Hezbollah said its forces seized a strategic valley from Sunni Muslim militants on Monday, the latest advance in an offensive to oust jihadists from their last foothold along the Syria-Lebanon border.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Wednesday accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah of amassing weapons and said the world must turn its attention to the actions of the powerful terror group.
Hezbollah is Iran’s proxy, designated as a terrorist organization by the US, the EU, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Israel, Canada, Australia and others. The very reason for Hezbollah’s existence is to give Iran – an apocalyptic radical Islamic regime – a way to directly attack Israel, something its leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, believes is obligatory and necessary for Muslims.
The Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and the Syrian government have enjoyed a close, fruitful relationship for nearly 40 years. But six years into the Syrian civil war, there are signs that battle fatigue and diverging strategic visions are fraying their alliance.
Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon said Sunday to a Saudi news website that the decisions in Lebanon are made by the Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khameini, and not by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
President Reuven Rivlin delivered a speech Monday at the Memorial Ceremony for the fallen of the Second Lebanon War, marking the 11th anniversary of the war, at the Memorial Hall on Mount Herzl.
Reports that Iran is building workshops and facilities to make advanced rockets inside Lebanon is a “huge development” that constitutes a “whole new kind of threat,” Chagai Tzuriel, director- general of the Intelligence Ministry, said Monday.
Russia on Friday summoned Israeli Ambassador Gary Koren to justify Israel’s air strike in Syria at a target near the city of Palmyra.
The United Nations chief expressed concern to the Security Council that Iran may have violated an arms embargo by supplying weapons and missiles to Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah, according to a confidential report, seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The Israeli military on Tuesday posted a map of southern Lebanon to Twitter, on which it marked Hezbollah positions, infrastructure and armaments along a section of the Israeli border.
According to Syrian state television, Israel was behind the overnight air raids just west of Damascus.
The IDF Home Front Command is preparing for the possibility that Hezbollah will fire thousands of missiles from Lebanon into Israel during the next war.
Amid the carnage of Syria’s civil war, well into its sixth year, Israeli military chiefs say that Iran and its prized proxy, Hezbollah, are surreptitiously seeking to establish a new front in an older conflict, the Iran-backed group’s 30-year war against the Jewish state that until recently was waged almost exclusively from neighboring Lebanon.
The UN Security Council warned Tuesday that violations of the cessation of hostilities agreement between Lebanon and Israel could lead to a new conflict “that none of the parties or the region can afford.”
Israel recently foiled terror attacks planned by West Bank Palestinians recruited via Facebook by Hezbollah operatives living in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Shin Bet security service announced on Tuesday.
When Israeli army commanders describe how the next war against Hezbollah could unfold, they often search for words not used in military manuals. The future conflict, they warn, will be “ferocious” and “terrible.”
According to IDF estimations, the likelihood of Israel initiating a war in the next year remains low, both due to the turmoil in the Middle East which is keeping many of Israel’s enemies busy, and because of Israel’s current deterrence abilities. Even so, the likelihood of a severe incident leading to an escalation and even a war has increased, and is being described by the IDF as ‘moderate.’ This is due to the tension along Israel’s borders, especially the ones in the north and near the Gaza Strip.
In a speech on Monday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel with revenge over the killing of terrorist Samir Kuntar in an air strike in Syria on Saturday.
The Israel Air Force attacked Syrian army and Hezbollah targets in the area around Qalamoun in Syria overnight Saturday, Israel Radio reported citing Syrian forces.
Sources in the Syrian opposition claimed Tuesday that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) attacked positions and personnel belonging to the Syrian regime and Hezbollah in the area of Qualamoun, on the Syria-Lebanon border.