BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Hezbollah’s flexible chain of command, together with its extensive tunnel network and a vast arsenal of missiles and weapons it has bolstered over the past year, is helping it weather unprecedented Israeli strikes, three sources familiar with the Lebanese militant group’s operations said.
Israel’s assault on Hezbollah over the past week, including the targeting of senior commanders and the detonation of booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies, has left the powerful Lebanese Shiite militant group and political party reeling. On Friday, Israel killed the commander who founded and led the group’s elite Radwan force, Ibrahim Aqil. And since Monday, Lebanon’s deadliest day of violence in decades, the health ministry says more than 560 people, among them 50 children, have died in air barrages.
The Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi said on Sunday that Aqil’s death had shaken the organisation. Israel says its strikes have also destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rockets and shells.
But two of the sources familiar with Hezbollah operations said the group swiftly appointed replacements for Aqil and other senior figures killed in Friday’s airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in an Aug. 1 speech that the group quickly fills gaps whenever a leader is killed. A fourth source, a Hezbollah official, said the attack on communication devices put 1,500 fighters out of commission because of their injuries, with many having been blinded or had their hands blown off.
While that is a major blow, it represents a fraction of Hezbollah’s strength, which a report for the U.S. Congress on Friday put at 40,000-50,000 fighters. Nasrallah has said the group has 100,000 fighters.
Since October, when Hezbollah began firing at Israel in October in support of its ally Hamas in Gaza, it has redeployed fighters to frontline areas in the south, including some from Syria, the three sources said. It has also been bringing rockets into Lebanon at a fast pace, anticipating a drawn-out conflict, the sources said, adding that the group sought to avoid all out war.
Hezbollah’s main supporter and weapons supplier is Iran. The group is the most powerful faction in Tehran’s “Axis of Resistance” of allied irregular forces across the Middle East. Many of its weapons are Iranian, Russian or Chinese models. The sources, who all asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, did not provide details of the weapons or where they were bought. Hezbollah’s media office did not reply to requests for comment for this story.
Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, said that while Hezbollah operations had been disrupted by the past week’s attacks, the group’s networked organisational structure helped make it an extremely resilient force. “This is the most formidable enemy Israel has ever faced on the battlefield, not because of numbers and tech but in terms of resilience.”
Comment: Netanyahu has said the war against Hezbollah is entering a new phase. I’ve seen reports of Israeli armor massing on the border. Perhaps they’ll try a dash to the Litani… again. Israel needs that water badly. Over half of their water now comes from desalinization plants and the situation is getting worse. I think Netanyahu is more concerned about continuing a war to keep his corrupt ass out of jail than about thirsty Israelis.
Judging by this article, another run at the Tabouleh Line, as Colonel Lang called it, may not work much better than the last time. The IDF’s best chance is to mirror the Russian tactics of absolutely massive bombardments, total obliteration, prior to any advance. It’s what they did in Gaza. But I bet Hezbollah anticipates this. I recall the Green Devils of Monte Cassino did pretty well and exacted a heavy price from the Allied forces in the face of truly massive bombardments. Is Netanyahu willing to pay that price to keep his ass out of jail? Probably.
TTG
https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2006/08/the_tabouleh_li.html
https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2006/08/the_tabouleh_li_1.html
https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2006/08/the_tabouleh_li_2.html
They’re doing this for no other reasons than:
To drag the US into a wider ME war, particularly since they hope it will get Trump elected and thereby keep bibi in power so as to further their ultimate goal of wiping Iran off the face of the Earth. That last is the prophecy of their last book of worship (Esther) of the demonic Exploding-Pager Yahweh demon of the old testament. Until Persia is genocided, Exploding-Pager Yahweh won’t fullfill his promise to let the Jewish messiah rise up out of hell. It’s a vital element of their genocidal demon-worship religion, which features return of the temple, sacrifices of red heifers and other bizarre human-sacrife era atrocitities and rituals. Thomas Jefferson wrote eloquently about the madness of the religion of ancient Israel, describing it as badly in need of reform. And he thought but obviously could not whisper in his day, that Christianity had likewise become in its institutional forms, particularly the Catholic church, so badly in need of a new beginning that he authored his own version of the gospels, anticipating a later effort by Leo Tolstoy.
But bottom line it’s Trump in, US dragged into the war. and Iran up next and destroyed.
Our friend bibi. A real pal.
‘Effing’ ‘ell..
