Middle East Eye reported last week that Qaani was alive and unhurt but under guard and being questioned about apparent security breaches surrounding the killing of Nasrallah.
Middle East Eye sources say Iranian authorities have serious suspicions about a major security breach in Qaani’s office, though none of MEE’s sources suggested Qaani was involved. Iranian authorities have not commented on reports that Qaani was questioned.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, launched by Hezbollah hit an army base adjacent to Binyamina, a town north of Tel Aviv that lies some 40 miles from the Lebanese border.
In addition to the four soldiers killed, seven soldiers suffered severe injuries, the IDF said.
According to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service, a total of 61 people were wounded in the attack.
(October 2, 2024)
Nasrallah‘s assassination followed two weeks of precise Israeli strikes that have destroyed weapons sites, eliminated half of Hezbollah‘s leadership council and decimated its top military command.
On Thursday, Iranian sources revealed that the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Esmail Qaani, is under investigation on suspicion of espionage, after his chief of staff, Ehsan Shafiqi, was suspected of collaborating with Israel.
Nilforoushan, who had flown into Beirut that evening from Tehran, was taken directly from the plane to the operations room beneath the residential neighbourhood of Haret Hreik, the sources said. He arrived there before Nasrallah.
The strike that targeted the meeting took place shortly after Nasrallah entered the room, the sources said.
“The breach was 100 percent Iranian and there is no question about this part,” a source close to Hezbollah told MEE.
Iranian state media announced Nilforoushan’s death as a “martyr” who died alongside Nasrallah.
Sources close to Hezbollah told MEE that Qaani was in Lebanon and had been expected to attend the Shura Council meeting at Safieddine‘s invitation on the day of the air strike.
But Qaani apologised and backed out of the meeting shortly before it began, they said.
)October 3, 2024)
The revelation from Bou Habib could provide insight into how Israel killed Nasrallah, who has survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts over the decades.
Another report from Reuters published on Wednesday said that Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sent a messenger to warn Nasrallah that Israel was planning to assassinate him. That messenger, senior Iranian commander Abbas Nilforoushan, was also killed in the Israeli strike on Friday 27 September.
6-52 is on the outskirts of Maroun El Ras, in the flat land below the town.
Referencing the UN post in a release, Hezbollah said its fighters had observed the movement of Israeli forces around the location but were ordered not to attack the area to „preserve the lives of the soldiers of the international forces“.
It was a welcome statement for many families in Ireland. Despite coming from an organisation few trust in global politics, positive news has been sorely needed.
„As an enemy Zionist force advanced at 2:00 AM on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, towards the border area of Labouneh, supported by bulldozers and vehicles, our fighters rained artillery and rocket fire on them, causing confirmed casualties and forcing them to retreat,“ the group said in a statement reported by al-Mayadeen channel.
It also reported „direct confrontation between the resistance and a special Israeli force that infiltrated from behind a Unifil position in Labouneh.“
Satellite images on Tuesday showed 40 Israeli military vehicles near Unifil‘s base in Maroun al-Ras, southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire just days before he was assassinated by Israel.
The temporary ceasefire was called for by US President Joe Biden, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and other allies during last week’s UN General Assembly.
Christiane Amanpour: “Are you saying Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a ceasefire just moments before he was assassinated?”
Abdallah Bou Habib: “He agreed. He agreed, yes, yes. We agreed completely. Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire, but consulting with the Hezbollah. The speaker, Mr. Berri, consulted with Hezbollah. And we informed the Americans and the French that that’s what happened.”
Christiane Amanpour: “So” —
Abdallah Bou Habib: “And they told us that Mr. Netanyahu also agreed on the statement that was issued by both presidents.”
Commenting on the Israeli claims of killing Nasrallah, military and security analyst Elijah Magnier has told Al Jazeera that the focus should be “on the several buildings that all disappeared under the ground, with all their inhabitants,” as a result of the Israeli air attack on Friday.
