News Digest — 6/12/24
Top Hezbollah Commander Killed In Southern Lebanon Strike; Over 80 Rockets Fired At The North
Hezbollah announced the death of a senior commander in an alleged Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday night (11th), as the terror group fired some 80 rockets at northern communities throughout the day amid increasing cross-border hostilities.
The Iran-backed group said in a statement that Taleb Abdullah, from the southern Lebanon town of Aadachit, was killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” the terror organization’s term for Israeli strikes.
Abdullah was killed in a strike in the coastal town of Jouaiyya, some 15 miles north of the border with Israel. The Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that at least four other people were killed in the strike, while Lebanese security forces told Reuters that three other Hezbollah operatives were killed in the strike.
In its statement, Hezbollah referred to Abdullah as a commander. The terror group rarely refers to its senior operatives slain in Israeli strikes as commanders. The only other operative referred to as a commander was Wissam al-Tawil, the deputy head of the terror group’s elite Radwan force, killed by Israel in January.
There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces on the strike, which came amid a series of rocket barrages fired from Lebanon at northern communities throughout the day. There were no injuries reported in the rocket attacks, with air defenses intercepting some projectiles while others struck open areas.
Footage from a community in the Kiryat Shmona area showed the Iron Dome air defense system engaging a barrage of some 15 rockets as Israelis were gathered for Shavuot celebrations.
Also Tuesday afternoon (11th), the IDF said that following recent infiltration alerts in the north, air defenses successfully downed a drone that crossed into Israel from Lebanon in the Upper Galilee region.
Firefighters were also battling a number of blazes sparked by rocket and drone attacks earlier in the day in the Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights, following a number of similar fires in the past week.
The day of cross-border attacks came after fighter jets struck what Israel’s military described as a significant Hezbollah compound in Hermel, deep in Lebanon overnight Monday (10th). The AFP reported that three Hezbollah members were killed, and that the attack potentially marked the deepest IDF strikes in Lebanon amid the ongoing war, as Hermel is 80 miles from the Israeli border.
Meanwhile, On Wednesday morning (12th), two barrages totaling roughly 150 rockets, including about 70 directed at the area of Meron were fired by Hezbollah at various locations across northern Israel, Army Radio reported.
Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for the attacks, stating they had come in response to Israel’s alleged elimination of Taleb Abdullah, the senior-most Hezbollah commander to be killed since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas in October of last year.
Since the day after Hamas’ October 7 attack, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
Six Palestinian Gunmen Killed As Heavy Clashes Erupt Near Jenin During IDF Raid
Israeli forces on Tuesday (11th) engaged in intensive clashes with Palestinian gunmen during a counter-terrorism operation in a northern West Bank town near Jenin.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, troops came under heavy fire as they entered Kfar Dan, where Duvdevan commandos encircled a building used by terror operatives.
An IDF statement said the soldiers used a tactic known as “pressure cooker” that involves escalating the volume of fire directed at a building to force suspects to come out.
The military said an attack helicopter was also used to strike the building amid the operation.
The troops killed six gunmen in ensuing clashes and wounded others, the IDF said, with the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry also confirming that six Palestinians were killed during the mission.
The IDF said the commandos seized two assault rifles and handguns that belonged to the gunmen as well as a car containing several explosive devices.
No soldiers were hurt in the raid, during which troops shot back at gunmen with shoulder-launched missiles.
The operation came on the heels of another deadly raid on a West Bank town near Ramallah that targeted a Hamas commander and three other terror suspects following an arson attack on a nearby settler outpost.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 4,150 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,750 affiliated with Hamas.
Report: New Development Could Let Soldiers Intercept Missiles With Guns
As small unmanned drones become increasingly prevalent on modern battlefields, dropping explosives and conducting surveillance, a US defense startup believes it has an innovative solution to counter this aerial threat. ZeroMark is developing a system designed to transfer soldiers’ standard rifles into portable anti-drone weapons, according to a recent report from WIRED magazine.
The company’s approach involves integrating software and hardware components onto existing infantry rifles. A sensor mounted near the barrel works with an actuator in the stock or foregrip to make minor adjustments to the soldier’s aim when tracking a hostile drone. “We use lidar and electro-optical sensors to detect, classify and monitor the drones,” ZeroMark CEO Joel Anderson told WIRED. “Then our system calculates precise factors like bullet drop, trajectory, and wind compensation – complex ballistics that are very difficult for a human to correctly account for.”
By taking these complex calculations out of the soldier’s hands, ZeroMark aims to significantly increase the probability of successfully shooting down an evasive, high-speed drone with standard rifle fire. “For a computer, determining the exact point where the shot must intersect the drone’s flight path is pretty easy,” Anderson explained to WIRED. “So when the soldier pulls the trigger, there’s a high likelihood of a hit.”
The ambitious concept attracted $7 million in venture capital funding from Andreesen Horowitz. With drones playing an outsized role in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the demand for effective counter-drone technologies is soaring across global militaries.
However, some experts like Arthur Holland Michel from the Carnegie Council remain skeptical until the system can be proven effective through open demonstrations. “There are a lot of question marks around a technology like this,” Michel cautioned to Wired, citing potential issues with the “inherent unpredictability” of machine learning systems operating in uncontrolled environments.
