#radwan unit

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

I mentioned that, as of Saturday, the Lebanese health minister said he was only aware of 11 victims of the massive airstrike that destroyed four buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

It has not increased since then.

How could that be?

Lebanese newspaper L'Orient le Jour (French) looks for the presumed hundreds of victims, and cannot find them.

But they do find a number of people who say that the entire neighborhood was already empty before the airstrikes.

Following the attack, the site was sealed off by Hezbollah security services as they searched for their leader. ...Most of the neighborhood’s residents had reportedly left the area the week before the attack, in a “natural evacuation,” according to the rescuer. “As the airstrikes (against the southern suburbs in recent days) increased, people fled. When the Maamoura neighborhood was bombed, there was no one there, and it was the same in Jamous and Kafa’at,” he said, referring to the strikes that took place throughout the night of September 27. The deadly strike came after a week of unprecedented attacks on Hezbollah, including the detonation of thousands of booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies that killed some 30 people and wounded thousands more across the country. In response, members of the Shiite party went door-to-door in the southern suburbs and advised people to leave their homes and seek shelter elsewhere. Rukaya, who has lived for 40 years in Burj al-Barajneh, the neighborhood beside Haret Hreik where Nasrallah was killed, told L’Orient Today that people knew the place was vulnerable to attack from the Israelis and had started to leave earlier that week. "You could hear crickets across the Burj" she said.

 Twenty-four hours after the strike, the Health Ministry announced that 11 people had been killed and 108 wounded in the Israeli strikes the previous day, but it did not specify where or when the deaths occurred, or whether Nasrallah and other possible Hezbollah victims were included in the death toll. The enormity of the damage caused by the strikes raised fears that the death toll could be much higher. The day after the attack, outgoing Health Minister Firas Abiad said at a press conference that the death toll could rise. Saad el-Ahmar stressed that on September 30, the search operations were almost over. The teams continue to clear the roads and sweep the area "to make sure that no bodies have been forgotten," the rescuer explained. However, he believes that the toll provided by the ministry should not increase significantly, given that it seems that very few people were present. 

The airstrike the previous week that killed some 15 members of Hezbollah's Radwan unit was in the same neighborhood, so that might have prompted residents to flee.

[eretzyisrael]

IAF strikes in Lebanon are exacting a heavy price from Hezbollah for its rocket fire, forcing the terrorist group into a war of attrition being fought on Israel’s terms.

Hezbollah has been firing rockets at northern Israel daily since Oct. 7, when Hamas massacred 1,200 persons near the Gaza border. Concerned about larger barrages and border infiltrations, around 250,000 Israelis have been evacuated from communities near Lebanon and Gaza.

Israel’s strikes have destroyed a significant quantity of Hezbollah infrastructure in open areas, forcing the terrorists to carry out even more of their activities in proximity to civilian villages.

“Hezbollah’s front line of outposts was hit very hard by the IDF and, among other things, the forces hit terrorist infrastructure, command and control facilities, lookouts and warehouses where weapons were stored,” a source in the Israel Defense Forces said.

The fact that Israel is striking Hezbollah targets in towns and villages hasn’t escaped the attention of the Lebanese evacuees. A Shi’ite source in Lebanon said that Israel has targeted Hezbollah facilities located in or very close to 91 villages across Southern Lebanon.

Moreover, 23 civilians have been killed in those strikes, and residents blame Hezbollah for putting them in harm’s way.

“Recently, [Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan] Nasrallah has also been hearing criticism from the Shi’ite communities who ask him whether you have pledged to be the defender of Lebanon or have you become the defender of Hamas and ISIS,” the IDF source said.

Hezbollah—to Hamas’s anger—has not opened a new front against Israel, and cannot even follow through on an oft-threatened “eye for an eye” deterrence.

“The ratio of casualties between the IDF forces and Hezbollah is 1-13,” an Israeli political source said.

This source added that the assessment is that Hezbollah will continue its war of attrition despite its inability to match Israel blow for blow.

However, Hezbollah still poses a considerable threat to Israel. Hezbollah recently moved additional forces into southern Lebanon from Syria, including 1,500 members of its elite Radwan Unit. This unit’s main mission is to rapidly infiltrate northern Israel, seize control of communities and take hostages, similar to Hamas’s attacks on Oct. 7.

The Radwan Unit gained considerable experience fighting in the Syrian civil war and is considered more advanced and more disciplined than Hamas.