Holy Moly! And I thought it was just plain-out neo-colonial land theft.
rw
But bottom line it’s Trump in, US dragged into the war. and Iran up next and destroyed.
I deeply dislike Trumps self-aggrandizing, presentation … & his rhetoric–very American?–or his whole larger Breitbart, War Room Bannon support network … PL seemed to support it up to a point.
At the same time I am actually a bit sorry, we never had a chance to experience the Cherry Blossom King in charge, with Putin confronting the US and NATO with his Dec. 2021 ultimatum.
What would a clash between the two top-notch world leaders have looked like?
If you erase his own self-centered rally or interview rhetoric, cutting it down to factual essentials, this is what he looks like on issues that matter: WAPO interview by Marc Thiessen:
encountered here: https://x.com/mtracey/status/1840919801591476245
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/09/30/donald-trump-2024-interview-immigration-ukraine/ via archive: https://archive.ph/9fykL
Leander I didn’t mean to say that I myself think.it desireable for Trump to be elected, I meant to.say it’s one of bibi’s objectives.
And yes, that.meeting with.the orange-wigged mikado would have provided a lot of laughs and likely spared hundreds of thousands of precious lives, at least for awhile.
I understood what you wrote, F&L.
the orange-wigged mikado that’s almost as good as soon to giggler in chief. 😉
F&L,
The ever so powerful Orange man can get a war going in the levant but can’t get rid of Joe like Kamala and her backers did. He’ll be stuck cleaning up the mess, all the lefties get left with the money they looted and a Soros media to join the rest of their media giving us ‘truth’.
Netanyahu would sell his mother to Turkish pimps if it would allow him to stay in power one day longer.
James – It’s not just one man. Netanyahu’s poll ratings have gone up and one sees videos of Israelis dancing in the streets after the big bomb attacks on Lebanon.
Back in the late nineteenth century Zionist enthusiasts visited the then Palestine and found to their dismay it wasn’t a barren undeveloped region with only a few transient Arabs there. The fertile areas were heavily populated and the cities settled and prosperous communities. The Land without a People for a People without a Land didn’t exist.
From early on there was a split.
There were those who thought it would be possible to settle in Palestine whilst living in amity with their Arab and Christian neighbours: they were the Israelis I knew and knew of and I always thought theirs was the only way.
There were those like Jabotinsky who believed the solution was to make it in truth a Land without a People, the People who’d lived there before, that is; and that was the only way the People without a Land could realise their dream.
Seems like Jabotinsky’s Endlösung vision won out. Netanyahu is not merely a lone politician ably fighting for his political survival. He’s Israel now.
Note – “dancing in the streets”.
That was my impression from just seeing a few videos and picking up one or two news items. That this is the general mood in Israel is confirmed by a talk I’m just watching. Alastair Crooke, who seems to have an extensive knowledge of the region, confirms that and also confirms that Netanyahu has now strengthened his hold on power. (set to around 30 minutes.)
https://youtu.be/rCS97AOI2X0?t=1813
Earlier on there’s a wide ranging discussion of the reaction to Nasrallah’s death in the wider Muslim world and an assessment of Hezbollah’s military capabilities. I’ve been reading, fascinated, the articles and comment sections TTG has linked to above. Doesn’t seem a whole lot has changed fundamentally since that time – leads one to suspect that if there is a major incursion it’s unlikely to be more successful than the previous one.
And if it is, if the Israeli goals sketched out by Crooke are achieved, it will not change the fundamental shift we’re living through: the end of five centuries of European/ Western predominance.
One thing I don’t see at all is the triumphalist mood in Washington and Berlin/Brussels that Crooke appears to discern. Seems, rather, that the neocons are running scared and wondering how on earth to get themselves out of the holes they’ve been digging for themselves.
James –
That’s right, and if he’d do that to his own mother just imagine what he’d do to you or me or Giggles or Pooping Joe or the entire North Eastern states of the United States of America. Middle Eastern or North Eastern, it’s all the same to a crackpot murderer who planned Oct 7 in advance and then had his Helicopter gunships kill at a minimum over 50% of the reported 1100 casualties so he’d have an even better sinking-of-the-Maine cock and bull story than the yellow journalism of bygone days ground out and fried into tasty little bullshit burgers on a twice daily schedule.
