Tag: lebanon

The US Privately Encouraged Israel To Escalate in Lebanon

POLITICO reported on Monday that despite the Biden administration’s public calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon, White House officials privately told Israeli officials that they agreed with the plan to escalate in Lebanon and shift its focus to the north.

The report, which cited US and Israeli officials, said the message was delivered by Brett McGurk, the top Middle East official on the National Security Council, and Amos Hochstein, an Israeli-born veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces who works as a special advisor for President Biden.

The report said that Israel told the US of its plans to focus on Lebanon but didn’t offer much detail, and McGurk and Hochstein “relayed to their Israeli counterparts that — while they still urged a cautious approach — the timing was likely opportune for such a move, especially after Hezbollah had been significantly degraded in the months prior.”

The report contradicts public claims from US officials that they have been seeking a ceasefire in Lebanon and are working toward a diplomatic solution. But US actions have shown they do support Israel’s actions in Lebanon, as the Biden administration gave Israel $8.7 billion in new military aid amid the dramatic escalation.

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Israel Again Accused of Illegally Using White Phosphorus in Lebanon

Israeli forces were accused Tuesday of the war crime of firing white phosphorus artillery munitions over populated areas of southern Lebanon as Israel escalates an assault on its northern neighbor that has killed or wounded thousands of people.

Video footage published on social media and reported by Middle East Eye shows distinctive explosions that appear consistent with the use of white phosphorus rounds over civilian areas of southern Lebanon, including the village of Kfar Kila.

While white phosphorus munitions are not completely prohibited under international law, their use in populated areas is forbidden. White phosphorus round are primarily used to create smokescreens. However, when used as an incendiary weapon, white phosphorus – which ignites on contact with air and burns at nearly 1,500°F (815°C) – can maim and kill by burning flesh straight through to the bone, often causing a slow, agonizing death. Water does not extinguish it.

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IDF Reveals Special Operations Activity In Lebanon

More than 700 special operations in which IDF forces spent more than 200 nights in enemy territory in southern Lebanon.

Some of the promotions even lasted 2-3 consecutive days of staying in southern Lebanon.

Many special units of the IDF engaged in these operations.

As part of the operations, the forces entered the Hezbollah tunnels, destroyed weapons in the territory itself, captured and placed explosives, and also removed weapons and intelligence documents to Israeli territory.

In two of the operations over the past few months, our forces were injured – one as a result of exploding traps of our forces, and one as a result of the explosion of an old bomb that was left in the field. Hezbollah did not recognize these operations and there were no encounters or battles with terrorists at all.

The operations were carried out at a distance of up to 2-3 km from the border with Israel in the nearest strip of villages.

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Israel Drops “Bunker Buster” Bombs on Apartment Complex in Beirut – Claims “Hezbollah Headquarters”

Israeli fighter jets launched a series of massive airstrikes on a crowded area in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, causing widespread destruction with fears of a large death toll.

At least 10 explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs, a densely-populated area known as Dahiyeh, with large clouds of black smoke rising over the city. 

At least six residential buildings were flattened in the raids with extensive damage reported in nearby structures, according to Al Jazeera.

At least one large crater was seen at the site of the attack and filmed by local media, as dozens of rescue workers and paramedics rushed to the scene. 

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Israel’s attacks on Beirut’s southern suburb show it “does not care” about efforts to bring about a ceasefire.

Mikati’s press office sent a statement while he was in New York for the UN General Assembly.

Video of the strikes suggested they were carried out with ground-penetrating munitions known as bunker busters. In some footage, a vertical jet of flame was visible as a bomb appeared to explode beneath the ground.

Israeli media reported that Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was the target and that the military was checking whether he had been hit. Sources close to Hezbollah told Reuters he was alive.

Friday’s strike in Beirut marked a major escalation by Israel, which has been gradually expanding deadly attacks on Lebanon in recent days. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has circulated a photograph of what it says is the prime minister using a landline telephone to approve the strike, the New York Times reported. The newspaper said Netanyahu was returning from New York to Israel.

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Israeli Ground Incursion Into Lebanon To Begin Soon

Sources tell CDM/Tsionizm that Israeli troops are preparing for an imminent ground invasion into southern Lebanon to establish an ‘exclusion zone’ to protect Israeli civilians in the north that still have not returned to their homes.

The Times of Israel reported on small commando raids into Lebanon already…

The small raids made by Israeli special forces into Lebanon in recent months have included sending troops into Hezbollah tunnels along the border, the Wall Street Journal reports.

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CNN shares details of ‘sophisticated’ pager attacks against Hezbollah

The alleged Israeli plot to target senior members of Hezbollah through their pagers relied on explosives hidden in the devices’ batteries in a way that was nearly impossible to detect, CNN reported Friday, citing sources.

