Eye on Extremism: February 25, 2026
Top Stories
A “mass escape” took place last month from Syria’s al-Hol camp that holds ISIS-linked families following the withdrawal of Kurdish forces, Syrian TV reported, amid reports thousands of people may have fled. Nureddin Baba, the interior ministry spokesperson, was cited as saying that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from the camp without coordination with the Syrian government or the United States-led coalition against ISIS.
Guardian: Disputes over Hamas disarmament stall Gaza peace plan progress
Progress in the Gaza peace plan has stalled over disagreements on how Hamas should be disarmed, with Israel threatening to go back to full-scale war if the condition is not carried out quickly. The second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire, which Washington declared had begun in January, was meant to involve Hamas disarming, Israeli forces withdrawing, and a Palestinian interim administration moving into Gaza backed by a Palestinian police force and an international stabilisation force (ISF).
Analysis
Jerusalem Post: Germany can no longer blame only the far Right for antisemitism - opinion
Although Berlin does not look like it did in 1933, for many Jews it feels uncomfortably close. After October 7, antisemitism in Germany did not merely spike – it erupted. Jewish homes were marked. Israeli flags were torn down. Demonstrations celebrated the massacre under the language of “resistance,” while university campuses normalized slogans that erase the world’s only Jewish state.
Foreign Policy: From Bad to Worse in Northeast Syria
Syria has just witnessed a great escape. Just weeks after a breakout from an Islamic State detention facility in the country’s northeast, more than 20,000 people from al-Hol detention camp, which is known for holding Islamic State-affiliated families, are now unaccounted for. The delayed responses of the Global Coalition Against Daesh, the Syrian government, and the United Nations—all of which helped operate al-Hol—have done little to quell mounting security and humanitarian concerns. The absence of transparency about this fiasco threatens not only regional stability but also the lives and futures of those whose whereabouts remain unknown.
United States
Politico: Trump's DOJ sues over alleged antisemitism at UCLA
The Department of Justice sued the University of California on Tuesday, alleging it allowed antisemitism to go unchecked at UCLA during protests over Israel’s war against Hamas. The civil rights lawsuit, filed in the Central District of California, stems from allegations by Jewish students and faculty that university officials did not take steps to rein in pro-Palestinian protesters who harassed them during weeks of campus unrest that followed Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza.
France
Le Monde: Several extremist French groups come under government scrutiny
On February 24, 10 days after radical far-right activist Quentin Deranque's death, President Emmanuel Macron personally took charge of the government's response to the tragic incident, which has become the symbol of a resurgence of political violence in France. The president convened an interministerial meeting at the Elysée on Tuesday, comprised of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon and some intelligence agency officials. While Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had initially been due to attend, he was instead represented by some of his advisers, as he had previously committed to an appearance at the Paris International Agricultural Show.
JNS: Paris cops probe suspected acid vandalism at kosher eatery
Unidentified individuals doused the inside of a kosher restaurant in Paris with acid last week, in what authorities suspect was an antisemitic attack, the Le Parisien daily reported on Sunday. Employees of the Kokoriko restaurant in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, an upscale district with many Jewish residents, found the corrosive substance on tables and seating areas at the entrance when they came into work on Friday morning, the paper reported, based on information received from the Paris Prosecutor’s Office.
Germany
Reuters: German foreign minister: Iran must stop support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says Iran must commit in negotiations with the United States to stop support for armed proxy groups Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. Speaking at a press conference with his Belgian counterpart Maxime Prevot, he adds that Germany has “a special responsibility for the security of the State of Israel.”
Italy
Times of Israel: Italy sees record number of antisemitic incidents in 2025
A record 963 antisemitic incidents were reported in Italy in 2025, according to the latest data from the country’s Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation (Centro di Documentazione Ebraica Contemporanea, or CDEC). The country has seen a marked upward trend over the past four years, the foundation’s annual report shows. In 2022, 241 incidents were recorded, rising to 453 in 2023 and 877 in 2024.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
A Gaza firm has been contracted to build an Emirati-funded compound for tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in a part of the territory under Israeli military control, two Israeli officials and two Palestinian businessmen told Reuters. The plan for a Palestinian contracting firm staffed by Gaza workers to build the compound has not been previously reported.
Iran
Reuters: Trump: I'll Never Allow Iran, World's Number-one Sponsor of Terror, to Have Nuclear Weapon
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned in his State of the Union address that he would never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, assailing the regime as the world's largest sponsor of terrorism as both countries remain on the precipice of war.
Israel
Speaking in the Knesset plenum ahead of visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says India and Israel will build an “iron alliance” of countries “in the face of extremist Islam.” “Israel is stronger than ever, and India is stronger than ever,” Netanyahu states early on in his speech, which he delivers in both Hebrew and English. He thanks Modi for his support for Israel following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, saying, “after this murderous attack, you stood in such a clear way, so moral, so sharp… We will never forget this.”
