Israeli air strikes kill 492 people in Lebanon

[Gunny]

Israeli air strikes kill 492 people in Lebanon (bbc.com) (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3wy8kpy3eo)

[Kathianne]

Israel is now in control of military decisions:

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2024/09/24/israel-to-hezbollah-you-know-how-to-stop-the-war-n3794927


Israel to Hezbollah: You Know How to Stop the War


Ed Morrissey (https://hotair.com/author/ed-morrissey) 10:40 AM | September 24, 2024



https://media.townhall.com/cdn/hodl/2023/342/e4325914-3bde-4b5e-b582-683076acf624-1052x615.jpgAP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Of course they do. But will enough of them survive this phase of the war to issue the order to stop firing missiles into Israel?

That question may be more acute than some realize. Thus far, Israel has not yet targeted Hezbollah's supreme commander Hassan Nasrallah, but they have eliminated nearly all of the next level of commanders in the organization. They took aim at one of the few remaining (https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-821507) today in another strike on the group's stronghold in Beirut:



The IDF's likely target in Beirut on Tuesday afternoon was Hezbollah's rocket chief Amr Abdallah Dalsh.
Lebanese media claimed he survived, but the IDF has not yet commented.



Yesterday, they tried to take out the last remaining top commander besides Nasrallah himself:



On Friday, the IDF killed Hezbollah Radwan special forces commander Ibrahim Aqil and around 15 other sub-commanders, and on Monday, the air force attempted to assassinate Ali Karaki, Hezbollah’s third in command, the last remaining living member of a triumvirate of top military advisers to Hezbollah chief Hassan Sayyed Nasrallah.



The word is that Karaki may have survived but is at least temporarily incapacitated. We don't have definitive word yet on Dalsh, but needless to say, he won't be popping his head above ground for a while even if he did survive the attack. The Israelis have excellent intel on these commanders and their movements, which they have proven repeatedly over the past week -- perhaps a sign that Operation Grim Beeper had more capabilities than we have yet learned.

The Israelis may just be warming up. They have expanded their sorties in the western Bekaa Valley, multiple media outlets report, in an attempt to destroy Hezbollah's strategic missiles and to cut off any more imports of them from Iran via Syria. They have also increased strikes in southern Lebanon, which has been interpreted by residents there as a sign of an imminent ground invasion. As NBC's Richard Engel reports this morning, Lebanese families are fleeing toward Beiriut rather than wait around to find out what happens:



The Israelis have waited 18 years since the last war with Lebanon for the UN to enforce its Security Council resolution forbidding Hezbollah operations in that region. The settlement of the 2006 war made the sub-Litani region only accessible to Lebanon's military, which UN forces (UNIFIL) were supposed to guarantee. Hezbollah quickly figured out that the UN had no stomach for enforcement and have militarized the region under their noses ever since, which has directly led to this new conflict.

That's important context for the latest fatuous emission from the White House. NSC spokesman John Kirby told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that Israel deserves security in the north, but that escalation isn't the way to achieve it:


Wee, gee, John, then what should Israel do? Allow Hezbollah to chuck missiles at them at whim? That seems to have been Joe Biden's plan in regard to Hezbollah, following up on 18 years of letting Hezbollah flagrantly violate UNSC resolutions and the settlement of the previous war with Israel. That strategy not only forced 60,000 Israelis into long-term displacement since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, but threatened to leave Israel vulnerable to another larger-scale invasion of Galilee.

Hezbollah committed acts of war continuously since October 8 by firing missiles at Israel. If people want "restraint," they are asking the wrong party in this war for it. Israel reminded the media and the world of that point today, warning that Hezbollah has to choose between de-escalation or even more intense warfare -- and they'd better make that choice quickly (https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/official-israeli-strikes-in-lebanon-aim-to-change-balance-of-power-in-region/):


There are two overarching goals, says the official. The first is “to strengthen deterrence against Hezbollah and to create a situation where Israel can return residents to their homes.”

The second is to deter “the entire Iranian axis,” says the official.

Israel will stop its operations if Hezbollah meets Israel’s demands, primarily that it pull back from Israel’s northern border, says the official. “They know our demands.”
If Hezbollah doesn’t stop, however, “the next stage will come,” warns the official, without laying out what that would entail.

It doesn’t have to be a ground invasion, says the official. “Either they’ll stop firing, or they won’t be able to anymore.”


The message, in brief: The age of unilateral Israeli disarmament and concessions has come to an abrupt end. If Israel's enemies commit acts of war, they had better prepare for asymmetrical and overwhelming responses. Not only is that the only way to establish deterrence, it should be the doctrine for the entire West, rather than the mealy-mouthed appeasement tactics espoused by Kirby that only leads to perpetual conflict.

[Kathianne]

https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2024/09/israel-strikes-more-than-1300-hezbollah-targets-in-lebanon.php?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=israel-strikes-more-than-1300-hezbollah-targets-in-lebanon



Israel strikes more than 1,300 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
By Seth Frantzman | September 23, 2024 | @sfrantzman
Smoke in southern Lebanon after IDF strikes
Smoke rises from a village in southern Lebanon after an Israeli airstrike on September 23. In the foreground, a field has been burned by Hezbollah rocket fire. (Seth Frantzman, LWJ)
On September 23, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out its largest and most wide-ranging strikes against Hezbollah in 11 months. The IDF said it struck more than 1,300 targets using 1,400 munitions. “Over the past day, we have been demolishing what Hezbollah has been building over the past 20 years. Nasrallah remains alone at the top—entire Radwan units were taken out of battle, and tens of thousands of rockets have been destroyed,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in the afternoon.


The strikes are part of an increasingly intense phase of operations that began with Hezbollah suffering losses due to thousands of exploding pagers on September 17. In the following days, more Hezbollah devices exploded, and the IDF carried out a strike in Beirut that eliminated 16 Hezbollah commanders. This set the stage for wide-ranging airstrikes against Hezbollah rocket launchers, followed by additional targets across southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley.


The IDF has increased the intensity of its strikes in stages. Hezbollah has sought to respond, launching rockets deeper into Israel on September 22. The Iranian-backed group followed up this attack by launching waves of rockets across northern Israel, with some reaching central Israel on September 23.


The IDF has trained for war against Hezbollah for many years, as the Iranian-backed group was seen as the major threat to Israel’s security before Hamas’s attack on October 7. The IDF had estimated that Hezbollah would be able to launch between hundreds and thousands of rockets per day at Israel in a conflict. However, throughout the first days of this new phase of the conflict with Hezbollah, the group has usually resorted to barrages of dozens of projectiles and hasn’t been able to launch more than several hundred per day.


Gallant conducted a situational assessment at the command center of the IDF’s Operations Directorate with Major General Oded Basiuk, commander of the Directorate, the Defense Minister’s office said on the afternoon of September 23. Gallant said Israel’s shift to the north has been in the process for weeks, and the September 20 strike in Beirut has left Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah isolated, with most of his key commanders removed below him. “Entire units were taken out of battle as a result of the activities conducted at the beginning of the week in which numerous terrorists were injured.”


Gallant estimates that tens of thousands of Hezbollah’s rockets have been destroyed, including its highly valued precision munitions. Out of a stockpile of more than 150,000 rockets and other projectiles, this appears to be a serious loss for the group. IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi shared similar sentiments in a statement on the evening of September 23. “We are striking targets and preparing for the next phases, which I will elaborate on shortly. Ultimately, everything is focused on creating the conditions to return the residents of the north to their homes,” he said. Around 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated since October 2023, when Hezbollah’s attacks began.


In northern Israel, the waves of IDF strikes could be seen from near the border. Smoke rose along a line of Lebanese villages where Hezbollah is present, such as Maroun al-Ras. Many of these areas were scenes of fighting in 2006, when the IDF also began the war with the use of air power, only later launching a ground assault. Asked about the possibility of ground operations, the IDF did not elaborate on the future phases of the conflict.


Hezbollah launched barrages of rockets targeting areas east of the Sea of Galilee, Haifa, and neighborhoods near the northern Israeli city. Israel canceled school for roughly 500,000 students on September 23. As the Hezbollah barrages reach closer to central Israel, new restrictions will likely be put in place across the country. In the Golan, the IDF briefly closed some roads due to rockets and fires caused by falling projectiles. Fires caused by Hezbollah rockets also raged near the Israeli community of Givat Avni.


Several Israelis were wounded by the attacks on September 23. The IDF put out several statements warning Lebanese to leave areas where Hezbollah is alleged to have stored weapons in civilian homes. The IDF also produced video and photographic material illustrating how Hezbollah has festooned villages with rockets and weapons stored in homes.

[Kathianne]

Summing up:

https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2024/09/24/some-disassembly-required-high-tech-goes-to-war-against-7th-century-savages-n4932778

[revelarts]

Hmm, there are a lot of Palestinian supporters in the U.S., probably plenty of Hamas terrorist & "leadership" here too (maybe even in congress).
Israel should consider bombing a few targets in U.S. cities... just to be safe. some of these U.S. colleges are a hotbed of terrorist support.

Because bombing any other country that has any Israeli enemies there is always OK and should never be questioned.
Unless you SUPPORT terrorist.
Plus 911... J6... i mean... Oct7 justifies ANYthing. Women, Children, other countries. they shouldn't have voted for them!
it war .. sheesh.. if the Lebanese or the Americans don't like it they shouldn't be harboring terrorist in their country.
Not hard to grasp.

[Kathianne]

Hmm, there are a lot of Palestinian supporters in the U.S., probably plenty of Hamas terrorist & "leadership" here too (maybe even in congress).
Israel should consider bombing a few targets in U.S. cities... just to be safe. some of these U.S. colleges are a hotbed of terrorist support.

Because bombing any other country that has any Israeli enemies there is always OK and should never be questioned.
Unless you SUPPORT terrorist.
Plus 911... J6... i mean... Oct7 justifies ANYthing. Women, Children, other countries. they shouldn't have voted for them!
it war .. sheesh.. if the Lebanese or the Americans don't like it they shouldn't be harboring terrorist in their country.
Not hard to grasp.

