Taming the Shrewd called Trump

It is as clear as day that the US president has incalculable powers. Despite being an elected president, he is a complete autocrat. He can take many decisions at his own without the approval of the Senate and can veto any decision of the Senate. This right is available to the president under the US Constitution.

In his first term, Donald Trump not only unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear agreement reached with Iran by the remaining superpowers, but also imposed more sanctions at his own. After Iran's protests and the superpowers' surrender, Joe Biden has also been imposing new sanctions on Iran.

After being re-elected as president in the recent elections, he has begun to hint at rare royal decrees to be issued after he takes oath on January 20, 2025.

The first decree is that the BRICS countries will not create their own currency and if they dare to make such a mistake, they will be subject to additional tariffs and will not be able to export their products to the United States.

Israel has broken the backs of Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria at the behest of the US, and today there are heavy attacks on Yemen. There is a growing fear that Iran will be the next target.

At the same time, Trump has announced to impose new tariffs on Mexican and Canadian products exported to the US.

The limit is that Trump has also announced new tariffs on his allies to undermine the European Union.

I have no qualms in saying that the continued silence of Russia and China and the criminal indifference of the oil-producing Arab countries have given the US the courage to do all this.

Remember, those countries that are silent spectators of the destruction of other countries today will have no one to shed tears over their destruction tomorrow.

Netanyahu eyes Iran, his arch foe

According to Reuters, 2025 will be a year of reckoning for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is set to cement his strategic goals: tightening his military control over Gaza, thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions and capitalizing on the dismantling of Tehran's allies - Palestinian Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and the removal of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

Assad's collapse, the elimination of the top leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah and the destruction of their military structure mark a succession of monumental wins for Netanyahu.

Without Syria, the alliances Tehran has nurtured for decades have unraveled. As Iran's influence weakens, Israel is emerging as the dominant power in the region.

Netanyahu is poised to zero in on Iran's nuclear ambitions and missile program, applying an unyielding focus to dismantling and neutralizing these strategic threats to Israel.

Iran, Middle East observers say, faces a stark choice: Either continue its nuclear enrichment program or scale back its atomic activities and agree to negotiations.

"Iran is very vulnerable to an Israeli attack, particularly against its nuclear program," said Joost R. Hiltermann, Middle East and North Africa Program Director of the International Crisis Group. "I wouldn't be surprised if Israel did it, but that doesn't get rid of Iran."

"If they (Iranians) do not back down, Trump and Netanyahu might strike, as nothing now prevents them," said Palestinian analyst Ghassan al-Khatib, referring to President-elect Donald Trump. Khatib argued that the Iranian leadership, having demonstrated pragmatism in the past, may be willing to compromise to avert a military confrontation.

Trump, who withdrew from a 2015 agreement between Iran and six world powers aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear goals, is likely to step up sanctions on Iran's oil industry, despite calls to return to negotiations from critics who see diplomacy as a more effective long-term policy.

Amid the turmoil of Iran and Gaza, Netanyahu's long-running corruption trial, which resumed in December, will also play a defining role in shaping his legacy. For the first time since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023, Netanyahu took the stand in proceedings that have bitterly divided Israelis.

With 2024 coming to an end, the Israeli prime minister will likely agree to sign a ceasefire accord with Hamas to halt the 14-month-old Gaza war and free Israeli hostages held in the enclave, according to sources close to the negotiations.

But Gaza would stay under Israeli military control in the absence of a post-war US plan for Israel to cede power to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which Netanyahu rejects. Arab states have shown little inclination to press Israel to compromise or push the decaying PA to overhaul its leadership to take over.

"Israel will remain in Gaza militarily in the foreseeable future because any withdrawal carries the risk of Hamas reorganizing. Israel believes that the only way to maintain the military gains is to stay in Gaza," Khatib told Reuters.

For Netanyahu, such a result would mark a strategic victory, consolidating a status quo that aligns with his vision: Preventing Palestinian statehood while ensuring Israel's long-term control over Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem -- territories internationally recognised as integral to a future Palestinian state.

The Gaza war erupted when Hamas militants stormed into Israel on October 07, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel responded with an air and land offensive that has killed 45,000 people, health authorities there say, displaced 1.2 million and left much of the enclave in ruins.

While the ceasefire pact would bring an immediate end to the Gaza hostilities, it would not address the deeper, decades-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Arab and Western officials say.

On the ground, prospects for a Palestinian state, an option repeatedly ruled out by Netanyahu's government, have become increasingly unattainable, with Israeli settler leaders optimistic that Trump will align closely with their views.

A surge in settler violence and the increasing confidence of the settler movement - highway billboards in some West Bank areas bear the message in Arabic "No Future in Palestine" - reflect a growing squeeze on Palestinians.

Even if the Trump administration were to push for an end to the conflict, "any resolution would be on Israel’s terms," said Hiltermann of the Crisis Group.

"It's over when it comes to a Palestinian state, but the Palestinians are still there," he said.

In Trump's previous term, Netanyahu secured several diplomatic wins, including the “Deal of the Century,” a US-backed peace plan which Trump floated in 2020 to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The plan, if implemented, marks a dramatic shift in US policy and international agreements by overtly aligning with Israel and deviating sharply from a long-standing land for peace framework that has historically guided negotiations.

It would allow Israel to annex vast stretches of land in the occupied West Bank, including Israeli settlements and the Jordan Valley. It would also recognize Jerusalem as the "undivided capital of Israel" - effectively denying Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem as their capital, a central aspiration in their statehood goals and in accordance with UN resolutions.

SYRIA AT CRITICAL CROSSROADS

Across the border from Israel, Syria stands at a critical juncture following the overthrow of Assad by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel forces, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani.

Golani now faces the monumental task of consolidating control over a fractured Syria, where the military and police force have collapsed. HTS has to rebuild from scratch, securing borders and maintaining internal stability against threats from jihadists, remnants of the Assad regime, and other adversaries.

The greatest fear among Syrians and observers alike is whether HTS, once linked to al-Qaeda but now presenting itself as a Syrian nationalist force to gain legitimacy, reverts to a rigid Islamist ideology.

The group’s ability or failure to navigate this balance will shape the future of Syria, home to diverse communities of Sunnis, Shi'ites, Alawites, Kurds, Druze and Christians.

"If they succeed in that (Syrian nationalism) there's hope for Syria, but if they revert to their comfort zone of quite strongly ideologically-tainted Islamism, then it's going to be divisive in Syria," said Hiltermann.

"You could have chaos and a weak Syria for a long time, just like we saw in Libya and Iraq."