Lebanon
i24 News: Hezbollah 'not to intervene militarily' if US carries out ‘limited’ Iran strikes - report
Hezbollah officials announced on Wednesday that the group will not intervene if the United States carries out “limited” strikes against Iran. However, they emphasized that any attack against Supreme Leader Khamenei would be considered a red line. Meanwhile, Donald Trump denied plans to conduct a limited strike. At the same time, Britain has frozen the transfer of the Diego Garcia military base to Mauritius
Jerusalem Post: Hezbollah will join war if US targets Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei, official warns
A Hezbollah official said that the Lebanese terror group will not get involved militarily if the United States carries out "limited" strikes against Iran, AFP reported on Wednesday. According to the official, the organization would intervene if the United States tried to harm Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which was defined as a "red line."
JNS: IDF finds Hezbollah weapons, posts in Southern Lebanon
Israeli forces operating in Southern Lebanon located and dismantled Hezbollah weapons, observation posts and firing positions in recent months, the Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday. The IDF said the action aimed to prevent the Iran-backed terrorist group from rearming in violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon.
Syria
Reuters: Islamic State terrorists kill four Syrian government security personnel in northern Syria
Islamic State terrorists killed four Syrian government security personnel in northern Syria on Monday, the Syrian state news agency reported, in what would be the group's deadliest attack on government forces since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. The assault on a checkpoint west of Raqqa city underlined an escalation in attacks by the jihadist group against President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government, two days after the jihadist group declared a new phase of operations against it.
The National: ISIS launches daily attacks in north-eastern Syria as fears of security vacuum grow
ISIS has launched a wave of daily attacks on Syrian government forces in north-eastern Syria in the days following the group’s declaration of war on the country’s leadership, even as the authorities intensify counter-terrorism efforts amid fears of a security vacuum. At least 13 people were killed in 10 separate attacks in the past four days, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The dead include 10 Syrian soldiers and security personnel, a civilian, and two ISIS members involved in the attacks.
Australia
Before the Bondi attack, LGBTQIA+ Sydney teenagers were the first victims of a new outbreak of public violence linked to the terrorist network that produced gunmen Naveed and Sajid Akram.An ABC investigation has obtained distressing videos and victims' accounts of IS sympathisers hunting and bashing gay and bisexual boys on camera in Sydney.
China
Algemeiner: China Unleashes ‘Antisemitic Wave’ Amid Gaza Conflict, New Report Shows
The Chinese Communist Party has embraced overt antisemitic messaging in its domestic propaganda in recent years, according to a new report which ties the move to both geopolitical rivalry with the United States and efforts to curry favor with Arab and Muslim countries hostile to Israel. The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), a prominent think tank based in Israel, documents in the report how China’s authoritarian government has deliberately cultivated antisemitism among the population and internationally as a strategy.
Pakistan
Reuters: Militants in Pakistan kill nine in separate police attacks as tensions rise
Militants ambushed a police vehicle and a suicide bomber struck a checkpoint in separate attacks in Pakistan on Tuesday, police said, as the country grapples with escalating militant violence and renewed tensions with Afghanistan. In Kohat city in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, militants attacked a police patrol, killing five officers and setting their vehicle ablaze, a police spokesperson said. Two civilians later died of their injuries.
Al-Monitor: Pakistan wary of militant attacks after Afghanistan air strikes
Pakistan has boosted security and arrested dozens of suspects as it fearsrising wave of militant attacks following its air strikes in Afghanistan,Pakistan's Junior Interior Minister said on Wednesday. "Our forces are on high-alert to combat any attacks," the minister,TalalChaudhry, told Reuters. "You know the militants always react whenever we go after their hideouts in Afghanistan." Pakistan carried out air strikes on targets in Afghanistan over the weekend on what it said were militant targets responsible for a spate of recent suicide bombings on Pakistani soil.
Sri Lanka
France 24: Sri Lanka arrests ex-spy chief for ‘abetting’ 2019 Easter bombings
Sri Lanka's criminal investigators arrested the country's former intelligence chief on Wednesday in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners. Police said retired Major General Suresh Sallay was taken into custody at dawn in a suburb of the capital, Colombo in the most high-profile arrest in the long-running investigation.
Technology
Politico: ISIS teaching recruits how to use AI ‘responsibly’
ISIS recruits are being encouraged to use artificial intelligence and chatbots to aid their terror campaigns. The two most recent editions of Voice of Khorasan — the English language magazine of the Afghanistan branch of Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) — contain pages devoted to explaining how supporters of the group can use AI to be a “responsible mujahid.”
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