“It’s absolutely considered a war crime and a crime against humanity – and it’s not in any way considered a collateral damage,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The percentage of the people who are killed in such a populated and dense area – it’s not justifiable,” Magnier said.
The statement did not mention who would succeed Nasrallah or how the group would respond to the assassination of its long-time leader.
According to analysts, the man widely regarded as Nasrallah‘s heir, Hashem Safieddine, was still alive after Friday‘s attack.
Israeli Army Radio reported that military aircraft deployed approximately 85 bunker-busting bombs, each carrying one ton of explosives, in an attempt to assassinate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The bombs were dropped in civilian areas, resulting in numerous casualties.
Iran has condemned the United States of America for being ‚complicit‘ in the Israeli strikes conducted on Gaza and Lebanon. It has also accused Israel of using over 5,000-pound bunker buster bombs „gifted“ by the US in its fresh strikes on residential areas in Beirut. The States responded saying that it had no prior information of the strikes.
Meanwhile, IDF said that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed after being the target of these strikes which knocked out six buildings.
The military says it also killed several other commanders from the Lebanese group in overnight strikes on the country.
Hezbollah has yet to confirm any casualties from Israel‘s latest attacks.
Armed movement says agency was responsible for planning pager explosions and assassinations of senior leaders
Israel intercepted a missile fired by Hezbollah near Tel Aviv on Wednesday, an unprecedented attack by the militant group that reached deep into the country’s commercial heartlands and marked a new escalatory step in the conflict between the two sides.
Israeli fighter jets struck buildings and other sites belonging to Hezbollah in Mays al-Jabal, Khiam, Bint Jbeil, and other areas in southern Lebanon this evening, the IDF says.
(April 7, 2024)
In a statement titled „Readiness for the Transition from Defense to Offense,“ the military said the phase completed centred on logistics „for a broad mobilization of IDF (Israel Defence Forces) troops“.
„The commanders of the regular and reserve units are prepared to summon and equip all the required soldiers in just a few hours and transport them to the front line for defensive and offensive missions,“ the military said.
(April 7, 2024)
The Israeli army on Sunday said it had reached „another phase“ of preparation for war on its northern border with Lebanon, where it has spent months exchanging fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
(April 7, 2024)
The prime minister’s office declined to comment on the exchange. The White House declined to comment for this story.
(02.04.2024)
While Israel has used the F-15s it already owns to strike Gaza, its request for the planes appears to reflect longer-term concern about regional threats, including from Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Iran-backed militias in Syria, and Iran itself. The Israel Defense Forces would probably employ F-15s in any potential attack on Iran’s nuclear program.
(12.05.2018)
Ein Abzug der iranischen und libanesischen Einheiten aus dem Syrien-Krieg wäre für Netanjahu, der dringend einen Krieg und eine fiktive oder tatsächliche äußere Bedrohung Israels braucht um dort an der Macht zu bleiben, ein echtes Problem.
Nach der von den Staatsführungen Russland und Syriens orchestrierten Einladung an Israels Regierungs-Gang Syrien zu bombardieren, was unmittelbar dem Besuch von Benjamin Netanjahu in Moskau folgte, gab die syrische Armee schließlich zu, selbst den Golan angegriffen zu haben und nicht iranische Einheiten. Radio Utopie empfahl diesbezüglich gestern:
“Die Hisbollah und die Staatsführung des Iran sollten ihre Truppen aus Syrien zurückziehen und Assad zum Teufel und / oder Putin gehen lassen.”
Lt. Gen Halevi said he believes Israel will be starting the war with more advantages than in the past, and that lessons learned in Gaza will be applied to the situation in Lebanon. Tens of thousands of troops are reportedly being readied for the new offensive.
The comments echo those of Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, the head of northern forces, who said earlier this week that he believes the troops are “ready” for the war in Lebanon, and could start “tonight, if necessary.”
