The Israel Defense Forces carried out an airstrike in southern Syria on March 25, stating it acted after gunmen fired on Israeli forces operating in the area. Syrian state media claimed that four civilians were killed. It is the latest clash in Syria as Israel continues to try to demilitarize the southern part of the country, an effort that has included airstrikes and ground operations in recent weeks.
Open-source information indicates that media figure Dr. Fadel Naim, widely quoted by prominent international news outlets on casualties and the impacts of the war in Gaza, has close familial ties to Hamas, including being the brother of longtime Hamas leader Basem Naim.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have expanded ground operations in Gaza after launching a new operation on March 18. Operation Strength and Sword initially included airstrikes targeting Hamas officials, but the operations expanded on March 19 to limited ground maneuvers that have seized areas in southern, central, and northern Gaza. The IDF says the effort is designed to pressure Hamas to release the 59 hostages still held by the group.
Israel conducted several military operations in Lebanon between March 13 and 17, 2025. The operations targeted Hezbollah activity, operatives, and infrastructure. Hezbollah announced the deaths of five of its fighters last week without directly specifying the cause.
After negotiations to extend the first phase of a ceasefire deadlocked, Israel conducted airstrikes against terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip. Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Resistance Committees acknowledged the deaths of several leaders.
The US has continued striking the Houthis in Yemen, hitting targets across territory controlled by the group, including military sites, infrastructure, and personnel. The Houthis have unsuccessfully attempted to target US naval assets in response.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted airstrikes in southern Syria on the evening of March 17, targeting military command centers and “sites containing weapons and military vehicles belonging to the old Syrian Regime.” The operations are part of a widening Israeli campaign to demilitarize southern Syria.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked a building in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday, stating it was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad command and control center. The IDF said it conducted the strike due to concerns about planned attacks against Israeli territory. The Israeli military has increasingly carried out strikes in recent months against former and current Syrian regime assets and various groups, including Hamas.
Israel conducted two sets of airstrikes in south Lebanon on March 11 that targeted Hezbollah operatives. The first targeted a senior Hezbollah aerial defense operative, whose fate remains unknown. The second set of strikes targeted Hezbollah members in south Lebanon. Hezbollah-affiliated media announced two of the group’s fighters were killed.
Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, the new chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), visited Israel’s border with Syria on March 9. He traveled to IDF positions and met with commanders. It is his first visit to the border since assuming the role and part of a wider series of Israeli moves to bolster the border and warn the new government in Damascus to demilitarize southern Syria.
A review of the new Lebanese government’s policy statement reveals some positive changes from the positions of previous governments regarding the official posture on Hezbollah and its arms. Nevertheless, the statement contains subtle but significant loopholes that Hezbollah can exploit to ensure its survival and eventual regeneration.
A comparison of actions by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in Lebanon after the ceasefire on November 27, 2024, demonstrates that the Lebanese have not taken significant action against Hezbollah.
On March 5, Iraqi National Security Advisor Qassem al Araji said that Baghdad is trying to locate kidnapped researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli and Russian citizen who was abducted in March 2023. Israeli officials have blamed Kataib Hezbollah for kidnapping Tsurkov, and her case has received increased attention in the last two months since the Trump administration entered office.
Israel assassinated Khodr Hashem, the commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force’s seaborn forces, in south Lebanon. Hashem was involved in armed activities and maritime weapons smuggling to Hezbollah before and after the November 27, 2024, Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement, activities which constituted a violation of the deal.
An armed group called the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria recently formed with a stated goal of countering Israel’s military presence in the Golan Heights.
Lebanon seized $2.5 million in cash destined for Hezbollah carried by a man arriving from Turkey. This development follows Israeli accusations that Turkey is being used as a conduit for Iranian funds to reach Hezbollah and may be facilitating the transfers.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out airstrikes in southern Syria on February 25 after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said that southern Syria must be a demilitarized zone. Local reports said that the strikes hit several areas in Daraa province, not far from Israel’s Golan Heights.
Qatar-funded Al Jazeera provided a platform to two Hamas officials on its panels at the media organization’s recent annual conference. One speaker, Osama Hamdan, praised the October 7 massacre in Israel and the “philosophy of resistance.”
On February 23, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not allow forces of the new Syrian army to enter areas south of Damascus. “We demand the full demilitarization of southern Syria,” he said. Individuals in southern Syria protested the statement and Syrian officials condemned Israeli incursions into the country.
Recent statements by Islamic Republic officials indicate Tehran’s staunch commitment to rebuilding Hezbollah’s capabilities and achieving “final victory.” These threats may signal a renewed escalation in the region after Israel’s crippling blow to Iran’s missile arsenal and the collapse of the Islamic Republic’s Syrian ally.
On February 20, Hamas released four caskets ostensibly carrying the remains of four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, but one contained the body of a Palestinian woman. Israel has condemned this as a violation of the ceasefire that began in January. Separately, the IDF redeployed an experienced division that served in Gaza and carried out airstrikes against Hezbollah on the Syria-Lebanon border.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem delivered a speech on February 16 addressing regional and domestic developments, Beirut banning Iranian flights from landing at Hariri International Airport, and Nasrallah’s upcoming funeral. Qassem called for massive participation in the funeral to deter Hezbollah’s domestic political opponents from targeting the group or its weapons.
Iran’s intelligence network is not a monolithic entity but a web of competing and cooperating factions that execute the regime’s global ambitions. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Quds Force, and Ministry of Intelligence each play distinct yet overlapping roles in conducting assassinations, abductions, and sabotage operations worldwide. While institutional rivalries persist, their shared objective—suppressing dissent and expanding Iran’s geopolitical reach—ensures continued collaboration.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem gave a speech to mark the onset of the month of Shaban, in which he announced the date of Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral, sought to counter the group’s domestic detractors, and condemned provocative behaviors by Hezbollah’s supporters.
After many months of keeping silent on the matter, Hamas announced the death of seven of the organization’s senior leaders, including longtime military commander Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri, commonly known as Mohammad Deif.
West Bank terrorist groups have issued statements, videos, and death notices following the start of a broad operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the West Bank.
On January 27, Naim Qassem insisted Hezbollah had emerged from the fight with Israel victorious, despite painful and unprecedented setbacks, and was unwilling to concede the group’s domestic position. Qassem also expressed Hezbollah’s satisfaction with Lebanon’s post-war political direction and said his group had a productive and positive relationship with Lebanon’s new president and prime minister-designate.
After mostly maintaining silence about the deaths of its members, Hamas has started to acknowledge their fate.
Israeli forces located and killed Muhammad Nazzal and Katiba Shalabi, both of whom were affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and wanted for the murder of three Israelis in the West Bank on January 6.
The Biden administration removed the Houthis from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations in 2021 and didn’t re-list the group despite over 15 months of missile and drone attacks on US naval forces, international shipping, and Israel. The Trump administration ordered re-listing the Houthis after two days in office.