Exciting news from the world of Hezbollah! The Shura Council of Hezbollah, the central decision-making body of the Lebanese Shiite group, has chosen Hashem Safieddine to take over from Hassan Nasrallah as the leader of Hezbollah. Hailing from Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, a village in southern Lebanon, Safieddine comes from a prominent Shiite family known for producing influential clerics and parliamentarians. He is a cousin of Nasrallah and has familial ties to Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran’s Quds Force who was killed in a US airstrike in Iraq in 2020.
Meanwhile, the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, originally scheduled for tomorrow, has been cancelled.
Highlights of the day:
“Those who wish to harm the Jewish state will pay a heavy price.” These words, long repeated by the Israeli Prime Minister, his Defense Minister, and the Army Chief, have now become reality. Overnight between Saturday and Sunday, Israeli Air Force planes struck hard at ‘the ring of fire’, a strategy designed to choke the Jewish state by the late general Soleimani, killed by the US in 2020. A plan mainly embraced by Hassan Nasrallah and pursued by militias in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, the West Bank, Gaza, and Yemen.
On Sunday, the long-awaited retaliation against the Houthi forces finally took place after rocket and drone attacks in September. The IDF dealt a severe blow to Tehran’s allies in Yemen by flying dozens of planes up to 1,800 kilometers from the Israeli border to hit the ports of Hodeidah and Ras Issa, used for weapons and oil supply. The IAF confirmed launching raids on sites used by the group for military purposes in the main Red Sea port and the nearby Ras Issa terminal. Local authorities reported four dead and injured. The international airport of Hodeidah was also targeted, where the Ayatollah’s cargoes bring loads of weapons used by the Houthis to attack commercial ships for almost a year.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant emphasized that “no place is too far for Israel.” This marks the second attack in Yemen, following a drone launched on Tel Aviv on July 20, resulting in IDF bombing of the Hodeidah port, causing a massive fire. Netanyahu’s retaliation continued in Lebanon, where since the 17th of this month, nearly the entire Hezbollah leadership has been ‘eliminated’. The IDF announced that in the Friday attack on the Beirut headquarters of the Lebanese fundamentalist group, besides the leader of Hezbollah, 20 commanders were killed, including frontline commander Ali Karaki, Nasrallah’s personal security chief Ibrahim Hussein Jazini, advisor Samir Tawfiq Deeb, military reinforcement head Abd al-Amir Muhammad Sablini, and Hezbollah firepower chief Ali Nayef Ayoub. The IDF released a map of the bombed area showing a UN-operated school just 53 meters away. Lebanese media displayed a video of Nasrallah’s ‘intact’ body being pulled from the IDF bomb bunker crater. Furthermore, Israeli fighter jets once again targeted the Shiite stronghold overnight between Saturday and Sunday, killing Nabil Kawak, security unit commander of the militia and a member of the Central Executive Council. The IAF pilots then focused on Homs, Syria, reportedly hitting a vehicle with pro-Iranian Iraqi militias, according to the Human Rights Monitoring Center.
In Gaza, a new raid destroyed a Hamas command center in a former school in the northern Strip using precision missiles. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated warnings about the “dangerous consequences” of the attacks in Lebanon. He added, “The Israeli regime will never find peace and tranquility.” In response to Tehran’s threats, the US indirectly reaffirmed its support for Israel’s security, stating, “Support for Israel’s security is unwavering and will not change,” said National Security spokesperson John Kirby, emphasizing the ally’s right to defend itself “from daily attacks.” “Biden and Netanyahu have known each other for 40 years, never agreeing on anything, but they both agree on one thing: Israel’s security,” he added. US officials told ABC News that “small-scale” IDF operations in Lebanese territory “could have started at the Lebanon border, or could be about to begin” to eliminate Hezbollah positions. However, Israel has not yet made a decision on a possible ground invasion. But if it chooses to move its troops beyond the border, the US believes “the scope will likely be limited.”
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