[News] New Syrian resistance faction begins operations against Israeli occupation forces

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 New Syrian resistance faction begins operations against Israeli occupation
forces

The group also announced it would carry out operations against 'the
terrorist gangs' led by former ISIS and Al-Qaeda warlord Ahmad al-Sharaa,
who was appointed as Syria's transitional president this week

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

FEB 1, 2025 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/new-syrian-resistance-faction-begins-operations-against-israeli-occupation-forces
(Photo Credit: Flash90)

A newly formed Syrian resistance faction, calling itself the Islamic
Resistance Front in Syria (IRFS), has claimed responsibility for an attack
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-troops-operating-in-syria-buffer-zone-come-under-fire-in-1st-such-incident/>
on 31 January against Israeli occupation forces in the southern governorate
of Quneitra.

With this attack, the new resistance group announced the start of its
operations "against the Israeli enemy alongside our operations against the
terrorist gangs of Julani
<https://thecradle.co/articles/in-syria-the-lunatics-are-running-the-asylum>,"
referring to self-appointed transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa – the
former deputy commander of ISIS and founder of Al-Qaeda in Syria.

The IRFS noted that Friday's operation forced Israeli troops to "retreat
and withdraw." "[We will not allow Israel] to occupy our land, and we will
be on the lookout for you and the Julani gangs
<https://thecradle.co/articles/sectarian-murder-in-syria-rogue-militias-or-policy-from-damascus>
with our precise ambushes and surprise attacks."

Earlier in the day, Israeli Army Radio reported that armed men opened fire
on Israeli occupation forces in the Quneitra countryside, with no
casualties reported. Correspondent Doron Kadosh described it as a
"particularly unusual incident," marking the first time in two months that
armed men have reached "the area of operation of our forces and opened fire
on them."

"A group calling itself the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria claimed
responsibility for firing at our forces ... and it is too early to know
whether this is the beginning of organized armed resistance to IDF activity
in Syria," said Kadosh.

The IRFS is reportedly largely made up of Syria's Shia minority sect and
was launched as an offshoot
<https://israel-alma.org/the-islamic-resistance-front-in-syria-is-this-a-new-potential-threat-to-israel/>
of the Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP).

On 17 December, the SSNP issued an official statement announcing the
establishment of the Southern Liberation Front, changing the name weeks
later to the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria. According to a statement,
this group was established to “protect the Syrian people and push Israel
out of Syrian territory.”

Immediately following the ousting of president Bashar al-Assad on 8
December 2024 by former ISIS and Al-Qaeda factions, Israel expanded its
occupation of Syrian territory, facing no opposition from the de facto
authorities.

The occupying forces established six military points in Syria's Quneitra
Governorate, including in Hadar, the village of Qurs al-Nafal, and Al-Tulul
al-Hamr (in the northern governorate), Al-Hamidiyah, Kodna, and another
near Al-Mantara Dam (in the south).

On 28 January, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the army
will “indefinitely
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/defense-minister-katz-says-idf-to-stay-in-syria-buffer-zone-indefinitely/>”
occupy the Syrian side of Mount Hermon and other areas in south Syria.

“The IDF will remain at the summit of the Hermon and the security zone
indefinitely to ensure the security of the communities of the Golan Heights
and the north, and all the residents of Israel,” Katz said during a visit
to the occupied Syrian territory.
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