BTW, TTG and Eric — time to bow down to LJ again or maybe Scott Ritter and his contingent? Well, retired Colonel Kvachkov of the Soviet and Russian Federation armed forces doesn’t seem to agree. At the link are three videos from drone overflights of Ugledar. [“The Ugledar cauldron” is a meme by means of which VVP-the bunker-dwarf’s propagandists have been simmering the RF television viewing audiences into somnambulism over a low flame for at least a month. It says “Why let your eyes, ears, noses and everyday common sense deceive you when our totally deceptive and stupid lies can fatten you up for your own slaughter while in possession of a better mood and outlook on life?”]
——————-
https://t.me/KvachkovV/2225
The settlement of Ugledar of the Donetsk People’s Republic has been liberated. It has been abundantly watered with the blood of our fighters. Eternal memory to them…
The lying pro-government information networks wrote that the Ukrainian Armed Forces units were trapped in a cauldron in Ugledar. However, we do not see crowds of prisoners, we do not see enemy equipment and captured weapons. This means that no cauldron was created, the Bandera punitive forces destroyed another Russian city and retreated in an organized manner. The unique style of the great commander.
——————————-
Here the Oval-faced Totalitarian’s awe inspiring grasp of 1945 era military hardware and tactics is venerated adoringly. Photos of butchered RF infantrymen at link.
https://t.me/KvachkovV/2222
A wild number of Bandera channels emanate inexhaustible delight at the sight of these photographs, in which the corpses of our soldiers are.
Another meat assault. Another crime of another Puzik. In the 21st century, when the sky is teeming with drones with various types of ammunition, as well as reconnaissance drones that direct artillery precisely to the target, sending people to assault on armor is a crime. Even teenagers understand this, but not the great commander Gerasim.
Therefore, another Puzik will not be punished. After all, in documents from some 1945 it is written that infantry can move on armor, so everything is fine, the commander is a good man, he did not violate anything. And were they killed? Well, it happens, this is war.
Until this archaic system is subjected to a total revision by common sense and modern realities, Puziks will consciously and with impunity destroy the living force of the Russian world on an industrial scale.
Look at the great commander Gerasim. Do you think he is capable of carrying out such an audit?
F&L,
Yeah Larry thinks Bibi gave a direct order to strafe all the cars at the rave too. He really hates asking how many helicopters and why no one has released the names of the officers passing along the presidential order. Nor did he care to respond when asked if Bibi also had the hostages rounded up and driven into Gaza too.
It started around midnight Lebanon time. Israel began what they call “localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence” into southern Lebanon. Lebanese Army posts on the border left earlier. AFAIK the Italian troops serving as UNIFIL peacekeepers are still there.
The raids that they mention indicate this may be special forces incursions, no tanks. My two cents is that it would be the height of stupidity for the IDF to send in the Merkavas again. You would think they learned the lessons of 2006. But who knows, perhaps they’ve beefed up Merkava armor. There have been several new developments in reactive armor kits since 2006. I would bet that the IDF Ordnance Corps and their contractors have kept up to date on those designs. Or maybe they’ve added cope cages a la those seen in the Ukraine War.
leith
I think it was on nakedcapitalism.com that I read that Israel has a new ‘active protection type system’ that they are betting on.
James –
It’s called Trophy APS, made by Rafael. Claimed to be effective against ATGMs. The US has bought them for M1A1 tanks. But I understand they are no good against cannon or recoilless rifle fire, or artillery, or a slow-flying drone dropping shape-charge grenades from directly overhead. Both Hezbollah and Hamas have claimed they countered the system successfully and damaged or destroyed at least two Merkavas and an Israeli heavy APC. I have no insight as to whether their claims are true or BS.
It is a conversation worth having.
Thus begins a process of replacing Hezbollah leaders in their 60s by presumably younger men. This may not work out any better than the US process in Afghanistan of eliminating incompetent Taliban commanders in favor of often more competent survivors. From what I am reading, Hezbollah has a deep bench. Israel needs to lock in their gains right away because the benefits of these actions may not persist for long.
“lock in their gains right away”
Can they do that? What actions can they take to turn Hezbollah’s current disruptions into permanent weakness? A lot depends on the resilience of smaller Hezbollah units left to resist without much centralized support. They are reputed to be very resilient, far more so than the norm for the Arab world. I guess we will see. If leadership transitions happen without too much internal bickering, Israel may not have long to enjoy the disruption. If they can pull that off, that will be Nasrullah’s legacy. Or not. I don’t think of any other mideastern Arab leader for which that is even a possibility.
Nobody named Kesselring is defending in Lebanon. It looks like another Lucas (anzio) is commanding the attacking force. Let’s knock off the command structure and inflict 2-5% casualties on day one then sit on our asses getting ready to move.