Iran: Biggest loser after Assad’s fall

Among the central factors that led to the ouster of Bashar al Assad was Iranian and Russian decisions not to intervene yet again to prop him up. While Syria’s trajectory remains highly uncertain, its post-Assad posture is likely to be inimical to both the countries.    

Tehran had long used Syria as vector to project influence in the region and marshalled significant resources and manpower to keep Assad in power when the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011.

Moscow similarly saw its ties with Assad as a source of regional influence, and its 2015 intervention in Syria was decisive in Assad maintaining his stranglehold on power.

But with Russia bogged down in Ukraine, and Iran — and its allies like Hezbollah — severely weakened by the post October 07, 2023 conflict with Israel, neither patron was willing to rescue Assad once again.

USIP’s Garrett Nada explains what Assad’s ouster means for Iran: 

The toppling of the Assad regime is a major loss for Iran, which has not been so isolated or vulnerable in the region since the 1980-1988 war with Iraq. Syria was Iran’s only close state ally in the Middle East. It was a frontline against Iran’s archenemy Israel and the linchpin of Tehran’s ability to project power in the Levant. For four decades, Syria was the main conduit for Iran’s supply of weapons and equipment to Hezbollah in Lebanon, which became the world’s most heavily armed non-state actor.

Iran’s extensive support to Assad during the Syrian civil war, which broke out in 2011, reflected the country’s importance for Tehran’s regional strategy. Iran deployed thousands of military advisers and troops, mobilized tens of thousands of foreign Shiite fighters from as far away as Afghanistan and Pakistan to bolster regime forces, and organized a new Syrian paramilitary and provided billions of dollars in aid. Iran’s efforts, coupled with Russian air support, helped keep Assad in control of much of Syria until late 2024.  

Iranian officials quickly accepted the fate of the Assad regime despite all the blood and treasure invested. “It is the Syrian people who must decide on the future of their country and its political and governmental system,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on December 08, 2024.

Iran’s foreign ministry expressed a willingness to engage with a new government. “The Iranian and Syrian nations have always had long-standing and friendly relationship,” it said on December 08.

“It is expected that this relationship will continue with a wise and forward-looking approach by both nations, based on mutual interests and adherence to international legal obligations.”

Iran asked HTS to protect Shiite holy sites in Syria, and HTS confirmed that it would protect the Sayyida Zeinab shrine in Damascus.

Yet Iran’s future relationship with Syria is dubious. Many of the players poised to play key roles in the transition hold Iran responsible for propping up the brutal Assad regime.

“This new triumph, my brothers, marks a new chapter in the history of the region, a history fraught with dangers (that left) Syria as a playground for Iranian ambitions, spreading sectarianism, stirring corruption,” Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham, said in his victory speech on December 08.

On the same day, Iran’s embassy in Damascus, previously evacuated, was vandalized and looted. Posters of the supreme leader and other Iranians were torn and discarded on the floor.

The fall of Assad may push Iran to reconsider its “forward defense” strategy. For decades, Iran has relied on the “Axis of Resistance,” including Syria and militia allies across region, to pressure Israel and deter strikes on Iranian soil. The goal was to keep conflicts far from Iran’s borders. But the axis already faced severe setbacks before Assad’s departure.

Israel significantly weakened both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon during the war that erupted after the Hamas-led October 07 terrorist attacks. Israeli forces killed senior leaders and thousands of fighters and degraded both groups’ abilities to wage war. Iran will face significant logistical challenges to resupplying Hezbollah without the Syrian land bridge.

Meanwhile, Iran lacks credible mechanisms to deter Israel. Tehran launched unprecedented direct attacks on Israel, one in April 2024 including 170 drones, at least 30 cruise missiles, and more than 120 ballistic missiles, and one in October 2024 including more than 180 ballistic missiles. But neither caused significant damage or dissuaded Israel from launching counterattacks, the second of which crippled Iran’s air defenses and damaged missile production capabilities.

The remaining members of the “Axis of Resistance” are not much help in terms of deterring Israel. The Houthis in Yemen have proven resilient despite attacks by the US and Israel but have only carried out sporadic long-range missile and drone attacks.

The Iraqi militias backed by Iran, such as Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba, are also relatively peripheral and have not caused much damage to Israeli targets.

With limited options, a growing number of Iranian officials have called for revising the country’s nuclear doctrine to allow the production of nuclear weapons. As of late 2024, Iran could produce enough highly enriched uranium to fuel one nuclear bomb in as little as one or two weeks.

Tehran would need several months or more than a year to assemble a warhead and marry it to a delivery system, such as a ballistic missile. But moving to weaponize would come with its own serious risks.

 

Shattering of Axis of Resistance

The recent collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria marks a significant and unexpected development for Iran, comparable in its surprise to the Taliban’s swift takeover of Kabul in 2021. Iran has been a steadfast ally of Assad, who thought the cost of resistance is less than the cost of compromise. Tehran provided Damascus with substantial military and financial support throughout the Syrian civil war. The sudden downfall of Assad’s government not only disrupts Iran’s strategic foothold in the Levant but also challenges its influence in the broader Middle East region.

The rapid fall of the Western-backed government in Kabul — with which Tehran had sought to engage diplomatically to maintain stability along Iran’s eastern border — similarly caught the Iranian leadership off guard. This event as well as Assad’s toppling both underscore the volatility of regional alliances and the complexities Iran faces in navigating its foreign policy objectives amid rapidly changing political landscapes.

While Iran had at least prepared for a scenario of the Taliban’s return and established some contacts and exchanges with the group even before the latter returned to power, the collapse of the Assad regime, described as a key link in the Axis of Resistance, came more suddenly.

Only a few days before the fall of Damascus to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Iran started evacuating its key assets and personnel, including high-ranking military advisors and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), to save critical resources.

It is vital for Iran at this point to secure a role in shaping the future of Syria’s political landscape to prevent an adversarial government and to be able to preserve some level of strategic influence in the region.

Although the common border with Afghanistan is perhaps the number one security concern for Iran to the east, Syria’s strategic value cannot be overstated when it comes to Iran’s western flank.

Syria was the heart of the resistance, which provided a direct link to Hezbollah in Lebanon and supported Iran’s deterrence against Israel. Thus, losing Syria not only disrupts the Axis of Resistance but also weakens Iran’s ability to project power in the region.

In the absence of Iranian proxies on the ground, the resulting power vacuum is likely to be filled by Turkey or Saudi Arabia, which in turn could force Iran to redirect its focus to defending its interests in other places.