You've lost it with this one. How many missiles has Hezbollah sent to Isreal? Kumbaya isn't working. Isreal needs to do what it needs to do. Delay has only caused more misery on all sides. Well nit Iran, they don't give a flying f.

[revelarts]

You've lost it with this one. How many missiles has Hezbollah sent to Isreal? Kumbaya isn't working. Isreal needs to do what it needs to do. Delay has only caused more misery on all sides. Well nit Iran, they don't give a flying f.

American weapons have been found in the hands of All sides.
Israel can't be too careful Kath.

America has been harboring Hamas Terrorist and 10s of thousands of supporters.
After Oct 7 I dont see how or why they should just stop at just sending bomb strikes to Lebanon... and Syria... and Iran... and Yemen, and to random cell phones and pagers anywhere in the world.

Israel is in a fight for it's life. they are not safe until every enemy is destroyed. Ive been told here.
Can you tell me the logical places where Israel should NOT strike at it's enemies? When they should stop attacking foreign countries?

So far you and gunny dont seem to have a problem with Israel's attacks on anyone or anything in anyway.
Is there are red line for you?

[Gunny]

American weapons have been found in the hands of All sides.
Israel can't be too careful Kath.

America has been harboring Hamas Terrorist and 10s of thousands of supporters.
After Oct 7 I dont see how or why they should just stop at just sending bomb strikes to Lebanon... and Syria... and Iran... and Yemen, and to random cell phones and pagers anywhere in the world.

Israel is in a fight for it's life. they are not safe until every enemy is destroyed. Ive been told here.
Can you tell me the logical places where Israel should NOT strike at it's enemies? When they should stop attacking foreign countries?

So far there you and gunny dont seem to have a problem with Israel's attacks on anyone or anything.
Is there are red line for you?

Sure. If Isael was practicing actual genocide and indiscriminately killing them all, that's a red line. Where's yours? When they murder your noncombatants at a picnic? Oh, wait ...:rolleyes:

[revelarts]

Sure. If Isael was practicing actual genocide and indiscriminately killing them all, that's a red line.

And if they were, what would be the remedy?
Stoping All US aid?
more than that? Less?

[Gunny]

And if they were, what would be the remedy?
Stoping All US aid?
more than that? Less?

Why are you rehashing this? One breathing terrorist is one breathing terrorist too many in my book. And I WON'T negotiate for hostages/the civilians they hide behind. It sucks but it's that way or they own or kill you and your family and everyone else's.

Do try and recall Hamas/Hezbollah exist SOLELY to exterminate Israel, every man, woman and child. But that's okay, right? From the River to the Sea:rolleyes:

Do you root for Emperor Palpatine watching Star Wars? Always siding with and making excuses for evil bad guys:rolleyes:

[Kathianne]

American weapons have been found in the hands of All sides.
Israel can't be too careful Kath.

America has been harboring Hamas Terrorist and 10s of thousands of supporters.
After Oct 7 I dont see how or why they should just stop at just sending bomb strikes to Lebanon... and Syria... and Iran... and Yemen, and to random cell phones and pagers anywhere in the world.

Israel is in a fight for it's life. they are not safe until every enemy is destroyed. Ive been told here.
Can you tell me the logical places where Israel should NOT strike at it's enemies? When they should stop attacking foreign countries?

So far you and gunny dont seem to have a problem with Israel's attacks on anyone or anything in anyway.
Is there are red line for you?
If Israel had sent in troops to Gaza or Lebanon to slaughter, rape, and kidnap women, children, and the elderly, I'd be right there with the UN declaring a rogue nation, no problem.

They didn't. No excuses. Take no prisoners imo.

[revelarts]

If Israel had sent in troops to Gaza or Lebanon to slaughter, rape, and kidnap women, children, and the elderly, I'd be right there with the UN declaring a rogue nation, no problem.

They didn't. No excuses. Take no prisoners imo.

So the amount of raped women, dead women, children & elderly are acceptable at this point.
ok.
I see.

[Kathianne]

So the amount of raped women, dead women, children & elderly are acceptable at this point.
ok.
I see.

ok.

[revelarts]

All terrorist should be killed?
Or all enemies of Israel are legit targets?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GYewYMaasAATgsY?format=jpg&name=small

[Kathianne]

All terrorist should be killed?
Or all enemies of Israel are legit targets?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GYewYMaasAATgsY?format=jpg&name=small

Hello bells, everyone is free to hate on anyone or any groups, when you choose violence to express your hate, be ready for the consequences. Here or there.

Good idea to remember you don't get to call what is an "appropriate response" by your enemies.

[revelarts]

Hello bells, everyone is free to hate on anyone or any groups, when you choose violence to express your hate, be ready for the consequences. Here or there.

Good idea to remember you don't get to call what is an "appropriate response" by your enemies.

Seems Zionist and Hamas choose violence.
No hate from me for anyone. My problem is pretending either side are "good guys".
Or supporting either one when all their hands are covered with innocents blood at this point.