If you are wondering why US legacy media isn’t full of images of air assets of the 101 and 82nd filling the skies of NC, GA, an TN while tens of thousands of Americans are still flooded out you are not alone. But take solace that Zelensky got billions (maybe now he’ll pay interest on those loans the BOE is on the hook for.), Kamala made the fundraiser in CA and a run to the border, and Joe got rested at the beach after signing a couple pieces of paper.
Fred – this guarantee?
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-06-21/debates/23062130000011/NewLoanGuaranteesToSupportUkraine
From what I’ve read elsewhere, and if I’ve read it correctly, the BOE isn’t on the hook. I am.
EO,
Btw, I see where the host of the number 1 talk show in Russia has now publicly called for Putin’s resignation. That how well your Russian buddies are doing with their little war. Putin also just called for 130K more conscripts.
In other news, Poland just passed a law that anyone trying to enter the country illegally will be shot on sight. Poland will not accept refugees from Muslim countries. The EU is pissed about that (suicidal fools that they are). New found respect for Poles!
Eric – yes. Great numbers of Russians are getting fed up with being our punch bag. They want to nuke Ramstein or wherever and have done. I believe – hope, anyway – that Putin can hold them back.
EO,
“Punching bag”? How could a 5D chess player, like Putin, allow himself to be perceived as a punching bag and thrown out of power? All part of some grand strategy that my puny checkers playing American mind can’t possibly comprehend?
Or maybe the so called “slow grind” war of attrition – which I say is an excuse and a euphonism for losing – is not so masterful a strategy.
Hmmm….I recall someone has been saying that Russia’s failure to achieve a quick victory raised several serious risks, one being that Putin would be seen as weak and having embarrassed Russia. That Putin would be giving NATO and Ukraine and opportunity to learn and to regroup. Same person has been saying that the grind works both ways in terms of losses and Russia will have to conscript more young men who are enjoying Russia’s modern prosperity and comfort and don’t want to be conscripted. That too would cause a backlash against Putin……..hmmm….Was it Martyanov? Johnson? Ritter? McGregor? No. Certainly not. No, I think it was someone around here.
Come on my man. Just admit that you were wrong. I was wrong for the first six months of the war. I thought Russia was going to crush it. Then the weight of the evidence objectively began to tell otherwise. You’re starting to look downright silly. You’re better than that.
EO,
Oh you chaps are finally catching on to what Boris, the bankers, and all the rest of your ‘leaders’ have been doing to you?
No, Fred. We’re not catching on to any of it. If we ever do – extremely unlikely – you’ll witness even sleepy old Middle England getting ever so slightly hacked off.
EO,
Immigrants are you strength. Just like in 1066.
Fred
“Immigrants are you strength. Just like in 1066.”
It is hard, and uncommon, to say anything good about the “immigrants” of 1066. But have you ever looked into just how messed up the English were in the years leading up to 1066? They should have won in relatively short order even after losing at Hastings. The Bretons managed it against William just a few years later, so his “genius” can’t explain it all as being inevitable! Their governing class had set a record so bad that when they they tried to take William down the fyrd came out for William.
EO
That’s brilliant. Instead of “jacked off” as usual.
Please don’t go into a massive degree of debt purchasing “America Language” dictionaries and 1st grade level sets of cue cards in order to determine the meaning of “Jacked off” in gutter parlance, EO. Life is too short.
@F&L
But proper spelling is key:
“I helped my uncle Jack off a horse” 🙂
No doubt. Hezbollah is a much different kettle of fish than Hamas, battle hardened from lessons in Syria (though that was 7 years ago). Who knows how many kilometres of tunnels and missiles that are yet to be used.
Israel met their match during both the previous ‘incursions’ when Hezbollah numbered scarcely a few thousand fighters & the Israeli army for the most part is made up of a gloried ‘citizens militia’ (according to the late Col. Lang).
Israel is now in ground combat on three ‘fronts’.
It will be interesting to see where this goes.
I’d I had the balls and a spare million usd I would buy a few acres in southern
Lebanon.
In 5 years time it is going to be worth 10 times that.
The word that came to mind when I thought of this
VOR
mcohen
Lebanon is the future, and always will be.
Yes definitely the future,going to be like South of France.In the valley,nice little vineyard,some fresh sun ripened tomatoes.shiksa on toast with cranberries on the side.
When Barbara left I knew this site was done
shiksa on toast with cranberries on the side.
