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Israel releases body-cam video of deadly Syria raid targeting Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated terrorists
IDF battles terrorists in Syria raid
Body-cam video shows face-to-face firefight between Israeli forces and terrorists in Beit Jann raid as IDF troops capture terror suspect. (Video: IDF Spokesman’s Unit.)
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The IDF released body-camera footage Friday from a rare face-to-face gun battle in southern Syria, where troops from the 55th Brigade were fired on while arresting members of al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, a Sunni terrorist group Israel identifies as part of the wider Muslim Brotherhood network.
The cross-border gun battle comes as the Trump administration moves to target Brotherhood affiliates and tensions spike between Netanyahu and Syria’s interim president.
The overnight operation took place in the Beit Jann area, roughly 10 kilometers inside Syria, under the 210th Division. According to the IDF, troops entered the area to detain suspects involved in planting IEDs and planning future attacks against Israel, including potential rocket fire. Two suspects were arrested before an exchange of fire erupted.
Six IDF soldiers were wounded, including three in serious condition. Several terrorists were killed, the IDF said, and the suspects were transferred to Israel for interrogation.
TRUMP MOVES AGAINST MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AS ISLAMIST GROUP SPREADS IN WEST
IDF troops move through the Beit Jann area in southern Syria during the overnight operation to apprehend members of Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, the Muslim Brotherhood-linked militant group. (IDF) (IDF)
Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, founded as the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has cooperated with Hamas and Hezbollah, maintaining infrastructure in southern Lebanon and along the Syria-Lebanon border. The IDF says it has struck the organization’s sites in Syria and Lebanon repeatedly during the current war.
Channel 12 political correspondent Amit Segal noted Friday that the incident marks the first time since December 2024 — when Israeli forces took control of the Syrian side of Mount Hermon — that Israeli troops were wounded in a Syrian firefight.
Segal wrote: «Could Syria become the IDF’s new Lebanon? … With six soldiers wounded overnight, the big question is whether this is a one-off event, or if it signals the beginning of a long, uncomfortable Israeli presence in Syria.»
Tensions between Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have intensified since Sharaa’s unprecedented visit to Washington earlier this month. Sharaa met President Donald Trump at the White House for discussions on sanctions relief and counterterrorism coordination, making him the first Syrian leader to visit Washington since the Syrian war began.
IDF STRIKES HAMAS ‘TERRORIST TARGETS’ ACROSS GAZA FOLLOWING REPORTED CEASEFIRE VIOLATION
Israeli forces secure the area around Beit Jann after detaining two suspects and coming under fire in one of the most serious clashes on the Syrian front this year. (IDF)
Netanyahu publicly criticized the visit the same day, saying Sharaa «returned inflated with a sense of international legitimacy,» and warning that any U.S.-Syria discussions must «not come at Israel’s expense.»
Additional reporting in the Jerusalem Post and Channel 12 noted that security arrangements affecting Israel’s northern front were discussed in broad terms between U.S. and Syrian officials, though no agreements were reached, and Washington stressed that consultations with Israel were ongoing.
Friday’s clash came the same week the Trump administration launched a sweeping effort to designate Muslim Brotherhood affiliates as terrorist organizations. The White House directive instructs federal agencies to evaluate and sanction Brotherhood entities in countries including Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, citing global financial, political and operational ties among affiliates.
ISRAEL’S STRIKE IN QATAR TRIGGERS RARE US REBUKE, TESTS TRUMP’S GULF DIPLOMACY
IDF armored vehicles maneuver in the Beit Jann area of southern Syria during the overnight counterterrorism operation against Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya. (IDF)
The White House statement said the Brotherhood «fuels terrorism and destabilization campaigns against U.S. interests and allies.»
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, praised the move on his podcast Verdict, telling co-host Ben Ferguson that the designation marks the culmination of a decade of legislative efforts. Cruz said «This is literally 10 years of hard work, and it will make America safer because the Muslim Brotherhood is funding terrorists that want to murder you and want to murder me.»
He noted that many U.S. allies in the Middle East — including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE — have already outlawed the organization, telling listeners: «They really want the United States to do what President Trump did this week.»
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As Washington intensifies pressure on Brotherhood-linked movements, Israel is increasingly confronting Brotherhood-affiliated armed groups across the northern arena — from Hamas in Gaza to al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya in Syria and Lebanon.