[Kathianne]

Seems Zionist and Hamas choose violence.
No hate from me for anyone. My problem is pretending either side are "good guys".
Or supporting either one when all their hands are covered with innocents blood at this point.

I would not expect you to be all dovey peace if someone broke into your home and killed your family, leaving you gravely wounded. Whatever your response on those that carried out that violence, would be deserved-especially after all your attempts at bringing them to 'justice' were not only ignored, but laughed at. You 'deserved' it. Sorry, but neither Israel or yourself would deserve anything of the sort.

[revelarts]

I would not expect you to be all dovey peace if someone broke into your home and killed your family, leaving you gravely wounded. Whatever your response on those that carried out that violence, would be deserved-especially after all your attempts at bringing them to 'justice' were not only ignored, but laughed at. You 'deserved' it. Sorry, but neither Israel or yourself would deserve anything of the sort.
I wouldn't expect you to hunt down the murderers and then blow up their home, their kids & grandma & whole neighborhood leaving them all homeless or dead. Then and look for distance relatives in other states like the HatFields & McCoys and do the same to them until you felt "safe".
Then Claim it's all justified... because you're fueled by righteous emotions from your own loss.

(especially when you own family fed & set-up the murderers who came to your home in the 1st place
Hamas was created by Israel Kath. the world didn't start on 10-7)

[Gunny]

I wouldn't expect you to hunt down the murderers and then blow up their home, their kids & grandma & whole neighborhood leaving them all homeless or dead. Then and look for distance relatives in other states like the HatFields & McCoys and do the same to them until you felt "safe".
Then Claim it's all justified... because you're fueled by righteous emotions from your own loss.

(especially when you own family fed & set-up the murderers who came to your home in the 1st place
Hamas was created by Israel Kath. the world didn't start on 10-7)

The target is not the homes nor families. You're being dishonest. The target is the terrorists. The terrorists choose to hide behind skirts and Playskool.

IF Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran would just stop their shit and go hoe, and Putin the same, there wouldn't be any damned wars. There's nothing hard about that simple equation. Until you start making excuses for those causing the wars.

And no, it's not okay to just sit on your ass and wait for the next time they get the urge to strike. THAT is stupid.

[Kathianne]

I wouldn't expect you to hunt down the murderers and then blow up their home, their kids & grandma & whole neighborhood leaving them all homeless or dead. Then and look for distance relatives in other states like the HatFields & McCoys and do the same to them until you felt "safe".
Then Claim it's all justified... because you're fueled by righteous emotions from your own loss.

(especially when you own family fed & set-up the murderers who came to your home in the 1st place
Hamas was created by Israel Kath. the world didn't start on 10-7)

Israel did NOT create Hamas, if such a thing actually took place blame the UN.

Israel is NOT hunting down any persons other than leadership, which hide in urban areas, using the population as protection. That Israel is trying to minimize casualties is lost or rather turned into 'hunting down,' on such as yourself.

While we do agree on many issues or even parts of some, this is not one of those.

[Kathianne]

The target is not the homes nor families. You're being dishonest. The target is the terrorists. The terrorists choose to hide behind skirts and Playskool.

IF Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran would just stop their shit and go hoe, and Putin the same, there wouldn't be any damned wars. There's nothing hard about that simple equation. Until you start making excuses for those causing the wars.

And no, it's not okay to just sit on your ass and wait for the next time they get the urge to strike. THAT is stupid.

Yep, it's time for the actual victims of violence, whether the Israelis or Ukrainians to stop being blamed for the violence perpetrated upon them.

[Kathianne]

This may be success?

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2024/09/27/did-israel-get-nasrallah-n3795096


Did Israel Get Nasrallah? UPDATE: 'Communication Lost' Says Reuters Source


Ed Morrissey (https://hotair.com/author/ed-morrissey) 4:40 PM | September 27, 2024



https://media.townhall.com/cdn/hodl/2024/271/b6e400c5-fe56-4706-a3d9-16753446d3b3-1052x615.jpgAP Photo/Pamela Smith
Let's put it this way: no one's heard from the head of Hezbollah since the IDF struck its headquarters in Beirut a few hours ago. When the air strike took place (https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2024/09/27/netanyahu-un-general-assembly-a-swamp-of-anti-semitic-bile-n3795080), Israel took care to note that they had no confirmation that Hassan Nasrallah got killed in the attack.


Since then, though, silence has spoken volumes. If Nasrallah had survived, and especially if he hadn't been at their Dahiyeh underground complex, he surely would have gotten word out shortly after the attack.

Lebanese media started off reporting that Nasrallah survived and that a statement would get issued shortly. That has changed, however:


Translation: No one can find Nasrallah. In fact, if Trent Telenko's analysis is accurate, Lebanese media may have trouble finding anyone to speak on behalf of Hezbollah in Beirut for a while:


If Nasrallah was in that underground warren, he's almost certainly dead. Earlier, I had expressed some skepticism that Nasrallah would trust Hezbollah facilities after the earlier strikes in Dahiyeh killed several other high-ranking commanders. Israel clearly had precise and actionable intel, and that should have prompted Nasrallah to remove himself to a secure location, preferably a diplomatic mission like an embassy that Israel wouldn't attack.