However, monitoring and analysis of Hezbollah’s internal discourse indicates that the Oct. 7 attack took away Radwan Unit’s element of surprise.

As a result, Hezbollah’s backers tout the achievement of forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to evacuate their communities in the Upper Galilee.

[trendynewsnow]

Escalating Conflict in Southern Lebanon: Israeli Military Suffers Casualties Amid Ongoing Hezbollah Attacks

Escalating Conflict in Southern Lebanon: Israeli Military Casualties Reported The Israeli military announced on Friday that five soldiers had tragically lost their lives during confrontations with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon. This incident marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict, occurring despite ongoing diplomatic efforts by the Biden administration and other…

[zvaigzdelasas]

21 Sep 24

[girlactionfigure]

⚠️ HEZBOLLAH MISSILE ATTACK ON HAIFA PROMPTS; ISRAEL DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY ⚠️

⚠️ For the first time since the 2006 Lebanon War, Hezbollah launched missiles directly at Haifa, forcing 300,000 Israelis to seek shelter. Rockets hit the area near Haifa University, marking a significant escalation in hostilities.

⚠️ Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, Chief of the General Staff of the IDF, provided an update from the IDF’s Underground Operations Center. He stated that the IDF has initiated a proactive offensive operation targeting Hezbollah’s combat infrastructure, which has been developed over the past two decades. Halevi emphasized that the objective is to create conditions for the safe return of northern Israel's residents.

⚠️ Defense Minister Yoav Gallant supported this statement, saying the IDF is systematically dismantling Hezbollah's military capabilities, built over 20 years. Gallant highlighted that Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, now stands isolated as entire units of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force have been neutralized and tens of thousands of rockets destroyed. His comments came during a visit to the IDF Operations Directorate’s command room.

⚠️ In light of the growing conflict, a state of emergency has been declared throughout Israel, according to Israel Hayom. 

◾ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Lebanese people directly, clarifying that Israel’s conflict is with Hezbollah, not the Lebanese population.

◾ Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared that Israel will now "change the rules of the game," signaling a shift in military strategy moving forward.

◾ Meanwhile, the Pentagon remains uncertain whether Israel is preparing for a ground incursion into Lebanon, but it acknowledges that Hezbollah's actions have escalated the situation.

⚠️ The IDF has begun dropping leaflets in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley, urging Lebanese civilians to evacuate the areas. Additionally, Reuters reported that Jordan has suspended all flights to Beirut until further notice.

[athena5898]

(PrR)Journalist Anas Al-Sharif in North Gaza:

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the World Health Organization announced a vaccination campaign in northern Gaza, designating the Sheikh Radwan Clinic as a vaccination center.

While children and their families were at the clinic for vaccinations, a quadcopter targeted the clinic with a bomb, resulting in injuries to several children according to initial reports.

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 Smoke billowing out from buildings while the Israeli occupation army detonates entire residential squares the once housed countless civilian families in the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, leaving Palestinians sleeping in unsafe housing, damaged and broken homes, hospitals and schools, before being driven out once again by the Zionist occupation army. 📈 Current death toll stands at 37'925, with another 87'141 wounded since October 7th. ]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

ZIONIST ARMY COMMITS SEVERAL NEW MASSACRES IN GAZA AS ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES DESTROY ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOODS

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed several new massacres today, acting in continuation of the Zionist entity's ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing operation targeting the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip.

According to reporting by Palestinian public broadcaster, PalestineTV, occupation fighter jets bombed a house in the city of Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, killing 12 Palestinian civilians and wounding a number of others.

Medical sources say the Zionist army bombed the Aslim family home in Deir al-Balah, after which, the broken bodies of 12 civilians were brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.

In another atrocity, IOF warplanes bombed residents in the Mansoura area of the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, with the resulting wounded transported to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the city. Once at the hospital, 12 Palestinians were pronounced dead on arrival.

Similarly, Zionist soldiers detonated entire residential blocks in the Shujaiya neighborhood, while another occupation air raid targeted east of the Al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City.

In further war crimes, occupation aircraft launched violent airstrikes that targeted west of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, killing three Palestinians, while Israeli artillery shelling pummeled the same neighborhood, as well as central Rafah.

Local medical sources are reporting that the bodies of at least 31 martyrs have arrived to hospitals in the Gaza Strip since dawn on Tuesday.

