Eye on Extremism: February 24, 2026
Top Stories
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji on Tuesday urged the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah not to get involved in any fighting between the United States and Iran, expressing concerns about a new possible conflict with Israel. Rajji told journalists in Geneva that Lebanese officials had been warned that in the event of another Israel-Hezbollah war, Israel would strike harder against civilian infrastructure across Lebanon than in the previous round of fighting.
BBC: Landmark royal commission into antisemitism prompted by Bondi shooting begins
Australia's royal commission into antisemitism, prompted after the Bondi Beach shootings that killed 15 people and injured 40, has begun public hearings. The federal commission - the country's most powerful form of public inquiry - will investigate the prevalence and key drivers of antisemitism and make recommendations to government. Headed by former High Court Justice Virginia Bell, the inquiry - which started on Tuesday - will also examine the events leading up to the attack, which was Australia's worst mass shooting in decades.
Analysis
Atlantic Council: The Sahel’s most acute crisis is unfolding in Burkina Faso
Mali has once again become the focus of international attention. Over the past eight months, the Al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) has intensified its operations, launching coordinated attacks across western Mali in July and imposing a fuel blockade on Bamako in September. At the same time, JNIM has expanded its recruitment to new ethnic and regional constituencies via Bambara- and Fulfulde-language social media outreach.
National Interest: It’s Time to Confront Afghanistan and Iran About Al-Qaeda
The al-Qaeda terror network operates with impunity out of Iran and Afghanistan. America must lean on both countries’ regimes to bring it to heel. Iran’s nuclear program is at the heart of its ongoing standoff with the United States, but Washington also needs to confront Iran on another key issue: its persistent support for al-Qaeda and its ongoing relationship with the Taliban.
United States
NBC News: A new U.S. attack on Iran could risk large-scale retaliation
— Although weakened and facing a domestic crisis, Iran’s regime still has substantial firepower that could inflict damage on American interests and allies in the region, disrupt the global economy and trigger a protracted conflict in response to a U.S. military attack, according to former U.S. officials, foreign diplomats and regional analysts.
CNN: Will the killing of ‘El Mencho’ set off turf wars and narco-terrorism across Mexico?
The killing of Jalisco cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera, aka “El Mencho,” could fuel a turf wars among drug-trafficking gangs in Mexico and beyond, analysts say, with the rival Sinaloa cartel already riven by infighting. The Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels have long fought to dominate the lucrative US market for illegal drugs, including cocaine, heroin and fentanyl trafficking, and they increasingly compete for control of illegal migration into the US.
Washington Post: Coast Guard investigating swastika found at recruit training center
The U.S. Coast Guard has opened an internal investigation after a hand-drawn swastika appeared at its primary recruit training center, prompting a swift response from its top admiral, who faced significant scrutiny last year after the service temporarily downgraded the hate symbol in its workplace harassment manual to “potentially divisive.”
Federal authorities have arrested an 18-year-old Pennsylvania man for allegedly grooming a 13-year-old Los Angeles girl and coercing her into acts of self-harm and sexual exploitation. The case has highlighted the emergence of a "disturbing" online ideology known as nihilistic violent extremism (NVE), which law enforcement officials describe as a growing threat to families.
Canada
Hamilton's mayor and anti-racism advocates are among those condemning the latest demonstration by a local white supremacist group — this time held outside city hall on Sunday. In Nationalist-13's latest demonstration in the city, men dressed in black and wearing masks held a banner bearing the group's name and performed a Nazi salute, according to pictures viewed by CBC Hamilton.
Ukraine
DW News: Ukraine battles with airstrikes and terrorist attacks
Ukraine faced its heaviest strikes in months as Russia launched around 50 missiles and nearly 300 drones, hitting cities nationwide. Air defenses intercepted many, but attacks sparked fires and damaged homes and power facilities. Kyiv reported at least one dead and multiple injured. In Lviv, two explosions killed a police officer in what officials call a targeted attack. As arrests are made, the war nears its fifth year with no breakthrough in peace talks.