At home, the legitimacy of the Iranian regime was severely damaged by its violent crackdowns on the Mahsa Amini protests in late 2022-early 2023. At the same time, Iran’s broad and substantial investments in Syria and elsewhere, which many Iranians saw as a costly miscalculation, intensified public criticism and political dissent over neglected economic issues.

Fears that their country could follow a path toward civil war, similar to those in Syria and Libya, deterred some from advocating for regime change at any cost. If Syria now descends into another civil war with further destruction, it could validate these concerns. However, if Syria manages to form an inclusive and stable government free of revenge, it could inspire Iranians.

In the aftermath of Assad’s collapse, Tehran will likely recalibrate its regional strategy, strengthening its militia networks, particularly Hezbollah and Shi’a militias in Syria and Iraq as the primary focus. These will need to serve as Tehran’s primary tool for projecting power in the absence of a friendly Syrian government.

Iran may also attempt to expand its regional alliances with Russia and China to sustain its ambitions. However, given the outcome of its previous reliance on Moscow to protect the Assad regime, Iran may need to recalculate the level of Russian support it can truly expect.

Rethinking its Syria policy may additionally encourage Tehran to shift from overt to covert approaches — a potentially challenging aim due to Iran’s over-stretched resources.

Assad’s downfall marks a significant setback for Iran’s regional strategy, disrupting the latter’s network of alliances and diminishing its influence in the Levant.

Courtesy: Middle East Institute

 

 

 

Syria: Opportunities and Pitfalls for Israel

The fall of Assad, an implacable foe of Israel who turned Syria into a staging ground for Iranian threats and weapons transfers to Hezbollah, is not something Israel would lament. With Syrian rebel forces rapidly advancing south toward Damascus after already taking Aleppo and Hama, the ground in Syria is shifting.

This shift is due in no small measure to the twin blows Israel dealt Hezbollah and Iran since the launch of Operation Northern Arrows in mid-September, aimed at returning displaced Israeli residents to their homes along the northern border.

In its war in Lebanon, Israel decapitated Hezbollah’s leadership, killed and wounded thousands of its fighters, and significantly degraded its missile and rocket capabilities. Hezbollah, which once fought in Syria to prop up the dictatorial regime of President Bashar al-Assad, is in no position to help Assad today as his regime has crumbled.

Iran also suffered blows at the hands of Israel – most notably the destruction of much of its air defense network and critical missile manufacturing infrastructure during Jerusalem’s retaliatory raid on October 26.

With Hezbollah severely weakened and Hamas in Gaza also no longer an effective proxy, Iran – which has made an art form of sending others to be killed to further its own interests – finds itself unable to provide Assad with the same level of assistance it once did. It also struggles to project the same regional power if wielded just a few months ago.

Assad’s other ally, Russia, whose intervention in the civil war in 2015 tipped the scales in his favor, is also unable to give Assad what it did in the past, preoccupied and overextended with its own war in Ukraine.

With Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia weakened – two of them due to Israeli action – Syrian rebels seized the opportunity to advance, launching their offensive on the same day a ceasefire was implemented in Lebanon. Hezbollah, weary and depleted, was in no position to counter the rebel advance.

The fall of Assad, an implacable foe of Israel who turned Syria into a staging ground for Iranian threats and weapons transfers to Hezbollah, is not something Israel would lament. However, the composition of the rebel forces threatening Assad’s regime is not an alliance that the Jewish state can applaud.

They are led by Sunni jihadists recently aligned with al-Qaeda and who remain on America’s list of terrorist organizations and also include Turkish-backed Islamists.

Israel has a clear interest in seeing Syria removed from Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” ending its role as a host for Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps operatives and Iranian-sponsored militias and as a potential launch-pad for attacks against Israel.

Syria under Assad was a crucial pillar of Hezbollah’s strength in Lebanon, serving as the main conduit for smuggling missiles and advanced weaponry into the country. If Syria is taken out of the equation, Hezbollah – already reeling from Israel’s onslaught – will face even greater difficulties rebuilding.

This would be welcome news for many in Lebanon seeking freedom from Hezbollah and Iran’s stranglehold. One significant side effect of Assad’s fall could be a chance for the Lebanese to finally regain control of their own country.

While these developments are largely positive for Israel, they come with complications. Jerusalem has no interest in seeing its neighbor to the northeast taken over by Sunni jihadists of the al-Qaeda ilk or Turkish-backed Islamists. Israel’s experience with such groups – like Hamas in Gaza – has been anything but encouraging.

What happens in Syria will most definitely have an impact on Israel in the future that is why Jerusalem must keep a vigilant eye there, sending messages to all concerned that there are two developments it will not tolerate. The first is chemical weapons depots falling into the hands of jihadist or Islamist rebels, and the second is the mass deployment of Iranian troops into the country.

Those are redlines that, if crossed, would severely compromise Israel’s national security and would necessitate immediate Israeli action to prevent.

Beyond these redlines, Israel can do little to positively impact developments inside Syria, other than working behind the scenes with the US to establish channels with more moderate elements in the opposition, hoping they will emerge as a constructive force in shaping Syria’s future. 

Courtesy: The Jerusalem Post

Damages caused by Hezbollah are heavy

The western media publishes news indicating Israeli attacks causing huge losses in Lebanon. Today, allow us to share some of the losses western media and Israel are shy in admitting.

Hezbollah has retaliated to the latest Israeli aggression by bombarding Haifa with missiles and rockets overnight on Saturday and Sunday. It attacked a group of military bases in Haifa and the Carmel region.

These included:

1- Haifa Technical Base (affiliated with the Israeli Air Force, housing a training college for preparing Air Force technicians).

2- Haifa Naval Base (affiliated with the Israeli Navy, housing a fleet of missile boats and submarines).

3- Stella Maris Base (a strategic base for maritime surveillance and control along the northern coastline).

4- Tirat Carmel Base (housing the regiment and battalion of the northern region’s transport and a logistical naval base).

5- For the first time, Nesher Base (a gas station affiliated with the “Israeli” military).

Footage shows widespread devastation in the industrial Israeli hub. The Israeli military reported a number of casualties. 

The Hezbollah attacks also led to a power outage in the city. Verified videos circulating on social media show several areas of Haifa in the dark without electricity. 

Israeli media reported a massive missile strike launched from southern Lebanon towards Haifa and its surroundings making direct impact with air raid sirens blaring non-stop. 

On Sunday, Hezbollah waged more operations “in support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, backing their valiant and honorable resistance, and in defense of Lebanon and its people.” 

