News Digest — 9/18/24
Pager Detonations Wound Thousands, Majority Hezbollah Members, In Suspected Cyber Attack
As many as 3,700 members of Hezbollah were wounded on Tuesday around 3:30 p.m. throughout Lebanon, along with additional operatives from the terror group in Syria and Iraq, when the pagers they used to communicate exploded.
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad added that around 200 were critically wounded and a dozen had already died.
Iranian ambassador Mojtaba Amani was reportedly injured in the explosion according to Iranian state-owned Mehr News, and a variety of senior Hezbollah officials and relatives of the group’s parliamentary MPs were also reportedly wounded.
Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah is reportedly unharmed or at least still in command, and the group’s public relations arm issued multiple messages blaming and threatening Israel with a powerful counter strike.
Throughout the latter part of the day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were huddled together with other top defense officials evaluating the state of play between the sides.
In an initial statement, Hezbollah said, “This afternoon, a number of messaging devices known as “pagers” exploded, which are owned by a number of workers in various Hezbollah units and institutions.”
It said it was carrying out an investigation to determine the causes of the blasts, and that many different theories were surfacing.
A senior Lebanese security source told Al-Hadath that Israel infiltrated the communication system of individual devices and detonated them.
According to reports, the beepers and communications devices were called before the explosion for some period of seconds to increase the chance that whoever received the call would pick it up and be maximally wounded.
The pagers detonated were the latest model brought in by Hezbollah in recent months, according to three security sources.
A Hezbollah official cited by the Wall Street Journal said that hundreds of members had such pager devices, and speculated that malware could have caused the device to heat up and explode. The same official cited by the WSJ reported that some people felt the pagers heat up, disposing of them before they exploded.
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the “biggest security breach” the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of war with Israel.
Another Lebanese security source claimed that Israel hacked into Hezbollah’s radio communication system and caused the explosions.
According to Al-Hadath, the IDF remotely detonated the communication devices using advanced technology. However, Israel has not taken responsibility for the explosions.
Halevi Holds Security Assessment After Lebanon Cyber Attack, Municipalities Open Public Shelters
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi held a situational assessment on Tuesday evening (17th) with the participation of the General Staff Forum and emphasized preparedness in offense and defense in all areas, the military stated.
The IDF also reported that there were no changes to the Home Front Command directives.
These assessments come following the event that saw thousands of members of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah seriously wounded in Lebanon’s south and the southern suburbs of Beirut when the pagers they use to communicate, exploded.
Meanwhile, the cities of Ashkelon, and Herzliya announced on Tuesday (17th) that their municipalities held situational assessments with security forces following developments in Lebanon.
“At this stage, there has been no change in the defense policy in the city of Herzliya. The municipality of Herzliya is prepared for any scenario, along with the security forces and the Home Front Command. All shelters are open,” a statement said.
Similarly, Ashkelon’s municipal spokesperson released a statement that said, “Following the events in Lebanon, civilian war rooms will be reinforced with security and emergency teams and representatives of the police and the Home Front Command.”
The city of Ashkelon noted that, at the moment, there are no changes to the Home Front Command directives, and routine activities will be carried out in the city.
Hezbollah Plot To Assassinate Former Senior Official Thwarted
The Shin Bet has managed to foil a Hezbollah plot to assassinate a former senior official in the Israeli defense establishment. The attack which was set to be executed in the coming days, centered around a Claymore-type charge equipped with a remote activation mechanism.
In a special operation, the Shin Bet discovered a sophisticated Claymore-type explosive device, a hallmark of Hezbollah operations. The device featured an advanced remote activation system, complete with a camera and a cellphone, enabling its operation from Lebanese territory. Prompt intervention by security forces halted the attack in its final stages.
The intercepted device bears striking similarities to one detonated in Hayarkon Park in September 2023, which had targeted another high-ranking Israeli official. Security analysts believe the same terror cell orchestrated both attempted attacks. The intended target of the thwarted attack, a former prominent figure in Israel’s security apparatus, has been fully briefed on the situation by security officials. The Shin Bet has emphasized that the terror cell had been under extensive surveillance for a considerable period.
Head Of Islamic Jihad’s Rafah Rocket Unit Killed In Israeli Strike
An Israeli aerial strike on Monday (16th) killed the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s rocket and missile unit in the Rafah area of southern Gaza.
Ahmed Aish Salame al-Hashash was embedded and operating inside the humanitarian zone in Khan Yunis when he was eliminated in the precision attack, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
“Al-Hashash was responsible for the Islamic Jihad’s rocket attacks in the Rafah Brigade and was an important source of knowledge within the Islamic Jihad terror organization in Gaza.” the IDF said.
“During the war, al-Hashash was responsible for firing rockets from inside the Humanitarian Zone toward Israeli civilians.
The military emphasized that before conducting the strike many steps were taken to minimize the threat to noncombatants, including the choice of munitions, aerial surveillance and the collection of additional intelligence.
“The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continue to systematically abuse civilian and humanitarian infrastructure to carry out terrorist activities and attacks on Israeli civilians. The IDF will continue to operate against the terrorist organizations in defense of the State of Israel,” the IDF statement concluded.