The Democratic Socialists of America demand an immediate and permanent cessation of hostilities by the United States against Yemen and an end to diplomatic and military support of Israel. President Biden widened the existing regional war even further by ordering airstrikes against civilian infrastructure in Yemen in an effort to stop that country’s humanitarian blockade of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Since October 7th, Israel has continuously engaged in provocative military aggression, aimed at expanding its brutal war into Lebanon. Israeli spokespeople continue their propaganda efforts to tie Iran to the events of October 7th and have issued calls for retaliation. A cyberattack believed to be the work of Israeli military intelligence has struck Iranian civilian infrastructure and extrajudicial assassinations have targeted senior leaders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hamas in Syria and Lebanon. The U.S.’s attack on Yemen comes in the context of Yemeni forces having blocked container ships owned by Israelis or headed towards Israeli ports. U.S. airstrikes are taking place while South Africa presents its arguments to the International Court of Justice for provisional measures against Israel for the crime of genocide.
Secretary Antony J. Blinken will travel to Istanbul, Türkiye; Crete, Greece; Amman, Jordan; Doha, Qatar; Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates; Al ‘Ula, Saudi Arabia; Tel Aviv, Israel; the West Bank; and Cairo, Egypt from January 4-11, 2024.
Hezbollah Secretary General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, on Wednesday issued a stern warning to Israel against the prospects of initiating an extensive conflict with Lebanon. Nasrallah underscored that in such a scenario, the Islamic Resistance would engage without any constraints.
During his statement, Nasrallah highlighted Hezbollah‘s decision to enter the conflict on October 8 in solidarity with Palestinians and to counter the Israeli offensive in Gaza. He emphasized that while Hezbollah‘s actions currently align with the interests of Lebanon, these boundaries would dissolve should Israel provoke a comprehensive war.
He then emphasized, „Lebanon remains committed, as always, to relevant international legitimacy, especially Resolution 1701. However, it is Israel that has breached and surpassed it, as it remains unsatisfied with the level of death and destruction. It is evident to all that the decision of war rests in Israel‘s hands, and it is imperative to restrain and halt its aggression.“
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister held discussions with the army leadership and concerned security agencies to ascertain the details and circumstances surrounding the explosion.
Al-Manar also said an explosion was heard near the Hadi Nasrallah highway close to a road junction.
It gave no details of the explosion, which comes a day before a speech by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
(28.12.2023)
Lebanon’s Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has urged the UK to place “maximum pressure” on Israel to end its campaign on Gaza and the Lebanese border.
In a meeting with UK Foreign Minister David Cameron on Thursday, Mikati warned that the “Israeli provocations in southern Lebanon could lead to deteriorating conditions and a full-scale war in the region as a whole.”
(28.12.2023)
Gallant and Sullivan discuss operational developments in Gaza, as well as tensions in the north with Hezbollah and regional threats posed by Iran’s actions and its backing of proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria.
Gallant further expresses his gratitude for US support for Israel in the war and efforts by the Biden administration to secure the release of hostages taken by terrorists on October 7.
Press statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the situation in the Middle East.
I reiterate my utter condemnation of the abhorrent acts of terror perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October – and repeat my call for the immediate, unconditional and safe release of hostages held in Gaza.
Nothing can justify the deliberate torture, killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians.
The protection of civilians must be paramount.
I am deeply concerned about clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing.
Let me be clear: No party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law.
“To those who think that Hamas will disappear, Hamas will remain entrenched in the conscience of our people, and no force on Earth can annihilate or marginalize it,” Osama Hamdan tells a news conference.
The soldier was named as Staff Sgt. (res.) Omer Balva, 22, a commander in the 9203rd Battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade, from Herzliya.
Balva was a dual Israeli-American citizen. A child of Israeli parents, he grew up in Rockville, Maryland, where he went to the Charles E. Smith Jewish day school.
He went to Israel to serve in the IDF, and was in the reserves because of the current war.
“We haven’t seen anything that tells they have specifically cut checks to support this set of attacks, or that they were involved in the training. And obviously, this required quite a bit of training by these terrorists,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters earlier Wednesday, though he added that the US will continue to look at the intelligence “and see if that leads us to a different conclusion.”