In yet another massacre, Zionist warplanes bombed a residential house in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, killing four Palestinians and wounding several others, while another civilian was wounded after the occupation army bombed a house east of Gaza City as well.

Evacuation orders from the Israeli occupation army for the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Yunis has resulted in the closure of the health center, forcing more than 320 patients, as well as all the hospital's staff, to leave the facilities under threat from the Zionist military, according to the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus.

A fuel shortage has also left Gaza's remaining hospitals on the brink of disaster if they don't receive at least 80'000 liters of fuel per day, but they have not received a fuel delivery since the end of last month, when they received between 195'000 and 200'000 liters.

The situation means Gaza's handful of remaining hospitals are facing a fuel shortage that threatens to interrupt vital and basic services.

At the same time, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) warned that some 250'000 civilians in Gaza will be displaced once again with the latest forced evacuation of Khan Yunis, at gunpoint by the Israeli occupation army, and warned that nowhere in Gaza is safe.

Many families have been displaced a multitude of times, each time forced to arrange temporary housing and facilities, only to be uprooted again and again.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Special Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs and Reconstruction in Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, said on Tuesday that the "war has not only created a humanitarian crisis, but has also unleashed a spiral of human misery, as the public health system has collapsed, schools have been destroyed, and the disruption of the education system threatens future generations."

“In Gaza, there is no safe place,” she went on, adding that “on my visits to Gaza, I am greeted by voices echoing one heartbreaking question: Will our suffering ever end?”

The current death toll stands at 37'925 Palestinians killed, while another 87'141 others have been wounded as a result of the Zionist entity's ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, beginning with the events of October 7th, 2023.

July 2nd, 2024

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@WorkerSolidarityNews

[mariacallous]

In less than a week, Israel has managed to significantly degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities, communications systems, and chain of command. First, exploding pagers and walkie-talkies undermined the group’s ability to communicate. Then came the assassination of operations commander Ibrahim Aqil on Friday—along with 14 top Radwan Force commanders—which was a major setback for the Lebanese militant group’s top leadership and command unit, the Jihad Council. From the founding members of Hezbollah’s military structure, only Ali Karaki survives today.

This escalation comes after Israeli leaders decided to confront the continuous threat to the country’s north posed by Hezbollah. Last Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet decided to set a new war goal: the safe return of Israeli residents to the country’s north.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is not conceding, however. In a speech given on Sept. 19, Nasrallah doubled down on attacking Israel’s north. Despite his acknowledgement of Israel’s technological advances, the leader of Hezbollah refused to back down and threated that “no military escalation, no killings, no assassinations, and no all-out war can return residents to the border.”

Immediately after his speech, Israel struck approximately 30 Hezbollah rocket launchers and infrastructure sites, which contained approximately 150 launcher barrels, according to a spokesperson from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF also hit Hezbollah’s weapons storage facilities in multiple areas in southern Lebanon, followed by more intense strikes over the weekend, with Israel claiming on Saturday that it had eliminated 400 rocket launchers across southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley. The scale of these strikes indicates Israel’s appetite for escalation and willingness to widen the circle of targets.

Despite the calls to go all in, an Israeli decision to launch a full-scale war or land incursion has not been made yet. Such a decision would bring the country and its civilian infrastructure much damage, especially if Hezbollah unleashes its most advanced missiles. It seems that Israel is determined to push Hezbollah to change its strategy and revisit its involvement in the conflict, which the group initiated on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Hamas attacks on Israel.

Hezbollah now faces a choice: to preserve what is left of its military assets and leadership, or to maintain its threat over the north of Israel.

The losses that Hezbollah suffered last week were immense, but the group lost the deterrence battle months ago. Since last October—when Hezbollah decided to attack Israel in support of Hamas—Israel has been successful at degrading the group’s military capabilities with precise targeted attacks, and it has done so largely without causing many civilian casualties. In the past year, Israel has killed more than 500 people—most of them Hezbollah militants— including top and elite commanders, such as Wissam al-Tawil, Taleb Abdullah, Fuad Shukr, and others.

In addition, Hezbollah’s military infrastructure south of the Litani River has been demolished, along with a large number of its weapons depots and military infrastructure across Lebanon. The group’s responses focused mostly on the north of Israel, targeting military bases and infrastructure while mostly avoiding civilian casualties, major cities, and civilian infrastructure.

