Tag: lebanon

Top Hezbollah Political Chief Muhammad Ra’ad Assassinated in Beirut — Major Blow to Iran’s Terror Proxy Network in Lebanon

Top Hezbollah political leader Muhammad Ra’ad, head of the group’s parliamentary faction and one of Iran’s most prominent proxies in Lebanese politics, has reportedly been assassinated in Beirut.

According to the Israeli war room, Ra’ad, who led the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc in Lebanon’s Parliament since 2000 and was a key figure rejecting disarmament and advocating for Hezbollah’s armed domination, was killed in precision strikes early Monday.

According to MTV Lebanon (Murr Television), a leading independent Lebanese television station:

“Event”: Assassination of MP Muhammad Raad in an Israeli airstrike

According to Al-Hadath, a Saudi Arabian state-owned, Arabic-language satellite news channel:

Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath sources reported on Monday morning that the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad, was killed in the Israeli raids. The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported an initial toll of 31 dead and 149 wounded from the Israeli raids on Lebanon.

This comes as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asserted that launching rockets at Israel harms efforts to spare Lebanon from regional conflict, while our correspondents reported the closure of all schools and educational institutions in Lebanon by a decision of the Ministry of Education.

Aoun stated in a statement that “the launching of missiles from Lebanese territory at dawn today targets all the efforts and endeavors made by the Lebanese state to keep Lebanon away from the dangerous military confrontations taking place in the region.”

Hezbollah had previously claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks on Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

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Israel Launches Wave of Airstrikes Across Lebanon After Hezbollah Fires Rockets Into Israeli Territory

The Middle East conflict dramatically escalated early Monday morning after the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel, prompting an immediate and forceful military response from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets and drones from southern Lebanon toward Israeli territory, triggering air raid sirens. The IDF reported that at least one rocket was intercepted while others landed in open areas, with no injuries initially reported.

“Following alerts that were activated in several areas in the north of the country, the Air Force intercepted a launch that crossed from Lebanon; individual launches fell according to policy. No injuries or damage were reported,” the Israeli Air Force announced.

Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it targeted an Israeli missile defense site near Haifa using “advanced rockets and a swarm of drones.”

In response, Israeli military leadership warned the terror group would “pay a heavy price” for targeting Israeli civilians, as IDF Northern Command mobilized forces along the Lebanon border and prepared for what Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir described as:

“Several days of fighting… in waves.”

Minister of Defense of Israel, Israel Katz, wrote on X:

“The terrorist organization Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for the shooting towards Israel, and Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, who decided on the shooting under pressure from Iran – he is now a marked target for elimination.

Whoever follows in the path of Khamenei will soon find himself with him in the depths of hell along with all the thwarted elements of the axis of evil.

We will not return to the shooting rules of before October 7th, and we will defend the residents of the north and all citizens of the State of Israel with full force.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to act with force against Hezbollah, while continuing to carry out the primary objective: crushing and defeating the Iranian terrorist regime and thwarting its capabilities, in Operation Roar of the Lion – to remove the threats over the State of Israel and enable the citizens of Iran to rise up against it and overthrow it.”

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Israel claims Hezbollah disarmament ‘far from sufficient’ as Beirut says phase one complete

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement on 8 January that Hezbollah’s disarmament is “far from being achieved,” in response to Lebanon’s announcement that it has completed the first phase of disarming the resistance group.

“The goal of disarming Hezbollah in southern Lebanon remains far from being achieved,” the statement said, attaching a video showing what it says are new Hezbollah military sites in the southern town of Beit Lif. 

The ministry said Israel “acknowledges the decision of the Lebanese government to address the disarmament of Hezbollah and some of the efforts the Lebanese Armed Forces [LAF] have made in this context,” but stressed that these efforts have been “limited.”

“Hezbollah is rearming faster than it is being disarmed,” the Foreign Ministry went on to say, while alleging cooperation between Hezbollah and the Lebanese army, and calling it “regrettable.”

“Israel expects LAF efforts to disarm Hezbollah to continue south of the Litani and throughout all other parts of Lebanon, in full accordance with the ceasefire agreement,” it concluded.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed what the Foreign Ministry said, calling Lebanon’s efforts “far from sufficient.”

The statement came after the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) announced completing the disarmament of Hezbollah south of the Litani River. 

“The army confirms that its plan to restrict weapons has entered an advanced stage, after the effective and tangible achievement of the objectives of the first phase on the ground. This phase focused on expanding the army’s operational presence, securing vital areas, and establishing operational control over territories that have come under its authority in the sector south of the Litani, with the exception of lands and sites that remain under Israeli occupation,” the LAF said. 

The statement added that “work in the sector is ongoing until the completion of the clearance of unexploded ordnance and tunnels, in addition to Requests for Action (RFAs), in order to consolidate control and prevent armed groups from rebuilding their capabilities in an irreversible manner.”

The developments coincide with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to Lebanon. Araghchi has previously referred to the Hezbollah disarmament plan as a “doomed effort.”