A reserve soldier in the IDF’s 846th Battalion, Givati Brigade, was seriously wounded during combat operations in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said on Tuesday morning (17th). He was evacuated to the hospital and his family was notified.
The Israel Defense Forces’ 5th Infantry Brigade has been stationed in the Netzarim Corridor that splits the Gaza Strip between north and south, the army announced on Monday (16th).
It is the second time the Brigade has operated in the coastal enclave since Israeli forces entered the territory on October 27.
The Brigade’s first tour of duty entailed protecting Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip in the first days of the war and ridding them of terrorists, before months of combat in the areas of Beit Hanoun, Kherbat Ahzaa and the central corridor.
‘State Of Palestine’ Takes Seat In UN General Assembly
The United Nations is currently made up of 193 member nations and two permanent non-member observer states: Vatican City and the “State of Palestine.” The Palestinians, however, are on their way to full member status.
The Times of Israel reported Wednesday (18th) that “Palestinians took a seat among member states at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday (17th), a new right accorded to the Palestinian Authority’s delegation despite it not being a full member of the body.”
This is how the UN responds to jihad terrorism: by rewarding those who engage in it.
The initiative to give the “State of Palestine” a seat in the General Assembly began six months after Palestinians murdered 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023.
In May, the Times of Israel noted, “an overwhelming majority of the General Assembly asserted that Palestinians deserve full membership, a move that has been blocked by the United States, which along with Israel says recognition of Palestinian statehood must come through a peace agreement.”
One of the conditions of Palestinian statehood has always been that the “State of Palestine” would recognize Israel’s right to exist, and pledge to live in peace with it. That is something the Palestinian leaders have never been willing to do, nevertheless, the UN charged ahead with the plans to reward the Palestinians, apparently under the delusion that a Palestinian state will end all the strife.
Thus, starting with the 79th General Assembly session, which began Tuesday (17th) the Palestinians can submit proposals and amendments, and sit among member states. Riyad Mansour, the envoy of the “State of Palestine” to the UN, took his place on Tuesday afternoon (17th) at a table marked “State of Palestine” between Sri Lanka and Sudan.
Egyptian Ambassador Osama Mahmoud Abdelkhalek Mahmoud was thrilled saying: “This is not merely a procedural matter. This is a historic moment for us.”
But Jonathan Miller, deputy Israel ambassador to the UN said, “any decision and or action that improves the status of the Palestinians, either in the UN General Assembly or bilaterally, is currently a reward… for terrorism in general and the Hamas terrorists in particular.”
When the “State of Palestine” took its seat in the UN General Assembly, the message to the “Palestinians” was clear: Murder more Jews, and you’ll get even more of what you want.
The “State of Palestine” is only a stepping-stone to the total eradication of Israel and a new genocide of the Jews.
U.S. Pushes Israel To Give Land To Hezbollah – Daniel Greenfield
The appeasement lobby only has one big idea when it comes to Islamic terrorists:
1. Give them more land.
2. When the terrorists attack anyway, explain that it’s because they didn’t get enough land last time.
3. Give them more land.
4. When the terrorists attack anyway, explain that it’s because they didn’t get enough land last time.
Israel has been living through this particular “peace process” nightmare for a generation.
Now, faced with growing Hezbollah attacks, “American officials recently proposed, in a virtual meeting with their Israeli counterparts, a land swap between Lebanon and Israel as part of a comprehensive agreement to end the border conflicts and resolve the land dispute between the two countries,” the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida reported.
Amos Hockstein, President Biden’s envoy, insisted on Israel turning over gas fields to Hezbollah back in 2022. That was supposed to avert further conflict. We know how that worked out. But appeasing Islamic terrorists doesn’t work. Defeating them does.
Hezbollah will claim any territory it gets and attack anyway because that is what Islamic terrorists do. It’s going to attack when Tehran tells it to.
As an Islamic terror group, attacking non-Muslims and dominating them is a fundamental religious obligation. So making deals with Hezbollah won’t work. Just like making deals with Hamas doesn’t work.
Jews May Feel Abandoned But Good People Will Step Up – As They Did For Me In The Gulag – Natan Sharansky
These days, witnessing the very same Western world I once regarded with such admiration cheer-on the murderous marauders of Hamas, I – like Israel – feel more lonely than I have felt in a very long time. How could it be that American universities, once bastions of the free and unfettered exchange of ideas, are now awash with young men and women who wave the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah and readily repeat anti-Semitic lies without sense of compassion?
How could it be that the United Nations, formed to help curb violence and aggression and promote justice and well-being to all, now watches its employees take part in deadly pogroms against Jews? How could it be that world leaders, themselves facing the challenge of grappling with homicidal Islamism, fail to support Israel as it stands up to the very same forces.?
But the person guided by love and faith and justice isn’t afraid to bear the scorn of others because he knows that “truth eventually prevails.”
The writer, a former political prisoner in the Soviet Union Gulag, former minister in Israeli governments, and former Chairman and Executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel, is now chairman of the advisory board of the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement. (New York Post)