At the beginning of the war, the goal of Hezbollah and Iran—the group’s main backer—was to reap the benefits from any political or diplomatic solution that would end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. But along the way, they managed to achieve an unprecedented feat—to move the buffer zone from the south of Lebanon to the north of Israel. Around 60,000 Israelis remain internally displaced, and Hezbollah has communicated this to its constituency as the biggest ever achievement against Israel. It will be very difficult to walk back from this.

If Israel widens the circle of targets to hit advanced military assets, such as the facilities that store and produce precision-guided missiles, Hezbollah might revisit its threat to the north. Today, the group is walking a very thin line between its assets and its threats, and the question is how many more losses it can endure.

Israel sees this as an opportunity to push further—and raise the price for Hezbollah until it becomes unbearable. Although a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah is a real possibility, both parties still prefer a diplomatic solution. Israel is trying to keep its attacks targeted, and Hezbollah is trying hard not to provoke Israel or be forced to use and waste its most valuable military assets—namely, precision missiles—which Iran regards as an insurance policy.

Indeed, Israel could be escalating today to avoid war; that is, to push Hezbollah to accept the only diplomatic solution on the table—the one presented by Amos Hochstein (the U.S. envoy for international energy affairs) to delink Lebanon from Gaza and implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. This means that Hezbollah will have to accept a separate cease-fire agreement, withdraw its military presence to north of the Litani River, roughly 18 miles away from the border, and allow displaced Israelis to return safely to the north.

Until last week, Israel and Hezbollah had been walking a very thin line between a full-scale war and a calculated pattern of attacks and responses.

Hezbollah lost military infrastructure, commanders, and weapons, but most importantly, it lost security and trust among its ranks. After every assassination or strike, and specifically with the mass explosions of pagers and radios, Hezbollah now fears more in-depth infiltration in its ranks by the Israeli intelligence agencies. And its militants lost trust in their own, fearing that anyone could be an Israeli spy.

The group also lost trust in technology and has no reliable communications system that it could rely on for any military response or war. The only way left is verbal communications, which its leaders resorted to when the in-person meeting between Akil and the Radwan Forces was scheduled—and then hit by an Israeli strike. The level of infiltration is deeper than they know.

Additionally, Hezbollah has lost the trust of its own community. If it cannot protect itself, many are asking, then how can it protect its constituency and supporters? It will be very difficult to assure its community of safety and security while walking—and exploding—among them. Worse still, the group is no longer Iran’s success story in the region.

The fact that Israel could kill Shukr and Akil in the middle of their stronghold in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh is a big breach. However, what is a lot more troubling for Hezbollah’s leadership is its loss of the element of surprise, which has always been part of its military strategy. Israel knew exactly when and how Hezbollah was planning to retaliate for Shukr in August, as the IDF launched a preemptive strike against the group’s infrastructure, including the launchers it had prepared for the operation.

All these losses, in addition to the group’s incapacity thus far to conduct an effective military response against Israel, is both humiliating and embarrassing for Hezbollah. But on the military level, it is worse: Hezbollah is more deterred than ever.

The group could eventually recover from these losses, rebuild its communication network, counter Israeli intelligence, and regain trust among its community. But this is all going to take a long time, a luxury that Hezbollah might not be able to afford.

Today, any response to Israel’s escalation requires the militant group to resolve the following concerns:

First, without a proper communications system, Hezbollah cannot coordinate on targeting, responses, or logistics. It also cannot easily use verbal or written communications—similar to the system that Hamas is currently using inside Gaza’s tunnels. Lebanon is much bigger, and without an efficient and fast communication system, Hezbollah’s military capability to conduct war is largely diminished.

Second, many top Hezbollah officials have been killed or injured. The pagers that exploded hit many of the group’s senior and mid-level operatives. The shipment contained 5,000 pagers, and Hezbollah’s fighting force alone has been independently estimated to comprise at least 20,000 militants. Pagers were provided to officials and fighters with special skills and missions; that is, those who need to be protected. Families of Hezbollah members of Lebanon’s parliament and high-ranking commanders, in addition to high-level security personnel, were among the casualties—not to mention Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, who was reportedly in close proximity to an exploding device.

Finally, Hezbollah still hasn’t figured out how deeply infiltrated by Israeli intelligence it is. Sources close to its inner circle have told Foreign Policy that the group’s leaders are looking into every single piece of electronic gear they own, and that they are worried that their cars, motorcycles, and even their advanced missile factories are booby-trapped and could go off any minute.