These included: “Operations targeting Israeli attempts to advance along the Lebanese-Palestinian borders, intercepting enemy drones and warplanes, and striking Israeli military sites, bases, deployments, and settlements in northern and deep occupied Palestine.”

Hezbollah struck the Israeli enemy gatherings with rockets on the outskirts of Khiam as the occupation forces (IOF) failed once again in their attempts to advance. 

Footage purportedly showed smoke rising from vehicles belonging to the Israeli occupation forces igniting on fire during clashes in Wati al-Khiam, east of the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah announced an Israeli army gathering was attacked on the southern outskirts of Khiam town with a rocket barrage.  

There Israeli Merkava tanks were spotted, being forced to withdraw from the outskirts of Khiam at high speed. 

The IOF reportedly reached its deepest point in Lebanon since the attempted ground invasion in late September before pulling back after fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters.

Troops temporarily took control of a strategic hill in the southern Lebanese village of Chamaa, five kilometers from the border, the state-run National News Agency said.

The agency noted the IOF was later pushed back from the position.

Hezbollah announced its fighters targeted an Israeli Merkava tank on the eastern outskirts of Chamaa with a guided missile, causing it to burn and resulting in casualties among its crew.

Meanwhile, the resistance targeted the “Krayot area north of the occupied city of Haifa with a rocket barrage” on Sunday. 

Hezbollah also attacked the Ma’aleh Golani Barracks (the headquarters of the Hermon Brigade 810) with a rocket barrage.  

Despite the heavy Israeli bombardment of the Lebanese border region in the south, Hezbollah is launching more long-range missiles. 

 

 

Yemen downs another US Reaper drone

Yemeni air defense units have shot down another US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the northern province of al-Jawf, the 12th aircraft of its kind destroyed by the country's forces so far.

The drone designed for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance was downed while flying over the region early Friday, Yemeni media outlets reported. 

The US military acknowledged the videos circulating online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky and a field of burning debris in what those off-camera described as an area of al-Jawf province. The military said it was investigating the incident, declining to elaborate further.

Yemeni forces have surface-to-air missiles capable of downing aircraft. The country's Ansarullah movement has been a key component of the “Axis of Resistance” that includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

Reapers, which cost around US$30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land. The aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA over Yemen for years.

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 07 last year, killing at least 43,469 Palestinians to date. 

Yemen's armed forces have said that they won’t stop their attacks until Israeli ground and aerial attacks in Gaza end. They have targeted more than 90 Israeli-linked vessels with missiles and drones since the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip started in October 2023.  

Ansarullah maintains that it targets ships linked to Israel, the United States or the Britain to force an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.  

In October, the US military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to bomb Yemen in support of Israel.

 

Hezbollah attacks Israel

Two separate Hezbollah rocket attacks have killed seven people in northern Israel, authorities say — the deadliest day of such strikes in months, reports BBC.

An Israeli farmer and four foreign agricultural workers were killed when rockets landed near Metula, a town on the border with Lebanon.

Later, an Israeli woman and her adult son were killed in an olive grove near Kibbutz Afek, on the outskirts of the coastal city of Haifa.

Hezbollah said it had fired barrages of rockets toward the Krayot area north of Haifa and at Israeli forces south of the Lebanese town of Khiam, which is across the border from Metula.

The Israeli military identified two projectiles crossing from Lebanon and falling in an open area near Metula on Thursday morning. Four foreign workers who were killed were all Thai nationals.

The military established the zone at the end of September, just before it launched a ground invasion of Lebanon with the aim of destroying Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure.

Thursday’s second rocket attack reportedly hit an agricultural area near Kibbutz Afek, which is about 65km (40 miles) south-west of Metula and 28km from the Lebanese border.

The military said a total of 55 projectiles were fired towards the Western Galilee region, where the kibbutz is located, as well as the Central Galilee and Upper Galilee in the early afternoon. Some of the projectiles were intercepted and others fell in open areas, it added.

The deadly rocket attacks in northern Israel came as two US special envoys met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to discuss a possible ceasefire deal to end the war with Hezbollah.

Israel went on the offensive against Hezbollah - which it proscribes as a terrorist organization - after almost a year of cross-border fighting sparked by the war in Gaza.

It said it wanted to ensure the safe return of tens of thousands of residents of northern Israeli border areas displaced by rocket attacks, which Hezbollah launched in support of Palestinians the day after its ally Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

More than 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon since then, including 2,200 in the past five weeks, and 1.2 million others displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israeli authorities say more than 60 people have been killed by Hezbollah rocket, drone, and missile attacks in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. But dozens of paramedics and other emergency workers have been killed and injured since it intensified its air campaign against Hezbollah five weeks ago.

The military has previously accused Hezbollah of using ambulances to transport weapons and fighters. The IHS has denied having ties to military operations.

Who is Sheikh Naim Qassem?

Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem has been elected as the new chief of the Lebanese resistance movement after his predecessor Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was martyred in an Israeli strike on southern Beirut last month.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah's Shura Council, the group's central decision-making body, appointed the 71-year-old cleric to the post.

“Based on faith in Allah Almighty…, adherence to Hezbollah’s principles and goals, and following the established procedure for the election of the Secretary-General, Hezbollah’s Shura Council has elected His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem as Secretary-General of Hezbollah, entrusting him with the blessed banner on this journey. We pray to the Almighty to grant him success in this honorable mission of leading Hezbollah and its Islamic resistance,” the council said in a statement, Press TV reported.

The statement also pledged to the fallen victims, fighters of the Islamic resistance as well as well the steadfast and loyal Lebanese nation that Hezbollah will stand by its principles, goals and path to keep the flame of resistance alive and its banner held high until final victory.

Sheikh Qassem is a veteran figure in Hezbollah, having served as deputy secretary general of the Lebanese resistance group since 1991.

He was appointed deputy secretary general under Hezbollah’s late secretary general, Abbas al-Musawi, who was killed by an Israeli helicopter attack in 1992, and remained in the role when Nasrallah became leader.

His political activism began in the Lebanese Amal Movement, founded in 1974. He left Amal in 1979, in the wake of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, which shaped the political thinking of many young Lebanese activists.

He took part in meetings that led to the formation of Hezbollah in 1982.

Sheikh Qassem has long been one of the leading spokesmen for Hezbollah, conducting many interviews with foreign media.

He was born in 1953 in Beirut’s Basta Tahta district, and his family originally hails from Kfar Fila town in Lebanon’s southern Nabatieh province.

