Al Mayadeen – October 2, 2024
Eight Israeli soldiers killed, three tanks destoyed by Resistance
The Israeli occupation admits the killing and wounding of several of its soldiers, particularly from the Egoz unit, as the Islamic Resistance confronts invading troops.
Israeli occupation forces admitted on Wednesday the deaths of eight occupation soldiers during confrontations with the Islamic Resistance fighters on the southern Lebanese border, including two captains.
According to Israeli Channel 12, the soldiers who were killed fell in two separate locations after being confronted by Resistance fighters at a close proximity.
Additionally, five other soldiers from the Egoz Commando Unit, including one officer, were wounded.
As the Islamic Resistance continues intensifying its operations against invading occupation forces, Israeli Army Radio revealed that a unit of the Commandos force encountered fighters inside a building in a Southern Lebanese village.
As an operation to evacuate the occupation soldiers was underway, Hezbollah fighters continued launching mortar shells. A medical evacuation unit was requested to treat wounded soldiers on the field.
On his part, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in the South revealed that Israeli military reinforcements positioned in areas across Aita al-Shaab came under Hezbollah rocket fire.
Hezbollah destroyed three Israeli tanks
According to a statement released by the Lebanese Resistance, Hezbollah fighters were able to destroy three Israeli Merkava tanks using guided missiles as they advanced on the souther Lebanese town of Maroun al-Ras.
Commenting on the results of the confrontations that had been ongoing since this morning, a field source from the Lebanese Resistance told Al Mayadeen, "The heroic epic which our fighters are conducting against Israeli elite forces at several axes in South Lebanon resulted in the killing and wounding of more than 80 soldiers and officers, with almost five tanks destroyed."
Briefing of some of Hezbollah's operations
In the same context, it was also announced that while an Israeli occupation unit was attempting to surround the town of Yaroun from its forest, Resistance fighters detonated an explosive device against it, confirming casualties in its ranks between killed and wounded.
Another statement released by the Islamic Resistance reported that its fighters were confronting occupation soldiers in the eastern region of the Southern Lebanese village of Maroun al-Rass, injuring several, as clashes continue.
This comes after fighters from the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon successfully ambushed an Israeli infantry force attempting to infiltrate Lebanese territory through the village of Odaisseh from the Khallet al-Mahafer area on Wednesday dawn, Hezbollah confirmed.
Fierce confrontations ensued, forcing Israeli occupation forces to retreat after suffering casualties, according to the group's statement.
Israeli media announced that two soldiers were killed, including the commander of the Egoz unit, as well as 18 more wounded, during confrontations with Hezbollah at the border.
At least four occupation helicopters were sent to evacuate the casualties, as they, with the assistance of Israeli tanks, opened fire in the area to cover for the Israeli soldiers. However, they were met with intense artillery shelling by Hezbollah.
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'Israel' admits Iran strike hit military bases, tries to downplay it
Numerous videos have shown Iran's missiles striking deep within occupied Palestinian territories, with many of the impacts taking place in military zones.
The Israeli occupation was hit by an unprecedented attack from Iran late Tuesday night, with dozens of missiles hitting their designated target and reports indicating that over 400 missiles and projectiles had been launched from Iran toward the occupied Palestinian territories.
While the Israeli occupation forces have admitted to damage impacting several key Air Force bases, officials were quick to assert that no aircraft were hit and that the attack had not affected any military operations, contrary to what much of the footage circulated online showed.
According to a CNN analysis of geolocated videos, at least three main targets were hit: the Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv, Nevatim Air Base in southern occupied Palestine, and Tel Nof Air Base, located around 22 km south of Tel Aviv.
Footage shows missiles landing near the Mossad HQ in Tel Aviv’s Glilot neighborhood, a densely populated area. Additional video evidence captured rockets hitting Nevatim and Tel Nof bases, with a significant number of impacts at both locations.
While Israeli media is acknowledging the attacks, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli occupation forces were downplaying the extent of the damage.
"No aircraft were damaged," an Israeli military spokesperson told Ynet, adding that the Israeli occupation's Iron Dome and Hetz systems, along with the dispersion of military assets, were effective.
Despite these claims, the scale of the missile barrage and the hits on major military installations mark a dramatic escalation on Iran's end amid increasing Israeli criminality.
Iran had previously targeted Israeli military facilities, with the last significant strike occurring on April 13. The Israeli occupation forces were quick to underreport the damages and claim that the attack had been thwarted "successfully".
Iran's success triggers concerns of joint Resistance op: The Guardian
A piece published by The Guardian confirms the success of Operation True Promise 2, highlighting the concerns among "Israel" and allies regarding the implications of a greater, joint operation by the Axis of Resistance.