A day earlier, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji claimed the Lebanese army was capable of confronting Hezbollah militarily if needed. 

Rajji is closely affiliated with the US-backed Lebanese Forces (LF) party, and regularly blames Hezbollah for Israeli airstrikes and occupation in Lebanon.

“If a democratically elected government moves to disarm an illegal armed organization, it is restoring the principles of the constitution and the Taif Accord, not waging a ‘civil war.’ In any event, the LAF is capable of confronting Hezbollah militarily, if necessary,” Rajji told the pro-Israel US think tank, Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP). 

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37-second phone signal, Mount Hermon route: Lebanese reports detail ex-officer ‘abduction’

Saudi and Lebanese media outlets reported Tuesday that Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency carried out a special operation on Lebanese soil, allegedly abducting a former senior Lebanese security official with possible ties to the long-unsolved disappearance of Israeli airman Ron Arad.

According to the reports, the target of the operation was Ahmad Shukr, described as a former senior officer in Lebanon’s General Security services and a relative of Fouad Shukr, Hezbollah’s chief of staff who was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern Dahieh district last year. Israel has not commented on the reports, which also claimed that Swedish citizens were involved in the operation.

The Lebanese television channel Al Jadeed reported Thursday that Shukr went missing a day earlier in the Bekaa Valley in northeastern Lebanon, a predominantly Shiite region considered a Hezbollah stronghold. The channel said Shukr’s family issued an urgent appeal demanding clarification of his fate and called for intervention by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and other officials.

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Israel Used Palantir Technology In Its 2024 Lebanon Pager Attack

Palantir software was used by Israel in its 2024 pager attacks in Lebanon, according to a new book by Alex Karp, co-founder of the Palantir tech company. On September 17, thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members, including civilians not involved in any armed activity, were detonated across Lebanon.

Many showed “error” messages and vibrated loudly prior to exploding, luring Hezbollah members or, in some cases, their family members to stand close by at the point of detonation. The next day more communication devices exploded, including at the public funerals of Hezbollah members and civilians who had been killed the previous day.

While many Israeli figures celebrated, praised and even joked about the attacks, United Nations experts called them a “terrifying” violation of international law. In total, 42 people were killed and thousands wounded, many left with life-altering injuries to the eyes, face and hands.

Karp’s new biography reveals that Israel deepened its use of the company’s technology after it launched the war on Gaza in October 2023, deploying it in numerous operations.

“The company’s technology was deployed by the Israelis during military operations in Lebanon in 2024 that decimated Hezbollah’s top leadership,” wrote Michael Steinberger, author of The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir, and the Rise of the Surveillance State.

“It was also used in Operation Grim Beeper, in which hundreds of Hezbollah fighters were injured and maimed when their pagers and walkie-talkies exploded (the Israelis had booby trapped the devices).”

He said that the demand for Palantir’s assistance by Israel “was so great that the company dispatched a team of engineers from London to help get Israeli users online“.

The involvement of a range of tech companies in Israel’s attacks on its neighbors in recent years, as well as for attacking and surveilling Palestinians, has sparked anger from rights campaigners and UN officials.

In a report produced by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese in July, several tech companies were accused of profiting from crimes including illegal occupation, apartheid and genocide in occupied Palestine. The report referenced AI systems that were developed by the Israeli military to process and generate targets during the war on Gaza.

“There are reasonable grounds to believe Palantir has provided automatic predictive policing technology, core defense infrastructure for rapid and scaled-up construction and deployment of military software, and its Artificial Intelligence Platform, which allows real-time battlefield data integration for automated decision making,” the report said.

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Disregarding Ceasefire, Israel Hits Beirut

The Israeli military struck Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, Sunday for the first time since June, killing a Hezbollah leader. The attack killed at least five people and injured 28 others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have continued despite a ceasefire struck last year.

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike targeted and killed Hezbollah’s chief of staff, Haytham Tabtabai. Hezbollah confirmed the official’s death.

Netanyahu described Tabtabai as a “mass murderer” and said he was responsible for the deaths of Israelis and Americans.

“The policy I am leading is absolutely clear: Under my leadership, the State of Israel will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its power, and we will not allow it to pose a threat to Israel again,” he said. “I expect the Government of Lebanon to fulfill its commitment to disarm Hezbollah.”

The U.S. designated Tabatabai as a terrorist in 2016 and offered up to $5 million for information about the military leader.

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Israel bombs Lebanon using banned cluster munitions

The Israeli military has used widely banned cluster munitions in its recent 13-month war on Lebanon last year, The Guardian reported on 19 November, citing photos of munition remnants found in the south of the country.

The British paper commissioned six different arms experts to view the photos, which appear to show the remnants of two different types of Israeli cluster munitions, the 155mm M999 Barak Eitan cluster munition and 227mm Ra’am Eitan guided missiles.