 

Condemnation of Israeli attack on Iran

It may not be wrong to say that Israel having killed thousands in Gaza and Lebanon is now attacking Iran directly with regular intervals. One can say with complete confidence that Israel is doing all this under the patronage of United States. It is worth noting that some of the Muslim countries have condemned Saturday’s attack on Iran, with the request to apply restraint.   

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has condemned Israel’s attacks on Iran as a violation of the country’s sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norms.

“The Kingdom affirms its firm position in its rejection of the continued escalation in the region and the expansion of the conflict that threatens the security and stability of the countries and peoples of the region,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Riyadh also urged all parties to “exercise the utmost restraint and reduce escalation”, warning of the ramifications of continuing military conflicts in the region.

Malaysia

Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry also released a statement in response to Israel’s overnight attacks, labelling the strikes a “clear violation of international law” that “seriously undermine regional security”.

“Malaysia calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to the cycle of violence,” the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry added that Israel’s continued attacks on countries in the Middle East is bringing the region closer to the brink of a wider war.

Iraq

Iraqi Shia cleric and head of National Wisdom Movement, Ammar Hakim, has strongly condemned recent Israeli attacks on Iranian cities, expressing solidarity with the Iranian people, their leadership, and government.

Hakim urged the international community to unite in countering the spread of Israeli influence, which he argued violates international charters and norms. He warned that Israel’s actions threaten to escalate conflicts, extending violence beyond Palestine and Lebanon into Syria, Iran, and other nations.

Hakim called on the United Nations and the Security Council to take decisive action to prevent Israel’s behavior from further destabilizing the region.

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Pakistan

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif stated on Saturday that Pakistan firmly condemns Israel's recent aggression against Iran and stands with Iran and its neighbors in their pursuit of peace.

He also called on all parties involved to exercise restraint to prevent further escalation. On his social media platform X, the prime minister posted, “Deeply concerned by the recent act of Israeli aggression against Iran. Such actions threaten regional peace and stability and violate sovereignty and international law.”

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Kuwait

Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a strong condemnation of Israel’s recent military action against Iran, describing it as part of a broader policy aimed at destabilizing the region through violations of national sovereignty.

In a statement released Saturday, the ministry highlighted that Israel’s aggression against Iran exemplifies a disruptive approach that endangers the security of the entire region and disregards international laws and norms.

The ministry called on the international community and the UN Security Council to take responsibility in curbing these actions, which threaten the region’s future and the welfare of its people. It emphasized the importance of decisive steps to uphold regional security and stability, grounded in international laws and treaties.

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United Arab Emirates 

The UAE has strongly condemned Israel’s military strikes on Iran, and expressed its deep concern over the continued escalation and its repercussions on security and stability in the region.
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Oman

Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned Israel’s recent attack on Iranian territory, calling it a blatant violation of Iran’s sovereignty and international law.

The ministry stated that Israel’s latest act of aggression attempted to target military sites in Tehran province early Saturday, but the assault reportedly failed to achieve its objectives. This incident, it noted, is part of a broader pattern of Israeli hostilities in the region.

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Israel strikes military targets in Iran

Israel has launched direct airstrikes against Iran in a high-stakes retaliatory attack that brings the Middle East closer to a regional war.

The Israeli military said it had completed its air attack on Saturday morning, hitting missile manufacturing sites and aerial defences in several areas inside Iran. Israel’s public broadcaster said three waves of strikes had been completed.

Iranian air defences said Israel attacked military targets in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam and that “limited damage” was caused to some locations.

A senior US official described the strikes as “extensive”, “precise” and against military targets across Iran. The US did not participate in the strikes, the official said, but worked with the Israeli government to encourage a low-risk attack with no civilian harm.

“The effect was a proportionate self-defence response. The effect is to deter future attacks and to degrade Iran’s abilities to launch future attacks.”

The official stressed that the US considered the operation to be an “end to the exchange of fire between Israel and Iran”.

“This should be the end of the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran – we had a direct exchange in April and that was closed off and now we’ve had this direct exchange again.”

At least seven explosions were reported over the capital, Tehran, and nearby Karaj as well as the eastern city of Mashhad just after 2.30am local time on Saturday, as Israeli jets struck military targets in the country.

Iranian media initially appeared to downplay the airstrikes, noting that Tehran’s airport was operating normally. State TV reported several strong explosions heard around the capital, while the state news agency, IRNA, said there had been no casualties. There was no immediate official comment about the source of explosions, which Iranian news outlets reported were under investigation. Air defence systems were activated around the country.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took the rare step of acknowledging the attack on Iran, in a confirmation that a decades-old shadow war between the enemy states has now firmly moved into the open.

Before Israel launched the airstrikes on Saturday, Iran had repeatedly warned there were “no red lines” for Iran on the issue of defending itself. Last week, the country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, also indirectly threatened US forces against operating in Israel after Washington dispatched a Thaad advanced missile defence system battery and 100 troops to aid its ally amid the tensions.

The White House was notified shortly before Israel carried out airstrikes on Iran, a spokesperson said. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had said on Wednesday that Israel’s retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.

Hezbollah confirms Hashem’s martyrdom

Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, the head of the Lebanese resistance movement’s Executive Council, was martyred in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut earlier this month.

“We pledge to our great martyr and his martyred brothers to continue the path of resistance and jihad (struggle) until achieving its goals of freedom and victory,” Hezbollah said in a statement.

The Israeli army said on Tuesday that Safieddine was killed during a strike on October 04, 2024.

Safieddine was widely expected to be formally elected as the next Hezbollah leader after Israel assassinated Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last month. 

Israel killed Nasrallah, who was the movement’s chief since 1992, in an airstrike on a neighborhood in southern Beirut on September 27, 2024.

US media acknowledged that Israel used American-made 900kg (2,000-pound) bombs in the strike that killed Nasrallah and levelled residential buildings in Beirut’s suburb of Dahieh.

Israel has killed multiple Hezbollah commanders amid the exchanges of fire with the resistance group since October 8, 2023. That is a day after Israel launched its war of genocide in Gaza. Hezbollah has carried out attacks against Israel in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel also launched a massive bombing campaign in Lebanon on September 23 this year and launched a ground incursion into southern Lebanon on October 1.

Israel has killed about 2,500 people in Lebanon since October last year, including 1,800 in the past few weeks.

In response to Israel’s attacks, Hezbollah has intensified its retaliatory operations targeting strategic military sites in Tel Aviv and Haifa.  

The resistance movement’s reprisal strikes have spread a growing sense of panic among Israelis keeping the regime on its toes. 

World reaction on killing of Hezbollah Leader

The Lebanese group Hezbollah has confirmed the death of Hassan Nasrallah, its longtime leader, in an air strike on the group’s underground headquarters near the capital, Beirut.

