(Jun 14, 2024 07:34 AM)Yazata Wrote: Within the last day the Israeli airforce conducted an air strike against a home in a small Lebanese village near the Syrian border in eastern Lebanon.
From the beginning it was clear that there was something different about this. Many ambulances rushed to the scene and hospitals were placed on alert. Hezbollah's response has been over the top, firing hundreds of rockets into northern Israel. Most of the rockets seem to have missed populated places, but smoke plumes from fires are visible all over northern Galilee.
So it seemed clear that a high value target had been hit in that house and Hezbollah was all stirred up. All that Israel will say is that the house was the scene of a meeting where a number of top Hezbollah commanders were gathered.
Now Egyptian sources are saying that their intelligence indicates that one of those who died in the air strike was the de facto leader of Hezbollah, Hashim Safi Al Din, the head of Hezbollah's executive council.
Goddam, Israeli intel is good. Who is tipping them off or how are they doing it. Whatever Hamas & Hezbollah are doing they need to change things, just to avoid losing more commanders.
YazataJun 14, 2024 09:24 PM (This post was last modified: Jun 14, 2024 09:32 PM by Yazata.)
Still no official confirmation either from Hezbollah or the Lebanese government about exactly who was killed in yesterday's Israeli airstrike. But it was clearly a top level meeting and high-value targets.
Hezbollah channels are raging with threats directed at the Israeli civilian population: "You have until the end of the week, you will not survive, I advise you, flee to the south."
The Israelis are responding with a collective shrug since dire Hezbollah threats are nothing new.
The view in Israel is that Hezbollah won't escalate to full scale battle until and unless Iran gives them the green-light.
For what it's worth, the Lebanese government is terrified of the idea of Israel crossing the border to fight Hezbollah. So Beirut is doing whatever it can to calm the situation. But Hezbollah operates as an Iranian-armed state-within-a-state and the Lebanese government has no control over them. Hezbollah probably out-guns the Lebanese army.
YazataJun 22, 2024 07:36 AM (This post was last modified: Jun 22, 2024 07:46 AM by Yazata.)
Lots of rumors are all over the internet tonight.
Israel is moving soldiers from Rafah in Gaza, where the Israelis control about half the city (and all of Gaza's border with Egypt) to their northern border with Lebanon. Talk in Israel is that a big offensive northwards into Lebanon will start within the next two weeks.
The Israeli advance in Gaza has slowed almost to a halt over the last few weeks due to intense US pressure by the Biden administration to let the fragmented and disorganized remains of Hamas survive, now that most of their military capability is destroyed, for fear of domestic political repurcussions from Biden's left-wing base if Israel went for a final wipeout.
But now it's starting to appear like the US has changed its tune and might be all-in for an Israeli war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Speculation in some quarters is that Biden's "Deep State" puppet masters are concerned about Trump's growing lead in the polls and figure that if the US is in a war (at least by proxy) with Iran come election time, Biden will get a chance to appear strong and voters will be less likely to want to change leadership partway through. But there are also rumors are that there is "extreme concern" among some of the more anti-war members of the Biden administration about the possibility of war. So Washington is very divided.
CNN is reporting that the US has assured Israel of "total support" from the US if Israel gets into a war with Hezbollah and/or Iran.
The USS Eisenhower carrier strike group (CSG-2) is reportedly preparing to leave the southern Red Sea where it has been protecting world shipping from the Houthis (more Iranian proxies) and reposition in the eastern Mediterranean off the Israeli coast. This would essentially leave the Red Sea sea route through the Suez canal at the mercy of the Houthis, unless somebody besides America steps up. Much of the traffic on that route is between Europe and East Asia, so maybe the Europeans should take a bigger role (instead of outsourcing their defense to the US at our expense)?
The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group (CSG-9), which was expected to relieve the Eisenhower in the Red Sea, now appears to be preparing to sail from Norfolk to the eastern Mediterranean as well.
The Kuwait ministry of foreign affairs is telling Kuwaitis to avoid all travel to Lebanon and for all Kuwaitis in Lebanon to leave.
There are reports that Canadian officials are preparing an evacuation operation for ~45,000 Canadian nationals currently in Lebanon in case war breaks out.
