Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders

Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders
People check the damage following an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 20, 2024. The Israeli military announced that the commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit, Ibrahim Aqil, and other senior figures of the Lebanese armed group had been killed in the air strike. (AFP)
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Updated 21 September 2024
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Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders

Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders
  • Hezbollah named the second commander as Ahmed Mahmud Wahbi, saying he had headed the group’s operations against Israel
  • Israeli strike on Beirut on Friday killed 31, Lebanese ministry says
  • Israeli officials say actions are part of new war phase

BEIRUT: Hezbollah said Saturday that a second senior commander was among 16 fighters killed in an Israeli air strike on its Beirut stronghold the previous day, highlighting the scale of the blow to its military leadership.
Israel said Friday’s strike on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital killed the head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, Ibrahim Aqil, and several other commanders.

At least 31 people were killed in the airstrike, the Lebanese health ministry said on Saturday, including three children and seven women, in the deadliest strike in a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
Coming hot on the heels of sabotage attacks on communications devices this week that killed 37 people in Hezbollah strongholds, the strike raised new questions about the Iran-backed group’s security arrangements and dealt a heavy blow to its fighters’ morale.
Hezbollah named the second commander as Ahmed Mahmud Wahbi, saying he had headed the group’s operations against Israel from the onset of the Gaza war in October until the start of this year.
Confirming the death of Aqil, who was wanted by the United States for involvement in the 1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, Hezbollah hailed him as “one of its great leaders.”
AFP journalists said Friday’s strike left a massive crater and gutted the lower floors of a high-rise building.
It was the second Israeli strike on the Hezbollah military leadership since the start of the Gaza war. An Israeli strike on Beirut in July killed Fuad Shukr, a top operations chief for the movement.
It also followed sabotage attacks on pagers and two-way radios used by Hezbollah on Tuesday and Wednesday, which killed 37 people and raised fears of a wider war.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the world body was “very concerned about the heightened escalation” and called for “maximum restraint” from all sides.
The Israeli military said it conducted a “targeted strike” against Aqil, which a source close to Hezbollah said killed a total of 16 Radwan Force members.
The source said Aqil was “at a meeting with commanders” when he was killed.
The United States had offered a $7 million reward for information on Aqil, describing him as a “principal member” of an organization that claimed the 1983 embassy bombing, which killed 63 people.
Regional escalations
Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters have battled each other along the Israel-Lebanon border since Hamas militants triggered the war in Gaza with their October 7 attack.
The focus of Israel’s firepower for nearly a year has been on Gaza, but with Hamas much weakened, that focus has now moved to Israel’s northern border.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel’s “enemies” would find no refuge, not even in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said after the strike that Israel was “not aiming for a broad escalation in the region.”
But Hamas called it a “brutal and terrorist aggression” and an “escalation.”
Iran’s foreign ministry accused Israel of seeking to “broaden the geography of the war.”

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that Israel is committing “shameless crimes” against children, not combatants.
Months of near-daily cross-border exchanges have killed hundreds in Lebanon, most of them fighters, and dozens in Israel, forcing tens of thousands on both sides to flee their homes.
The latest blow to Hezbollah came after thousands of Hezbollah operatives’ pagers and walkie-talkies exploded over two days, killing 37 people and wounding thousands.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Thursday that Israel would face retribution for those blasts.
Before Friday’s Beirut strike, Israel said Hezbollah had fired dozens of rockets from Lebanon following air attacks that destroyed dozens of the militant group’s launchers.
Speaking to troops on Wednesday, Gallant said “Hezbollah will pay an increasing price” as Israel tries to “ensure the safe return” of its citizens to border areas.
“We are at the start of a new phase in the war,” he said.
Aqil’s Radwan Force spearheaded Hezbollah’s ground operations, and Israel has repeatedly demanded through international mediators that its fighters be pushed back from the border.

Delayed visit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed by a day his scheduled departure to the United States, where he is due to address the UN General Assembly.
On Friday the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, told the Security Council the attack on Hezbollah communications devices violated international law and could constitute a war crime.
The pagers and walkie-talkies exploded as their users were shopping in supermarkets, walking on streets and attending funerals, plunging Lebanon into panic.
“I am appalled by the breadth and impact of the attacks,” said Turk, adding that it “is a war crime to commit violence intended to spread terror among civilians.”
International mediators, including the United States, have been scrambling to stop the Gaza war from becoming an all-out regional conflict.
Hamas’s October 7 attacks that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, on the Israeli side, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
Out of 251 hostages seized by militants, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,272 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations has acknowledged the figures as reliable.


Lebanon security official says Israel strikes house east of Beirut

Lebanon security official says Israel strikes house east of Beirut
Updated 4 sec ago
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Lebanon security official says Israel strikes house east of Beirut

Lebanon security official says Israel strikes house east of Beirut
Israeli warplanes hit a house between Baalshamieh and Dhour Al-Abadiyah

BEIRUT: A Lebanese security official said an Israeli strike hit a villa east of Beirut on Tuesday, with state media confirming the rare attack outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds.
The security official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the “Israeli strike caused an unspecified number of casualties.” The National News Agency later said Israeli warplanes hit a house between Baalshamieh and Dhour Al-Abadiyah.

Iranian capital builds ‘defensive tunnel’ after Israeli strikes

Iranian capital builds ‘defensive tunnel’ after Israeli strikes
Updated 12 November 2024
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Iranian capital builds ‘defensive tunnel’ after Israeli strikes

Iranian capital builds ‘defensive tunnel’ after Israeli strikes

DUBAI: Iran is building a “defensive tunnel” in the capital Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday, following strikes by Israel on targets in the country.
The tunnel, located near the city center, will link a station on the Tehran metro to the Imam Khomeini hospital, thus allowing direct underground access to the medical facility.
“For the first time in the country, a tunnel with defensive applications is being built in Tehran,” the head of transport for Tehran City Council told Tasnim.
Last month, Israel carried out its first officially-recognized strikes in Iran, hitting missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in the country’s west, as a response to Iran’s Oct.1 attack on Israeli territory.