Iran's missile attack against occupied territories on Tuesday night prompted security concerns in "Israel" and among its allies over the consequences of a potential joint operation led by the Axis of Resistance, including Iran and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah, a piece published by The Guardian said.
In the article, Peter Beaumont says that while footage circulated showed massive fires at the military bases, particularly Tel Nof Airbase, "Israel" and its allies rushed to coin the attack a failure. However, Beaumont argues that the understanding of the Iranian attack does not solely depend on the damages that were inflicted, but rather on the fact that 181 missiles were able to bypass and pierce the "mighty" Israeli interceptors and air defenses.
According to the author, Iran's operation was able to achieve exactly what it set out to, triggering long-running concerns regarding "Israel's" security and the implications of a possible joint missile attack by the Axis of Resistance.
What is worth noting, however, is the precision that was showcased during the attack, marked by barely any damage to civilian infrastructure, other than minor ones inflicted by shrapnel dropping post-interception.
Although "Israel" boasts its interception and aerial defense capabilities, it also prepped healthcare centers and hospitals to anticipate and expect mass casualty events for when a scenario like Iran's operation plays out.
Commenting on the attack, "Israel's" Haaretz daily reported that the occupation forces refused to announce the percentage of interception on Tuesday night to allegedly prevent Iran and Hezbollah from obtaining key information that would "help them learn lessons." This, according to Beaumont, confirms what reporters and analysts deduced from the attack: Despite Israeli allegations of almost impeccable interception, the Iranian missiles in both waves penetrated occupied airspace and reached their targets.
The Fruit of True Promise 2
In other attempts to justify the penetration, Israeli military officials claimed that Iran used its "most advanced" missiles to carry out its operation.
In this context, Iran's IRIB news agency reported that the IRGC used the Fattah hypersonic missile in its attack and reportedly pierced the Israeli anti-missile shield, which consists of Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 anti-ballistic missiles.
The IRGC announced that three military bases were successfully targeted: Nevatim, Hatzerim, and the Tel Nof Airbase in Tel Aviv.
In detail, the Nevatim base houses the F-35 fighter jets, and the Hatzerim base houses the F-15 fighter jets used to assassinate Martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. The IRGC affirmed that the latter was targeted in response to the assassination of Hezbollah's martyred leader.
Additionally, at least 90% of Iran's ballistic missiles and projectiles launched from its first wave toward occupied Palestinian territories struck their targets, according to the IRGC's second statement released post-response.
Hezbollah ambushes Israeli infantry force trying to infiltrate Lebanon
Israeli media report a "very unusual and extremely difficult event in the North," involving the evacuation of casualties from the border area using at least four helicopters.
Fighters from the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon successfully confronted an Israeli infantry force attempting to infiltrate Lebanese territory through the village of Odaisseh from the Khallet al-Mahafer area on Wednesday dawn, Hezbollah confirmed.
Fierce confrontations ensued, forcing Israeli occupation forces to retreat after suffering casualties, according to the group's statement.
Hezbollah said the operations was "in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in solidarity with its brave and honorable resistance, as well as in defense of Lebanon and its people."
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon reported that Hezbollah executed a well-planned ambush against a group of Israeli soldiers who were preparing to infiltrate from Odaisseh and Kfar Kila.
Our correspondent mentioned that dozens of elite Israeli soldiers were wounded, and their cries were heard throughout the area.
The Islamic Resistance fighters opened fire at the Israeli forces from point-blank range, leading to fierce confrontations, according to our correspondent in South Lebanon.
The Israeli military reported the killing of one soldier in the Odaisseh ambush, but the number of casualties is much higher, Al Mayadeen's correspondent confirmed, noting that the latest event marks the first real engagement with an Israeli commando unit attempting to breach the Lebanese border.
Meanwhile, Israeli media admitted that an Israeli force fell into an ambush set by Hezbollah, pointing out that the Lebanese group is attempting to target concentrations of the Israeli military.
The media reported that Hezbollah unleashed heavy firepower against Israeli forces, pointing to a fierce exchange of fire between Hezbollah’s Radwan unit and Israeli forces along the border.
They highlighted a "very unusual and extremely difficult event in the North," involving the evacuation of casualties from the border area using at least four helicopters.
Helicopters and tanks were deployed to carry out strikes in the area, providing cover for the Israeli forces following the event, Israeli media mentioned.
In the same context, Hezbollah announced that its Resistance fighters shelled on Wednesday the positioning of Israeli occupation forces at the Shomera barracks with a rocket salvo, achieving a direct hit.
