Author: BlackMask Financial

JERUSALEM (AP) — The first apparent Israeli airstrike on central Beirut in nearly a year of conflict leveled an apartment building early Monday. It came after Israel hit targets across Lebanon and killed dozens of people, as Hezbollah sustained heavy blows to its command structure, including the killing of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The airstrike hit a multistory residential building, according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene. Videos showed ambulances and a crowd gathered near the building in a mainly Sunni district with a busy thoroughfare lined with shops. A Palestinian leftist faction in Lebanon said three of its members were killed in the airstrike. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said in a statement early Monday that its military and security commanders in Lebanon, and a third member, were killed in the attack. The group has not played a significant role in the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. An official with Lebanon’s Civil Defense had earlier said that a member of the al-Jamaa al-Islamiya was killed in the strike and that 16 other people were wounded, but the Sunni militant group, which fights alongside Hezbollah, has not confirmed the death of any of its members.

Israel strikes Houthi targets in Yemen

Hezbollah on Sunday confirmed the death of high-ranking official Nabil Kaouk in an Israeli airstrike, a day after the Lebanese militant group acknowledged the killings of multiple commanders, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel struck Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the militants’ recent attacks, and is continuing to carry out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the number of people displaced by the conflict from southern Lebanon has more than doubled and now stands at more than 211,000, according to the United Nations. Hezbollah and Israel have traded near-daily strikes since the Israel-Hamas war started after the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group stormed into Israel almost a year ago on Oct. 7, sparking fears of regional war.

Netanyahu was returning to the country from New York, where he had given an address to the United Nations Assembly on Friday. Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement: “The operation was carried out with a Palestine 2 ballistic missile. “The Yemeni armed forces – along with all the honourable and free people of the nation – continue to respond to the crimes of the Israeli enemy, and will not hesitate to raise the level of escalation in response to the requirements of the stage and participate in the defence of Gaza and Lebanon. “These operations will cease only after the cessation of the aggression against Gaza and Lebanon.” Iran’s Supreme leader vowed to avenge the death of Nasrallah, saying others would continue his work and take the fight to Israel. “Nasrallah was not an individual. He was a path and a school of thought and the path will be continued,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a statement read on state television. It added: “The blood of the martyr shall not go unavenged.” Netanyahu said this evening that the death of Nasrallah was a “historic turning point”. He added that Israel had “settled the score” with those responsible for the deaths of “countless Israelis” and many foreign citizens. The Israeli Prime Minister said he gave the order for the attack, as airstrikes on Hezbollah had not done enough damage. He called Nasrallah a “master murderer” and said he was “the central engine of Iran’s axis of evil”.

Israeli targets power plants and oil facilities in Yemen

The Israeli army launched airstrikes on the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, targeting power plants and oil facilities, the military confirmed, adding it used “dozens of air force aircraft” in the operation. According to their statement on X, these sites were allegedly used by Houthi rebels to transfer Iranian weapons into the region. Hodeidah, a key port city, has seen repeated military actions due to its strategic importance.

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In the days since pagers began exploding in Lebanon, Israeli forces have stepped up their attacks on Hezbollah, pounding targets across the country and assassinating top leaders. Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets at northern Israel in response — including its first-ever attempt to target Tel Aviv with a ballistic missile — in the worst violence between the two sides since a 2006 war. Israel’s military said it killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an air strike on Beirut on Friday evening. Israel targeted Nasrallah with its strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in the heaviest attack on the Lebanese capital in almost two decades. State-run television in Lebanon reported that six buildings were leveled. In a Friday speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the fight against Hezbollah. “As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice and Israel has every right to remove this threat,” Netanyahu said. “We will continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met.” Israel on Thursday said it was not interested in a three-week ceasefire deal being pushed by the US, the European Union and several Arab nations. Far-right national security minister Ben Gvir has threatened to break Netanyahu’s coalition and resign from government if a permanent ceasefire is agreed upon. Israel is gearing up for a potential ground invasion to push Hezbollah at least five kilometers (three miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border. Iran, Hezbollah’s main sponsor, has so far refrained from intervening, even though Hezbollah requested greater support. Its president, Masoud Pezeshkian, called escalations in Lebanon “traps” for a wider conflict. That restraint might end in the event of an Israeli ground invasion. For months, Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in cross-border exchanges of fire. Hezbollah began firing rockets on Oct. 8, 2023, in what it called a “support front,” one day after Hamas fighters crossed into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel has since killed more than 41,000 people in Gaza. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the US. The Israeli government evacuated villages in northern Israel on Oct. 16, 2023, and it recently made returning these people to their homes one of its goals in the current conflict. Attacks from both sides of the border increased over the summer. On July 30, Hezbollah’s most senior military commander, Fuad Shukr, was killed in a Beirut suburb. Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets in response. Since the pager blasts on Sept. 17, Hezbollah’s leadership and command structure has also been targeted with as many as six top commanders killed by Israeli strikes, including Ibrahim Aqil, who was considered to be one of the party’s most senior members and led its elite Radwan force. Along with striking both the aerial and rocket units’ commanders, the Israeli Air Force has also targeted the militia’s commander of the southern front, Ali Karaki, but he reportedly survived. Prior to July, Hezbollah’s senior leadership had not been hit even though Israel had targeted Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri on Jan. 2 in the group’s stronghold, the Beirut suburb of Dahieh. Israel said it believes that in the past week it has destroyed about half of Hezbollah’s short-range rockets, which can fly up to 45 kilometers (28 miles), and their medium-range equivalents, which can hit targets 125 kilometers (78 miles) away, according to an Israeli official who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. US officials have argued the Lebanon ceasefire still has a chance, and France’s foreign minister was headed to Beirut for more talks. One person familiar with the US stance said the Biden administration believes Israel wants to maximize its military gains ahead of any potential truce.