While ZeroMark claims to be evaluating the system with “partners in Ukraine” for possible deployment by late summer, the startup’s proposed rifle-integrated drone defense will likely face intense scrutiny before any combat adoption.
What America Can Learn From Israel On The Battlefield – Daniel Greenfield
America has never successfully liberated and held territory from Islamic terrorists. Both Afghanistan and Iraq are now controlled by Islamic terrorists. Many top US defense officials who oversaw both disasters have been criticizing Israel for not following in their footsteps.
Rather than trying to hold territory filled with an enemy population among whom the terrorists move, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has used its manpower to attack concentrations of enemy forces, moving quickly and at times unpredictably, while refusing to get bogged down by trying to hold any particular area. This strategy has frustrated the entire Hamas war plan, which depended on using terror attacks to pin military units in place, and then launching ambushes.
Israel learned a hard lesson from October 7. It is not interested in playing defense anymore. Complaints that Israel has to “re-clear” areas that it’s already taken miss the point. The enemy population supports the terrorists and so the area can’t be “cleared” or “stabilized.”
Reclearing is a strength because when terrorists return to territory that Israel is now familiar with, it can turn the tables and launch surprise attacks. Israel is not fighting to take land, but to grind down enemy forces wherever they operate. Holding and stabilizing territory bogs down armies in defensive modes, while Israel’s approach is purely offensive and plays to its strengths.
The writer is a Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.
Israelis Cheer The Liberation Of Hostages – Jessica Kasmer-Jacobs
On midday Saturday (8th) in Tel Aviv, my husband and I were sitting on the beach with our 2-year-old son when the lifeguard’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “Attention, citizens of Tel Aviv! We are thrilled to announce that four hostages have been rescued by the Israel Defense Forces alive! Noa Argamani, Andrey Kozlov, Almog Meir Jan, and Shlomi Ziv! Am Yisrael Chai!”
The cheers were immediate and ecstatic. People threw their children into the air. Strangers hugged strangers. Many openly wept. The clapping and singing and dancing spread all the way down the beach. Because it was Saturday, secular Israelis posted handwritten notes with the names of the rescued hostages around religious neighborhoods to update their neighbors who observe the Sabbath and wouldn’t have been checking their phones or watching TV.
News anchors broke down in tears. Neighbors shouted out of their windows to announce the news to passersby. In the towns where they lived, groups gathered around their homes with flags, waiting to welcome their neighbors home after eight months in captivity. Pundits on CNN talked about the “released” hostages. But they were not released. They were liberated. They were saved in a daring daylight operation.
Around the world we are condemned for a war we did not start and did not seek. Even the rescue mission is spun in the press as Israeli overreaction. If there is one thing we are certain of, it is this: we live in a country of heroes. We live in a country in which strangers feel like family. A country in which other men and women will sacrifice their lives to liberate us, to bring us home. (Free Press)
Israel’s Central Statistics Bureau Releases Data On Milk And Honey Production In Honor Of Shavuot
In honor of Shavuot, the holiday of agriculture, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) released data about the production and sale of milk and honey in Israel in 2023 on Sunday (9th).
Israel has the highest milk yield per cow in the world at 12,265 kg. per cow per year (pc/py), which was a 1.6% increase from the previous year.
Israel was far ahead of its closest competitors, with Denmark only producing 10,571 kg. (pc/py) and Estonia following closely behind at 10,183 kg (pc/py). A country famous for its dairy products, the Netherlands, lagged even further behind at 9,086 kg. (pc/py).
Israel also has the highest milk-producing cow in the world, according to the Israel Dairy School, which educates dairy farmers from around the world on innovative Israeli agro-tech and agricultural practices “designed to improve the efficiency and productivity of international dairy farms.”
The record-breaking cow named Kharta from Sa’ad in the Negev produced 18,208 liters of milk in 2023, according to the Dairy School.
Despite all of the success in increasing efficiency, Israel actually had a slight decrease in total milk production in 2023 compared to the previous year, falling to 1,635 million liters, which is a 0.5% decrease.
Milk prices rose in 2023 by 9.5%, while the value of the milk to the producer increased by 4.7%, estimated to be 4.1 billion NIS worth, about 11% of Israel’s total agricultural output.
Cow’s milk represents just over 95% of the total milk production in Israel, with sheep and goat’s milk making up the remaining 5%. Both sheep and goat’s milk experienced much steeper price increases than cow’s milk, at increases of 15.7%, 6.4%, and 5.3% respectively.
HONEY
Honey production in Israel suffered a much worse year in 2023 than milk production, overall, honey production fell 22.2% to 3,500 tons. The CBS attributes this to 2023 being less rainy than 2022.
The value of honey to producers also fell by 1.3% to an estimated 63.9 million NIS; despite this, the price of honey increased by 0.7% in 2023.
There are approximately 124,000 beehives in Israel, producing roughly 30 kg. of honey per hive, this was not sufficient to satisfy local demand leading to increased imports of honey in 2023, from 2,000 tons to 3,000 tons.
The holiday of Shavuot began in Israel on Tuesday evening (11th) and will end on Wednesday evening at sundown (12th). In the Diaspora Shavuot is celebrated for two days.