At 7:20 am, on the same day, the Islamic Resistance fighters also bombed the positioning of Israeli forces in the Shtula settlement with two Burkan rockets, resulting in confirmed hits.
Additionally, at 7:15 am, Hezbollah targeted a large Israeli infantry force in the Misgav Am settlement using rocket and artillery fire, dealing precise and direct strikes.
Moreover, at 7:30 am, Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the positioning of Israeli forces and their artillery emplacements south of Kiryat Shmona with a salvo of rockets, achieving confirmed hits.
The Rambam Hospital in Haifa and the Ziv Hospital in Safad declared a "mass casualty event" in the North, while Israeli media noted that Hezbollah was heavily shelling the border area.
As Hezbollah continues its military operations against Israeli military sites in occupied Palestinian territories, Israeli media reported renewed sirens in the settlements of Shtula in the Western al-Jalil, Zar'it, Shomera, Even Menachem, and Kiryat Shmona and its surroundings.
An Israeli media platform emphasized that Hezbollah has not ceased targeting the positioning of Israeli soldiers in the North since this morning. According to the media, sirens are sounding non-stop in the al-Jalil Panhandle.
Hezbollah's operations come in parallel with a massive Israeli aggression across Lebanon, especially its South and East, as well as the Southern Suburb of the capital Beirut, where the Lebanese group's Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health's Emergency Response Center, Israeli attacks on Lebanon since last October have killed 1,873 people and wounded 9,134.
'Israel' declares UN chief 'persona non grata' over Iran attack
The Israeli foreign minister has announced that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been declared "persona non grata" in "Israel", effectively banning him from entering the occupied territory.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been declared “persona non grata” in "Israel", effectively banning him from entering the occupation entity.
The Foreign Ministry claimed that this move was prompted by Guterres' response to a missile attack from Iran the previous night.
"Israel" said that Guterres failed to specifically name Iran and did not clearly condemn what it described as "grave aggression" in his statement. The Foreign Ministry further criticized Guterres for his policies during the ongoing war, accusing him of supporting "terrorists, rapists, and murderers" from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Ansar Allah and now backing "the mothership of global terror, Iran."
This comes shortly after Guterres called for an immediate end to the escalating violence in the Middle East. In a statement on Tuesday, he condemned the growing scale of the war, marked by continuous escalations. "This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire," Guterres emphasized.
Israeli air and ground attacks kill at least 51 people across Gaza
Dozens of Palestinians are reported to have been killed as Israel has stepped up its military operations across Gaza.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that at least 51 people had been killed in the enclave over the previous 24 hours, as the Israeli military has stepped up attacks alongside its ongoing air and ground offensive in Lebanon.
Israeli fighter jets attacked Gaza City overnight, striking the Muscat School in the Tuffah neighbourhood and the Al-Amal Orphanage in the west of the capital. At least nine displaced people sheltering at the locations were killed, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, announced an attack on the “Brig High School” in central Gaza. The exact location of the target was not immediately clear and it was not known at the time of reporting whether there were any deaths.
In separate statements, the army said the two schools and the orphanage were being used as Hamas “command and control complexes” to plan and carry out operations.
Israel has hit dozens of schools, many of them being used to shelter displaced people, in Gaza throughout its yearlong war in the enclave, claiming they were being used by the armed group.
In southern Gaza, air attacks accompanied the arrival of tanks in three neighbourhoods of Khan Younis. At least 32 people were killed and dozens injured, the city’s European Hospital said, according to The Associated Press news agency.
How does Hezbollah function – and what arsenal does it have?
By Simon Speakman Cordall and AJLabs
Operating as a state within a state, the role, influence and power of the armed Lebanese group, Hezbollah, continues to mystify many.
For the past year, since Israel launched its war on Gaza, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily fire across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. This has culminated in the Israeli bombardment of Beirut and other parts of Lebanon in what Israel claims were targeted attacks on Hezbollah leaders. As a result, Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader for 32 years, was killed, along with several other senior leaders and commanders leaving what many observers have called a power vacuum.
Established in response to the 1982 to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, Hezbollah has since evolved into one of the most powerful factions within modern Lebanon, one that combines domestic and international political reach, social traction and daunting military capabilities.
What is Hezbollah’s political influence?
Hezbollah’s identity, both as an armed group and a political organisation, allied with its extensive welfare programme, has earned the group significant heft within Lebanon’s fractured democratic political system.
Close ties to a network of sympathetic political parties which, while not formally allied to Hezbollah, nevertheless support it, have gained the group a defining role within the Lebanese parliament and national governmental progress.