Hours after Israel claimed killing the 64-year-old Nasrallah on Saturday said its leader “has joined his fellow martyrs” and pledged it would “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine” amid fears that a regional war is now inevitable.

Israel carried out a large strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday evening, which it said targeted the Hezbollah leader, flattening at least six residential buildings.

Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades, was by far the most powerful target to be killed by Israel in weeks of intensified fighting with Hezbollah.

According to the United Nations, more than 50,000 people have fled Lebanon for Syria, as Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 700 people since Monday.

Israeli jets pounded south Beirut and its outskirts throughout the night into Saturday, in the most intense attacks on the Hezbollah stronghold since the group and Israel last went to war in 2006.

Nasrallah had rarely been seen in public since 2006. He was elected secretary-general of Hezbollah in 1992, aged 32, after an Israeli helicopter gunship killed his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi.

Hezbollah

The Lebanese group confirmed in a statement its leader had been killed “following the treacherous Zionist strike on the southern suburbs” of Beirut.

The group’s statement said Nasrallah had “joined his great and immortal martyred comrades, whose path he led for nearly 30 years, during which he led them from victory to victory”.

The group said it pledged “to the highest, most sacred and most precious martyr in our journey” to “continue its jihad in confronting the enemy, in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defence of Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people”.

Hamas

Hamas has condemned the killing of the Lebanese leader as “cowardly, terrorist act”.

“We condemn in the strongest terms this barbaric Zionist aggression and targeting of residential buildings,” the group said in a statement, accusing Israel of disregarding “all international values, customs and charters” and “blatantly threatening international security and peace, in light of silence, helplessness and international neglect”.

“In the face of this Zionist crime and massacre, we renew our absolute solidarity and stand united with the brothers in Hezbollah and the Islamic resistance in Lebanon,” the group said.

Fatah

The Palestinian Fatah movement also offered condolences and condemned the assassination, emphasizing “the historical relationship between the Lebanese people and their resistance and Palestine”.

Iran

Mourning Nasrallah’s killing, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a post on X that “the glorious path of the Resistance leader … will continue and his sacred goal of liberating Jerusalem will be achieved.”

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif also expressed his condolences, praising Nasrallah as a “symbol of the fight against oppression”.

Earlier, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned what he called Israel’s “short-sighted” policy in the region.

“The massacre of the defenceless people in Lebanon once again… proved the short-sighted and stupid policy of the leaders of the usurping regime,” Khamenei said in a statement before Hezbollah officially announced its leader’s death.

Iraq

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the attack as “shameful” and “a crime that shows the Zionist entity has crossed all the red lines”.

In a statement, Sudani called Nasrallah “a martyr on the path of the righteous”.

The leader of the Sadrist movement in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr, announced three days of mourning, writing on X: “Farewell to the companion of the path of resistance and defiance.”

Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel’s recent attacks in Lebanon as part of what he called an Israeli policy of “genocide, occupation, and invasion”, urging the UN Security Council and other bodies to stop Israel.

In a post on X, Erdogan, without naming Nasrallah, said Turkey stood with the Lebanese people and its government, offering his condolences for those killed in the Israeli strikes, while saying the Muslim world should show a more “determined” stance.

France

The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it is in contact with the Lebanese authorities and France’s partners in the region to prevent destabilization and conflagration.

The ministry also stressed that the security and protection of civilians must be guaranteed.

Courtesy: Al Jazeera 

 

Israel kills Hezbollah leader Nasrallah in Beirut

The Israeli military declared on Saturday that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been killed in an airstrike in Beirut on Friday.

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah and one of its founders, was eliminated together with Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

Nasrallah, aged 64, was one of the founders and secretary general of Hezbollah. He has led Hezbollah for more than three decades. Nasrallah oversaw Hezbollah’s transformation into one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East.

Israeli Air Force jets conducted a targeted strike on the central headquarters of the Hezbollah, which was located underground embedded under a residential building in the area of Dahiyeh in Beirut,” the IDF said.

“The strike was conducted while Hezbollah’s senior chain of command were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel,” sources added.

Following the announcement, the army chief warned this is “not the end of our toolbox.” Israel has been escalating its attacks on Hezbollah.

Overnight, Israel launched further strikes on southern Lebanon, targeting what it says are stores of Hezbollah weapons. State-run media in Lebanon says there have been casualties.

Lebanon has recorded more than 100,000 people displaced by the recent conflict, but authorities said the true number is likely much higher. Up to half a million people are likely internally displaced, said Dr. Firass Abiad, Lebanon’s health minister.

Hezbollah began firing on northern Israel the day after Hamas’ October 07 attack on the country. Around 60,000 Israelis have been forced from their homes, whom the Israeli government has committed to returning.

Last week, Israel massively ramped up its military campaign against Hezbollah, killing hundreds and displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians, according to the Lebanese government. 

Israeli Cyber Attacks Cripple Hezbollah

In unprecedented covert operations, Israel triggered explosions on thousands of pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah fighters and followers in back-to-back attacks on September 17 and 18, 2024.

Both attacks targeted Hezbollah in at least three strongholds—Beirut, the eastern Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon. Some pagers also detonated in neighboring Syria. In a speech on September 19, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that "retribution will come."

The escalation was the single largest blow to the Lebanese militia, which is Iran’s most important ally in the Middle East. It also signaled Israel’s growing shift from the Gaza war in the south to the tense 49–mile northern front with Hezbollah—and potentially a turning point for war in the wider Middle East.

Shortly before the pagers exploded on September 17, Israel announced that the Security Cabinet had decided to expand its military focus.

“The center of gravity is shifting northward, meaning that we are increasingly diverting forces, resources, and energy towards the North,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on September 18.

Military strikes along the northern border have intensified since the outbreak of the Gaza War on October 07, 2023, as Hezbollah fired rockets almost daily on northern Israel.

Some 70,000 fled Israeli towns, farms and kibbutzim with long-term impact on the economy, schooling, and security. Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon have led some 112,000 residents to flee villages, town and farms.

The Israel operations seriously degraded Hezbollah’s ability to communicate with its fighters as Israel mobilized forces closer to the northern border. The pager attacks:

·         Injured almost 3,000 Lebanese

·         Killed at least 12, including two children

·         Injured Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, who reportedly lost one eye and injured the other

·         Overwhelmed Lebanese hospitals

Arab news outlets reported that the explosives were pre-planted in the AR-924 pagers, which were produced in Hungary on a license from Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company. Hezbollah pledged retaliation for the “sinful assault, both in ways that are expected and unexpected.”

