Syria thwarts Hezbollah plot to attack religious figure in Damascus; Israeli TV says target was rabbi

By AFP and ToI Staff 11 April 2026, 4:12 pm

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Henry Hamra, one of the founding members of a Jewish-Syrian organization that plans to work to return properties confiscated under previous Syrian governments, walks with others inside the al-Franj synagogue in Damascus on December 10, 2025. (LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Illustrative: Henry Hamra, one of the founding members of a Jewish-Syrian organization that plans to work to return properties confiscated under previous Syrian governments, walks with others inside the al-Franj synagogue in Damascus on December 10, 2025. (LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s interior ministry says that five people have been arrested over a plot to attack an unidentified religious figure in Damascus, alleging the cell was linked to the Hezbollah terror group.

The Kan public broadcaster names the figure as Rabbi Michael Khoury.

In a statement, the ministry says security forces observed a woman as she attempted to “plant an explosive device in front of the house of a religious figure” near a church in Damascus’s Bab Touma area.

Security forces intervened and dismantled the device, arresting all five members of the cell, the statement says.

“Preliminary investigations revealed the cell’s link to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and that its members received specialised military training abroad,” the statement adds.