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An Israeli commando unit captured an agent of Iran in a cross-border raid into Syria, the military said. The announcement comes two days after marine commandos seized a suspected Hezbollah operative on the Lebanese coast, as Israel intensifies operations in both countries.
Ground forces are being used increasingly for specific missions inside Syria, as Israel piles pressure on Damascus to distance itself from Iran. Syrian authorities have responded with moves that appear designed to curb the operational scope of pro-Iranian militias in the country, although these groups have retained their freedom of movement 13 months into the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Lebanese and Syrian media outlets loyal to Iran confirmed Israeli forces had penetrated the Syrian province of Qunaitra, west of Damascus, in July and arrested Ali Al Assi, described by the outlets as a milkman. He was reportedly based in an area adjacent to a 1974 armistice line between Syrian and Israeli troops in the occupied Golan Heights. The line was drawn a year after a war launched by Syria, alongside Egypt, failed to regain the area.
In a televised interrogation broadcast by the Israeli military, Mr Al Assi said he had been recruited by a member of Syria's Military Intelligence because he lived in a "good area" from where he could monitor Israeli troop movements.
He gave examples of information he had relayed: an Israeli tank "moving here or there, or an Israeli patrol that passed by at such and such hour". He said it was clear that the Military Intelligence personnel who recruited him were acting on behalf of Iran. There was no official Syrian reaction to Mr Al Assi's capture.
Military Intelligence, the most powerful of several Syrian secret police divisions, is controlled by Brig Gen Maher Al Assad, a brother of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. Brig Gen Al Assad is widely regarded as the main facilitator for the activities of Iran and its proxies in Syria.
Waiel Olwan, senior researcher at the Jusoor Centre for Studies in Istanbul, said the capture of Mr Al Assi was part of intensified Israeli operations to dismantle "the security and economic infrastructure of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria". By taking him alive, he said, Israel is hoping to gain more information about "local networks" Hezbollah has been recruiting.
Hezbollah poured militiamen and hardware into Syria shortly after a revolt against President Al Assad in 2011. During the ensuing civil war, Hezbollah, along with Iraqi militias, became the enforcers of an Iranian-controlled corridor running across Syria to Lebanon, the Golan Heights and Jordan. Israel has struck targets in the corridor hundreds of times over the past decade.
Israel has also stepped up attacks in Syria against figures linked to Tehran since its troops reportedly stormed an Iranian-controlled weapons development compound in Masyaf, central Syria in September. Days later, Israeli warplanes struck a villa in a Damascus suburb frequented by Brig Gen Al Assad. Although there were no reports of casualties, the attack was seen as a signal that Syria's top brass were no longer immune from Israeli assaults.
An Israeli military spokesman said Mr Al Assi's capture thwarted a planned attack by Iranian "terrorist" networks and that he had been seized in "recent months". The announcement of the ground operation was a rare acknowledgement of Israeli military activities in Syria.
On Friday, Israeli marine commandos abducted a ship captain from the town of Batroun in northern Lebanon during an operation launched from the sea. The man was a senior Hezbollah member, a military official told The National, and was being investigated by one of Israel's military intelligence units.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati instructed his Foreign Minister to file an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council over the kidnapping. Hezbollah issued a statement labelling it “Zionist aggression” but the group did not confirm whether the man captured was one of its members.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