Of course, this is the same genius who got deked in Operation Grim Beeper, so ...

This development indicates that something significant has changed, though:


Yashar Ali points out (https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1839745393346969616) that it's 11 pm in Tehran and Khamenei is 85 years old. That kind of meeting doesn't get called unless there's a real emergency and only the Supreme Leader can address it. If Nasrallah was still alive, the IRGC would just coordinate with him at whatever location he chose.

Israeli media report a cautious optimism (https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hebrew-media-reports-growing-israeli-assessment-nasrallah-killed-in-beirut-strike/) that they got Nasrallah, along with whatever remained of Hezbollah's top command. Reuters reports (https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/in-vague-response-hezbollah-claims-no-truth-to-any-statement-about-beirut-attack/) that Hezbollah's media office issued an ambiguous denial of "any statement" about the Israeli strikes, but Israel hasn't made a statement yet. And a former IDF intel chief told Israel's Channel 12 that they wouldn't have ordered that kind of strike without "absolute certainty" of Nasrallah's location.

Perhaps, but a handful of 'dead' commanders have come back to life over the last 20-plus years in the war on terror, some more than once. Intel can look solid until action is ordered on its basis, only to turn out incorrect. At some point, either Nasrallah will turn up, or he'll turn up dead, but either way their organization has been gutted in less than two weeks after 40 years of digging in. That's the key.


Israel is still shaping the sub-Litani for a ground operation (https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-822116), perhaps hoping that the collapse of leadership will prevent any coherent resistance:



Fighter jets from the Israel Air Force, under the direction of the Northern Command, struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and deeper in the country, the military said on Friday.



One has to wonder whether the Lebanese Armed Forces might take this opportunity to wrest control of their country back from Hezbollah. That was inconceivable a fortnight ago, but there's at least a clear opportunity to go after their network while leadership is out of touch and apparently incapacitated. The Israelis would be delighted to assist in that effort.

Meanwhile, the Iranians are furious (https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1839741217795641715), blaming the US, but also not exactly threatening retribution:


Statement from the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran:


"This brutal attack, carried out with bombs gifted by the U.S. regime to the rogue and rebellious Zionist regime, in addition to being a blatant violation of international laws and regulations, as well as Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security, constitutes an undeniable war crime.

Therefore, without a doubt, the U.S. regime is an accomplice to the Zionist regime and must be held accountable.

The continuation of the Zionist regime's crimes against the people of Palestine and Lebanon clearly shows that the call for a ceasefire by the U.S. and some Western countries is a blatant deception aimed at buying time to allow the Zionist regime to continue its crimes against the people of Palestine and Lebanon."



The omission of a threat seems notable. And Yashar Ali scoffs at the sovereignty argument:


That's also rather rich from the terror network that has lobbed missiles at Israel for the last 11 months. We'll update as developments warrant.
Update: Either the Israelis just got updated intel, or they are just determined to destroy any remaining Hezbollah command infrastructure (https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-calls-on-lebanese-civilians-to-move-away-from-several-sites-in-hezbollah-bastion/):



The IDF is calling on Lebanese civilians near several buildings in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, a known Hezbollah stronghold, to evacuate immediately.

Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes maps alongside the announcement, which call on civilians to distance themselves at least 500 meters from three sites in Dahiyeh.



The first round of strikes came with no warning, so this warning isn't likely about personnel. It's an attempt to degrade any more remaining Hezbollah infrastructure in Dahiyeh, perhaps to get the Lebanese government to seize the initiative and push what's left of Hezbollah out of the way.


Update: Strike up 'The Sounds of Silence' as its own message, according to Reuters:



Hezbollah's senior leadership was unreachable following Israel's strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday evening, a source close to the Lebanese armed group told Reuters.

Hours after the strikes, Hezbollah had not made a statement on the fate of its head, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.




At a certain point, the silence speaks for itself. And we are rapidly reaching that point. It looks like the entire leadership structure may have been destroyed.

[Kathianne]

This may be success?

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2024/09/27/did-israel-get-nasrallah-n3795096

and it is. He's history.

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2024/09/28/its-official-hezbollah-chiefs-top-commanders-killed-in-israeli-strikes-n3795117


It's Official: Nasrallah, Top Hezbollah Commanders Killed in Israeli Strikes


Ed Morrissey (https://hotair.com/author/ed-morrissey) 9:00 AM | September 28, 2024



https://media.townhall.com/cdn/hodl/2024/271/fd79efb5-4222-43d6-98dc-5e82b9a3d392-1052x615.jpgAP Photo/Richard Drew

Fool around, find out. After decades of terrorist attacks and eleven months of indiscriminate civilian bombardment, Hezbollah leadership belatedly discovered that it had touched off a real war with Israel. And then Hezbollah promptly lost its entire top leadership structure (https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-hezbollah-terror-chief-nasrallah-other-top-commanders-killed-in-beirut-strike/) in less than two weeks:



Long-time Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders of the terror group were killed in a massive Israeli airstrike on their underground headquarters in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, the Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday morning as Israel sought to dramatically upend the year-long conflict.

