Today, a number of mortar shells fired from Syria exploded in an open area in the Golan Heights. The IDF responded to the source of the mortar fire. The Times of Israel reports: Israel responded by firing a Tamuz missile at the origin of the attack. An IDF spokesperson said the...

• Kindle

A first-time mother from Syria is happily cradling her newborn at the Ziv Medical Center in Safed (Tsfat), after giving birth to a healthy 2.6 kg girl at the Israeli medical facility on Tuesday (August 26, 2014). This is the seventh birth of a Syrian baby at the northern medical center. “We have...

• Kindle

Amid reports that they engaged Syrian rebels in a gun-battle that lasted for seven hours, dozens of Filipino peacekeepers managed to escape Syria and seek refuge in Israel. Under cover of darkness, 40 Filipino peacekeepers who were surrounded and came under fire by Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights made...

• Kindle

In the past 48 hours, two men from Minnesota have been reported killed while fighting for the terrorist group ISIS in Syria. Both died in a battle with the Free Syrian Army. Douglas McCain, who grew up in the suburb of New Hope, was first reported dead by NBC News....

• Kindle

The United Nations (UN) confirmed today that 43 member of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Syria have been detained. The Associated Press reports: An armed group detained 43 U.N. peacekeepers during fighting in Syria early Thursday and another 81 peacekeepers are trapped, the United Nations said. The peacekeepers were...

• Kindle

The Syrian air force targeted positions held by rebels, including Islamists from the al-Qaeda-affiliated al Nusra Front, close to the Israeli border on the Golan Heights on August 28. The attack followed the reported capture of the Syrian side of the Quneitra border crossing with Israel a day earlier. While...

• Kindle

The al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front reportedly captured the Syrian side of the Quneitra border crossing with Israel on August 27. “Nusra Front and other rebel groups took the Quneitra crossing, and heavy fighting with the Syrian army is continuing in the surrounding area,” said Rami Abdel-Rahman, head of the Britain-based...

• Kindle

Hassan Hassan, an Abu Dhabi-based journalist and analyst, wrote yesterday in The New York Times that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is no ally of the West in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). According to Hassan, Assad had been able to combat ISIS earlier, but...

• Kindle

At a press briefing today alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) an “imminent threat.” However, when questioned if the United States might be on the “same page” as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in...

• Kindle

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) banned passenger flights from overflying Syria yesterday. Bloomberg News reported on the FAA’s announcement: “The ongoing armed conflict and volatile security environment in Syria poses a serious potential threat to civil aviation,” the agency said. “Armed extremist groups in Syria are known to be equipped...

• Kindle