United Kingdom
BBC: Teen guilty of belonging to banned neo-Nazi group
A 16-year-old boy from Northumberland has been found guilty of being part of a banned neo-Nazi organisation. A jury at Leeds Crown Court unanimously convicted him of membership of the paramilitary group The Base, as well as possessing and sharing terror publications. They were unable to reach a decision on the most serious allegation he faced - that he was preparing acts of terrorism - and the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it would not seek a retrial.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
NBC News: Inside the Gaza tunnels that Israel says must be destroyed before reconstruction can begin
Underneath the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza City, mattresses once used by Hamas fighters remain on the floor of a dormitory built in a tunnel by the militant group. Nearby is a fully tiled bathroom with a toilet and sink that once had running water. Women’s underwear still hang on one of the walls next to one of multiple cables used to power the lights and other electronic goods. The Israeli military says this was one of a honeycomb of tunnels underneath the enclave, all of which will need to be destroyed before reconstruction can begin.
Times of Israel: Hamas seen working to maintain control of Gaza via Trump-backed bodies
US President Donald Trump is pushing full steam ahead with his vision for a post-war Gaza that is not ruled by Hamas. But evidence seen by The Times of Israel shows how Hamas is moving effectively to subvert him. The terror group is preparing a shadow government, and working to insert military commanders into civil roles once the Palestinian Authority-linked technocratic leadership begins its activities in Gaza, documents seen by The Times of Israel indicate.
Azzam al-Ahmad, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has said that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation and rejected calls for its disarmament, revealing plans for dialogue on the movement’s possible inclusion in the PLO. In an interview with Egypt’s Al-Shorouk newspaper, al-Ahmad addressed key political issues facing the Palestinian leadership, including the future governance of Gaza, relations between the PLO and Hamas, and international pressure to reform the Palestinian Authority.
On Monday, Channel 13 aired a video from 2022 showing Hamas members discussing plans and war games in preparation for the massacre the terror group carried out on Oct. 7, 2023. The video shows men in civilian and military clothing sitting around a table. One of them is Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who currently leads Hamas in Gaza.
Iran
Israeli startup AskIt has created AI-based behavioral profiles of 122 commanders in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, each modeled on the individual's real background including personal and military history, age, family status, and psychological characteristics. The synthetic generals database draws on open-source data, but goes deeper into each commander's cognitive patterns using methodologies from psychology and socio-physics, making it possible to understand how these commanders think even in scenarios where they could never be surveyed directly.
Iraq
Kurdistan 24: Iraqi FM Urges Countries to Repatriate Terror Suspects Amid Ongoing Security Efforts
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Monday urged countries worldwide to repatriate citizens involved in terrorism and prosecute them at home, stressing that shared responsibility is essential to sustaining global security gains against extremist groups. In a statement to the U.N. Human Rights Council, Hussein called on states to “recover their citizens who've been involved in terrorist acts so that they can be tried in their countries of origin,” emphasizing that Iraq has already taken significant steps in that direction. He noted that Baghdad has repatriated about 23,000 nationals from Syria’s Al-Hol camp, describing the effort as a key component of Iraq’s national security strategy.
Reuters: Iraq says Ankara agrees to take back Turkish citizens among IS detainees moved from Syria
Iraq's foreign minister said on Monday Turkey had agreed to take back Turkish citizens from among thousands of Islamic State detainees transferred to Iraq from Syria when camps and prisons there were shut in recent weeks. Iraq took in the detainees in an operation arranged with the United States after Kurdish forces retreated and shut down camps and prisons that had housed IS suspects for nearly a decade. Baghdad has said it will try suspects on terrorism charges in its own legal system, but it has also repeatedly called on other countries to take back their citizens from among the detainees.
Israel
Media Line: Video from 2022 Surfaces Showing Hamas Directing Simulation of Oct. 7 Attack
On Monday, Channel 13 aired a video from 2022 showing Hamas members discussing plans and war games in preparation for the massacre the terror group carried out on Oct. 7, 2023. The video shows men in civilian and military clothing sitting around a table. One of them is Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who currently leads Hamas in Gaza.
Lebanon
Reuters: Israel warns Lebanon of strikes if Hezbollah enters any US-Iran war, Lebanese officials say
Israel has warned Lebanon that it would strike the country hard, targeting civilian infrastructure including the airport, in the event that Hezbollah gets involved in any U.S.-Iran war, two senior Lebanese officials said on Tuesday. The Lebanese officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Israeli message was delivered indirectly. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Lebanese presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Naharnet: US orders nonessential diplomats to leave Lebanon as tensions with Iran soar
A U.S. State Department official said the U.S. has ordered nonessential diplomats and family members to leave Lebanon as tensions over Iran rise with the threat of a potentially imminent military strike. The official said a continuous assessment of the regional security environment determined it was “prudent” to draw down the U.S. Embassy’s footprint so that only essential personnel remained at their posts. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the move had not yet been formally announced, said that it is a temporary measure and that the embassy remained operational Monday.