An advisor to President Joe Biden reportedly told Senior Lebanese Officials, including the Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament, that Israel is preparing to launch a limited invasion of southern Lebanon with the goal of pushing any Hezbollah forces back across the Litani river. He further stated that they expect the invasion to begin within the next 5-weeks, and if Hezbollah does not halt attacks on northern Israel and agree to a diplomatic option, than the Israeli operation will be supported by the United States and allies.
Lebanon's response will be interesting. They will probably scream bloody murder at how Israel is violating their soverignty, but cheer for Israel in private hoping Israel can destroy the Iranian armed Hezbollah state-within-a-state operating totally outside Lebanese government control. I don't expect that the Lebanese regular armed forces to oppose the Israeli incursion at all.
(Jun 22, 2024 07:36 AM)Yazata Wrote: Lots of rumors are all over the internet tonight.
Israel is moving soldiers from Rafah in Gaza, where the Israelis control about half the city (and all of Gaza's border with Egypt) to their northern border with Lebanon. Talk in Israel is that a big offensive northwards into Lebanon will start within the next two weeks.
The Israeli advance in Gaza has slowed almost to a halt over the last few weeks due to intense US pressure by the Biden administration to let the fragmented and disorganized remains of Hamas survive, now that most of their military capability is destroyed, for fear of domestic political repurcussions from Biden's left-wing base if Israel went for a final wipeout.
But now it's starting to appear like the US has changed its tune and might be all-in for an Israeli war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Speculation in some quarters is that Biden's "Deep State" puppet masters are concerned about Trump's growing lead in the polls and figure that if the US is in a war (at least by proxy) with Iran come election time, Biden will get a chance to appear strong and voters will be less likely to want to change leadership partway through. But there are also rumors are that there is "extreme concern" among some of the more anti-war members of the Biden administration about the possibility of war. So Washington is very divided.
CNN is reporting that the US has assured Israel of "total support" from the US if Israel gets into a war with Hezbollah and/or Iran.
The USS Eisenhower carrier strike group (CSG-2) is reportedly preparing to leave the southern Red Sea where it has been protecting world shipping from the Houthis (more Iranian proxies) and reposition in the eastern Mediterranean off the Israeli coast. This would essentially leave the Red Sea sea route through the Suez canal at the mercy of the Houthis, unless somebody besides America steps up. Much of the traffic on that route is between Europe and East Asia, so maybe the Europeans should take a bigger role (instead of outsourcing their defense to the US at our expense)?
The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group (CSG-9), which was expected to relieve the Eisenhower in the Red Sea, now appears to be preparing to sail from Norfolk to the eastern Mediterranean as well.
The Kuwait ministry of foreign affairs is telling Kuwaitis to avoid all travel to Lebanon and for all Kuwaitis in Lebanon to leave.
There are reports that Canadian officials are preparing an evacuation operation for ~45,000 Canadian nationals currently in Lebanon in case war breaks out.
An advisor to President Joe Biden reportedly told Senior Lebanese Officials, including the Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament, that Israel is preparing to launch a limited invasion of southern Lebanon with the goal of pushing any Hezbollah forces back across the Litani river. He further stated that they expect the invasion to begin within the next 5-weeks, and if Hezbollah does not halt attacks on northern Israel and agree to a diplomatic option, than the Israeli operation will be supported by the United States and allies.
Lebanon's response will be interesting. They will probably scream bloody murder at how Israel is violating their soverignty, but cheer for Israel in private hoping Israel can destroy the Iranian armed Hezbollah state-within-a-state operating totally outside Lebanese government control. I don't expect that the Lebanese regular armed forces to oppose the Israeli incursion at all.
Something must happen before the debate, right? There’s no way they’re going to allow that to take place.
YazataJun 23, 2024 09:23 PM (This post was last modified: Jun 23, 2024 11:13 PM by Yazata.)
Recall back on page 9 of this thread, how Muslims in the Russian "autonomous republic" of Dagestan were engaged in an anti-Jewish pogrom, that was put down by Russian National Guard troops.
Well today (Sunday), well armed Muslim terrorists in several Dagestan towns are again attacking non-Muslims. The Russian Orthodox cathedral in Makhachkala (the Dagestan capital) was invaded by terrorists who took between 20 and 40 Christians who were attending services hostage. Unconfirmed reports the priest was beheaded. 19 hostages have reportedly been freed by Rosgvardiya (National Guard) and four terrorists "eliminated". Fighting appears to be ongoing.