Earlier this month, a series of powerful pager explosions swept through the Middle East, killing 12 people and injuring around 3,000. The victims included numerous officials of the Lebanese-based Islamist movement. The attack was followed a day later by portable radio explosions that killed at least 20 others. Iran and Lebanon accused Israel of orchestrating the attack, a charge denied by West Jerusalem.

An unnamed Lebanese official familiar with the investigation told CNN that the explosives in the pagers were hidden inside the device in a way “so sophisticated that it could not be detected.”

Another official told the network that the materials were “laced” into the pager’s lithium battery and were virtually undetectable, adding that he had “never seen anything like it.” Lebanese officials also witnessed controlled explosions of the pagers and observed how devastating they must have been to their owners, according to the article.

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Israel’s new war front in Lebanon has no clear off-ramp

There has recently been an alarming escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. On 23 September, Lebanon experienced its deadliest day since the end of its civil war (1975-90), with more than 560 people killed and another 1,800 injured in a single day by Israeli airstrikes in the country’s south and east.

Hezbollah maintains that it will continue fighting Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza. Israeli strikes against Lebanon continuing at this level of intensity will soon constitute a full-scale war.

This scenario would inevitably devastate Lebanon, with Hezbollah’s missiles and drones striking cities and many other targets across Israel. Such a conflict would add new layers of chaotic instability to the Middle East.

The nearly one-year-old Israel-Hezbollah conflict entered a new and dangerous phase with the explosion of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies in Beirut, elsewhere in Lebanon, and Syria on 17 and 18 September.

Israel did not officially claim responsibility for this operation but was undoubtedly behind it. The explosions resulted in dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries of Hezbollah members and civilians, including two children.

Days later, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building in the Dahiyeh district south of Beirut, killing 31 people, including senior Hezbollah officials Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Mahmoud Wahbi.

Hezbollah responded by attacking northern Israel with dozens of rockets.

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REPORT: Israel To Establish ‘Security Zone’ At The Expense Of Lebanese Territory

Israeli journalists are famously tied into the security state when it comes to the information narrative. Tamir Morag is from Channel 14 and considered a ‘right wing’ journalist that clashes with the Israeli government at times, but he put this out on X yesterday.

Israel is considering re-establishing the security zone in southern Lebanon. If this happens, Hezbollah, which has caused the evacuation of a significant area within Israel’s territory for the past year, will see Lebanon pay for it by losing its sovereign territory. This will be the result of the actions of Nasrallah, the man who prides himself on the title “Protector of Lebanon.”

A source close to the Prime Minister tells us: “There will be no resolution in the north without a security zone inside Lebanon where the IDF is present. Without this, residents simply will not return. The establishment of the zone will be carried out in one of two ways: a political settlement, and if Hezbollah does not agree, a ground maneuver and seizure of the area.”

The source also adds that Israel will not be satisfied with the current terms of Resolution 1701 and will demand certain improvements: “We will not be content with pushing Hezbollah beyond the Litani River. In some areas, such as Metula, the river’s course is very close to the border, and additional solutions will be required there. The residents will not return because we tell them to; they will return only when they feel truly safe.”

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The War Must Go On: U.S. Sends Troops To Israel Amid Attacks On Lebanon

The United States has sent more troops to Israel amid fresh attacks on Lebanon. The Israeli Defense Forces say that the U.S. has deployed a “small number” of troops after Israel bombarded Lebanon with a “large-scale military operation.”

”In light of increased tension in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel forward to augment our forces already in the region,” Spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder said. “But for operational security reasons, I’m not going to comment on or provide specifics.”

According to a report by RT, the U.S. currently has around 40,000 troops stationed in the Middle East, along with several Navy warships and aircraft carriers, including the USS Harry S. Truman and the USS Abraham Lincoln. The military assets are positioned in multiple locations to respond to potential attacks against Israel or American interests.

And it looks like the U.S. is going to help Israel ramp up this war, as they begin an incursion into Lebanon while still trying to end Hamas in Palestine.

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US is sending more troops to the Middle East as violence rises between Israel and Hezbollah

The U.S. is sending additional troops to the Middle East in response to a sharp spike in violence between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon that has raised the risk of a greater regional war, the Pentagon said Monday.

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder would provide no details on how many additional forces or what they would be tasked to do. The U.S. currently has about 40,000 troops in the region.

“In light of increased tension in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region. But for operational security reasons, I’m not going to comment on or provide specifics.”

The new deployments come after significant strikes by Israeli forces against targets inside Lebanon that have killed hundreds and as Israel is preparing to conduct further operations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday warned Lebanese civilians in a videotaped message to evacuate their homes ahead of further airstrikes. He spoke as Israeli warplanes continued to strike alleged Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon.

The State Department is warning Americans to leave Lebanon as the risk of a regional war increases.

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