The group will have to conduct an in-depth investigation to make sure that other items have not been infiltrated or compromised by the Israelis, which will take weeks. And if Hezbollah fears that its missiles facilities are booby-trapped or monitored, it will be logistically very difficult to safely move these weapons in order to launch them.

The Israeli government seems to think that Hezbollah’s setbacks are a good opportunity for the IDF to launch a war to further erode the group’s capabilities. But a war similar to that of 2006 might cause Israel real damage without leading to the elimination of the Hezbollah threat. Moreover, it could lead to more international isolation and more civilian casualties on both sides, as well as risk a regional war from multiple fronts.

What the IDF and its external intelligence agency, Mossad, have achieved in the past week has been very effective. There is no need for a full-scale war that would cause civilian losses, bring back “axis of resistance” rhetoric, and unite regional and international public opinion against Israel.

Until a long-term solution is reached, the best-case scenario is for Hezbollah to accept a separate cease-fire, disconnected from the war in Gaza. Diplomatic messaging from the United States and its allies needs to focus on this objective and pressure Hezbollah to delink the two fronts. For Iran and Hezbollah, nothing is more important than their military assets—especially precision missiles.

U.S. diplomatic efforts need to take advantage of Hezbollah’s vulnerability. In addition to forcing the group to accept a separate cease-fire, negotiations should be focused on preventing a full-scale war, allowing residents from both sides to return home, and undermining Hezbollah’s and Iran’s narratives of victory and resistance.

U.N. Resolution 1701 is not sustainable because it does not include punitive measures, and Hezbollah will eventually violate it. Therefore, a long-term policy will have to be designed after a cease-fire is achieved in order to contain Hezbollah in Lebanon—a policy that will address interrupting its weapons supply routes from Tehran via Iraq and Syria as well as help the Lebanese state regain its sovereignty when it comes to decisions of war and peace.

[tieflingkisser]

At least 38 killed in Israeli strike on suburb in Lebanon’s Beirut

Children, women among victims of attack which Israel says targeted members of Hezbollah’s Radwan special forces unit.

The death toll from an Israeli air attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs has risen to 38 people, including three children and seven women, Lebanese authorities say. The strike, which wrecked two buildings in the Lebanese capital’s Dahiya district during rush hour on Friday, also injured more than 60 people, Health Minister Firass Abiad told a news conference on Saturday. The three children killed were aged four, six and 10, according to Abiad. Emergency personnel was still searching for 17 people under the rubble. “[The rescue operation] could continue for another day or so,” Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari reported from Beirut. “There is still a sense of shock and fear,” she added. “Many of the shops in this area are closed, there are very few people present as many have chosen to pack up and leave.”

[...]

The Israeli attacks in Lebanon have serious implications for international law, said Ibrahim Fraihat, professor of international conflict resolution at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. “What we are seeing in Lebanon takes the disrespect of international humanitarian law to a [new] level,” Fraihat told Al Jazeera. “These violations are being normalised by the silence of the West.” He warned that the escalation of tensions in Lebanon was bound to divert attention from Gaza, allowing for more human rights violations to take place there.

[silicacid]

In Gaza, Ahmad lost his family then his legs to Israel’s bombing

Ahmad Shabat lost his legs in an Israeli air attack outside a United Nations school in Nuseirat refugee camp that killed his uncle.

Ahmad is one of the earliest victims of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. His family’s home in the northern town of Beit Hanoon was directly targeted by an air raid on the first day of Israel’s assault, killing his entire family except his two-year-old brother, Mahmoud.

“The force of the blast threw him in the air and he landed in one of the neighbour’s yards,” Ibrahim said. “I took him back with me to Sheikh Radwan, where I had evacuated to with my family.” But a day later, they were forced to move again, after a house right next door to where they were staying was bombed. Spooked, they went to a United Nations-run school in the al-Nasr neighbourhood, but barely spent a night there before they were displaced for the third time. “That morning, the Israeli military dropped leaflets on us saying that the school was not safe and for us to evacuate,” Ibrahim said. “So we went to another UN school called Abu Oreiban in Nuseirat refugee camp.”

They spent a month at the school, and Ahmad grew very close to his other uncle Saleh, Ibrahim’s younger brother. “Ahmad was very attached to Saleh, and the previous attacks made him cling to his uncle even more,” Ibrahim said. “He would wake up screaming and only be comforted by Saleh, who was going to be his legal guardian.” Then came November 13.