Hezbollah confirmed his death several hours later.

The announcement came as the Israeli military ramped up its airstrikes against Hezbollah assets in Beirut and other areas in Lebanon, hours after Nasrallah was struck at the terror group’s main headquarters, leaving parts of the Lebanese capital shrouded in smoke and dust.



In the wake of the announcement, Iran's Ali Khamenei called for Muslims to unite against Israel. But it's where the 'Supreme Leader' made that call that is most notable (https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-822191):



Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Muslims on Saturday "to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the ... wicked regime (of Israel)."

In a statement after the Israeli army said it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Khamenei said: "The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront," state media reported.

He has been transferred to a secure location inside the country with heightened security measures in place, two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters.




Looks like Iran has belatedly learned a lesson about Israeli capabilities, and their own relatively lack of the same. Despite decades of planning and resources, the Israelis easily penetrated Hezbollah communications and subterfuge, and not just in Operation Grim Beeper. They knew precisely where to find Nasrallah, and had no compunction at all in destroying Hezbollah's command center, even in a residential center of suburban Beirut. If the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh at an IRGC safe house in Tehran hadn't taught the Iranians a lesson about Israeli determination and will, yesterday's decapitation strike in Beirut certainly did.


Does Israel have that same capacity in Iran? Does Khamenei really want to find out?


The comment about Hezbollah being "at the forefront" of the "forces of resistance" might be a clue. Why not Iran itself? Israel has all but destroyed Hamas as a proxy army, although they still remain a potent terror group with their top leader still presumably alive. Hezbollah's entire upper echelons, not to mention its reputation, just got annihilated. Iran is the only effective force in the field now against Israel, but at least thus far, it doesn't appear that Khamenei is too anxious to take the field.


That calculation comes in to better focus when one understands what the loss of Nasrallah means to Iran's mullahcracy. Nasrallah didn't just serve as the leader of Hezbollah; he was the capo di tutti capi of all Iran's proxies (https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-822193) arrayed against Israel:



Nasrallah had grown to become the senior leader of Iran’s numerous proxies. He would often host Iranian officials, and he would also invite representatives from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to Lebanon to coordinate their attacks against the Jewish state. He also sought to muster the Houthis in Yemen to threaten Israel, and he coordinated with Iraqi militias.

The Hezbollah leader had worked with other key Iranian-backed leaders in the region; in recent years, Iran has seen many of them killed. This includes Qasem Soleimani of the IRGC and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. With those critical leaders off the table, Nasrallah was increasingly filling many shoes. Now those shoes are empty again.




Fool around, find out? Perhaps. If Khamenei expects to reconstitute Hezbollah as the forward force against Israel, consider the difficulty he faces in achieving that goal now. Israel didn't just pick off Nasrallah as they did with Haniyeh. The IDF destroyed their entire top command, disabled thousands of their lower-level commanders in Operation Grim Beeper, and have completely destroyed their organizational infrastructure in Beirut. They'll be hard pressed to stop the Lebanese Armed Forces from pushing them out of the country altogether at this point, thanks to a total disintegration of command-control capabilities.


But even if they stick around, who can lead them? Israel has wiped out all of Hezbollah's candidates for succession. Units are still conducting missile attacks essentially alone and without any coordination, making those left with initiatives into easy targets for the IDF. There's a very real risk now of a ground invasion that will scour the sub-Litani of Hezbollah's remaining assets, which means that even if Khamenei appoints a successor, there may not be much left to lead -- and not much credibility left to even try (https://www.timesofisrael.com/hezbollah-has-lost-its-leader-before-would-it-manage-without-nasrallah/):



“Israel has declared war. It is a full-scale war, and Israel is using this opportunity to eliminate the leadership structure and destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure,” said Fawaz Gerges, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics.

“They are breaking Hezbollah’s power. There’s no need to kill every member of Hezbollah, but if you destroy its combat structure and force them to surrender. It loses credibility,” Gerges said.




That is the key. Nasrallah didn't just get defeated -- he got humiliated. It took Israel less than two weeks to utterly vanquish Nasrallah once the Israelis treated this like a real war. They humiliated the mullahs of Tehran too, taking less than two weeks to completely destroy the upper levels of the organization that Iran built with so much money and resources over the last 45 years. Israel made them all look ridiculous in a region where tyrants cannot afford to be made to look ridiculous.
Fool around, find out.

[Kathianne]

and perhaps even more of a silver lining down the road:

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2024/09/28/how-long-can-this-puppet-last-without-hezbollah-n3795118


How Long Can This Puppet Last Without Hezbollah?


