by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – In a rare statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that on Monday, it conducted airstrikes in Syria targeting Hezbollah’s intelligence division near Damascus.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the strikes in Syria resulted in the deaths of two Hezbollah members. Later, the IDF announced that its strikes delivered a “significant” blow to Hezbollah’s intelligence unit in Syria, which operates as an independent branch of the group’s headquarters in Lebanon.
According to SOHR, the strikes targeted a house south of Damascus in Sayyidah Zaynab, an area housing a significant Shiite sanctuary and guarded by pro-Iranian terrorist organizations, which Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard reportedly used.
Earlier today, Worthy News highlighted the significance of Sayyeda Zeinab, which Twelver Shī‘a Muslims revere as the true burial site of Zaynab, the granddaughter of Muhammad, the founder of Islam.
Sayyidah Zaynab is a major pilgrimage site for Shī‘a Muslims and a significant center of Shī‘i learning. During the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s and the 1990s, pilgrimage to Sayyidah Zaynab increased as access to Iraqi Shī‘a shrines was limited. By 2011, around 1 million visitors traveled annually to the town, many seeking healing at the shrine.
Twelver Shīʿism, the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, makes up about 85% of Shīʿas. “Twelver” signifies belief in twelve divinely appointed leaders, the Twelve Imams, with the last, Imam al-Mahdi, expected to return as the Mahdi. Twelvers see the Imams as Muhammad’s spiritual and political successors, guiding with justice and interpreting Islamic law and the Qur’an’s inner meanings. They are viewed as infallible (Ismah) and divinely chosen (nass). Iran is the only country where Twelver Shi’ism is the state religion.
The Twelvers’ believe that the Mahdi is expected to appear in times of extreme chaos, returning alongside Jesus as a messiah to bring peace and establish Islam globally.
Twelver beliefs, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and threats toward Israel and the West have raised concerns. Critics suggest that Iran’s Supreme Leader might incite conflict to hasten the 12th Imam’s arrival. Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad has even called for the Imam’s return at the UN, asserting that the Islamic Revolution’s primary goal is to prepare for his reappearance.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Israel expanded its military campaign against Hezbollah on Monday, striking more than 70 targets across Lebanon as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to increase pressure on the Iranian-backed terror group following a sharp rise in drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel.
A federal appeals court is weighing whether Kansas City can use its public accommodation ordinance to require Christian counselors to counsel gay married couples despite the counselors’ biblical convictions on marriage and sexuality.
Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians gathered in the Netherlands for one of Europe’s largest multi-day Christian events, with organizers and participants expressing hopes for spiritual revival in the nation and across Europe.
President Donald Trump pushed back Monday against sharp criticism from Republicans and former administration officials over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, insisting that any final accord must prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or it will not be signed.
President Donald Trump said Monday that countries involved in negotiations over Iran should be required to join the Abraham Accords, signaling that the White House is seeking to turn a possible Iran agreement into a wider regional realignment that includes normalization with Israel.
Tensions remained high in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Sunday after at least tens of thousands of people demanded elections and rallied against what they view as the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Aleksandar Vučić, with violence erupting after the protest and more than 20 people arrested.
Investigations were ongoing Sunday into the killing of three senior Kuki-Thadou Christian church leaders by unidentified gunmen in India’s northeastern Manipur State, Christian investigators told Worthy News.