The M999 Barak Eitan releases nine submunitions, which explode into 1,200 tungsten shards, while Ra’am Eitan-guided missiles each hold 64 bomblets.

The cluster munitions were found in three locations in southern Lebanon, where Israeli bombing has been most deadly: the forested valleys of Wadi Zibqin, Wadi Barghouz, and Wadi Deir Siryan.

Cluster munitions are container bombs that release many smaller submunitions, or “bomblets,” over an area several hundred meters wide, killing anyone within the range.

However, up to 40 percent of the bomblets fail to explode, killing and maiming civilians accidentally encountering them for years or even decades after a war is over.

As a result, 124 nations have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which forbids their use, production, and transfer. Israel is not a signatory to the convention.

“We believe the use of cluster munitions is always in conflict with a military’s duty to respect international humanitarian law because of their indiscriminate nature at the time of use and afterwards,” stated Tamar Gabelnick, the director of the Cluster Munition Coalition.

During the 2006 June war, Israel dropped four million cluster bombs on Lebanon in the final days before a ceasefire was reached. An estimated one million unexploded bomblets remained, killing 400 people since that time.

“Cluster munitions are banned internationally for a reason. They are inherently indiscriminate, and there is no way to employ them lawfully or responsibly, and civilians bear the brunt of the risk as these weapons stay deadly for decades to come,” said Brian Castner, the head of crisis research at Amnesty International.

During its war on Lebanon that began in October 2023, Israel has killed almost 4,000 people.

Israel continues to carry out near-daily strikes, in particular in Lebanon’s south, killing both civilians and Hezbollah members.

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Israel Massively Escalates Strikes on Lebanon as Hezbollah Threatens Retaliation

Israel’s long-threatened escalation of their attacks on Lebanon seems to have begun in earnest on Thursday, with massive numbers of strikes reported against several towns and villages in the country’s south.

The IDF issued evacuation warnings for at least five sites in southern Lebanon, and is claiming, as they so often do, that everything they are attacking is Hezbollah infrastructure. Early indications are that a substantial number of civilian casualties have occurred. The most recent toll has one confirmed killed and nine wounded, though those tolls are expected to rise.

This comes amid an Israeli security cabinet meeting, at which the Northern Command will reportedly present various options for the direction and scale of a military escalation in Lebanon, in spite of a ceasefire nominally having been in place for the past year.

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Leaked: How British Intel Infiltrates Lebanon

In a markedly revealing September 22nd interview with The National, US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack made a number of stunning admissions about the state of play in Lebanon. Despite Western governments for months demanding Beirut disarm Hezbollah, he acknowledged the Resistance group had “zero” incentive to voluntarily do so, as “Israel is attacking everybody” across West Asia. As such, Hezbollah’s “argument gets better and better”, and its public support grows. Barrack went on to propose arming the Lebanese Armed Forces for the purpose:

“[The LAF] is a good organisation and it’s well-meaning, but it’s not well-equipped…Who are they going to fight? We don’t want to arm them so they can fight Israel…So you’re arming them so they can fight their own people, Hezbollah…our enemy…We need to cut the heads off of those snakes and chop the flow of funds. That’s the only way you’re going to stop Hezbollah.”

Barrack’s comments are a uniquely candid admission of Washington’s overarching strategy in West Asia. Namely, to construct intelligence, military, and security apparatuses in pliable puppet states for the purposes of internal oppression, posing no threat whatsoever to the Zionist entity, while Tel Aviv attacks “everybody” in the region with total impunity. Yet, efforts to bring Lebanon to heel, and neutralise Hezbollah’s influence in the country, have been ongoing for many years – with London secretly leading the charge.

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A Warning from Lebanon

In not quite one year since the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, Israel has broken the ceasefire 4,600 times. It has killed hundreds of people, including infants, demolished tens of thousands of homes and annexed five areas of Lebanon. It was supposed to withdraw completely.

This situation is being replicated in detail in Gaza. In particular, the ceasefire in Lebanon is “guaranteed” by the USA and France and overseen by an international committee referred to as “the Mechanism”. The “Mechanism” is chaired by the USA. Accordingly the guarantors have refused to acknowledge a single breach of the ceasefire because the US-controlled “Mechanism” calls them counter-terrorist operations aimed at disarming Hezbollah.

The United Nations defers to “the Mechanism” and thus to the USA, and the presence of UN peacekeeping troops in Southern Lebanon is therefore useless. Lebanon is now under control of the US/Israeli puppet administration of General Aoun and effectively being run by US Special Envoy Tom Barrack.

Barrack stated that the borders of Israel and Syria are meaningless and that “Israel will go where they want, when they want, and do what they want to protect the Israelis and their border to make sure on October 7th it never happens again”. This is from the “guarantor” of the Lebanese ceasefire agreement.

There can be no doubt that Trump’s US-chaired “Board of Peace” for Gaza will take exactly the same line as “the Mechanism” in Lebanon. It is axiomatic that Israel will never honor any agreement. They never have.

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