Ed Morrissey (https://hotair.com/author/ed-morrissey) 12:00 PM | September 28, 2024



https://media.townhall.com/cdn/hodl/2018/206/3fc74adf-26e0-4aa7-b380-c68ecc3e6025-1052x615.jpgAP Photo/Hassan Ammar
Could the collapse of Hezbollah touch off a domino effect in the Middle East? Iran's primary proxy and the world's most powerful non-state organization didn't just keep Lebanon under Tehran's thumb, after all. Hassan Nasrallah played a key role in propping up Iranian puppet Bashar al-Assad in Syria.


And now Syrians are beginning to cheer their "disarray," as the New York Times puts it (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/28/world/middleeast/hezbollahs-victims-are-expressing-relief-at-its-disarray.html):


Even as most of the Middle East is overtaken by outrage at weeks of destructive Israeli strikes against Hezbollah and its leaders, some communities are celebrating the disarray of the powerful militia that persecuted them.

Nowhere is that sentiment as strong as in parts of Syria, where Hezbollah has played a key role in helping President Bashar al-Assad wage a brutal crackdown on opponents of his family’s decades-long rule, and where news of Israeli strikes on Hezbollah neighborhoods prompted singing in the streets of rebel strongholds.

Hezbollah’s origin story is in fighting Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000, and fighting Israel is the mission central to its followers’ identity. But one of its biggest military roles over the past decade had actually been in Syria, helping its patron, Iran, keep Mr. Assad in power.

Hezbollah forces played a part in some of the most brutal chapters of the Syrian civil war, including sieges that starved encircled communities for months, as well as operations that expelled many Sunni Muslims, who were the backbone of the anti-Assad revolt, from neighborhoods and towns.




Assad only barely managed to prevail in the long and bloody Syrian civil war, even with help from Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia. Russia now has another bloody war and quagmire in Ukraine, and probably can't help out if a Hezbollah collapse triggers another popular uprising. Iran might have to take the field directly, but that would risk triggering a direct conflict with Israel, as they would first need to secure their position in Lebanon by reconstituting Hezbollah as their proxy.


For Syria, though, Iran can re-engage more directly with its Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). That too could prompt clashes with Israel, but Syria is going to be a secondary consideration for Benjamin Netanyahu while Israel deals with the remaining threats from Lebanon. If Assad starts looking wobbly, Ali Khamenei can't afford to ignore that threat. If Syria slips away from Iran's orbit, they will have almost no way to project power in the region.


Of course, Assad has had some considerable time to rebuild his position, too, so this eruption of joy could be premature. Especially over the last year, Assad has assisted Hezbollah at least to a similar extent that Hezbollah assisted Assad. And even if Aassad begins to falter and a popular uprising can oust him, the West might not want to start singing hosannas either. The short-term result of a collapse would likely boost the still-extant ISIS threats in Syria, and could result in an even worse tyrant taking power with the help of Iran's mullahs. There may not be too many worse options than Assad, but that number isn't zero either.


The real opportunity is next door. Lebanon has a functioning government with its own armed forces, which until now have been vastly outgunned by Hezbollah. Israel tried allying with them in the early 1980s in order to get a Druze-centered friendly government in Beirut while fighting against the PLO, which had touched off a civil war there after getting kicked out of Syria. That war and occupation ended up boosting the fortunes of Hezbollah as Iran muscled into the fight. Israel has another opportunity to help liberate Lebanon, but the Lebanese will have to fight for their freedom to win it.



Let's hope that's the case. Once Lebanon frees itself from the tentacles of the Iranians, then perhaps Syria can follow in a more orderly fashion.

[fj1200]

Let's hope that's the case. Once Lebanon frees itself from the tentacles of the Iranians, then perhaps Syria can follow in a more orderly fashion.

That's it right there. The major coup for Israel in all of this would be more stable neighbors with free citizens who are tired of the oppression with zero hope of progress. That would be a real Arab (and Israeli) Spring.

[Kathianne]

That's it right there. The major coup for Israel in all of this would be more stable neighbors with free citizens who are tired of the oppression with zero hope of progress. That would be a real Arab (and Israeli) Spring.
Iranians wouldn't be far behind.

[fj1200]

Exploding Restaurant Buzzer Takes Out Hezbollah Party Of 6 (https://babylonbee.com/news/exploding-restaurant-buzzer-takes-out-hezbollah-party-of-6)

[Kathianne]

Exploding Restaurant Buzzer Takes Out Hezbollah Party Of 6 (https://babylonbee.com/news/exploding-restaurant-buzzer-takes-out-hezbollah-party-of-6)


https://media.babylonbee.com/articles/66f714358211d66f714358211e.jpg

[Kathianne]

I have to say though, I don't think it's just Israel that is being held back from 'winning' wars, but also US. It's been that way since Korea and the UN has a very large hand on the process. There's reasons the most violent and radical nations are most often in control of the most important agencies within:

https://substack.com/home/post/p-149546026?source=queue


AMERICAN REFUGEES: THE ROGER SIMON/SHERYL LONGIN SUBSTACKWhat America Can Learn from Israel but Won’t
“Yalla ya Nasrallah... "


Roger Simon
Sep 29, 2024


My friend Lee Smith has an excellent article on Tablet, “Killing Nasrallah,” with the subtitle “Israel shows America how to win wars” (https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/killing-nasrallah)that inspired me to write this piece.