With Beit Jann emerging as a focal point for cross-border operations, and American policy tightening, analysts say the regional confrontations involving Brotherhood-connected groups may be entering a new phase.
israel,lebanon,syria,benjamin netanyahu,donald trump,terrorism
INTERNACIONAL
Panamá cerró 2025 con más de 271 mil funcionarios y una planilla que supera $5,200 millones
Panamá cerró diciembre de 2025 con 271,346 funcionarios públicos, lo que representó un aumento de 4,869 empleados frente a diciembre de 2024 y un alza de 348 funcionarios respecto a noviembre de 2025, según el más reciente informe de la Contraloría General de la República.
En paralelo, el sueldo bruto mensual de la planilla estatal llegó a $458.4 millones, con un incremento de $10.5 millones en un solo mes. El dato retrata con crudeza el tamaño que ha alcanzado el aparato público: más personal, más gasto permanente y menos margen para maniobrar cuando la caja aprieta.
Pero el dato que realmente pesa no es solo el cierre de diciembre, sino el costo total del año. La planilla pública acumuló en 2025 un gasto de $5,245.2 millones, por encima de los $5,177.0 millones de 2024.
Dicho de otra forma: solo en salarios públicos, Panamá desembolsó en un año $2,280.2 millones más que lo que aportó el Canal de Panamá al Tesoro Nacional en el año fiscal 2025, que fue de $2,965 millones.
Incluso supera en $2,051.4 millones la transferencia histórica que el Canal proyecta para la vigencia fiscal 2026, estimada en $3,193.8 millones, y rebasa en $764.2 millones el costo total estimado de la Línea 3 del Metro, calculado en más de $4,481 millones.
El crecimiento tampoco empezó ayer. Los informes anuales de la Contraloría muestran que el gasto acumulado en planilla pasó de $4,441.1 millones en 2020 a $4,738.8 millones en 2021, $4,880.3 millones en 2022, $5,014.8 millones en 2023, $5,177.0 millones en 2024 y $5,245.2 millones en 2025.
En conjunto, entre 2020 y 2025, el Estado panameño desembolsó alrededor de $29,497.1 millones en salarios públicos. Ese monto equivale a casi 10 veces el aporte canalero de 2025 y a más de 6.5 veces el costo estimado de la Línea 3.
Buena parte de ese ensanchamiento ocurrió en el quinquenio anterior. De acuerdo con la información que ya había divulgado la Contraloría y que el propio comportamiento mensual confirma en sus series, entre julio de 2019 y junio de 2024 el empleo público aumentó en 24,082 personas, al pasar de 238,248 a 262,330 funcionarios.
El resultado fue una estructura estatal más pesada, con mayor gasto recurrente, más compromisos salariales y menos flexibilidad presupuestaria. En 2025 esa inercia no desapareció: cambió de velocidad, pero no de dirección.
Las entidades que más sumaron personal en 2025 ayudan a entender hacia dónde se movió la expansión. El Ministerio de Educación cerró 2025 con 68,405 funcionarios y añadió 1,017 plazas frente a diciembre de 2024. La Asamblea Nacional terminó con 5,718 empleados y sumó 935.
El Ministerio de Seguridad Pública cerró con 33,473 funcionarios y agregó 660. El Ministerio de Obras Públicas llegó a 2,330 empleados, con un aumento de 523. El Órgano Judicial alcanzó 7,318 funcionarios y sumó 513.
En el bloque descentralizado también hubo movimientos relevantes. La Caja de Seguro Social cerró 2025 con 35,325 funcionarios y registró un incremento combinado de al menos 620 plazas entre personal permanente y eventual. Transporte Masivo de Pasajeros, S. A. terminó con 4,103 empleados y aumentó 279 funcionarios permanentes.
Ese peso del gasto de funcionamiento ha sido una de las alertas repetidas por organismos y calificadoras. Moody’s ha advertido sobre la rigidez de ciertas leyes y la dificultad del Estado panameño para recortar gasto público, mientras Fitch y el Fondo Monetario Internacional han insistido en que la consolidación fiscal sigue limitada por la presión del gasto corriente y la trayectoria de la deuda.
