Rewriting Resolution 1701: Hochstein’s diplomatic cover for Israeli expansion
By Anis Raiss | The Cradle | October 25, 2024
On 21 October, Amos Hochstein, born in Israel in 1973 and once an Israeli tank crewman, returned to Lebanon as a US envoy, not to protect peace but to redefine it on Tel Aviv’s terms.
The irony is undeniable: Israel, having lost 28 tanks in almost as many days during its latest invasion attempt, now sends one of its former tank crew members, not in battle, but in diplomacy – to achieve through words what military force could not secure: control over Lebanon through revisions to UN Resolution 1701.
Hochstein’s mission may appear to be an act of diplomacy, but is it really about fostering peace? Or is he aligning with Israeli policy to reframe control while eroding Lebanon’s sovereignty? The diplomatic veneer only thinly conceals the underlying agenda of control.
From Oslo to 1701: Reinterpreting peace for control
The Israeli playbook of manipulating peace processes is nothing new. In a 2001 leaked video, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted about his manipulation of the Oslo Accords, using vague phrases like “military facilities” to tighten Israeli control over contested areas.
Netanyahu openly stated, “America is something that you can easily maneuver,” hinting at the ease with which Israeli influence shapes US diplomacy – a dynamic that is evident today in Hochstein’s actions.
The Israeli army veteran’s push for amendments to Resolution 1701 is a clear continuation of this strategy: advancing the occupation state’s interests under the guise of diplomacy from Washington. Just as Netanyahu reinterpreted the Oslo Accords to solidify Israeli control, Hochstein’s proposed changes to 1701 seek to turn it into a tool for extending Tel Aviv’s influence. This is not diplomacy for peace; it is diplomacy for power.
1701: Israel’s unfinished battle
Resolution 1701, passed by the UN Security Council on 11 August 2006, marked a critical point for Israel, which found itself unable to defeat Hezbollah during the July War despite its advanced military capabilities.
Brokered by then-US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the ceasefire allowed Israel a face-saving exit under the guise of diplomacy rather than face a prolonged, unwinnable battle. But the resolution has since been a point of ongoing contention – one Israel has repeatedly violated.
One notable violation is Israel’s continued occupation of Shebaa Farms, which contravenes both Resolution 1701 and the earlier Resolution 425. Hezbollah’s decision to remain armed, often criticized internationally and in some quarters domestically, becomes a logical and legally justified response under international law, given Israel’s occupation of Lebanese land. The ongoing presence of Israeli forces undermines the very peace that Resolution 1701 aimed to establish.
Tel Aviv’s disregard for the resolution extends beyond territorial occupation. Since 2013, Israel has repeatedly violated Lebanese airspace to conduct strikes on Syria, treating Lebanon’s skies like an unguarded backdoor for foreign interventions.
This belligerent behavior is akin to a trespasser using a neighbor’s yard to attack another – an act that undermines Lebanon’s sovereignty entirely. In August 2019, a significant escalation occurred when Israel launched a drone strike in Beirut, which then-president Michel Aoun condemned as a “declaration of war.”
Moreover, Israel’s occupation of the northern part of Ghajar village further violates both the Blue Line and Resolution 1701. Despite UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces deploying south of the Litani River, Israel’s persistent refusal to withdraw ensures that peace remains elusive, leaving Lebanon under the constant threat of Israeli aggression.
Rewriting 1701
The amendments proposed by Hochstein to Resolution 1701 reveal Israel’s broader strategy of using international mechanisms to further its objectives. These changes would extend UNIFIL’s jurisdiction two kilometers north of the Litani River, allowing international forces to conduct searches, patrols, and inspections without requiring approval from Lebanese authorities. These inspections can include searching vehicles, private properties, and suspected weapons sites.
Effectively, this is a demand for Lebanon to cede control over its own territory – a clear infringement on its sovereignty. Under the guise of peacekeeping, this would grant Israel indirect control over Lebanon’s internal security dynamics, especially since intelligence for these operations may be influenced by, or even originate from, Israeli sources.
Eyes on the south
Hochstein’s proposal raises critical concerns about intelligence oversight: Who will guide these operations, and how might covert Israeli interests be served? The potential involvement of Israeli tech companies like Toka, co-founded by former prime minister Ehud Barak, is telling.