As I’m sure Lee would agree, regarding actually teaching or showing America how to win wars, given the current administration, the most reasonable conclusion is “Good luck with that.”


President Biden did acknowledge that getting rid of Hassan Nasrallah might have been a good thing because the Hezbollah General Secretary was responsible for killing hundreds of US citizens in the past, but hastened to add, faster than a New York minute, that now is the time for… you’ll never guess… a ceasefire.


That’s a ceasefire in the North and in the South. Lebanon and Gaza.


That would mean of course the survival of Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, the myriad jihadist thugs across Iraq and, most of all, the mullahs of Iran who were most likely quaking in their boots after Israel’s action. Ayatollah Khamenei has reportedly fled to a secure hideout.


It also ignores the excitement of people inside those countries—specifically Lebanon, Syria and Iran itself—who were, according to videos that were all over X on Friday night, dancing in the streets, rejoicing that a horrid dictator who had been oppressing them was dead. Hezbollah is hated through much of the Arab world as are the mullahs in their own country that has always been on the brink of an internal civil war since the 1979 revolution that brought them to power.


Unfortunately, disregarding or downplaying the opposition to jihadist dictators is par for the course for the Obama-Biden-Harris regime from the days when Barack Obama ignored the chants of the thousands of freedom demonstrators on the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities when they cried out to him, “Obama, Obama, are you with us or are you with them?”


Them, as it turned out, was the choice… meaning Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.


Since then, except for the Trump years, American foreign policy has leaned toward appeasing the mullahs and away from the Iranian people, not to mention the equally benighted people of Lebanon and Syria under other dictators, Nasrallah and the Assads, Hafez and son Bashar. (Bashar and his wife Asma were even the subjects of a puff piece in Vogue, as if they were a fun couple in the Hamptons.)


America hasn’t always been the way we are now. We used to win wars against evil.


We once had a president named Harry S. Truman who went so far as to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to make absolutely certain the Japanese emperor got the message and also to minimize deaths from a bloody invasion of the island nation.


Our country also made no bones about destroying German cities like Dresden with countless civilian deaths in order to finish off the Nazis.


In both cased we succeeded and Japan and Germany have been democratic countries for three-quarters of a century.


But Israel is not allowed to do the same. They must have ceasefires. They must not be allowed to finish the job against totalitarians the way the US once did.


Why is that? I hope it’s not because they are a Jewish nation.


Whatever the motive, our current administration is at best a fair weather friend and the weather is getting progressively less fair.


The Democratic Party, and its current presidential nominee, make a habit of walking out on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu—in the case of that nominee, for a sorority reunion, of all things.


They extended that habit on Sep 27 when Netanyahu addressed the United Nations, our representative to that supposedly august organization not even attending his speech.


Ironically, it was a brilliant and hard hitting talk, as was the address by the extraordinary Javier Milei, President of Argentina, one of the few allies of Israel in their fight against Islamofascism and the man I would nominate as the intellectual leader of the free world today. (Watch his speech, if you haven’t.)


Also ironically, during Netanyahu’s speech, actions were moving apace that he was well aware of but were unbeknownst to our reactionary government (I abjure the terms “liberal” and “progressive” as tired propaganda), to decimate the leadership of Hezbollah.


According to the Jerusalem Post, quoting Brig.-Gen Amichai Levine, “The operation was long-planned and reflects extraordinary collaboration with military intelligence and the Air Force.”


It certainly seemed long-planned, as did the pagers sabotage of a couple of weeks before.


Neither would have been allowed to happen if they had been run by that same reactionary, appeasing US government. (As I write this, a “statement” on behalf of Kamala Harris has been released on the assassination saying essentially the same as Biden.)


It all reminds me, as it has some other writers, of the Godfather movies with Netanyahu, in the role of Micheal Corleone, making his speech knowing that on the other side of the world the necessary work of justice is being done. (Yes, I know it’s a strained comparison, but the feeling is oddly similar.)


Netanyahu himself has been a beleaguered figure since Oct 7, blamed, fairly to a great degree, for the oversights that caused that disaster. I gather from Israeli reports that that nation’s longest-running prime minister is now in the process of redeeming himself, his popularity again on the upswing. Perhaps he can use his newfound power to fight for all of us and carry forth, even if our own country doesn’t, on the final words of his UN speech: “Enough is enough.”


SOME COMIC RELIEF


Another friend of mine, A J. Rice, has written a new book. A. J. is a public relations guy who represents authors and then writes books that sell more than theirs. (To make them jealous? Doesn’t sound like a good business strategy to me.) Anyway, as it happens, he’s very funny and his latest —The White Privilege Album—proves it. I’ve been reading it before bed to distract me from the troubles of the day with some jokes, only it doesn’t because every so often he gets serious and I’m back to my usual insomniac self. Still: recommended!


ALSO


Apropos, my subtitle “Yalla ya Nasrallah…”, this is where it comes from. You can click and sing along, if you like. (https://x.com/emilykschrader/status/1839801553625972812)