Wave of Israeli strikes hit south Beirut after evacuation warning

Wave of Israeli strikes hit south Beirut after evacuation warning
Updated 12 November 2024
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Wave of Israeli strikes hit south Beirut after evacuation warning

Wave of Israeli strikes hit south Beirut after evacuation warning

BEIRUT: Israel launched at least 10 air strikes on south Beirut Tuesday morning, Lebanese state media said, shortly after Israel’s army urged residents of several neighborhoods to evacuate the Hezbollah bastion.
“Israeli warplanes launched a very violent tenth strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs,” the official National News Agency reported.
AFPTV footage showed grey smoke covering the area, with big plumes rising after each strike.
Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli army told residents of four south Beirut neighborhoods to leave immediately, warning it would strike Hezbollah targets there.
“You are located near facilities and interests affiliated with Hezbollah, against which the Israel Defense Forces will act in the near future,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.
The post included a map showing the buildings it would target in the Lebanese capital’s south.
Witnesses told AFP they heard gunfire in the area ahead of the strikes — warning shots by residents for people to leave following the evacuation call.
NNA also reported Israeli strikes across Lebanon’s south that destroyed a building in the main southern city of Nabatiyeh and also targeted the eastern city of Hermel.
Last month, Israeli strikes razed Nabatiyeh’s historic marketplace, with another wave of attacks also hitting its municipality building and killing several including the mayor.
Since September 23, Israel has intensified its air campaign, mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon’s east and south and in southern Beirut. A week later, it sent in ground troops.
It came after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges of fire, launched by Hezbollah in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas following their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
More than 3,240 people have been killed in Lebanon since the clashes began last year, according to the health ministry, the majority of them since late September.


A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels sees explosions near ship in Red Sea

A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels sees explosions near ship in Red Sea
Updated 12 November 2024
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A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels sees explosions near ship in Red Sea

A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels sees explosions near ship in Red Sea
  • The attack comes as the rebels continue their monthslong assault targeting shipping
  • The Houthis have insisted that the attacks will continue as long as the wars go on

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels saw multiple explosions strike near a vessel traveling through the Red Sea on Tuesday, though no damage was immediately reported by the ship, authorities said.
The attack comes as the rebels continue their monthslong assault targeting shipping through a waterway that typically sees $1 trillion in goods pass through it a year over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon.
The Houthis have insisted that the attacks will continue as long as the wars go on, and the assaults already have halved shipping through the region. Meanwhile, a UN panel of experts now allege that the Houthis may be shaking down some shippers for about $180 million a month for safe passage through the area.
A vessel in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, reported the attack, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.
No one was wounded on board in the blasts, and the ship was continuing on its journey, the UKMTO added.
The Houthis didn’t immediately claim the attack. However, it can take the rebels hours or even days before they acknowledge one of their assaults.
The Houthis have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October 2023. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign, which also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have included Western military vessels as well.
The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
The Houthis have shot down multiple American MQ-9 Reaper drones as well.
The last Houthi maritime attack came Oct. 28 and targeted the Liberian-flagged bulk tanker Motaro. Before that, an Oct. 10 attack targeted the Liberian-flagged chemical tanker Olympic Spirit.
It’s unclear why the Houthis’ attacks have dropped, though they have launched multiple missiles toward Israel as well. On Oct. 17, the US military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to target underground bunkers used by the rebels. US airstrikes also have been targeting Houthi positions in recent days as well.
Meanwhile, a report by UN experts from October says “the Houthis allegedly collected illegal fees from a few shipping agencies to allow their ships to sail through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden without being attacked.” It put the money generated a month at around $180 million, though it stressed it hadn’t been able to corroborate the information provided by sources to the panel.
The Houthis haven’t directly responded to the allegation. However, the report did include two threatening emails the Houthis sent to shippers, with one of those vessels later coming under attack by the rebels.


No repeat of Jerusalem incident will be accepted, France says

No repeat of Jerusalem incident will be accepted, France says
Updated 12 November 2024
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No repeat of Jerusalem incident will be accepted, France says

No repeat of Jerusalem incident will be accepted, France says

PARIS: A repeat of an incident in Jerusalem that saw armed Israeli security forces entering a property administered by France must never happen again, France’s foreign minister said ahead of summoning Israel’s envoy on Tuesday.
Two French security officials with diplomatic status were briefly detained on Nov. 7 after Jean-Noel Barrot was due to visit the compound of The Church of the Pater Noster on the Mount of Olives.
The site, one of four administered by France in Jerusalem, is under Paris’ responsibility and it not the first time that problems have arisen over France’s historic holdings in the Holy City.
“It is an opportunity for France to reiterate that it will not tolerate Israeli armed forces entering these areas, for which it (France) is responsible, for which it ensures protection,” Barrot told France 24 television when asked what the ambassador would be told.
“And to strongly reaffirm that this incident must never happen again, meaning that Israeli forces enter armed and without authorization.”
Israel’s ambassador is due to meet Barrot’s chief of staff at the foreign ministry on Tuesday.
Israel’s foreign ministry has said that every visiting foreign leader is accompanied by its security personnel, a point that had been “clarified in advance in the preparatory dialogue with the French Embassy in Israel.”
Diplomatic relations between France and Israel have worsened since President Emmanuel Macron called for an end to the supply to Israel of offensive weapons used in Gaza.
The French government also attempted to ban Israeli weapons’ firms from exhibiting at a trade fair in Paris and has become increasingly uneasy over Israel’s conduct in the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.