Naharnet: Salam says Hezbollah disarmament 'irreversible' as Quint envoys meet in Cairo
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has called on Hezbollah not to drag the country into "a new adventure", as he re-affirmed the state's commitment to disarm the group. "The Gaza adventure came at a great cost to Lebanon, and we hope we won't be dragged into a new one," he said as tensions escalated between the U.S. and Iran, with Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem saying that any attack on Iran would also be an attack on Hezbollah.
Syria
Reuters: Islamic State claims two attacks on Syrian army, announces ‘new phase’ of operations
Islamic State claimed responsibility on Saturday for two attacks targeting Syrian army personnel in northern and eastern Syria, as the militant group signaled what it described as a new phase of operations against the country’s leadership. The militant group said on its Dabiq news agency that it had targeted “an individual of the apostate Syrian regime” in the city of Mayadin in Deir al-Zor province using a pistol, and attacked two other personnel with machine guns in the northern city of Raqqa.
Jerusalem Post: ISIS attacks near Raqqa signal growing threat amid US withdrawal - analysis
Four members of the Syrian security forces were killed in an ISIS attack near Raqqa in Syria on February 23. The attack was one of several over the last two days. This illustrates that ISIS not only poses a threat but could be increasing activity. This is occurring as US forces are withdrawing from Syria. In addition, the Syrian security forces have mostly closed a large camp called Al-Hol, where families linked to ISIS had been confined. Around 15,000 of these family members left, most of them children.
Yemen
Yemen Online: HRW: Houthis Intensify Religious Repression in Yemen
Human Rights Watch reported that Houthi militias have expanded their campaign of religious persecution in areas under their control. The organization documented the arrest of more than twenty Yemeni Christians, including women, with several subjected to enforced disappearance, torture, and ill-treatment in detention facilities. The report also highlighted attacks and bombings targeting mosques and religious institutions, describing them as part of a systematic effort to silence dissenting voices, including imams, preachers, and worshippers.
Senegal
Agence France-Presse: Jihadist threat puts eastern Senegal on edge
Senegal has remained unscathed by a series of jihadist attacks in Mali, but concern among residents is growing as the assaults inch closer to the border. Gunfire early on July 1 awakened Mbodj and others in the Senegalese town of Kidira as the Malian village of Diboli, located directly across the border, came under attack. The assault, which killed at least one civilian, was claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its Arabic acronym JNIM.
Australia
One of Australia’s largest Islamic schools is being investigated after its director, Faraz Nomani, posted a video of armed Hamas terrorists overlaid with an Arabic prayer for victory. On Monday, Sky News reported that Nomani, a prominent pro-Palestine activist with links to the Islamist fundamentalist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, had resigned from the board of Sydney’s Malek Fahd Islamic School after the outlet uncovered the disturbing video.
Reuters: Australia begins inquiry into antisemitism after Bondi shooting
Australia on Tuesday opened a government-backed inquiry into antisemitism, after 15 people were killed in a terror attack targeting a Jewish event at Bondi Beach in December 2025. The attack at the Hanukkah celebration shocked a country with strict gun laws and fueled calls for tougher controls and stronger action against antisemitism. The Royal Commission, the most powerful type of government inquiry in Australia, which can compel people to give evidence, will be led by retired judge Virginia Bell.
Technology
Washington Post: Russia opens probe of Telegram chief, claiming app has been used for terrorism
Russian authorities have opened an investigation into Telegram founder and tech mogul Pavel Durov on suspicion of “abetting terrorist activities,” a sign that the widely used messenger app — deeply embedded in everyday life and a key communications tool for Russian troops in Ukraine — may soon face an official ban in the country. Two national newspapers — the state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta and the Kremlin-friendly tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda — on Tuesday published lengthy articles “based on FSB materials,” referring to Russia’s Federal Security Service, accusing Telegram of becoming “a primary tool” for foreign intelligent services.
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