Toka specializes in advanced surveillance technologies that can hack into and manipulate live or recorded video feeds from public and private security cameras, including those in ports, airports, and border crossings.
If Toka’s technology is deployed in southern Lebanon, it could potentially compromise the very systems used by UNIFIL. This technology, which leaves no trace, could be exploited to monitor Hezbollah and Lebanese military movements, all under the guise of international peacekeeping operations. The consequences would be profound: a complete erosion of Lebanon’s security, replaced by a surveillance network manipulated by Israel to serve its own strategic interests.
Israel’s covert surveillance approach can be seen in how it handles Beirut’s southern suburbs. The infamous Dahiya Doctrine advocates for overwhelming destruction of civilian areas to target Hezbollah strongholds, yet Israel seems to avoid fully enacting this policy – possibly due to its desire to preserve infrastructure that supports covert operations.
Technologies like Toka’s suggest a more calculated plan, enabling 24/7 monitoring of Hezbollah-controlled areas south of the Litani River. Armed with precise intelligence, Israel could execute targeted strikes or assassinations akin to those witnessed during the 2006 war, turning southern Lebanon into a zone of perpetual surveillance and intermittent violence – all under the pretense of adhering to Resolution 1701.
Berri’s rejection
Nabih Berri, long-time leader of the Amal Movement and a staunch ally of Hezbollah, immediately opposed Hochstein’s proposed amendments. As Speaker of Parliament since 1992, Berri has been a key figure in resisting Israeli encroachments and defending Lebanese sovereignty.
His longstanding relationship with Hezbollah and the broader Shia political movement positions him as a critical figure in Lebanon’s struggle against foreign intervention. Upon receiving Hochstein’s proposals, Berri recognized them for what they were: an attempt to undermine Lebanese sovereignty under the guise of enhanced peacekeeping.
While Hochstein framed these amendments as necessary for stability, Berri’s response was clear: the real issue is not a lack of oversight but Israel’s continued violations of Lebanese airspace and territory. As Berri emphasized, any genuine pursuit of peace must begin with holding Israel accountable for its aggression and ensuring it abides by existing UN resolutions.
He also announced that “the consensus among the Lebanese on Resolution 1701 is a rare consensus, and we are committed to it,” adding, “We reject any amendments to Resolution 1701, whether by increase or decrease.”
In an interview with Al Arabiya TV, Berri also stated, “I have been mandated by Hezbollah since 2006, and it agrees to 1701.”
Resolution 1701, meant to establish peace, is being reshaped into a surveillance tool – a mechanism for Israel to achieve what it could not through military means. The use of sophisticated surveillance technology, the selective enforcement of ceasefire terms, and the involvement of international forces all serve to undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty, rendering “peace” a hollow word.
Bolivia denies Israel accusations of hosting Iran, Hezbollah bases
MEMO | October 23, 2024
Bolivia has denied accusations that it is hosting Iranian and Hezbollah bases within its borders, urging South American nations not to fall for such allegations and become divided.
In a virtual press conference on Monday, Israel’s Ambassador to Costa Rica, Mijal Gur Aryeh, stated that there are “other countries in the region that have Iranian and Hezbollah bases, particularly Venezuela and Bolivia”, without providing evidence or specific details on such an allegation.
Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry yesterday denied those accusations, however, saying in a statement that “Bolivia is a pacifist state that promotes the culture of peace, which is why it has constitutionally assumed the prohibition of installing foreign military bases in its territory.”
Calling Aryeh’s words “irresponsible, unfounded, and self-serving”, the Ministry called on other South American countries “not to fall into these provocations that seek to affect the relations of brotherhood between states and peoples of the region.”
It asserted that the Ambassador’s comments ”seek to generate confrontation between Latin American states, governments and peoples, against the objective outlined in the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) of consolidating Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace”.
Leaked report finds Israel targeting UN troops in Lebanon, injured several with white phosphorus
The Cradle | October 23, 2024
Israel’s military has attacked UNIFIL troops deployed on the Lebanon–Israel border a dozen times, including possibly with white phosphorus, the Financial Times (FT) reported on 22 October.
According to a confidential report prepared by a country contributing troops to the UN mission, Israeli forces forcibly entered a clearly marked UN base and are suspected of using the incendiary chemical white phosphorus, injuring 15 UN soldiers.
Israeli forces began targeting UN troops shortly after launching ground operations across the border into Lebanon on 1 October.
UNIFIL has called the attacks “deliberate” and a “flagrant violation of international law.”
UN troops, which come from 50 separate countries, have rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that they evacuate their border posts to clear the way for current Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon.
Israel hopes to establish a so-called security zone and push Hezbollah fighters some 30 kilometers away from the border to positions behind the Litani River.
The confidential report viewed by FT includes photographs documenting the extent of the damage done to bunkers that shelter UN troops, perimeter walls, and observation towers at several bases.
On Sunday, an Israeli bulldozer deliberately demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence of a UN position in Marwahin.
On 10 October, two UN troops were injured when an Israeli Merkava tank opened fire and struck an observation tower at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura on the Lebanese coast. The same day, Israeli forces fired at a UN bunker sheltering Italian troops in Labbouneh.
The report says the Israeli military first surveilled the area with drones and destroyed the bunker’s cameras before attacking.
Israeli forces also fired several munitions, which landed near a base and emitted “smoke of suspected white phosphorus” into it.
The FT notes that Israel has used white phosphorus in Lebanon throughout the past year. Its use is unlawful in populated areas under international law.
UN troops were deployed to the Lebanon–Israel border following Israel’s first invasion of Lebanon in 1978. Repeated invasion attempts were made in 1982, 2006, and 2024.
Israeli troops occupied large areas of southern Lebanon between 1982 and 2000 before armed resistance by Hezbollah forced them to withdraw.
The Hidden Motives Behind Hochstein’s Lebanon Visit and the Strategic Bet on the Resistance
By Zoulfikar Daher | Al-Manar | October 23, 2024
The first visit of US envoy Amos Hochstein to Beirut since the outbreak of Israel’s large-scale aggression against Lebanon came approximately three weeks after the Israeli enemy expanded its operations across southern Lebanon, the Bekaa, and even the southern suburbs of Beirut and the capital itself.
Prior to his visit, speculation arose about its true purpose: Was Hochstein bringing concrete solutions, or was he simply testing the waters and assessing the political landscape? Some questioned whether he was delivering Israeli demands aimed at pressuring Lebanon into submission. Did this move stem from American initiative alone, or was it coordinated with “Israel” as part of its efforts to impose terms? Alternatively, could it signal Israel’s realization that the conflict with the resistance is proving more difficult than anticipated, given the losses it has suffered along the Lebanese-Palestinian border?
There is a view that the Israeli enemy, recognizing the challenge posed by the resistance, is attempting to de-escalate while still hoping to extract some benefit from its tactical strikes. However, these strikes have done little to alter the situation. The resistance remains steadfast, its retaliation capabilities growing and reaching deeper into Israeli territory, while its capacity to manage the conflict remains strong.
Fearing that Israel’s “achievements” on the ground might slip away, the US administration appears to have dispatched Hochstein to reopen negotiations. The strategy follows a familiar pattern: escalate demands to the maximum in hopes of gaining concessions, all while threatening continued aggression.
Simultaneously, Israeli attacks intensified in various areas, particularly in the southern suburbs of Beirut (Dahiyeh). The timing of these escalations, paired with Hochstein’s visit, was no coincidence. “Israel” aimed to showcase its destructive capabilities, resorting to psychological warfare by targeting buildings associated with the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, although these were largely unoccupied. This was intended to send a message to the Lebanese leadership receiving the American envoy. The strikes continued the following night, extending to Al-Awzai and areas near Beirut’s governmental hospital. But the question remains: Can these aggressive moves impose Israel’s conditions on Lebanon?
Hochstein reportedly presented amendments to UN Resolution 1701, which included:
• Expanding the role of international forces and allowing them to operate without restrictions.
• Pushing the resistance several kilometers north of the Litani River, with some reports suggesting as far as the Owali River near Sidon.
• Assigning oversight of the resolution’s implementation to US, British, or German forces.
• Granting “Israel” unrestricted access to Lebanese airspace for supervision.
These terms essentially aim to hand “Israel” significant control, leaving Lebanon, its army, people, and resistance with little ability to defend national sovereignty. Some media and political voices have described this proposal as nothing less than a “surrender document.”
However, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to Resolution 1701, with no amendments. He emphasized that this is the final opportunity for the US to intervene diplomatically and halt the war. Berri made clear that Lebanon stands united on Resolution 1701, and that “Israel” must respect it. He anticipated that Hochstein would push Israel’s maximum demands but remained confident that nothing could be imposed on Lebanon. “Israel” has failed to achieve its objectives on the battlefield, and it will not succeed through diplomacy either.
Hochstein’s visit, it seems, was primarily a test of Lebanon’s resolve—an attempt to gauge whether the country, particularly the resistance, might offer concessions under pressure. But Lebanon’s leadership, backed by its steadfast resistance, will not yield. Neither the US, nor the Zionist entity, nor their allies can force Lebanon into submission.
Contrary to some perceptions, “Israel” is not in a position of strength. Those following the situation behind the scenes of Hochstein’s visit might believe “Israel” can impose its will, but the facts tell a different story. For over three weeks, it has faced setbacks along the border with Lebanon, failing to make significant gains or take control of any Lebanese towns. These developments underscore that the US-Israeli pressure campaign is shallow and ineffective against the united front of Lebanon, its resistance, and its people.
Ultimately, the outcome of this conflict will be decided on the battlefield, where the resistance, as emphasized by its leader, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah (may he rest in peace), continues to hold the upper hand. The realities on the ground, both day and night, will shape the political and diplomatic consequences, not the other way around. The battlefield will determine the fate of this war, and indeed, the future of the entire region.
Media tour of Beirut hospital disproves Israeli claim of ‘Hezbollah bunker’
The Cradle | October 22, 2024
Journalists toured the Sahel Hospital in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs on 22 October, disproving claims made by the Israeli military that Hezbollah was storing hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold in a bunker below the hospital.
Independent journalist Steve Sweeney was among those visiting the hospital. He wrote on social media that he “had unrestricted access to all areas, including the basement, and all I found were the normal things found in any hospital, in any country across the world.”
“The hospital director believes it will be bombed by Israel, repeating a pattern seen in Gaza, with attempts to link the hospital to Hezbollah a smokescreen to justify an attack. We had to leave the hospital with drones flying overhead with the potential for Israel to strike at any moment,” he added.
L’Orient Today reported that the hospital was evacuated on Monday evening after the Israeli army said it was conducting “a reconnaissance of the complex” beneath which it said “hundreds of millions of dollars” belonging to Hezbollah were hidden.
Hezbollah has “hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold under the Sahel Hospital in Haret Hreik to fund its terrorist activities,” Israeli army Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on social media.
“The Israeli allegations about the Sahel hospital are false, but we were forced to evacuate,” said the director of the health facility, Fadi Alameh, in an interview with Al Jadeed TV.
He also said that “the Sahel Hospital has nothing to do with the parties” and called on the army command to inspect it and confirm that no tunnels were under the building.
Later on Tuesday afternoon, an Israeli airstrike completely destroyed a high-rise building in the Ghobeiry region in the Beirut southern suburbs as Hezbollah’s Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, was giving a press conference in the area, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.
At the press conference, Afif discussed Israel’s bombing on Sunday of multiple offices of the Al-Qard al-Hassan Association, which provides financial services to Lebanese civilians.
Afif said the bombing had “no justification at all. It is a licensed civil institution, and Hezbollah does not receive its allocations from this institution.”
“Al-Qard al-Hassan Association was prepared for the aggression, took all necessary precautions, and will meet its commitments.”
He also stated that despite recent Israeli bombings and the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, “Hezbollah’s military and logistical support lines have returned to what they were, and the enemy has suffered heavy losses in lives and tanks.”
“The resistance and the chain of command are in good health,” he added.
Late Monday, Israel also bombed residential buildings in the Jnah area of Beirut near the Rafic Harir Hospital, killing 13, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
Hezbollah drone hits Netanyahu’s home as rocket barrage pummels Haifa
The Cradle | October 19, 2024
A Hezbollah drone launched from Lebanon targeted the private home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 19 October, the prime minister’s office said.
Saudi news outlet Al-Hadath first reported the drone attack, which targeted Netanyahu’s residence in the coastal city of Caesarea, located 60km north of Tel Aviv, early on Saturday.
The prime minister and his wife were not present at the time of the attack, and no injuries were reported.
Caesarea resident Yaheli Karbi told Haaretz that she saw a helicopter flying above the area near the Prime Minister’s residence around 7:30 am.
“I saw [the helicopter] hovering over Bibi’s house,” she said. “I then saw the drone arrives and heard it hit. There was a very strong smell of smoke,” she added.
The Israeli military said Saturday morning that some 55 rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel within an hour, causing sirens to be activated in several cities and towns across the Upper, Western, and Central Galilee areas.
Some of the rockets were intercepted, while others landed in open areas, the military stated.
A short time later, Israel targeted a vehicle traveling on the Jounieh highway just north of Beirut, killing two people and injuring two others.
It was the first such Israeli strike in the area since the start of the war.
On Friday, Hezbollah launched several attacks on Israeli military targets.
The Lebanese resistance movement announced it launched a barrage of precision-guided missiles targeting the Kiryat Eliezer air base, located west of Haifa.
It also launched a swarm of assault drones at the Ein Shemer base, a missile defense and regional brigade base located east of the city of Hadera.
Israel has intensified its attacks on Hezbollah targets and Lebanese civilians and civil defense workers across the country, including two large massacres earlier this week.
An Israeli airstrike on Wednesday killed the mayor of Nabatieh, one of the largest cities in southern Lebanon. He and 16 others were killed at the municipal headquarters while in a meeting to coordinate aid deliveries to residents and those displaced by war.
On Monday, an Israeli strike massacred at least 24 people from the same family, 12 women, ten men, and two children, in Aitou, a village in the mountainous Zgharta district in northern Lebanon.
The family had rented a home in the Christian-majority town after being displaced from their home in the south by Israeli bombing.
UN troops to ‘stay in all positions’ inside Lebanon despite Israeli threats
The Cradle | October 15, 2024
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, confirmed on 14 October that the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) would “stay in all its positions” inside Lebanon after Israeli attacks injured at least five blue helmets.
“The decision was made that UNIFIL would currently stay in all its positions in spite of the calls that were made by the Israel Defense Forces to vacate the positions that are in the vicinity of the Blue Line,” Lacroix told reporters on Monday.
“I want to emphasize that this decision still remains,” he stressed, adding that the plan was confirmed earlier in the day by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The statement came a few hours after the 15-member UN Security Council (UNSC) for the first time unanimously voiced “strong concerns” about the safety of UNIFIL troops.
“Against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities along the Blue Line, the members of the Security Council expressed their strong concerns after several UNIFIL positions came under fire in the past days,” said the council’s rotating presidency, currently Switzerland’s UN ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl.
“They recalled that UN peacekeepers and UN premises must never be the target of an attack,” the UNSC statement adds, without ever naming Israel.
Over the past week, UN positions and bases in southern Lebanon have come under repeated attacks by the invading army. In the most recent of these, UNIFIL revealed that Israeli tanks “destroyed the position’s main gate and forcibly entered the position.”
According to the Israeli military, the incursion into the UNIFIL base came after fighters from Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops, wounding at least 25 of them.
The UN decision to keep its troops inside Lebanon came just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his call for UNIFIL to “get our of harm’s way.”
UNIFIL was founded in response to Israel’s invasion of south Lebanon in 1978.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, told reporters on Monday that “attacks against peacekeepers are in breach of international law, including international humanitarian law, and they may constitute war crime.”
Last week, Hezbollah accused Israel of using the UN troops as “human shields.”
“The Israeli enemy is attempting to use UNIFIL forces as human shields to cover its failure to advance … The operations room of the Islamic Resistance instructed the fighters to hold back and not engage with the movement to protect the lives of international soldiers,” the Hezbollah statement reads.
US says can’t continue supplying Ukraine, Israel together as Tel Aviv faces munitions shortage
Press TV – October 15, 2024
Israel is scrambling to supply interceptor missiles amid a looming shortage as the regime is bracing for more retaliatory attacks from the regional resistance, more than a year after it launched the genocidal war on Gaza, a report says.
The report by the the Financial Times came as the United States on Sunday confirmed that its military is sending an anti-missile system operated by American troops to aid the Israeli forces following the Tel Aviv regime’s failure to defend itself against Iran and as Tel Aviv has threatened it will attack Iranian sites.
“Israel’s munitions issue is serious,” the Financial Times cited Dana Stroul, a former senior Pentagon official with responsibility for the West Asia, as saying on Tuesday.
“If Iran responds to an Israel attack [with a massive air strike campaign], and [Lebanon’s] Hezbollah joins in too, Israel air defenses will be stretched,” she said, noting that US stockpiles were not limitless.
“The US can’t continue supplying Ukraine and Israel at the same pace. We are reaching a tipping point.”
Boaz Levy, chief executive of Israel Aerospace Industries, which makes the Arrow interceptors used to down ballistic missiles, said he was running triple shifts to keep production lines running.
“Some of our lines are working 24 hours, seven days a week. Our goal is to meet all our obligations,” Levy said.
While Israel does not disclose the size of its stockpiles, he said “it is no secret that we need to replenish stocks.”
Since early October 2023, Israel has been waging brutal two-front aggression that has killed more than 42,000 people in the Gaza Strip and at least 2,306 others in Lebanon so far.
Over the same period, the usurping regime has also assassinated several resistance leaders, including Hamas’s political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
In support of Palestinians in Gaza, resistance groups have launched retaliatory attacks on Israeli targets and vowed to keep fighting until the Gaza onslaught ends.
In response to Israel’s barbaric acts of assassination against the resistance front’s top leaders, Iran carried out Operation True Promise 2 earlier this month.
During the operation, Iran launched some 200 high-speed ballistic missiles at the Zionist entity’s military, espionage and intelligence bases, sending almost 10 million settlers into bomb shelters. Ninety percent of the fired Iranian missiles hit their targets.
Despite Israel’s intensified strikes on Lebanon, Hezbollah managed to conduct the deadliest strikes on the occupied territories in the past year over the weekend.
“We are not seeing Hezbollah’s full capability yet. It has only been firing at around a tenth of its estimated prewar launching capacity, a few hundred rockets a day instead of as many as 2,000,” Assaf Orion, a former Israeli brigadier general and head of strategy at the Israeli military, said.
“Some of that gap is a choice by Hezbollah not to go full out, and some of it is due to degradation by the IDF [Israeli military]. . . But Hezbollah has enough left to mount a strong operation,” Orion added.
“Haifa and northern Israel are still on the receiving end of rocket and drone attacks almost every day.”
Amid the rising retaliatory operations, the report cited analysts as saying “defense planners and Israel’s AI-powered air defenses were having to choose which areas to protect over others.”
“It’s only a matter of time before Israel starts to run out of interceptors and has to prioritize how they are deployed,” said Ehud Eilam, a former researcher at Israel’s ministry of military affairs.
The Zionist regime cannot fight Hamas and Hezbollah at the same time
By Robert Inlakesh | Al Mayadeen | October 12, 2024
The war that the Israeli regime has opened will not close until it is dealt a strategic defeat, one from which it will not likely recover.
After all of its gloating, the Zionist entity appears to have fallen for its own propagandistic bravado and is sleepwalking into the abyss. Having failed to defeat Hamas in Gaza, the Israelis appear to have lulled themselves into a belief that they had already crushed Hezbollah with their initial blows of the war.
When the Israelis detonated thousands of pagers on September 17, a day later detonating walkie-talkie devices, inflicting dozens of deaths and hundreds of serious injuries, this represented a momentary tactical victory for the settler project. What followed, with the assassination of countless Hezbollah officials, culminating in the martyrdom of the party’s Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, made the Israelis appear as if they were then in the driver’s seat of the conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu grew so confident and emboldened that he decided to record a video message to the people of Iran, indicating that he would soon aid in carrying out a regime change. The Zionist leaders ordered large-scale airstrikes against thousands of targets across Lebanon, devastating civilian infrastructure and inflicting over 2,000 deaths. The Israelis repeatedly pounded the Southern Suburb of Beirut with hundreds of tons of explosives, while expanding the nature of their strikes against Syrian territory too.
While the Arab and Muslim World entered a stage of collective mourning over the repeated attacks on Lebanon, processing the loss of one of its most cherished leaders in recent memory, the Israelis also decided to declare a ground incursion into South Lebanon. Terrorist tactics and assassinations have served as propaganda victory in the media battle of the optics, in addition to a temporary tactical victory, which certainly inflicted a blow.
Yet, the strategic initiative was suddenly recovered on October 1, with the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC)’s unprecedented response to the repeated assassinations – including the murder of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran – firing 180 ballistic missiles at Israeli military sites. Despite countless attempts to deflect, cover up, and downplay the effectiveness of the Iranian response, dubbed “Operation True Promise II,” the impact was felt throughout the entire region.
What also happened following this, with the repeated successful strikes against Israeli targets by Yemen’s Ansar Allah and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, combined with repeated Hezbollah’s successes in repelling the Zionist forces’ attempts at penetrating Lebanese land, all worked at changing the direction of the tide. On October 7, Hamas demonstrated its ability to hit “Tel Aviv” with M90 rockets, which was followed by strikes on “Tel Aviv” by Ansar Allah and then Hezbollah.
After repeated costly failures along the Lebanese border, the Israelis then decided to invade Jabalia Refugee Camp in northern Gaza and begin a terror bombing campaign across northern Gaza, also carrying on its assassinations of journalists and educators in the besieged territory. However, despite the terror that they inflicted, when their forces entered on the ground and besieged Jabalia Refugee Camp, the Palestinian Resistance factions began executing sophisticated and daring ambush operations, exacting a significant price on their soldiers.
The al-Qassam Brigades – the armed wing of Hamas – then began firing drones at troop formations and even one toward Israeli settlements, indicating that their capabilities were much greater than they were previously believed to be by the enemy. Suddenly, the Israelis were in a position where the Palestinian Resistance was killing and injuring their soldiers in Gaza, while Hezbollah was doing the same from South Lebanon.
Although the Israelis dealt significant blows to the Axis of Resistance, it is now in an even more difficult position than it previously found itself in prior to its assaults on Lebanon. Hezbollah has replaced its military leadership and has had the time to plan, rid itself of potential security breaches, and take the initiative on the battlefield. We see that Hezbollah is today intensifying its rocket strikes against the Israelis, dealing significant blows and putting the Zionist entity in a position of embarrassment before its own public once again.
The Israelis now must mount significant offensive actions across all fronts and fight on, managing a battle with Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, Yemen, Iraq, and even Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu envisioned himself as the Israeli Prime Minister to inflict a 1967-style defeat on the regional resistance, yet he has dragged the entire entity into something very different. We are no longer in the days of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser or the PLO in the 1980s, Hezbollah and the regional Axis of Resistance axis are not an alliance that can be broken through assassinations of senior leaders, in addition to this, they are ready for the fight.
Hezbollah undoubtedly enjoys superiority on the ground, in face-to-face combat, while the Zionist military has only proven capable of pulling off sophisticated terrorist plots and assassinations, in combination with their elite video-game warriors who specialize in using advanced weapons from a distance. The reality is that typing on a keyboard or commanding controllers, while sitting in a fortified position, may deliver some tactical victories, but it will not win a war that requires immense physical courage, which the Israelis simply do not possess.
Even in the West Bank, where the Israelis frequently raid refugee camps and face off against poorly trained teenagers and men in their young twenties, armed with no more than light weapons, their special forces units have to call in backup and end up using air support. Even against the weakest link in the chain of Resistance groups, they struggle to hold ground in confrontations and never do so in a fair way. In Lebanon, they face committed, well-trained, and well-prepared fighters who do not fear death and crave the opportunity to confront them.
The Israeli regime may well pull off more trickery and terrorism on a grand scale, as it will turn to more assassinations, attempts to stir unrest, and perhaps special force operations deep into Lebanese or Syrian territory. There cannot be any doubt that there will be more challenges ahead, that the Israelis have many more tricks up their sleeves, and that the terror they plan to inflict will be painful, primarily to civilians. Yet, they do not possess the capability to win a multi-front confrontation and will be bled to death, so long as the Axis of Resistance continues to seize the initiative and respond forcefully to each escalatory violation of international law that the Israelis commit.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in his first speech issued during the Gaza Genocide, spoke of “scoring points” and that the “knockout blow” had not yet been delivered against the Israeli regime. What has happened during the past month is that the Israelis were being beaten on points and decided to begin throwing haymaker punches with the intent of ending the fight abruptly, taking a chance at victory. Some of those punches landed and knocked down the Axis of Resistance, yet they got back on their feet, dealt blows back to the Israelis, and are now fighting with even more intensity. Both sides have been hit and hurt, so this fight now looks like it will end with a KO.
The war that the Israeli regime has opened will not close until it is dealt a strategic defeat, one from which it will not likely recover. It is also a war that the United States has enabled and backed in every way. In today’s world, the Palestinians and Lebanese people are taking on not only the Zionists, but the US too.
Hezbollah says Israel using UN troops as ‘human shields’ in south Lebanon
The Cradle | October 8, 2024
Hezbollah has ordered its fighters not to attack Israeli forces who established a forward operating base behind UN peacekeeping troops (UNIFIL) near a Lebanese border village, effectively using them as human shields.
“The Israeli enemy is attempting to use UNIFIL forces as human shields to cover its failure to advance toward the village, especially after its repeated and unsuccessful attempts to advance toward Maroun al-Ras and the loss of dozens of its soldiers, both killed and wounded,” a statement issued by the Islamic resistance movement on 7 October said.
“The operations room of the Islamic Resistance instructed the fighters to hold back and not engage with the movement to protect the lives of international soldiers,” the statement added.
The day before, UNIFIL had warned Israel’s operations near their position at Maroun al-Ras were an “extremely dangerous development.”
“It is unacceptable to compromise the safety of UN peacekeepers carrying out their Security Council-mandated tasks,” UNIFIL stated while reminding all actors in the conflict of their obligations to protect UN personnel and property.
On Saturday, UNIFIL said it remained in all positions near the border despite what it said was an Israeli request to “relocate.”
In response to the peacekeepers’ refusal, US foreign policy advisor Matthew Brodsky suggested in a post on X, “Israel should carpet bomb Irish area, then drop Napalm on it.”
Hezbollah fighters are resisting an Israeli ground invasion that began last week.
On Monday, Hezbollah fighters attacked a gathering of Israeli forces in Maroun al-Ras with rockets, while the Israeli army said it had deployed a third division to participate in ground operations in Lebanon.
Israel’s ground maneuvers follow its intensified bombing campaign of Lebanon that began on 23 September. Israel has bombed targets in south Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and around Beirut, killing more than 1,110 people since then. The widespread bombing of civilian homes has left over one million people internally displaced.
Hezbollah released a statement on Monday, the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, saying it and the Lebanese people have paid a “heavy price” for its decision to enter the battle against Israel and open a support front for Gaza.
“The enemy continues its crimes and aggression without limits, but we are confident, if Allah wills, in our resistance’s ability to repel the aggression, and in our great and resistant people to endure and hold out until this calamity is lifted,” the statement affirmed.
US ‘Discussing’ Israeli Strikes on Iran, as IDF Troops Killed by Hezbollah w/ Seyed Mohammad Marandi
Rachel Blevins | October 4, 2024
Israel is promising a response to Iran’s retaliatory attack, with anonymous Israeli officials telling the media it could consist of more targeted assassinations, as well as attacks on Iran’s oil fields, nuclear sites and air defense systems. According to Biden, the U.S. is “discussing” strikes on Iranian oil fields, although he didn’t appear to finish his sentence when he was asked by reporters…
This, as Israel continues to bomb Beirut, targeting heavily populated civilian areas, and Israel’s attempt at a “limited” ground invasion was quickly met with heavy force from Hezbollah, leading to a over a dozen Israeli casualties.
Prof. Seyed Mohammad Marandi, of the University of Tehran, noted that one of Israel’s goals with the latest escalations is to terrorize the Lebanese people until they turn against Hezbollah. But given the fact that Israel has killed hundreds of civilians, displaced over 1.2 million, AND assassinated Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a matter of weeks… their plan is already backfiring, as the public continues to show support for the Resistance.
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From the Archives
MI5 plotted assassination of Irish PM in 1985 – Ulster Volunteer Force
RT | December 29, 2017
Former Irish Prime Minister Charles Haughey was warned by loyalist paramilitaries that they were once tasked with murdering him in an assassination plot purportedly dreamt up by the British secret service.
The sensational disclosure was sent in a letter to the Irish government, newly released under the Public Records Act, which requires documents of historical value to be published by the National Archives within 30 years.
Written on Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) signature paper, the warning claims the terrorist organization was asked by an MI5 operative about the prospect of carrying out an attack on Republic of Ireland leader Haughey in 1985.
At the time, Haughey would have been in opposition as head of political party Fianna Fáil, but details of the solicitation did not become known to Irish authorities until 1987.
“In 1985 we were approached by a M15 officer attached to the Northern Ireland Office and based in Lisburn, Alex Jones was his supposed name,” the letter reads, according to the Irish Times. “He asked us to execute you.”… continue
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