The walkie-talkie attack the next day was smaller in scale but a further humiliating blow to Hezbollah and, potentially, its military capabilities. The walkie-talkie operation:

·         Injured at least 608

·         Killed at least 25

·         Sparked fires in Beirut’s southern suburbs as well as the Bekaa Valley

·         Added to stress on Lebanese health facilities

The United States and the European Union expressed alarm about the operations. In Cairo, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned all parties against actions that would intensify regional hostilities.

“We remain very clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any steps that could further escalate the conflict that we’re trying to resolve in Gaza to see it spread to other fronts.  It’s clearly not in the interest of anyone involved to see that happen,” he said at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. “It’s imperative that all parties refrain from any actions that could escalate the conflict.”

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the operations for endangering Lebanon’s stability and increasing the risk of regional escalation. 

“Even if the attacks seem to have been targeted, they had heavy, indiscriminate collateral damages among civilians, including children among the victims,” he said in a statement after meeting with the Lebanese foreign minister on Sept. 18, 2024. “I consider this situation extremely worrying.”

In contrast, President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the use of pagers as tools for “assassination and annihilation.” The attack “once again showed that western nations and Americans fully support crime, killings, and blind assassinations by the Zionist regime,” he said in a cabinet meeting on September 18, according to the presidential website.

Israel has pledged to continue military operations against Hezbollah, the most experienced and well-armed non-state actor in the world, until it withdraws from the border and ends rocket and missile strikes.

Hezbollah, in turn, has vowed not to stop until the Gaza war ends. Between October 2023 and mid-September 2024:

·         Hezbollah launched more than 8,000 rockets and more than 450 drones at Israel.

·         Israel carried out more than 7,000 strikes in Lebanon.             

Both sides have suffered deaths and casualties. At least 25 Israeli civilians and 21 soldiers have been killed in Hezbollah attacks.

Israel had already been linked to the deaths of at least 48 senior Hezbollah commanders and more than 430 operatives between October 08, 2023 and September 17, 2024.

Israel killed Fuad Shukr, one of Hezbollah’s most senior commander and a close advisor to Nasrallah, on July 30. At least 137 civilians in Lebanon have reportedly been killed in Israeli strikes.

 

Courtesy: United States Institute of Peace

Israel accused for pager explosions

Several news outlets confirmed late Tuesday what was widely suspected, Israel's military and intelligence services were behind the explosions of pagers recently purchased by the Lebanese political party and militant group Hezbollah.

The explosions, reportedly set off earlier Tuesday by a message that appeared as if it was from Hezbollah's leadership, killed at least 11 people—including an 8-year-old girl—and wounded thousands more.

Citing both an unnamed former Israeli official with knowledge of the operation and an anonymous U.S. official, Axios reported that Israeli intelligence services planned to use the booby-trapped pagers it managed to 'plant' in Hezbollah's ranks as a surprise opening blow in an all-out war to try to cripple Hezbollah."

"But in recent days, Israeli leaders became concerned that Hezbollah might discover the pagers," the outlet continued. "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his top ministers, and the heads of the Israel Defense Forces and the intelligence agencies decided to use the system now rather than take the risk of it being detected by Hezbollah”, a US official said.

A spokesperson for the US State Department publicly denied that the Biden administration was involved in the attack or aware of the operation in advance.

Heidi Matthews, an associate professor at the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, wrote Tuesday that each explosion constitutes an indiscriminate attack, pointing to video footage of a pager detonating in a crowded market.

"Under these circumstances," Matthews added, "this is an act of terror."

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Hezbollah ordered thousands of pagers from the Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, but the company denied making the devices.

According to the Times, which cited unnamed officials, Israeli operatives tampered with the devices they reached Lebanon, planting in them as little as one to two ounces of explosive material and a switch that could be triggered remotely to detonate the explosives.

Heightening fears of a broader conflict, Hezbollah pledged Tuesday to retaliate against Israel over the attack, which reportedly injured Iran's ambassador to Lebanon as well as Hezbollah fighters and medics.

The Guardian's Andrew Roth noted Tuesday that just a day before the coordinated sabotage, Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to US President Joe Biden, was in Israel urging Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials against an escalation in Lebanon.

Netanyahu has repeatedly sabotaged cease-fire negotiations with hardline demands in recent weeks as the Israeli military—heavily armed by the US—continues to assail the Gaza Strip.

"While US officials have said that the basis for peace along Israel's northern boundary with Lebanon would come through a cease-fire in Gaza, that agreement has proven elusive and appears no closer to fruition," Roth wrote Tuesday.

 "The White House had hoped that a period of quiet around Israel would allow for cease-fire negotiators to achieve a breakthrough, as intermediaries shuttle between Hamas and Israel to thread the needle of both sides' complex demands regarding a hostage exchange and territorial claims."

"That period of quiet has now been shattered with a breathtaking act of subterfuge and Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate," Roth added.

 

Hezbollah Hybrid War Capabilities

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has kept Israel on its toes since launching a barrage of missiles and drones that targeted multiple sites including a major military intelligence base near Tel Aviv at the weekend.

Reports suggest that the Hezbollah attack dubbed Arbaeen Operation caused significant damage in Israel. The Benjamin Netanyahu regime has been accused of trying to sweep the losses and casualties under the rug.

Hezbollah fired more than 300 Katyusha rockets and a large number of drones at Israel on Sunday morning. That was an initial response to the Israeli assassination of its senior military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut on July 30.

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on Sunday evening that the main focus of the attack was the Glilot base north of Tel Aviv around 100 kilometers from Lebanon’s border. The facility is home to the Mossad intelligence service and the military intelligence group Unit 8200.

Nasrallah stressed that the attack struck deep into Israel in contrast to the resistance movement’s previous attacks, which largely hit northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.

The Arbaeen Operation dealt a devastating and crushing blow to Israel’s security and intelligence systems.

This is because Israel had been on high alert since killing Shukr and awaiting a retaliatory attack from Hezbollah. But despite taking advantage of Western satellite technology, the Netanyahu regime failed to deter the Hezbollah strike.  

Facts on the ground indicate that the Arbaeen Operation substantially eroded Israel’s deterrent power and widened gaps within the Israeli establishment which is still reeling from the shock of a surprise military operation (Al-Aqsa Storm) carried out by Hamas on October 07.

The Al-Aqsa Storm highlighted Israel’s military and intelligence failures and the Arbaeen Operation reminded the regime that it will have to brace for more tremendous shocks, this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Israeli media have confirmed that an Israeli soldier was killed and two others were wounded on a Dvora-class patrol boat off the northern coast of occupied Palestine near Nahariya.

