Syria01 January, 20263 min read
Assad Remnants Seek Israeli Help in Leaked Recordings
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Al Jazeera published over 74 hours of audio and hundreds of leaked documents. Senior former regime officers, including Suheil al‑Hassan, plotted to destabilize Syria’s coastal region.
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Leaked Syrian regime recordings
Leaked audio and documents obtained by Al Jazeera Arabic’s investigative programme Al‑Mutahari depict senior figures from the ousted Bashar al‑Assad regime plotting to regroup, raise funds and acquire weapons to destabilise post‑Assad Syria. The material specifically implicates brigadier‑general Suheil al‑Hassan and includes a recording in which an intermediary or hacker tells al‑Hassan "the State of Israel... will stand with you." Middle-east-online’s reporting similarly describes Syrian informant sources obtaining hundreds of internal communications after posing as an Israeli officer, reporting that the files document efforts by ex‑regime officers to reorganize after Assad’s collapse.
“Al Jazeera Arabic’s investigative programme Al‑Mutahari says it has obtained more than 74 hours of leaked audio and hundreds of documents suggesting senior figures from the ousted Bashar al‑Assad regime are plotting to regroup, raise funds and acquire weapons to destabilise post‑Assad Syria.”
Al‑Jazeera Net adds that recordings — obtained after a person posing as an Israeli Mossad officer hacked officers’ phones — show al‑Hassan praising Israeli operations in Gaza and trying to persuade someone he believed to be an Israeli to assist his movement. Taken together, the materials suggest outreach or attempts by ex‑regime figures to secure external channels of support.
Key figures and backers
The recordings and documents name key figures and alleged backers. Al Jazeera's account implicates brigadier-general Suheil al-Hassan and records him referring to a coordinator called "Mr Rami". Former brigadier-general Ghiath Dalla appears endorsing al-Hassan as a voice for coastal and mountain strongholds.
Middle-east-online provides a roster-like list that presents businessman Rami Makhlouf as the network's top backer and names secondary leaders including Ali Mahna (finances), Saleh al-Abdallah (military affairs) and Ali al-Eid (field coordination). It even cites an assertion that al-Hassan claimed command of more than 168,000 fighters deployed across multiple sectors.
Syrian ex-regime reorganization
The recordings convey contempt for Syria's new order, with Al Jazeera transcribing conversations that express disdain for the so-called 'the flood'. They also outline plans to undermine the country following last year's rebel offensive that ousted Assad.
“The conversations convey contempt for the new order—called ‘the flood,’—and outline plans to undermine the country after last year’s rebel offensive, led by President Ahmed al‑Sharaa, that toppled Assad’s 54‑year rule and sent Bashar al‑Assad into Russian exile.”
Middle-east-online frames the files as documenting efforts to reorganize and consolidate ex-regime forces after the regime's collapse. Al Jazeera Net notes that reporting and related investigations suggest many ex-regime elites have reorganized in exile to try to carve out areas of power inside Syria, especially along the coast.
Media coverage of leaks
There are notable caveats and variations in verification and coverage. middle-east-online explicitly flags that all details are reported from the leaked materials and have not been independently verified, signalling caution about accepting the files at face value. Al Jazeera presents the findings as obtained by its investigative programme and highlights specific incriminating audio.
Al‑Jazeera Net links the materials to other reporting, including a New York Times investigation, to build a broader narrative. The supplied snippet attributed to سانا does not provide coverage in these materials and instead requests a pasted article, indicating that official Syrian state media content or response is not present in these excerpts.
Ex-regime influence efforts
If accurate, the materials point to a sustained effort by ex-regime figures to rebuild influence. They appear to pursue this through fundraising, asserted troop commands, and outreach that at least one recording frames as involving the State of Israel. Activity appears concentrated where old regime networks remain strongest, particularly along the coast.
“The material implicates brigadier‑general Suheil al‑Hassan, the former Tiger Forces commander, and includes a recording in which an intermediary or hacker tells al‑Hassan ‘the State of Israel… will stand with you.’”
Sources differ in emphasis: Al Jazeera foregrounds incriminating recordings and names implicated. Middle-East-Online emphasizes the roster and specific claims, including force sizes and Makhlouf’s patronage. Al-Jazeera Net situates the leak within a wider pattern of ex-regime reorganization in exile and territorial ambitions.
Middle-East-Online explicitly notes the leaked materials are not independently verified and that no official response appears in these excerpts. The reporting should therefore be treated with caution pending further verification.