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) is preparing to launch a “limited ground” incursion into southern Lebanon, ABC News reported, citing a senior unnamed official from the United States. No further details were provided. Previously, Israel’s Chief of Staff Herzi Hallevi said the army is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon and the intense air strikes against Hezbollah could be a preparation for a ‘ground maneuver.” The Chief of the IDF’s Northern Command Major General Ori Gordin made similar comments, stating the military needs to be “strongly prepared” for a land offensive against Hezbollah. The Pentagon, however, said on Wednesday the US saw no indication that the Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon was imminent. At the same time, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continued to escalate, culminating in the death of the militant organization’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in an IDF airstrike in Beirut.

Divisions have emerged within the Iranian government over how to react to the Israeli killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, according to a report by the New York Times. Conservatives are said to be pushing for a strong retaliation, while moderates, led by President Masoud Pezeshkian, are advocating for restraint, four officials, including two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told the media outlet. The report noted that the death of Nasrallah has shaken Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, but that despite mourning his close ally’s death, Ayatollah remains calm. NN: For whom the bell tolls. Its time for Israeli AAA on the Supreme leader.

The Houthis claim they launched a ballistic missile targeting Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.In a statement, the group’s military spokesperson said the missile, identified as a Palestine 2, was fired as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the country. The spokesperson did not provide further details on the missile’s impact or casualties.

President Joe Biden stated that the recent Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is “a measure of justice,” AFP reported. He emphasized that Nasrallah’s death serves as justice for many victims, including numerous Americans, Israelis and Lebanese civilians. Biden reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself against groups supported by Iran, such as Hezbollah and Hamas. He announced that he directed the defense secretary to strengthen the US military presence in the Middle East to deter aggression and minimize the chances of a wider regional conflict.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization Hassan Nasrallah died in its strike Friday against the group’s headquarters in Lebanon. “This is not the end of our toolbox. The message is simple, anyone who threatens the citizens of Israel – We will know how to reach them,” the IDF’s Chief of the General Staff, Ltf. Herzi Halevi said of the elimination of Nasrallah. The IDF attacked the Iran-backed terror proxy’s headquarters in southern Beirut, revealing that they had targeted Nasrallah. A Hezbollah media relations official initially claimed he was “fine and well,” but the Israelis confirmed his death early the next morning. At least two other people were killed and dozens were wounded, Lebanon’s health ministry said.On Friday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters, “The United States was not involved in Israel’s operation,” noting there was “no advance warning,” from the Israelis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short his trip to New York following his speech to the United Nations General Assembly where he warned Hezbollah about Israel’s right to go on the offensive.

“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said.

After his speech the prime minister’s office released a picture showing the Israeli leader in his New York hotel approving the operation against the terror chief.  Rich Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, saidl that Nasrallah’s death would prove a significant victory for Israel due to his close ties to Tehran. “People don’t appreciate that Nasrallah took over for Soleimani as senior strategist for Khamenei,” Goldberg explained. “Nasrallah had operational control of Lebanon and Syria: This is not just a  game-changer for Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria, it’s a strategic game-changer for Tehran,” Goldberg explained. “We should assume that the IRGC is effectively in charge behind the scenes. Khamenei clearly had made a decision in recent weeks to avoid inviting Israeli strikes inside Iran.”