However, in recent years, Hezbollah’s political fortunes have come under pressure, as its controversial involvement in the Syrian civil war, when it sent fighters to support the Syrian regime’s armed forces, along with Lebanon’s economic and political stagnation, have undermined popular support for the group, leading to it losing its majority in the elections of 2022, though it retains the largest bloc within parliament.
Hezbollah’s enduring political presence, even surviving accusations of involvement in the events leading up to the devastating Beirut port blast of August 2020, which killed 200 people and wounded 7,000, is in no small part due to its extensive welfare system.
Operating in some of the most deprived areas of the country, Hezbollah oversees the running of hospitals, schools and welfare organisations, burgeoning the group’s reputation as a state within a state.
What is the internal structure of Hezbollah?
Hezbollah’s internal structure is highly centralised and hierarchical, with its leadership primarily guided by its Shura Council.
At the top of the Shura Council sits the secretary-general. Until Friday, that role was filled by Hassan Nasrallah. However, since his killing during an Israeli air strike on a residential suburb of Beirut, no successor has been named.
Reporting to the Shura Council are five distinct bodies; the Political, Parliamentary, Executive, Judicial, and Jihad Councils.
The functions of the Political and Parliamentary Councils are largely evident in their title, with the former enjoying responsibility for maintaining Hezbollah’s political strategies and alliances, while the latter directs the group’s parliamentary activities.
The Executive Council is responsible for the group’s social services and finances, as well as maintaining its critical alliance with Iran.
Lastly, the Judicial Council rules on internal disputes, while ensuring the group retains its religious principles while the Jihad Council oversees the group’s military activities.
Which Hezbollah leaders have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7?
Several of Hezbollah’s commanders have been killed since the group allied with Hamas in response to Israel’s continued attacks upon the besieged enclave which began on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas led an assault on southern Israel in which 1,139 were killed.
In recent weeks, these killings have included some of Hezbollah’s most senior members, essentially “decapitating” the group in the eyes of many of its critics.
- Hassan Nasrallah: The secretary-general of the group, Nasrallah had maintained overall control of its activities since February 1992. He was killed in an Israeli air strike on Beirut on September 27, 2024.
- Wissam al-Tawil: Known as “Jawad”, was the deputy head of a unit in the elite Radwan force and one of the first senior commanders to have been killed since the group’s involvement in Israel’s war on Gaza. He was killed during an Israeli air strike on southern Lebanon on January 8, 2024.
- Ismail al-Zin: A senior Hezbollah commander who was accused by Israel of playing a senior roleﾠin the elite Radwan Force. This was never confirmed by the group itself, who only acknowledged his death. He was killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon on March 31, 2024.
- Ali Ahmad Hussein: A powerful figure within the group, said to have played a critical role in attacks upon northern Israel. At the time of his death, Ali Ahmad Hussein was commander of Hezbollahﾒs elite Radwan Force. He was killed in an Israeli air strike on as-Sultaniyah in southern Lebanon on April 8, 2024.
- Fuad Shukr: A senior Hezbollah military commander, Shukr was involved in many of the group’s key operations, allegedly including the 1983ﾠbombing of the Multinational Force in Lebanon’s (MNF) barracks in Beirut, killing 307 people. Shukr was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut on July 30, 2024.
- Ibrahim Aqil: A significant figure within the group, Aqil was second-in-command of Hezbollah’s armed forces and a senior leader of the group’s elite Radwan Force. He was killed during an Israeli air strike on Beirut on September 20, 2024.
- Ali Karki: Killed alongside Hassan Nasrallah, Karki had been the commander of Hezbollah’s units in southern Lebanon. He was killed in an Israeli air strike on Beirut on September 27, 2024.
- Nabil Kaouk: A Muslim leader and politician, Kaouk served as the deputy head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council. He was killed in an Israeli air strike targeting Hezbollah’s infrastructure in Beirut on September 28, 2024.
- What is in Hezbollah’s arsenal?
Prior to the current Israeli attacks, Hezbollah had been considered one of the most formidable non-state armed groups in the world with an estimated 130,000 rockets in its armoury.
Hezbollah has an extensive array of military hardware, said to include precision-guided missiles, drones, antitank missiles and an extensive number of rockets capable of reaching deep into Israeli territory.
In addition to the group’s continuing armed resistance to Israel, many of its estimated 20,000 to 50,000 fighters have gained additional combat experience in Syria, when the group officially deployed in support of the Presidential regime of Bashar al-Assad from 2012 onwards.
Hezbollah’s military strength has benefitted from substantial financial and military support from its ally, Iran, which, in addition to playing a formative role in the group’s creation in 1982, has continued to act in concert with it over the decades since.
