News Digest — 9/26/24
Attack On Eilat: UAV Explodes In Port, Second Drone Intercepted
A drone that approached the southern Israeli city of Eilat from the east Wednesday night (25th) slammed into the Eilat port, injuring two people.
Police officers and police sappers were working to isolate the scene of the crash. A second drone was intercepted by an Israel Navy Sa’ar 5 class corvette missile ship, according to the IDF Spokesman.
Magen David Adom reported that two people sustained minor injuries at the scene, a 68-year-old who was hit by shards of glass, and a young man who was lightly wounded.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an association of pro-Iranian militias, claimed responsibility for launching the drone attack against what it called a “vital target’ in Eilat. In addition, the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen news network, which has ties to Hezbollah, cited Iraqi sources as saying that the attack on Eilat was launched by militias in Iraq.
A militia spokesperson said: “We hope that the resistance factions in Iraq will increase their activity and the level of threat to the enemy.”
Also on Wednesday (25th), the cable car system at the Mount Hermon ski site was hit by Hezbollah rockets.
“The damage will require us to carry out a massive and rapid restoration in order to be able to meet the needs of security on the mountain and for the success of the campaign in the north,” noted the director-general of the site, Raphael Neve. “The Hermon site has been closed to visitors for an entire year. We all hope for good days and the return of travelers to the site,” he said.
Chief Of Staff In The North: ‘We Continue To Strike And Prepare To Operate In Lebanon’
IDF Chief of Staff LTG Herzi Halevi said on Wednesday (25th) that as the IDF strikes in Lebanon, ground forces continue to prepare for a ground offensive.
Halevi visited the Brigade exercise of the 7th Brigade at the northern border along with the Commanding Officer of the Northern Command, the Commanding Officer of the 98th Division, the Commanding Officer of the Ground Forces Training Center, the Commanding Officer of the 7th Brigade and additional commanders.
“You hear the jets overhead, we have been striking all day. This is both to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah. Today, Hezbollah expanded its range of fire, and later today, they will receive a very strong response. Prepare yourselves,” he told the commanders Wednesday (25th).
Halevi added, “Today, we will continue, we are not stopping, we keep striking and hitting them everywhere. The goal is very clear – to safely return the residents of the north. To achieve that, we are preparing the process of a maneuver, which means your military boots, your maneuvering boots will enter enemy territory, enter villages that Hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts, with underground infrastructure, staging points, and launchpads into our territory to carry out attacks on Israeli citizens.”
He concluded: “Your entry into those areas with force and your encounter with Hezbollah operatives will show them what it means to face a professional, highly skilled, and battle-experienced force. You are coming in much stronger and far more experienced than they are. You will go in, destroy the enemy there, and decisively destroy their infrastructure. These are the things that will allow us to safely return the residents of the north, afterward.”
Nasrallah Is Trapped By His Own False Propaganda – Ofir Gendelman
For years, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah repeatedly claimed that “Israel is weaker than a spider’s web.” This message was woven throughout his speeches and echoed in Hamas propaganda. The entire Iran-backed alliance believed it. The goal wasn’t just psychological; it had an operational purpose. It was meant to motivate the organization’s operatives, especially the Radwan Force, to train even more vigorously for the conquest of the Galilee, seen as the first step in Israel’s total destruction.
To be honest, albeit regrettably, some Israeli actions reinforced this message in the narrative of the “resistance axis” and Hezbollah itself. The refusal to eliminate armed Hezbollah operatives approaching the border, instead chasing them away; the months-long reluctance to destroy two tents Hezbollah erected on Mount Dov beyond the international border line as a challenge to Israeli sovereignty and a sign of weakness, displayed in the year before the war – all of this strengthened Nasrallah’s belief that Israel was indeed a paper tiger that would immediately collapse once the Radwan Force invaded northern settlements and conquered the Galilee.
The 500 casualties Hezbollah has suffered since deciding to attack Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, and the enormous losses Hamas endured in the Gaza Strip following its terror attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, began to change the picture, both with Hezbollah and among the Lebanese public.
Many in Lebanon, even if not among Hezbollah supporters, who witnessed the increasing power of Israeli Air Force strikes in Lebanon and the massive destruction in Gaza, began to express public opposition to the war. This is an unprecedented phenomenon in Lebanon.
The situation took another dramatic turn last week following the pager and radio communication device attack on Hezbollah operatives and senior officials, which took thousands of them out of the fight within seconds. It intensified further with the surprising and, from Nasrallah’s perspective, shocking elimination of the Radwan Force leadership in the heart of Dahiyeh.
Although Nasrallah claimed in his speech, responding to these events, that they didn’t affect the organization’s operational capabilities, no one in Lebanon believes him anymore. Hezbollah is perceived as weak, and there’s a prevailing understanding that in this conflict, Israel undoubtedly has the upper hand – technologically, militarily, and in terms of intelligence.
The Israeli Air Force bombings in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley over the past two days, which hit hundreds of important Hezbollah assets built over many years, and Israeli awareness efforts directed at Lebanese public opinion, aimed at evacuating civilian populations from villages turned by Hezbollah into weapons depots and launch sites for cruise missiles, rockets, and drones, make it clear to every Lebanese person and every member of the Iran-backed alliance that Israel is a real tiger. Everyone now understands that underestimating it was a very costly mistake.
Even in interviews with Lebanese commentators on the country’s TV networks, it’s explicitly stated: “We thought we could destroy Israel and liberate Palestine. We were gravely mistaken.”