Ahmad wanted to go to the shop with Saleh. As they walked out of the school, a series of explosions rocked the area. Ibrahim, still in the school, was among those who helped everyone run inside the classrooms to avoid being hit by shrapnel, until he realised his brother and nephew were outside the school. “I ran out to see what happened to Ahmad and Saleh, and I saw Ahmad on the ground without his legs,” Ibrahim said. “I carried him in my arms and ran until an ambulance picked us up.” At al-Awda Hospital, the doctors gave the little boy basic treatment before referring him to Al-Aqsa. Ibrahim looked among the wounded for his brother, but couldn’t find him. With dread mounting inside of him, he asked where the morgue was. “I unwrapped the shroud from the body closest to me and saw his face,” he said, as he started sobbing quietly. “Saleh was still young, only 26 years old. He had just gotten engaged. We buried him at sunset.”

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

BREAKING: Very good news, Russian imperialist friend Mohammad Reza, the deputy commander of Iran Quds Force, was successfully eliminated by the Israeli Air Force in Beirut, Lebanon, September 20, 2024. Source: VividProwess

P.S. Historically, the Soviet Union and today the Kremlin regime, through Iran and Syria, support religious terrorist organizations in the Middle East.... If you want peace in the Middle East, you must cut off the "head of the axis of evil - Moscow"...

The liquidation of Mohammad Reza is a direct blow to the Kremlin, which promised security guarantees to all dictatorial and terrorist regimes and organizations globally....

OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED: Terrorist Ibrahim Aqil, the Second-in-Command of Hezbollah’s Military Forces and the Commander of the Elite “Radwan Force” Unit, has been successfully eliminated by Israel, September 20, 2024. Source: VividProwess

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

By Emanuel Fabian and Jacob Magid

The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that it killed Hezbollah’s top military commander and at least 10 other senior commanders in a rare airstrike targeting the terror group’s stronghold in Beirut, as the sides appeared closer than ever to entering a full-fledged war.

The IDF said the most prominent target of its airstrike, Ibrahim Aqil, was the head of Hezbollah’s military operations, the acting commander of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, and was leading a planned operation to invade the Galilee.

Two security sources in Lebanon confirmed Aqil’s death, Reuters reported.

Aqil was also the most senior military member of the Jihad Council, Hezbollah’s top military body, after Israel’s assassination of Fuad Shukr in a strike in Beirut in July.

He had been wanted by the United States for his role in the 1983 bombings of the American Embassy in Lebanon and the US Marines barracks in Beirut.

In a curt statement issued on Friday evening, soon after the start of Shabbat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Our goals are clear, and our actions speak for themselves.”

Hezbollah official Ibrahim Aqil in an undated photo. (US Department of State)

Before and after the strike targeting Aqil, Hezbollah fired some 200 rockets Friday at the northern Galilee and the Golan Heights. No casualties were reported following the barrages, which happened as the IDF alerted residents in the area to remain close to bomb shelters.

[dertaglichedan]

IDF says commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit killed in drone strike

A commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit was killed in a drone strike this evening in southern Lebanon, the IDF says.

Ali Jamal al-Din Jawad was struck in the southern Lebanon village of Aabba. According to the IDF, Jawad was a Radwan commander.

Hezbollah announced Jawad’s death following the strike, but did not provide information on his rank. His death brings the terror group’s toll since October to at least 393.

The IDF says his killing is a “significant blow” to Hezbollah’s capabilities to carry out attacks on Israel.

[ultrajaphunter]

Israeli Forces continue to advance deep into the urban development in both the north and south of the Gaza Strip.

At the same time, the Israeli Air Force is bombarding the enclave, destroying all high-rise structures.

In the northwest, the Israelis managed to advance in the Al-Nazl area in Jabalia, where heavy fighting ensued. Nevertheless, earlier the IDF command claimed to have established full control over the locality.

To the northeast, the Israelis are engaged in fierce fighting in the vicinity of the Sheikh Radwan Reservoir.

Should the Israel Defense Forces advance in this direction, they will succeed in cutting Jabalia off from Gaza.

On the southern flank, Israeli units continue to clear the area near the Baptist Hospital.

Palestinian militias occasionally conduct sorties, but are unable to achieve significant results.

In the south of the enclave, Israeli units continue to fight in the residential area of Khan Younis.

