BlackMask Breaking News

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.”

Israeli military said Friday it carried out an airstrike on the central headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut, where a massive explosion leveled buildings in a southern district, sending clouds of orange and black smoke billowing in the skies. The strike in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.N., vowing that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah would continue. Not long before the explosion, thousands were massed in the suburb for the funeral of three Hezbollah members, including a senior commander, killed in earlier strikes. There was no immediate word on casualties in the strike. The Israeli army spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said it targeted the main Hezbollah headquarters, located beneath residential buildings. Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV said four buildings were reduced to rubble in the blast, so powerful it rattled windows and shook houses some 30 kilometers north of Beirut. Ambulances were seen headed to the scene of the explosions, sirens wailing. Earlier in the day, an Israeli airstrike killed a family of nine in a Lebanese border village, authorities said, as Lebanon struggled to deal with a rising death toll, a wave of tens of thousands fleeing their homes and the possibility of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel dramatically intensified its airstrikes in Lebanon this week, saying it is determined to put an end to more than 11 months of Hezbollah fire into its territory. The scope of Israel’s operation remains unclear, but officials have said a ground invasion to push the militant group away from the border is a possibility. Israel has moved thousands of troops toward the border in preparation. At the U.N., Netanyahu vowed to “continue degrading Hezbollah” until Israel achieves its goals, further dimming hopes for an internationally backed cease-fire. That has Lebanese fearing a repeat of the last Israel-Hezbollah war, in 2006, which lasted a month and caused heavy destruction over parts of their country. Or worse, they fear, Lebanon could suffer devastation on the scale caused in Gaza by Israel’s nearly yearlong campaign against Hamas. At least 25 people were killed in Israeli strikes early Friday, Health Minister Firass Abiad said, bringing the death toll in Lebanon this week to more than 720. He said the dead included dozens of women and children. The Israeli military said it carried out dozens of strikes over the course of two hours around the south on Friday, including in the cities of Sidon and Nabatiyeh. It said it was targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers and infrastructure. It said Hezbollah fired a volley of rockets toward the northern Israeli city of Tiberias.

Israel’s Beirut strike allegedly targeted Hezbollah chief

The target of Israel’s latest airstrike on the southern part of Beirut was Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, Fox News reported on Friday. Moments ago, the Israeli Defense Forces launched an attack on Beirut’s Da’aheh district, stating that the militant group’s central headquarters were located there.

More to come…

NN: one can hope

Firefighters and a hazardous materials team responded to a rollover crash and fire involving a big rig carrying lithium-ion batteries Thursday near the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro.There were no injuries reported in the crash early Thursday afternoon near the busy shipping port. Details about what led to the rollover were not immediately available.

Traffic was backing up on and near the bridge. Flames and thick smoke could be seen coming from the shipping container on the trailer of the truck, which was on its side in the 900 block of North Seaside Avenue. There were reports of one battery exploding, the LA Fire Department said.

“Firefighters have created a large perimeter around the site and are in the defensive mode (keeping their distance with hose lines for protection),” the LAFD said. No evacuations were ordered early Thursday afternoon. The 47 Freeway was closed east of Ferry Street. “This afternoon, a semi-truck transporting lithium batteries overturned on Terminal Island. For the safety of everyone in the area, all traffic and bridges leading to and from Terminal Island have been temporarily shut down,” said Councilmember Tim McOsker. “I want to express my deep appreciation for the quick and proactive response and the leadership of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association. Their swift actions in prioritizing worker safety during this incident have been instrumental in protecting everyone involved.” NN: