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Wednesday, October 02, 2024

10/02 Links Pt1: Is this the death rattle of Iranian tyranny?; Let Israel Win the War Iran Started; Israel declares Guterres persona non grata

From Ian:

Bredndan O'Neill: Is this the death rattle of Iranian tyranny?
It is such self-satisfied cant. How easy it is for Biden officials who live in leafy DC, and Britain’s liberal scribes who rarely venture from their East London bubbles, to insist that Israel patiently deter Iran rather than clash with it. Missiles paid for by Tehran are not dropping on Shoreditch or Martha’s Vineyard day in, day out. Militants backed by Iran did not recently swarm London or New York City to rape, kidnap and kill civilians. There aren’t Iran stooges mere miles from our towns threatening to excise our ‘cancerous’ presence from our own lands.

7 October changed the game. It made it clear that Iran’s proxies are not just a threat to be carefully monitored but a fascistic menace capable of killing thousands of Jews. Not just something to be deterred but something to be destroyed. I’m going to go out on a limb and say protecting Jewish life is more important than propping up Washington’s clapped-out Middle East policy. What is really ‘troublesome’ is not Israel’s just reaction to Hamas’s mass murder of its citizens, and to Hezbollah’s ceaseless firing of missiles since 7 October, one of which butchered 12 children, but the haughty indignation of pampered Westerners who are lucky enough never to have experienced the existential threat of a pincer movement of racist armies. They should spend more time counting their blessings and less begrudging Israel’s right to defend itself.

The soft sympathy for Iran that we’ve seen on social media these past 24 hours, and even in corners of the mainstream media, is bizarre. Iran is the imperial player in this tale. For all its self-regarding bluster about Hezbollah and Hamas being part of an ‘Axis of Resistance’ – bluster that some Western leftists shamefully embrace – in truth these movements are tools of Iranian expansionism. Iran has bent the entirety of Lebanon to its jealous regional ambitions, by continually boosting Hezbollah there. It has hijacked Palestinian politics and Palestinian life in its deranged crusade to land blows on Israel via its stooges in Hamas. It has cursed Yemen with years of war with its arming and goading of the Houthis against both Saudi Arabia and Israel.

To Iran, these are not free nations, but lowly outposts for its own political ambitions and religious ideology. Israel, in countering Iran’s pitiless exploitation of various states to prop up its fundamentalist worldview, is behaving far more like a ‘resistance’. It is resisting Iran’s proxy war on the Jewish nation and its bending of vast swathes of the Middle East to its theocratic will. That many Western leftists sympathise more with the religious hysterics who use and abuse less powerful states than they do with the democratic state of Israel tells us all we need to know about their moral disarray and their drift from reason. They masquerade as anti-imperialist while openly empathising with Iran’s imperious creep through supposedly sovereign lands.

Few things in politics are simple. One should always tease out the complexities, embrace the nuance. But to my mind, what is happening right now is pretty straightforward. You are either on the side of a barbarous theocratic regime that oppresses and murders women, workers and minorities and whose allies recently carried out the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, or you are on the side of Israel. It’s time to choose.
Eli Lake: Let Israel Win the War Iran Started
The last time Iran launched a barrage of missiles and slow-moving drones at Israel, in April, Israel and her regional allies also defeated the attack. But Israel limited its retaliation to a radar system near Iran’s nuclear sites, after Biden publicly urged America’s ally to “take the win.” As Iran’s escalation Tuesday showed, April’s “win” was more of an invitation.

After much hemming and hawing over Rafah, Israel proved Harris wrong. In May it helped evacuate nearly 1 million people from the small city and began to deal the final blow to Hamas as a military organization. Last month, Israel’s defense minister announced that Hamas no longer existed as a military force. So much for that talking point.

The Rafah incursion marks Netanyahu’s defiance of his ally’s restraints. Israel has had a new approach to its war for survival ever since. Last month, it launched a series of operations that eliminated the entire senior leadership of Hezbollah—the Iran-sponsored terror army that was pointing more than 100,000 missiles at Israel. This series of strikes and attacks has already destroyed half of Hezbollah’s missile stockpiles, according to Israeli officials.

And yet, despite the success of Israel’s military operations against Hezbollah, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris still warned against further escalation of a war that has been regional since Iran’s proxies started it on October 7 and 8.

And this brings things back to the American policy of restraining Israel. One can never get into the minds of the madmen who run Iran, but it’s quite possible the mullahs believed that America would continue to restrain Israel to deescalate the regional conflict that Iran—through its proxies—initiated nearly a year ago.

But what does it tell us about what comes next? Thus far, the Biden administration is playing its cards close to the vest. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that he and the president were consulting with Israel on how to respond to the Iranian attack. He gave no specifics, but said one of the factors would be to “promote stability to the maximum extent possible as we go forward.”

If Sullivan means that the U.S. will continue its policy of hoping to deter Iran by restraining Israel, then he is inviting further Iranian escalation. With two of Iran’s proxies—Hamas and Hezbollah—reeling, now is not the time to return the Middle East to an inherently unstable status quo. Real stability demands the ending of Iran’s nuclear blackmail of the region.

In other words, if Sullivan and Biden are serious, now would be the time to take off the handcuffs. Israel has vast capabilities—as it has shown in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, and Iran over the last year. But it’s even more capable when its chief ally supports its mission.

So why not give Israel the green light and help it defang the chief cause of regional instability, the Iranian regime? Through pluck, daring, and ingenuity, Israel changed the dynamics of the war last month. Iran is wobbling. The win is there if the president takes it.
Bonnie Glick: Time to Cut the Cord in Lebanon
Don’t pop the champagne corks yet. While there is certainly reason to cheer for the termination of the bloody terrorist leadership of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel’s military strikes in and around Beirut only addressed part of the problem. Israel’s approach, using airstrikes, beeper strikes, and walkie-talkie strikes, is nothing short of miraculous. But the disease that spreads from Lebanon is not solely driven by Hezbollah and its paymasters in Tehran.

Certainly Iran’s most recent launch of hundreds of missiles at Israel “in retaliation” for the successful hit on Hassan Nasrallah in his Beirut bunker is an important and highly escalatory move by Iran, but it also is not the whole picture in Lebanon.

Lebanon is driven by corruption that runs throughout the entirety of its elite government structures, military and civilian. For decades, government officials, skilled in the French art of the bon mot, have snookered America. Hezbollah is always the problem, far be it for the downtrodden Lebanese to address the cancer in their midst head on.

Now is the perfect moment to reevaluate US assistance to Lebanon, starting with military aid. The Biden-Harris administration’s move in 2021 to more than double American contributions to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to $236 million. In 2023, the Biden-Harris administration contributed additionally over $70 million to pay the salaries of members of the LAF in the form of direct cash transfers. If Americans knew that their hard-earned tax dollars were going to pay the salaries of a foreign army that is formally still at war with Israel, a treaty ally, they might have some concerns. With good reason.


Israel’s response to Iranian attack will be ‘precise and surprising’
Kan reported that after the Cabinet discussions, “Israel’s likely direction is to exact a heavy price from Iran, potentially through a strike on a strategic site such as oil facilities.”

“However, it is estimated that one of the considerations for decision-makers is the timing of the strike, allowing Israel to reposition its defenses in case of an additional Iranian response,” the report continued, adding that Netanyahu on Wednesday will convene another, smaller group for a security consultation.

Israeli officials told Axios reporter Barak Ravid that Jerusalem will launch a “significant retaliation” within days that could target Iran’s oil production facilities and other strategic sites.

The Islamic Republic has threatened to respond to any Israeli attack, and the officials said that if that happens, then all options are on the table, including strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“We have a big question mark about how the Iranians are going to respond to an attack, but we take into consideration the possibility that they would go all in, which will be a whole different ball game,” an Israeli official said.

While bombing the oil facilities is under consideration, other options include targeted assassinations such as the one that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran this past summer and taking out Iran’s air defense systems, according to the Axios report.

Israel responded with restraint to Iran’s April drone and missile attack, striking a single S-300 air defense battery. However, Israeli officials said this time the response will be much more significant.

A senior official told Axios that a decision was not made at the Cabinet meeting because Jerusalem wants to consult with the Biden administration, as an Iranian response would again require a coordinated defense with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), more munitions for the Israeli Air Force and other operational support.

Halevi spoke by phone with CENTCOM Commander Gen. Erik Kurilla after the Iranian attack, the IDF said.

“The IDF and the U.S. military worked together in defense and cooperation several days before, during and after the Iranian attack,” the Israeli military said, adding that “the IDF will continue to deepen its relationship with the U.S. military, committed to strengthening regional stability and coordination between the armies.”

The U.S. president said on Tuesday that Washington and Jerusalem are discussing the response to the Iranian attack and that “it remains to be seen” what will happen.

A U.S. official told Axios that Washington supports an Israeli response, but that it should be measured. Biden said he will speak with Netanyahu regarding the Israeli response to the attack, with the call possibly taking place on Wednesday hours ahead of the start of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.


Biden opposes Israeli strike on Iran nuclear sites
U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters on Wednesday that he opposes an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Speaking on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland ahead of a trip to states affected by Hurricane Helene, Biden said he was crafting a response with the G7 group of leading democracies.

“We’re working on a joint statement all of us agree on from Japan to France to Germany,” Biden said. “What we’re doing in that regard is we’re making it clear that there are things that have to be done.”

“It will be done before too long, probably by the time we land,” Biden said of the statement. “There’s going to be some sanctions imposed on Iran.”

Asked if he would support Israel striking Iran’s nuclear sites, Biden said he would not.

“The answer is ‘no,’” Biden said. “We’ll be discussing with the Israelis what they’re going to do, but all seven of us agree that they have a right to respond, but they should respond proportionately.” (The G7 is Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.)

Biden declined to say what advice he was giving to the Jewish state and indicated that he had yet to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Iran’s ballistic missile attack.

“We’ve been talking to Bibi’s people the whole time. It’s not necessary to talk to Bibi,” he said, referring to Netanyahu’s nickname.

“I’ll probably be talking to him relatively soon,” he added.

Biden spoke with the G7 leaders on Wednesday “to discuss Iran’s unacceptable attack against Israel and to coordinate on a response to this attack, including new sanctions,” per a White House readout.

Biden and the G7 “unequivocally condemned Iran’s attack against Israel,” the White House added. “President Biden expressed the United States’ full solidarity and support to Israel and its people and reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”


Across the Arab world, Nasrallah is remembered as a tyrant in Lebanon, a butcher in Syria and a fanatic
While Hezbollah’s daily newspaper in Lebanon praised the New York Times and the Washington Post for their flattering obituary of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, most Arabs celebrated the end of someone they saw as a tyrant who had ordered the assassination of his Lebanese opponents and the killing and displacement of millions of Syrians.

Speaking from Beirut, writer and broadcaster Ronnie Chatah blamed Nasrallah and Hezbollah for the ongoing war, saying that Lebanon could have been neutral had Nasrallah let the Lebanese government enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Ronnie’s father, Muhammad Chatah, was a minister in the Lebanese cabinet when Hezbollah assassinated him in 2013.

Ronnie said his father and a dozen other victims of Hezbollah, including former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, were buried in downtown Beirut, where thousands of Lebanese, fleeing war, have now taken refuge. But perhaps fearing for his own safety, and thinking that Hezbollah will rebound after the war, Ronnie stopped short of expressing joy seeing Nasrallah gone.

Another Lebanese, veteran columnist Khairallah Khairallah, explained why he thought the end of Nasrallah offered Lebanon an opportunity for a new beginning. Before he launched his war on Israel on October 8, “Nasrallah and his lieutenants showed arrogance that eventually killed them,” Khairallah wrote, arguing that the Islamist regime in Iran realised that it is hard to defend its assets in Gaza and Lebanon and has therefore decided to relocate its proxy weight to Iraq.

Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, elected for the first time in 1992 and half a dozen times since, has been the junior Shia partner of Hezbollah. When receiving foreign officials, Berri often spoke on behalf of his ally – Nasrallah. On September 24 Berri told Washington and Paris that Lebanon refused an unconditional ceasefire with Israel, and that Hezbollah would only stop fighting if war stopped in Gaza.

Israel killed Nasrallah on the following Friday.

By yesterday, October 1, the savvy Berri had realised that Hezbollah was reeling and would unlikely recover. So he reversed course, saying in an interview that “Lebanon was ready to deploy the Lebanese Army to the border with Israel, abide by UNSC 1701” that ended the 2006 war, and “elect a president.” Nasrallah had blocked all three moves. Berri dropped any reference to a ceasefire in Gaza and framed his new stance as one that he had agreed on with Nasrallah before the latter’s death.

Interim Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati followed suit, echoing Berri’s position. A Lebanese newspaper described Mikati’s new position as “shocking.”

Elsewhere in the Arab world, the reaction to Nasrallah’s death was more about emotions – mostly revenge and some sadness – and less about what happens next.
Anti-Israel Activist Courted by Kamala Harris's Campaign Praises Slain Hezbollah Leader as 'Hero'
A Michigan activist courted by Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign to shore up support from Muslim voters in the battleground state hailed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a "hero" at a rally last week, days before the terrorist was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike.

Osama Siblani, the publisher of the Arab American News, saluted Nasrallah at a "Stand with Lebanon" rally in Dearborn on Sept. 25, according to video of the event. "They want us to be afraid of praising our leaders and martyrs, but today we say to them that our martyrs are heroes and our leaders are great, especially the great Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah," said Siblani, according to his newspaper's translation of his speech.

Two days later, Israeli forces assassinated Nasrallah in an airstrike on Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut. In his 32 years as head of the Iran-backed militia, Nasrallah oversaw numerous terrorist attacks on the Jewish state, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Americans. Harris called Nasrallah a "terrorist with American blood on his hands."

But Harris's campaign, like the Biden campaign before it, has met with Siblani despite his past praise for groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Harris campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez visited the activist in Dearborn on Aug. 15 as part of the campaign's "outreach" to Michigan's Arab and Muslim voters, many of whom have vowed to stay home in November because of the administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. According to Siblani, Rodriguez solicited his views on the Israel-Hamas war and stated that "the killing has to stop" in Gaza.

The Harris team met with Siblani even after the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish groups voiced concerns over Siblani's history of anti-Israel and pro-terrorist rhetoric. He has referred to Hezbollah and Hamas as "freedom fighters" and urged Arabs at a 2022 rally in Dearborn to attack Israel with "stones" or "guns." He bragged in 2021 that he refused to condemn Hamas during a conference call with officials from the Biden-Harris White House.

On Tuesday, the Iranian military fired hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the Nasrallah assassination. The assault was about twice as large as Iran's April attack on Israel in response to the assassination of Iranian general Reza Zahedi, a Pentagon spokesman said. Siblani defended Tehran's "right to defend itself" after the April attack.

Harris has used a variety of tactics to woo Arab and Muslim voters, a bloc that has historically voted for Democrats. Her campaign has pushed pro-Gaza advertisements to Facebook users in Michigan, which has the largest proportion of Arab and Muslim voters in the country. She has directed more than 900 ads to residents in Dearborn, the city with the country's largest proportionally Muslim population.

Anti-Israel activists have expressed optimism that Harris will take a harder stance toward Israel than has President Joe Biden. After launching her campaign in July, Harris rankled Israeli officials by proclaiming she "will not be silent" about suffering in Gaza. She met with Layla Elabed and Abbas Alawieh, leaders of the Uncommitted National Movement, which has pressured Democratic leaders to withdraw support for Israel.


Vice-presidential debate leads off with Iran, Israel
In his answer to the question about attacking Iran, Vance said he would defer to Israel.

“It is up to Israel what they think they need to do to keep their country safe,” he said. “We should support our allies wherever they are when they’re fighting the bad guys.”

Vance also accused the Biden-Harris administration of enabling the attack through its Iran policies.

“Iran, which launched this attack, has received over $100 billion in unfrozen assets thanks to the Kamala Harris administration,” he said. “What do they use that money for? They use it to buy weapons that they’re now launching against our allies and, God forbid, potentially launching against the United States as well.”

That dollar figure appears to refer to estimates of total Iranian oil sales since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in 2021.

Critics accuse the Biden administration of failing to enforce existing U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil sales. Those sales reached a 40-year low during the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran in 2020 but have since recovered during the Biden administration.

Walz, in turn, blamed former President Donald Trump for letting Iran get closer to a nuclear weapon when he withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal—formally the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA—in May 2018.

“We had a coalition of nations that had boxed Iran’s nuclear program in the inability to advance it,” Walz said. “Donald Trump pulled that program and put nothing else in its place. So Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than they were before because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership.”

Iran and Israel took up only a small part of the nearly two-hour-long debate, which focused primarily on domestic issues and the records of the prospective bosses of the two candidates.

Vance was frequently the more polished and articulate of the two debaters, with Walz acknowledging that he sometimes misspeaks during an answer to a question about why he had claimed falsely to have been in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing in 1989.

“I’ve not been perfect,” Walz said. “I’m a knucklehead at times.”


Israel declares Guterres persona non grata on Rosh Hashanah eve
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, persona non grata in the Jewish state on Wednesday morning, hours before Rosh Hashanah begins.

“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil,” Katz stated. “This is a secretary-general, who has yet to denounce the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas murderers on Oct. 7, nor has he led any efforts to declare them a terrorist organization.”

“Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres,” added Katz, referring to the secretary-general as “a stain on the history of the United Nations.”

Hours after Katz’s announcement, Guterres continued to blame the Jewish state for recent escalations in the Middle East and for being attacked in Iran’s ballistic missile barrage on Tuesday.

Addressing an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday morning, Guterres chastised Israel for balking at last week’s proposal by the United States and France, which called for a three-week ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

“Israel refused that proposal and stepped up its strikes, including bombing the Hezbollah headquarters where its leader was killed,” Guterres said.

The secretary-general said that he issued warnings last week about growing tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border, but a JNS search of his public statements and social media accounts suggests that Guterres has barely mentioned Hezbollah as the terror group has launched some 9,000 rockets at Israel since Oct. 8, the day after Hamas’s massacre. When Guterres did mention Hezbollah, JNS found, it was in a statement that also blamed Israel.

Guterres shared Iran’s reasoning for its ballistic missile attack on Israel with attendees of the Wednesday meeting, which included Israeli, Lebanese, Iranian, Iraqi and Syrian representatives.

“It stated it was in response to the killings of Hassan Nasrallah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp commander Abbas Nilforoushan last week, as well as that of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July,” Guterres said.


John Spencer: Israel’s Campaign against Hezbollah and the Fight for Southern Lebanon’s Tunnels
Amid early reports of direct clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces, if a broader invasion is to come, the days, weeks, and perhaps even months ahead will shed more light on how the spaces beneath southern Lebanon’s ground will shape any fighting above it. And yet the case of these tunnels reveals important insights.

Hezbollah’s subterranean network highlights the enduring features that characterize underground warfare. Three in particular stand out. First, tunnels are often a major equalizing factor for an outmatched defending force. During the campaign to recapture vast territory seized by ISIS in Iraq and Syria, almost every major battle took place in cities, where ISIS forces had used existing and newly created subterranean spaces to turn urban areas into fortresses, undergirded by networks of tunnels. Second, in many cases there is virtually no alternative to sending people into tunnels, despite wishful thinking to the contrary (US Army doctrine on subterranean operations warns that “entering and fighting in a subterranean environment is extremely high-ris and units should avoid these fights whenever possible”). In April 2017, the US military dropped the largest nonnuclear bomb in its arsenal on an ISIS tunnel complex in Afghanistan that was too deep to be destroyed by less powerful bombs. Not every military force has such weapons at its disposal, and only on battlefields entirely devoid of noncombatants could its use be contemplated. In other cases, securing tunnels means entering them. And third, for military forces, there is no substitute for experience. Underground environments are so deeply unique that lessons must be learned practically. Israeli forces have benefited from more extensive experience than arguably any other military in the world. For others—like the US military—deliberate efforts to learn from the experience of others and retain lessons from its own history are vital.

In terms of how Hezbollah tunnels will factor into any broader Israeli campaign, notwithstanding the tunnels’ utility to Israel’s interest in protecting its armor and mitigating the dangers inherent to a decapitation strategy, it still has to execute the expected ground campaign to clear the rocket sites and establish a buffer zone. Thus, despite the novelty and boldness of Israel’s current efforts to use Hezbollah’s tunnels, they are simply a new shaping operation to a war that we have seen before. That war and whatever decisive operations come with it may also show something new, however. Unlike in 2006, Israel’s actions against Hezbollah’s tunnels signal a certain permanence about the ground campaign—an intent, perhaps, to finally solve the problem of Hezbollah and the sanctuary it enjoys from Lebanese territory and Iranian patronage. In this context, Israel’s use of Hezbollah’s tunnels does not just shape a future physical buffer, but a psychological one as well.

It is also important to acknowledge the forces sent as part of the reconnaissance and initial raiding forces into southern Lebanon were the same battle-experienced units adapting, innovating, and in some cases dominating against Hamas tunnels in Gaza, such as the 98th Division, the members of which were credited with becoming such experts in underground warfare that they shifted the paradigm of tunnels in Gaza, from being an obstacle to being an advantage for the attacking Israelis.

Finally, the Israel Defense Forces have also learned the two-pronged lesson that subterranean spaces are a fundamentally unique environment, but that no two tunnels are the same—in purpose, construction, advantages, or disadvantages. The challenge is crafting an approach to underground warfare that is both optimized for unique challenges and flexible enough to adapt to unique conditions that meaningfully distinguish, for instance, Hamas tunnels in Gaza and Hezbollah tunnels in southern Lebanon. Arguably, no military in the world has made more progress on this front than the Israel Defense Forces. The specialized subterranean capabilities housed in its Yahalom Unit are an example. Part of the Israeli Combat Engineering Corps, its organization, training, and equipment rightly reflect that at its core, underground warfare is as much an engineering challenge as a strictly combat one.

The net total of the impact of Hezbollah’s tunnel network on the conflict above ground will only become clear as that conflict unfolds. But Israel’s raids into the tunnels ahead of any larger-scale offensive are a clear acknowledgement of a simple reality: the fight to control the tunnels and deny their control to Hezbollah is a necessary component of any campaign against the group. A war might not be won exclusively in the tunnels, but it cannot be won without accounting for them.
IDF adds troops to ground op as Hezbollah rains rockets on north
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Wednesday that another division, the 36th, was joining its ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the Iranian terror proxy continued to launch rocket barrages across the border.

According to the IDF, some 100 rockets were fired at northern Israel during the morning hours, which followed Tuesday night’s second-ever direct attack on Israel by Iran.

In the latest barrage, around 10 rockets were launched at the Western Galiliee and Haifa Bay area.

No injuries were reported.

Also in the morning, Hezbollah fired a long-range rocket at central Israel, which fell in an open area, causing no damage and triggering no alarms.

Meanwhile, the IDF is intensifying its ground operations against Hezbollah.

“The 36th Division, including soldiers of the Golani Brigade, 188th Armored Brigade, 6th Infantry Brigade and additional forces are joining the limited, localized, targeted raids on Hezbollah terror targets and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon that began on Monday,” the IDF announced.

The Israeli Air Force and 282nd Artillery Brigade are supporting ground forces.

The 98th Division and the 7th Brigade’s armored units have been preparing for the ground invasion for several weeks. The 98th Division joined the Northern Command after months of fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

The IDF on Wednesday for a second consecutive day called on people to evacuate villages in Southern Lebanon.

“Hezbollah’s activities are forcing the IDF to act against them forcefully. The IDF does not intend to harm you, and therefore, for your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and head north of the Al-Awali River. Save your lives,” tweeted Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab Media Branch in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.


IDF names eight soldiers killed in battle with Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon
The Israeli military named eight soldiers on Wednesday who were killed fighting the Hezbollah terror organization in Southern Lebanon. “May their memories forever be a blessing,” the Israel Defense Forces stated.

The fallen soldiers are Cpts. Eitan Itzhak Oster, Harel Etinger and Itai Ariel Giat; Sgts. 1st Class Noam Barzilay, Or Mantzur and Nazaar Itkin; and Staff Sgts. Almken Terefe and Ido Broyer, per the IDF.

All eight were in their early 20s, according to Israeli media reports.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his “deepest condolences to the families of our heroes who fell today in Lebanon.”

“May God avenge them. May their memory be a blessing,” the prime minister said. “We’re in the heat of a grueling war against Iran’s axis of evil, aimed at destroying us. That will not happen because we shall stand together, and with God’s help, we shall emerge victorious together.”

“We will return our hostages in the south, return our residents in the north and ensure the eternity of Israel,” Netanyahu stated.

The eight soldiers “died in two separate firefights in Southern Lebanon—one of them an ambush near Hezbollah’s tunnels—after the Jewish state launched a limited ground invasion there this week,” the New York Post reported, citing the IDF. The Post reported that Oster, 22, was a commando in Israel’s elite Egoz Commando Unit.

“The losses reported Wednesday were the deadliest suffered by the Israeli military on the Lebanon front in a year of clashes between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group,” the Post added.


Two explosions rock 'immediate vicinity' of Denmark's Israeli embassy as global tensions soar after Iran's rocket attack
Two explosions have reportedly rocked the immeidate vicinity of Denmark's Israeli embassy as global tensions soar following Iran's overnight rocket attack.

Danish authorities said Wednesday they were investigating the double blasts that went off around the intersection of Lundevangsvej and Strandagervej in the capital, Copenhagen.

The explosions came as tensions in the Middle East are spiralling, with Iran firing a barrage of nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory overnight and Israeli military now preparing a 'significant retaliation' to the shocking attack.

No-one was hurt in the Copenhagen explosions, which occurred overnight in the 'immediate proximity' to the Israeli embassy, police spokesman Jakob Hansen told reporters.

'Nobody was wounded and we are carrying out a preliminary investigation at the scene,' police wrote on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, earlier.

'It's too early to say if there is a link' between the blasts and the Israeli embassy, Hansen said.

Writing on X, Israel's ambassador to Denmark David Akov said he was 'shocked by the appalling incident near the embassy a few hours ago.'

'We have full confidence in the Danish authorities and the police in their investigation.'

Israel's Foreign Ministry said the embassy was closed during the blasts and that all of its staff are safe.


Iranian Jews compelled to mourn Nasrallah's death amid oppressive climate
Jews in Iran are being pressured by the authorities to publicly mourn the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, known for his antisemitic ideology.

Nasrallah, head of Iran's largest proxy, made multiple statements against Jews and Israelis over the years, most famously declaring that "If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice, I do not say the Israeli.”

The Lebanese Shia militant leader also said in 2002 that "If they [the Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide."

Rabbi Pini Dunner, from the Beverly Hills Synagogue which has a huge Iranian community, told Iran International that “Iran's Jewish community lives in fear of persecution if they don't align themselves with the regime's warped views."

The community, the Middle East's largest outside Israel with around 5-8,000 remaining, was compelled to issue a statement criticizing Israel and America for the killing of the Hezbollah leader.

"What choice do they have? It tells you everything you need to know about how unsafe and insecure the Jewish community feels in Iran," he added.

Tehran-born Beni Sabti, who now lives in Israel, first located the pro-Nasrallah notices on Telegram from the leadership of the Jewish communities in Iran. The Jewish community of Isfahan wrote that it “congratulates and condoles the martyrdom of Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah in Lebanon, who was martyred in the brutal operation of the Zionist regime.”


'We're Hiring!' Exclusive Interview with Hezbollah's Chief Recruitment Officer
Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist organization funded by Iran, has experienced an unprecedented turnover of senior leadership in 2024, and recently lost its longtime leader and "moral compass," Hassan Nasrallah, to an unfortunate workplace mishap. We spoke by phone to Sayyid Mustafa Hussein Jafar Fayad, the chief recruitment officer for Hezbollah, in order to give our readers an inside look at how the terror group is working to attract and retain a talented workforce. Enjoy!

Hello? Is this Sayyid Mustafa?
No. My name is Jafar Fayad.
I was trying to reach the chief recruitment officer for Hezbollah. Is that you?
Yes. I was recently promoted.
Oh, congrats. May I ask what happened to Mustafa? We arranged this interview with him, but he stopped returning our pages for some reason.
He, um, can't come to the phone right now.
Why not?
He's buried.
Buried? Like, in paperwork?
No. I can assure you at this moment our recruitment process is incredibly streamlined and involves no paperwork.
That's great to hear, but I'd feel more comfortable—
The Jews.
I beg your pardon?
This is why Sayyid Mustafa can't talk with you today, alayhi as-salam.
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Very well. I was wondering if you could tell me a little about your organization and the positions you are seeking to fill?

Certainly. As the Associated Press recently explained, Hezbollah is a "potent regional force" comprised of paramilitary entrepreneurs driving positive impact in a dynamic ecosystem while promoting creative collaboration across antiquated divides in the pursuit of life-changing solutions to complex problems. We are based in Lebanon but have satellite offices throughout the Middle East and sleeper cells positioned around the world.

There has never been a better time to apply for a job in the Hezbollah organization, as we are in the midst of a bold restructuring program that has created a number of enticing advancement opportunities for new and existing employees. We are currently seeking applicants to fill dozens of recently vacated roles on Hezbollah's senior leadership team—including the secretary general position. Rest assured, the application process is a mere formality at this point given the 100 percent acceptance rate for new hires in the month of September. Motivated individuals are already being promoted at an unprecedented rate.


School of War: Ep 149: Mark Dubowitz on the Iran-Israel War Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of Foundation for Defense of Democracies, joins the show to help us understand breaking developments in the war between Israel, Iran, and Iran’s regional proxies.

Six victims of Jaffa terror attack named, as more details about shooting emerge
Authorities on Wednesday named six of the seven people killed in Tuesday night’s terror attack at a light rail station in Jaffa, as new details emerged on the two terrorists who carried it out, and the Israeli military imposed a closure on their hometown of Hebron in the West Bank.

Hamas took responsibility for the attack Wednesday, saying its perpetrators, Mohammad Mesek and Ahmed Himouni, were members of the terror group.

Seven people were killed and 16 others wounded in the attack on the Tel Aviv light rail and a nearby road in Jaffa, in one of the deadliest terror attacks in recent memory.

The six victims were named on Wednesday as Revital Bronstein, 24, from Bat Yam; Ilia Nozadze, 42, a Georgian citizen; Shahar Goldman, 30 from Lod; Inbar Segev Vigder, 33, Nadia Sokolenco, 40 and Jonas Chrosis, 26, a Greek citizen. The identities of the final victim was not yet cleared for publication.

Shahar Goldman, a dancer, was married just over a year ago, according to a statement by Lod Mayor Yair Revivo.

Inbar Segev Vigder, who was also married in 2023, is survived by her baby son Ari, born last December. “I had been serving in Gaza, and I came specifically to be with her for the birth,” recalled her husband Yeari. “She was my greatest love and a great mother, full of light and love.”

Revital Bronstein was eulogized on Wednesday by Bat Yam mayor Zvika Brot as “a brilliant programmer and a gifted comic book artist.”

The sixth victim, Jonas Chrosis was a Greek citizen who was living in Jerusalem while he studied architecture in Tel Aviv. “He was kind-hearted and sensitive and always helped everyone,” one of his classmates told Channel 12. “He expressed infinite optimism in the face of every difficulty that came his way. He was talented, funny, and humble. He was always kind to the people around him and was a loyal friend who saw the good in everyone. He was a talented piano player.”

The terrorists, meanwhile, were named as Mohammad Mesek, 19, who was killed at the scene, and Ahmed Himouni, 25, who was seriously injured. Both men are Palestinians from the West Bank city of Hebron who were in Israel proper without a permit.

Diana Svertzov, an Israeli rhythmic gymnast who won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, was at the light rail station at the time of the attack, and told Channel 12 that the terrorists did not seem suspicious, and one of them was wearing a pin representing solidarity with Israelis held hostage in Gaza by the Hamas terror group.

“One of them looked at my Olympics necklace and smiled at me. They didn’t look like terrorists. One of them had an M16 rifle, and the other one was in a polo shirt, with a hostage pin. There was no reason to be suspicious. It never crossed my mind, what was about to happen,” she said.

Reservists in Israel are often seen carrying rifles while wearing their civilian clothes.


Call Me Back: IDF INVADES LEBANON, IRAN STRIKES - with Nadav Eyal and Matt Levitt
The past couple days have seen some of the most fast-moving and potentially region-altering events since the 10/07 War broke out. To help us better understand what has happened and where events are likely heading, we are joined by:

NADAV EYAL — a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

MATTHEW LEVITT — the director of the Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Matt served as deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He later served as a counterterrorism advisor to the special envoy for Middle East regional security. Previously, Matt was a counterterrorism intelligence analyst at the FBI.
Ben Shapiro Reacts: Iran’s Strike on Israel
Iran's missile attack was thwarted by Israel with assistance from the U.S. Navy, but this aggressive move could spark a much larger response. Join Ben Shapiro as he reacts and breaks down the potential consequences of this escalating conflict.


Ryan McBeth: Francois Balloux is WRONG about War Crimes
The Law of Armed Conflict does not preclude militaries from firing at civilian locations, if it can be proven the adversary is using the civilians for cover.

Military Necessity and Proportionality work hand in hand to designate a lawful target. A target can be considered lawful and proportionate if value of its destruction, capture, or neutralization offers a concrete and direct military advantage and the destruction does not cause excessive civilian harm compared to the anticipated military advantage of the strike.


Fleur Hassan-Nahoum joins Jeané Franseen of LiveNOW From FOX on Iran's missile attack on Israel.
Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Israel's foreign ministry special envoy and former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, joins Jeané Franseen of LiveNOW From FOX on Iran's October 1st missile attack on Israel. The interview took place on October 2, 2024.


“We’re Used To Defending Ourselves” | History’s Biggest Attack On Israel ‘Failed’
Israel has banned UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres from entering the country for his failure to "unequivocally condemn" Iran's missile attack.

Speaking to Talk’s Julia Hartley-Brewer, ex-IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus says: "He (Antonio) is doing the work of theocratic regimes and supporting terrorists."


Iran's Attack On Israel "Shows How WEAK" They Are | Former NATO Commander On Middle East Retaliation
Former NATO commander Rear Admiral Chris Parry says Iran's ballistic attack on Israel "shows how weak" they are.

"They've totally failed to support their axis resistance and they had to do something! If this is all they could do, it shows how few options they had."

British forces “played their part” in attempts to prevent further violence in the Middle East, the Defence Secretary has confirmed, after Sir Keir Starmer said he stands with Israel following an attack on the country by Iran.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, John Healey said he “completely condemn(s) Iran’s attack against Israel”.

“British forces have this evening played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East,” he added.


The Israel Guys: Yesterday’s ATTACK on Israel was Way BIGGER Than You Think | Full Breakdown
Last night was insane. In the biggest missile attack on the state of Israel since its founding, Iran tried to show that the promises of God were null and void. Well, guess what, God showed up in an absolutely miraculous way. Not a single Israeli was killed in this massive attack. Here on Har Bracha, we had hundreds of rockets blowing up over our heads and shrapnel falling all around us.




Waleed Aly criticised by Jewish leader after explaining why protestors have the right to wave the Hezbollah flag and hold up photos of slain leader
Waleed Aly has been criticised by one of Australia's most prominent Jewish advocates for saying protesters have a legal right to carry Hezbollah flags and photos of its deceased leader.

On Monday, Aly said the nature of the law made it difficult to prosecute Australian protesters who sought to show solidarity with Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader killed by the Israeli Defence Force on September 28.

This followed a series of pro-Palestine protests in Sydney and Melbourne, where demonstrators responded to Israel’s military actions against Hezbollah by waving Palestinian, Lebanese, and Hezbollah flags.

In Sydney, protesters- including children- held images of Nasrallah and chanted outside Town Hall.

Meanwhile, in Melbourne, large crowds gathered at the State Library of Victoria, waving flags, chanting slogans, and setting off green flares.

During The Project, co-host Steve Price criticised the Australian Federal Police’s initial response to the protests, which said that simply displaying terrorist symbols was insufficient for an arrest.

Aly responded by explaining the complexity of the law.

"I certainly don't like it," Aly responded. "I've got nothing good to say about Hezbollah.

"They (the AFP) are saying that the way the law is drafted, the offence isn't merely holding up that symbol. That's not all that is required for the offence, it's necessary, but not all of it.

"There also needs to be other elements, basically incitement and vilification. That's where it gets tricky. That's where I think the police investigation will take some time, because it's not just going to be about whether you waved a placard."

Aly’s remarks were criticised by Gregory, who told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday that Aly should "reconsider his words carefully."

"Waleed Aly should not be excusing the disgraceful behaviour we saw over the weekend," Mr Gregory said.

"Hezbollah is an evil terrorist organisation, responsible for the murder of thousands. It's disgraceful that Waleed would equivocate.

"As a public figure, and particularly someone from the Muslim community, Aly should be going out of his way to condemn, in the strongest possible terms, any support for a terrorist organisation on Australian streets," he added.




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