When Barbara left I knew this site was done
Mental shortcut/assosication? …
But yes, I wondered about her too, not that long ago. Where has she gone?
oops, shouldn’t have added this without looking back:
assosication=association, (pych)
No Hezbollah resistance so far claims a Jerusalem Post article this morning.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-822764#822764
So, are they playing possum? Waiting to sync up with missile attacks from Iran? Or…?
Leith,
…or maybe that “deep bench” applies to lower-mid level leadership but not to the top levels? The charts seem to indicate the Izzies got them all. Michael Corleone would be jealous. Time will tell.
Well I take no pleasure saying I told you so.
But Pampers Pooper Joe’s Geospatial assets have given the Middle Eastern Despot of Despot’s Nyet n Yahoo-in-your-face and his thousands of assassin’s a heads up.
(Photo of Hunter at Epstein Island .. )
Live Updates: Iran Plans Imminent Attack on Israel, U.S. and Israel Say.
A U.S. official said the United States was preparing to help defend Israel against an attack. Earlier, Israeli forces launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/10/01/world/israel-lebanon-hezbollah/here-are-the-latest-developments
ere are the latest developments.
U.S. and Israeli officials say that Iran is going to launch an attack on Israel in the coming hours, a day after Israeli forces launched a rare ground invasion of southern Lebanon on Monday night aimed at crippling the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah there.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that Israel had been informed about preparations for the attack by the U.S. government. A senior White House official said the United States was “actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack,” warning that a direct attack against Israel “will carry severe consequences for Iran.”
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military intelligence, said the scope of the possible Iranian attack was not clear, but could involve a combination of unmanned drones and missiles. The U.S. Embassy in Israel told its employees to return home and be prepared to enter bomb shelters, the first such order in months. (More at link)
F&L,
We’ve already seen Iranian drone and missile swarm attacks. Not impressed.
Maybe they’ll hit a wayward camel or a hay bale.
When the cats away, the mice will play.
The US is currently leaderless. The drooling, pants pooping, senile old grifter – aka Biden – is incapable of leading. Harris is an imbecilic puppet of who knows who, but, at least in part, probably foreign interests. If not directly on the take, she is easily manipulated. Nonetheless, if the election process fix is in, and is big enough, she’ll defeat Trump. Col Lang believed that Trump would receive so many votes in 2024 that it would surpass what can fraudulently created for Harris (well, Biden at the time he wrote that). I’m not so sure.
At any rate, there is no US leader currently and a fair chance of a socialist ditz who will destroy the US very quickly economically (see Venezuela) and, God knows how else, but surely, morally – and who is not pro-Israel. So Israel senses it must act to take out its enemies before all US support is withdrawn – and there is no one in the current admin. who can talk to them, work up understandings and instill confidence that a more restrained path will be supported.
The US is going to war with Iran sooner or later – most likely sooner – anyhow. Israel is not dragging us into war with that country, or any other. Saying that Israel is going to make us fight is just protocols of elders of Zion level antisemitism talking. When Iran and ISIS mass terrorists attacks take place across the US – and they most certainly will given all the terrorists in the US at this time – there will be no other choice but to attack Iran and implement regime change.
And no, Bibi isn’t doing this to stay out of jail. That is like TDS kind of talk. Does anyone really believe that?
As for Yemen, we’re already at war with the Houthis. They need to be wiped out. Israel is doing better at that now than we are. Hopefully we join forces.
Israel knows exactly what it is doing in S. Lebanon and will be very successful. The Tabouleh Line is already mostly neutralized. This is just a mop-up mission.
The US is going to war with Iran sooner or later – most likely sooner – anyhow.
yes apparently a seize the day scenario for Israel too.
*****************************
Iran more vulnerable than ever to Israel attack
Hezbollah, Tehran’s ally in Lebanon, no longer appears to be the deterrent it once was
Eldar Mamedov, RS:
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-hezbollah/
contains an interesting link to a Jared Kushner statement on x.
https://x.com/jaredkushner/status/1840181053572690060
Here is a look at some very well fortified and supplied tunnels that Hez appears to have run away from with minimum resistance, if any.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRiu_dVUp3Y
Iranian ballistic missiles rain down on Israel.
I personally think the Iranians are trying to goad Israel into going full on into Lebanon, rather than the “just the tip” invasion that I personally believe Bibi would prefer because I personally believe Bibi is terrified of a repeat of 2006 that he would be blamed for.
Bibi only came to power because his predecessor took the blame for what happened in 2006.