Even if Nasrallah publicly maintains that the Lebanese front is linked to the Gaza front and that his organization will continue to fire at Israel as long as there’s no ceasefire in the Strip, it seems that watching the refugee convoys traveling from southern Lebanon to Beirut and the significant casualties his organization suffers daily at Israel’s hands, Nasrallah surely regrets now believing his own false propaganda.
The consequences of this mistake are now manifesting in Hezbollah’s unprecedented and long-term weakening. Every day that the Israel Defense Forces powerfully strikes Hezbollah’s infrastructure and denies its capabilities built over decades to harm Israel, brings closer the day when northern residents will return to their homes and enjoy long-term peace.
Alongside the military effort, successful influence and psychological warfare efforts on the Lebanese public, whose trust in Hezbollah has been severely shaken and whose fear of Israel has intensified sevenfold, must continue. This axis – which sears the enemy’s consciousness – will also ensure long-term quiet on the northern border.
Ofir Gendelman is a fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy.
‘The Spider At The Center Of This Web Of Violence:’ Danny Danon Criticizes Iran Over Hezbollah Escalation
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon spoke Wednesday (25th) as the UNSC met to discuss the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, which the international community fears is about to escalate into a third Israel-Lebanon War.
“Iran is fighting a war against humanity and is holding the Lebanese hostage through its proxy group Hezbollah,” Danon told the UN Security Council as he defended Israel’s military actions in Lebanon.
“The Islamic regime of Iran is the driving force behind the rockets that have been launched at our communities for almost a year,” Danon said.
“This is not just a war against Israel. This is a war on humanity, waged by Iran’s proxies. They hold the people of Lebanon hostage, using their homes as shields for their rockets, pushing the entire region to the brink of destruction,” he stated.
Danon spoke as the UNSC met to discuss the escalation in the last week of the year-long constrained cross-border IDF-Hezbollah war. Danon called on the UNSC to insist that Hezbollah must adhere to Resolution 1701, which mandates that no armed non-state actors can operate below the Litani River in southern Lebanon.
Danon placed the conflict within the larger regional one between Israel and Iran, noting that in the last year, Israel has been fighting the Islamic Republic’s proxies on many fronts, including Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
“Iran,” Danon said, “is the driving force behind Hezbollah’s aggression and the driving force between the instability sweeping the region.”
“As the head of the terrorist snake, Iran has spread its venom against innocent Israeli civilians – from the Houthis in Yemen attempting to strangle global trade, to Hezbollah’s rocket barrages, from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s practice of rape and kidnapping, to the Shia in Syria and Iraq targeting Western personnel, the Ayatollah stands behind it all,” Danon stated.
“Every missile fired by Hezbollah, every drone launched by Iranian proxies, every act of terror on foreign soil, traces back to one source: the Islamic regime of Iran. It is the spider at the center of this web of violence, and until that web is dismantled, there can be no peace in the region,” he stated.
“Israel does not seek a full-scale war. We have made our desire for peace clear to all those who are not blinded by hatred and political agendas. However, Israel is under attack,” Danon said.
IDF Soldiers Kill 40 Terrorists Across Gaza, Destroy Hamas Infrastructure
Upwards of 40 terrorists were killed during fighting across the Gaza Strip, the IDF reported Wednesday (25th).
Some of those killed were members of the rocket division, the weapons division, and the intelligence division.
Others killed were found in tunnel shafts based in city infrastructure, where significant weapon stashes were discovered. The tunnels were destroyed.
In the northern Gaza Strip, targeted raids were carried out in Beit Lahia to destroy Hamas infrastructure.
During the operation, the fighters located and destroyed three groups of launchers – 27 in total. Three were found loaded with rockets ready to be launched immediately.
In the central Gaza Strip, IDF troops began several simultaneous operations on the outskirts of Nuseirat and Zeitoun to destroy Hamas infrastructure in the area.
Israel’s Population Tops 10 Million
Ahead of the Jewish New Year, Israel’s population is estimated at just over 10 million, 118,000 over 2023, with 183,000 new babies born.
On Wednesday (25th), the Central Bureau of Statistics published data on the population of Israel, ahead of the upcoming Rosh Hashanah holiday, marking the Jewish New Year.
According to the report, at the end of 2023, Israel’s total population numbered 9,915,000, with an annual growth of 1.6%, down from 2.2% the year before.
Israel’s growth rate was fueled primarily by natural growth with some 183,000 babies born in Israel during 2023, compared to approximately 46,000 total immigrants to Israel, some 55,000 people emigrated from Israel in 2023, while 27,800 Israelis moved back.
A total of roughly 55,000 people died during 2023.
Based on Israel’s growth rate in 2023, the country is estimated to have topped 10 million earlier this year.
Broken down by demographic groups, 77% of Israel’s population was in the “Jewish and others” category at the end of 2023 with 7,632,000 people, compared to 20.8% in the Arab sector, with 2,067,000 people. In addition, Israel at the end of 2023 was home to 216,000 foreign nationals who do not carry Israeli citizenship.
By September 2024, the number of citizens had risen from less than 9.7 million to nearly 9.8 million, with the figure for the total number of residents rising to just over 10 million once foreign nationals are included.
Nearly half (43.5%) of Israeli Jews identified themselves religiously as “not religious, secular,” compared to 11.3% who said they are ultra Orthodox, 12.5% who categorized themselves as “religious,” 13.0% who defined themselves as “religious-traditional,” and 18.9% who described themselves as “traditional, not-so-religious.”
There were a total of 2,920,300 households across Israel at the end of 2023, with an average of 3.19 people per household. Of those 2,297,400 were defined as nuclear family households.
Rosh Hashanah begins on October 2 at sundown and ends at nightfall on October 4th.