El ministro de Economía y Finanzas, Felipe Chapman, y el presidente José Raúl Mulino han reconocido que reducir el gasto en salarios es particularmente complejo, en parte por la existencia de leyes especiales que establecen incrementos obligatorios para educadores, estamentos de seguridad, médicos y otros profesionales del sector público.
Esa rigidez, han señalado, dificulta ajustes rápidos del gasto corriente y obliga a que cualquier estrategia de contención se apoye en reformas de mayor alcance, mejoras de eficiencia y revisiones de estructuras salariales y de contratación.
manos,dólares,pago,impuestos,transacción,billetes,recibo,economía,finanzas,dinero
INTERNACIONAL
EXCLUSIVE: Trump rejects shielding Biden records from Senate probes in executive privilege showdown
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EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump rejected former President Joe Biden’s assertion of executive privilege over a tranche of documents requested by the Senate as part of various probes into the 46th president, determining it is «not in the best interests of the United States.»
White House counsel David Warrington wrote Monday in a letter addressed to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and obtained by Fox News Digital that Trump «does not uphold the former President’s assertion of privilege» over records sought in four congressional probes. The letter directs NARA to provide the materials to Congress.
The dispute centers on documents related to investigations into Biden’s health, alleged politically motivated probes into Trump and his allies, and the Biden family’s financial dealings, which Republicans argue go to the heart of Congress’ constitutional authority to conduct oversight.
The letter came as a response to communication from NARA on Dec. 10 informing the White House that the former president had asserted executive privilege over the requested materials.
President Joe Biden speaks during an event in Washington, D.C., on May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Warrington said the assertion «is not justified» as to documents identified in two letters Biden sent to NARA on Oct. 22 and Dec. 3.
The first category of documents involved a request from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for records related to what the letter described as the «coverup of former President Biden’s health and cognitive decline.»
«The abuse of the autopen that took place during the Biden Presidency, and the extraordinary efforts to shield President Biden’s diminished faculties from the public, must be subject to a full accounting to ensure nothing similar ever happens again,» Warrington wrote, quoting a prior letter.
TRUMP TO VOID ALL DOCUMENTS ALLEGEDLY SIGNED BY BIDEN VIA AUTOPEN, THREATENS PERJURY CHARGE
Biden also asserted privilege over two Senate Judiciary Committee requests concerning «coordinated efforts by the Biden administration against President Trump and his staff through politically motivated investigations.»
The White House argued that «the constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield from Congress evidence of a President’s efforts to imprison his opponent.»
A third set of documents related to the «Biden family’s financial dealings and potential conflicts of interest,» the letter noted, referencing Biden’s use of private email accounts and his work on Ukraine as vice president while his son Hunter Biden held a lucrative position on the board of an energy company there.
CONSTITUTIONAL SCHOLAR USES BIDEN AUTOPEN TO FLIP DEMS’ ‘DEMOCRACY’ SCRIPT AGAINST THEM: ‘SCANDAL’
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, Dec. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Warrington acknowledged that the Supreme Court has recognized executive privilege as protecting presidential decision-making and deliberations but said he was «unaware of a Supreme Court ruling or constitutional text that extends those protections to former President Biden’s efforts to assist his son’s shady business deals,» underscoring a fight about how expansive the scope of executive privilege is in the face of Congress’ oversight demands.
«President Trump instructs you to provide to these congressional committees the pages identified as privileged by the former President,» Warrington wrote.
Warrington previously denied Biden’s privilege request over documents related to the Biden administration’s use of the autopen, Fox News Digital exclusively reported in December. Biden has denied accusations that official presidential documents were signed by the autopen without his knowledge, brushing them off as «ridiculous.»
President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with President Joe Biden at Trump’s inauguration in the Capitol Rotunda Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)
«Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations,» Biden said in a statement in June as Trump and Republicans sounded off about what they alleged was a scandal. «Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.»
Concerns over Biden’s mental acuity had simmered for years before reaching a boiling point in June 2024.
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Republicans sounded the alarm that it appeared Biden’s mental edge was slipping before even the 2020 election cycle. The media and Biden’s longtime Democratic allies joined conservatives in their alarm following Biden’s failed debate against Trump in early summer of 2024.
Biden dropped out of the race, but investigations and concerns over an alleged Biden administration coverup continue into the second Trump administration.
Fox News Digital reached out to a Biden representative and NARA for comment on Monday morning.
white house,joe biden,donald trump,congress
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