However, due to the lack of manpower, it is rather problematic to establish the configuration of the front line in the town.

East of Bani Suheila, the Israel Defense Forces managed to perform the first encirclement.

Hamas fighters are counterattacking, but they have not yet been able to break the borders of the encirclement.

Meanwhile, the situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border has significantly escalated.

An IDF airstrike on a former medical center took place in Buslayya, which Israelis say is linked to Hezbollah.

@raybar

[zvaigzdelasas]

A[n anonymous] source close to Hezbollah told AFP that an Israeli airstrike on Friday killed the group’s elite Radwan unit chief, while the Israeli military said it conducted “a targeted strike” on the Lebanese capital.[...]

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported “an enemy raid targeting an apartment in a residential building in the al-Jamous area of the southern suburb” of Beirut.

20 Sep 24

[girlactionfigure]

⚪ Wed morning - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

▪️HOSTAGES.. IDF spokesman: "There are hostages in Rafah - determined to do everything in order to create the conditions for them to return home."

▪️IDF PULLS UNRWA VIDEO - w/TERRORISTS.. A video (a few days old) of terrorists working near UN cars was revealed on the UNRWA website.  (( That’s called a LEGITIMATE MILITARY TARGET. ))

▪️A HERO SOLDIER HAS FALLEN.. Ira Yair Gispan, 19, of Petach Tikva.  May his family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem, and may G-d avenge his blood!

▪️AID RIOT.. in the Erez crossing area: Dozens of anti-aid protestors tried to enter the Gaza Strip and were stopped, as part of a protest against aid to Hamas.

▪️CRITICAL AID!  Of 52 aid trucks that entered Gaza coming via Jordan, 7 trucks contained cigarettes and tobacco products.  On a related point, they entered through Kerem Shalom, which Hamas has fired rockets at 5 times and killed 4 IDF soldiers and wounded 12.

▪️ISRAEL - SURE, WE’LL WAIT.. “Senior American Official” an understanding was reached that the operation in Rafah will not be significantly expanded before the talks with the Americans on the issue. That is: at least until after US Nat. Security Advisor Sullivan's visit to Israel.

▪️DEMOCRATIC INSANITY.. Hadash Israeli-Arab terror supporting group at Tel Aviv university requested a permit for a pro-Hamas rally.  The Israel Police informed the Hadash cell that they would be prohibited from holding an incitement event outside the campus.  The Association for  Civil Rights immediately petitioned the High Court.  Unfortunately, the state folded and announced that it approves the incitement event.  

CEO of B’tzelmo: “It is unfortunate and infuriating that once again bodies in the legal system, instead of fighting against supporters of terrorism and deniers of the existence of the state, choose to choose the side of the enemy.”

▪️US POLITICS.. US Republican congressmen are promoting a bill in Congress which also has supporters among the Democrats that would force the US to transfer the frozen arms shipments to Israel. The bill that will probably be put to the vote tomorrow is expected to pass with a large majority.

President Biden has announced that he will use his veto power to block it if it is approved.

▪️US/UK SHIPPING COALITION ATTACKS.. A wave of 4 attacks in the Hodeidah airport area.  The Houthis are firing at ships every day now.

▪️ZEITOUN - GAZA.. (Al Jazeera) sraeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood following a six-day operation. IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said troops have killed more than 150 gunmen and destroyed some 80 sites used by terror groups.

▪️US WANTS ARAB COUNTRIES RUNNING GAZA.. Financial Times report: The Biden administration urges Arab countries to be part of a peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip "once the war is over". According to the report, Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates are considering agreeing to the move, but they will do so with American recognition of a Palestinian state.

♦️RAFAH.. the operation is expanding to the center of Rafah, the city is being emptied quickly and without incidental damage.

♦️RAFAH.. the IDF is pressing forward in the Philadelphi border corridor, setting up for long term control.

♦️COUNTER-TERROR RAIDS: overnight in Ananta, northeast of Jerusalem, and in Shechem with active firefights.

♦️3 MAJOR TARGETED AIRSTRIKES.. overnight in Jabaliya, Boris, Sheikh Radwan hitting terrorist centers and terror families.

⭕ IRAQI SHIA MILITIAS FIRED 2 SUICIDE DRONES into Israel at Eilat. Intercepted prior to getting to Israel.

⭕ HAMAS ROCKETS (3) at Sderot, intercepted, 2 rounds.