A local district leader has been arrested after it was determined that three of the terrorists were his relatives, two of them his sons.
Latest Russian reports say that six of the Russian security forces have been killed and 12 wounded so far.
Video is coming out showing intense gunfire and armored vehicles on the streets.
The terrorists certainly appear to have no shortage of ammunition! Some Russians on the internet are claiming that the terrorists were armed with NATO weapons and that the whole thing was organized by the CIA to cause disruption in Russia. (As much as I dislike the CIA, it's hard for me to imagine the CIA being behind this. The Dagestanis are more than capable of doing it themselves and clearly are crazy enough.)
Reports coming in that gunmen attacked the synagogue in Makhachkala, shot two security guards and set the building on fire. There was nobody in the building at the time, apart from the guards.
The National Guard battling terrorists in the vicinity of the church:
Gunfire in a small town called Sergokala, about 75 km from Makhachkala. A police car in Sergokala was reportedly fired upon and a police officer seriously wounded.
Dear Dagestanis! The blasphemous events taking place this evening terrify us with their cruel cynicism.
Muslims will never show aggression against innocent and unarmed people.
Shedding the blood of those who pray in their temples is a bloody act of madness absolutely alien to Islam!
These attacks, precisely on the days of church services, had taken place before in other churches in the Caucasus. The radicals want to pit us against each other with all their might and burn interfaith bridges. But they won't succeed. We have faithfully preserved the traditions of the world from time immemorial and it has not happened and will not happen that Muslims attack representatives of other faiths.
One of our righteous ancestors, Imam, Sheikh Shamil, built a church for Russian soldiers, but he did not burn any of the churches and synagogues.
Today we share our grief with everyone who has lost a loved one in this unequal and brutal attack.
Our country is in a state of Special Military Operation and any such attempt is the thirst of our enemies to spark a war by any dishonest methods.
We, Muslims, will maintain peace in Russia and the Caucasus in every possible way.
Dear Dagestanis, brothers and sisters, remain calm, we are all believers and ask Almighty Allah for fair retribution and restoration of justice! We hope and trust in the Almighty!
Canada is advising Canadians not to travel to Lebanon and for all Canadians currently in Lebanon to leave by commercial means, warning that the security situation might deteriorate without warning.
Australia is telling Australians not to travel to Lebanon and for Australians in Lebanon to consider leaving while commercial flights remain available. They warn that military conflict might increase at any time and that Beirut airport might be closed.
Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are all saying the same thing, along with Canada and Kuwait mentioned above.
The US still has Lebanon on Level 3 "Reconsider travel" status, just short of Level 4 'Do not travel'. They do say do not travel in southern Lebanon (where Hezbollah is entrenched) or near the Syrian border.
YazataJun 30, 2024 02:29 AM (This post was last modified: Jun 30, 2024 03:58 AM by Yazata.)
Reports that at least a dozen Israeli jets are above Beirut, Lebanon's capital, buzzing the city. Sonic booms can be heard. It doesn't appear to be an attack, more a show-of-force.
Update - Israeli aircraft appear to be flying above Lebanese cities and towns in many parts of the country. Loud sonic booms can be heard, but no actual air attacks as far as is known, at least to this point.
The Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister says, “If Hezbollah does not Ceasefire and Withdraw from Southern Lebanon, we will act against it with Full-Force until Security is Restored and Residents can Return to their Homes.”
YazataJun 30, 2024 08:57 PM (This post was last modified: Jun 30, 2024 09:08 PM by Yazata.)
US military bases in Spain, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland, most of the US European Command (EUCOM), have been put on Force Protection Condition Charlie, the second highest level. It hasn't been disclosed why.
"Applies when an incident occurs or intelligence is received indicating some form of terrorist action or targeting against personnel or facilities is likely."
The highest level, "Delta", is for when an attack is underway or immanent against a particular facility. 'Charlie' suggests that they expect something will happen, but don't know where.
My guess is that the Pentagon has information that attacks on American military forces in Europe are planned in reply to Israeli military action against Hezbollah.
Jun 14, 2024 03:40 PM
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