However, Israel claims they were hit by shrapnel from an Iron Dome interceptor missile as the regime tries to downplay the Hezbollah attack. 

Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since the day after the start of the Gaza war on October 07. 

Over the past months, Israel has threatened to launch an all-out war against Hezbollah if it does not stop strikes against the regime. 

Hezbollah has stressed that it will not stop its attacks as long as the Netanyahu regime continues the Gaza war which has so far claimed the lives of about 40,500 Palestinians. 

Although, Hezbollah did not use its strategic weapons during the Arbaeen Operation, Israel suffered a painful blow. 

Hence, in case of a full-blown conflict, the regime would have to wait for an apocalyptic scenario. 

Presently, Hezbollah is not only capable of hitting Israeli military sites on the ground but also its vessels which shows the Lebanese movement’s capability to wage a hybrid war against the regime. 

Israel failed to continue the 2006 war against Hezbollah for more than 34 days. The resistance movement’s military capabilities are currently incomparable with that year. 

Hezbollah is underpinned by its sophisticated arsenal and has increased its stockpile of missiles from 14,000 in 2006 to about 150,000. The movement has also developed precision-guided missiles and its drone programs. 

The number of Hezbollah fighters who are ready to join a possible war against Israel has exceeded 100,000, according to the Hezbollah secretary general. 

Israel is well aware of the military capabilities of Hezbollah. As a result, it only threatens the movement with a direct war as part of its psychological warfare. 
 

 

Rockets fired at Israeli settlement

Saudi Gazette reports a rocket barrage was launched from southern Lebanon toward Israel early Sunday. Israeli Channel 14 reported that at least 50 rockets were fired toward the Upper Galilee, triggering sirens across the region.

Hamas and Iran have vowed to retaliate for the assassination of the group’s political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, while Hezbollah pledged to respond to the killing of its commander, Faud Shukr, in Beirut.

Fears have grown about a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught in Gaza, which has caused nearly 40,000 deaths since October 2023.

According to the Tehran Times, Lebanon's Hezbollah announced on Sunday that it had targeted a new settlement inside occupied Palestine as part of ongoing operations in solidarity with Gaza.

In a statement, the Lebanese resistance movement explained that it had added the settlement of Beit Hillel to its current range of fire and targeted it for the first time with dozens of Katyusha rockets. 

Beit Hillel is a settlement in the north, about five kilometers away from Kiryat Shmona, which is closer to the Lebanese border and has been under constant Hezbollah fire. 

The extent of attacks on Kiryat Shmona saw Israelis flee the settlement to Tel Aviv and elsewhere. They have been replaced by the Israeli occupation forces who have gone into hiding amid ongoing precision strikes by Hezbollah. 

The Lebanese resistance emphasized that targeting Beit Hillel for the first time was a response to Israeli assaults "on the steadfast southern villages and safe homes". 

The statement added that the new operation was carried out especially after the Israeli military waged attacks on the southern Lebanese villages of Kfarkela and Deir Siriane (Marjeyoun District), which injured civilians. 

Hezbollah reaffirmed that targeting a new settlement also comes alongside its support for Gaza and the Palestinian resistance. 

According to the Lebanese news agency NNA, the Lebanese resistance has said its fighters carried out a "direct hit" on Israeli surveillance equipment in the settlement of Ramya, destroying the equipment. 

The ramifications of the Lebanese resistance’s moves against the Israeli occupation regime have been covered by The Financial Times, the British newspaper.

Based on satellite images, the newspaper said, the Israelis have sustained severe damages after ten months of confrontations with Hezbollah. 

The newspaper pointed out that Hezbollah's operations led to the largest evacuation in the northern occupied Israeli territories since the "establishment of Israel" more than 75 years ago, reporting that Hezbollah's fire caused damage to buildings, crops, and commercial activities. 

Reports have also cited data from the Israeli army that showed Hezbollah had deployed only a small fraction of its massive arsenal between October 2023 and mid-July 2024, launching about 6,700 rockets and 340 drones at the north, while confirming that the impact was widespread and significant. 

Hezbollah has carried out some 2,500 military operations targeting occupation sites, settlements, and military posts on the other side of the Lebanese border. 

This covers over 300 days of military support operations from October 8, 2023, to August 3, 2024, according to a new report from Hezbollah's military media. 

Hezbollah has vowed to avenge the assassination of its senior commander Faud Shukr in Beirut's suburb last week. 

In a speech, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, vowed to retaliate but has kept Tel Aviv waiting on the nature of the response. 

Analysts say the vague warning by Seyyed Nasrallah has also left the Israelis in a state of fear and panic.

 

 

 

 

Iran: Pezeshkian sworn in as President

Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in as Iran's new president on Tuesday, after winning an election earlier this month by promising to improve ties with the world and ease restrictions on social freedoms at home.

"We will pursue constructive and effective interaction with the world based on dignity, wisdom, and expediency," Pezeshkian told a parliament session attended by foreign dignitaries and broadcast live on state television.

According to Reuters, his victory has lifted hopes of a thaw in Iran's antagonistic relations with the West that might create openings for defusing its nuclear standoff with world powers.

Pezeshkian takes office at a time of escalating Middle East tensions over Israel's conflict with Hamas in Gaza and cross-border fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Iran, which backs the groups which describe themselves as the "Axis of Resistance" to Israel and US influence in the Middle East, has accused the United States of supporting what it calls Israeli crimes in Gaza.

"Those who supply weapons that kill children cannot teach Muslims about humanity," Pezeshkian said to chants of "Death to America," and "Death to Israel".

Leaders of Iran's Palestinian allies Hamas and the Islamic Jihad as well as senior representatives of Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi movement and Lebanon's Hezbollah attended the ceremony.

Pezeshkian, who is expected to name his cabinet within two weeks, replaces Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May.

As the ultimate authority in Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say in all state matters, including foreign and nuclear policy.

He must also approve Pezeshkian's selections for key cabinet posts, such as the foreign, oil and intelligence ministers.

As well as mounting pressure from the West over Tehran's fast-advancing nuclear program, Pezeshkian faces the huge task of breaking Iran free of the crippling US sanctions, re-imposed after Washington ditched Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.

Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to salvage the nuclear accord with six major powers have stalled since 2022, with both sides accusing the other of unreasonable demands.

"My government will never succumb to bullying and pressure ... Pressure and sanctions do not work ... and the Iranian people should be spoken to with respect," said Pezeshkian.