrian leadership has insisted over the past year that Israel retreat from territories captured since December 2024, thereby honoring the Separation of Forces Agreement (the 1974 accord following the Yom Kippur war that established a UN-monitored zone on the Golan Heights).

Within this framework, senior Syrian officials were quoted in the report asserting that Israel has carried more than 1,000 air strikes in Syria, alongside more than 400 ground incursions in the southern provinces since December 2024, when al-Sharaa took office.

The Saudi newspaper further reported that Israeli-controlled territory in Syria since the Assad regime's collapse a year ago exceeds 460 square kilometers (178 square miles). The account alleged that nine military installations and observation posts have been erected within this area. This is in addition to Israel's seizure of the Mount Hermon summit, which provides surveillance capabilities over Syrian and Lebanese terrain.

Earlier, the Reuters news agency reported that multiple stringent US sanctions imposed during the Assad era could be revoked within weeks. Their removal has been incorporated into comprehensive defense policy legislation poised for passage in the US Congress in coming days. Since the Assad regime's downfall, Washington has already lifted a substantial portion of the sanctions. These measures are anticipated to bolster the Syrian economy under al-Sharaa's administration.

The Prime Minister's Office dismissed the report outright, saying: "Total fake news. There were contacts and meetings under US auspices, but matters never reached the point of agreements and understandings with Syria."

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G. has spent recent days arranging his departure. Family members already established in his destination country have secured his entry. From his father's rural home, he transmits images of breathtaking terrain: verdant valleys, encircling peaks, rushing streams, dense woodlands, and modest Alawite sanctuaries crowned with pale stone domes. "These memorialize the pre-Ottoman Levant, before the 16th century," he explained. That ancient world has vanished irrevocably. Turkish influence, however, has returned. During an earlier conversation, he detailed how Turkish investors are acquiring Alawite properties, exploiting the community's vulnerable position.

Weeks ago, the Alawite population rallied behind Sheikh Razzal Razzal, a religious authority previously aligned with Assad's apparatus. Today, Syrian contacts inform Israel Hayom that he advocates normalizing ties with Israel. When times grow harsh, it seems no one enjoys the luxury of selective partnerships.

Demonstrations against Ahmed al-Sharaa centered on demands for Syrian federalization – greater regional autonomy. Unlike previous crackdowns, regime forces initially refrained from violent suppression of protesters. The violence came later, after darkness fell, delivered by neighborhood enforcers.

Reaping the PR harvest

"Regime operatives instructed Sunni Muslims to assault Alawite districts in Latakia," G. detailed. "They hurled stones, attempted arson against residences and automobiles. Palestinian militants living in Syria participated in these raids. The Palestinian quarter teems with criminals and gangs. Assad's government routinely deployed them against opponents. The current administration employs identical tactics. They shattered storefronts, ransacked shops, torched vehicles."

Fabricated social media profiles emerged during the unrest, alleging Iranian backing for Sheikh Razzal Razzal. Competing narratives link him instead to Israel and the United Arab Emirates. None of these assertions has been verified – pure speculation at this stage – though Reuters documented how former Assad cronies are channeling millions from Russian sanctuary to destabilize Syria and compete for Alawite leadership. Billionaire Rami Makhlouf leads this faction, a onetime Assad intimate who broke with the regime in recent years. According to Reuters, he envisions himself as a redemptive figure for the community.

Al-Sharaa (previously Abu Mohammad al-Julani), meanwhile, capitalizes on Qatar's public relations offensive. His White House visit – unprecedented for any Syrian head of state – delivered the primary objective: eliminating the majority of sanctions choking his country. Trump went further, presenting him a personal commendation declaring he will prove "a great leader."

Simultaneously, he commands near-universal Sunni endorsement. Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and additional powers have staked everything on his success. Minority massacres? Compromised al-Qaida connections? Such inconveniences disappear beneath the diplomatic carpet, dismissed as trivial aberrations.

Does al-Sharaa benefit Jews?

Internal regime tensions have nonetheless surfaced regarding al-Sharaa's trajectory. Hardline Islamist factions oppose any Israeli accommodation, including territorial concessions in southern Syria occupied since December. From their theological perspective, Jews and other religious communities constitute apostates.

Furthermore, his security architecture remains fragile. A former Syrian military officer told the Syrian Center for Human Rights: "Syria's defensive capabilities are profoundly inadequate. No functioning regular forces exist, nor advanced armaments. The previous government neglected this dimension entirely – Syria lacks even a single operational helicopter. HTS (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham) perpetuated this decay, dismantling what remained of the military. The justification claimed reconstruction was necessary to attract investment and shelter Syrians exhausted by warfare and Israeli bombardment."

This backdrop fuels widespread skepticism about long-term agreements with al-Sharaa's administration. "Jihadist doctrine includes 'tamkin,'" G. told Israel Hayom. "It permits concessions during vulnerability – but as strength accumulates, aggression follows. Consequently, when negotiating with Islamists without comprehending their strategic framework, refrain entirely."

"Al-Sharaa craves power retention," he elaborated. "Regarding his personal interests, he's profoundly cynical. He covets authority, wealth, and dominion over Muslims. He'll sacrifice any principle to maintain control. Yet this transcends individual character – it's systemic. It's embedded in educational curricula, ingrained in transformed thinking patterns. They've grown increasingly radical, increasingly rigid.

"The fundamental question persists: Can future arrangements with a Jihadist government provide security? What about extended timelines? I harbor serious doubts. I lived in Damascus before relocating to the coastal region. Their ideology cannot accommodate Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem. They demand its liberation from Jews. I comprehend Israel might pursue security arrangements driven by strategic imperatives. But what about the future?"

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