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Lebanon
Cyprus finds air defense systems on Syria-bound ship
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Lebanon
Prodi: Syria agrees to EU force on border with Lebanon
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Lebanon
Witnesses: IDF troops seize six men in southern Lebanon
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Lebanon
March 14 insists Hizbullah unable to defend Lebanon
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Lebanon
Turning the Lebanese Army Into Tigers
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Lebanon
Lebanon bomb blast kills two, and wounds senior Lebanese intelligence officer
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Lebanon
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has “shaken the myth of Israel’s invicibility” and is an “Arab ‘hero.’” UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan breaks UNSCR 1701 and further legitimizing Hezbollah by agreeing to negotiate the release of captive Israeli soldiers. Qatar pledges 300 troops to UNIFIL while becoming the first nation to break the Israeli air embargo.
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Lebanon
Nasrallah: from humble roots to Arab hero
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Lebanon
Italian soldiers began moving into position in Southern Lebanon as part of the new UNIFIL force
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Lebanon
Lebanon says won™t join talks over kidnapped IDF troops
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Lebanon
Israeli army hands over border area to Lebanese and UNIFIL troops
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Aftermath of the Hezbollah-Israeli War
Disarming Hezbollah no longer an option Israel’s failure to fully pursue Hezbollah in the region below the Litani River in southern Lebanon as well as in southern Beirut and the Bekaa Valley is a model of what not to do when fighting terrorist organizations. The Israeli government’s strategy of over reliance on air power during the first two weeks of the campaign, which was then followed by overly conservative ground campaigns in southern Lebanon, allowed Hezbollah reach its desired goal of a negotiated solution which would essentially allow it to maintain its power in the country. Last week, the Jerusalem…
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After Action Report: Winners and Losers in the Hezbollah-Israel War
With the cessation of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel largely holding after 24 hours, it is time to look at the likely winners and losers of the Hezbollah-Israel war. Israel spent the weekend scrambling to reach the Litani River and consolidate their positions south of the river before the fighting ended, launching an attack which amounted to too little too late. The negotiated cease fire implemented by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, has lead to a major political victory for Hezbollah, Iran and Syria,and dealt Israel, Lebanon and the United States serious setbacks. The Winners: Hezbollah: Hezbollah achieved what…
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To the Litani River; Heavy Fighting in Rashaf, Marjayoun
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied town; red IDF warned towns of operations; yellow Israeli airstrikes; orange clashes. Click map to view. The government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has given the Israeli Defense Force the final approval to conduct the ground assault to the Litani River in southern Lebanon. “According to military sources, close to 70 percent of the Katyusha rockets raining down on Israel are fired just south of, and north of the Litani river. It is in these parts of Lebanon that the Hizbullah’s Nasser Unit is waiting with thousands of fighters and functioning command and control…
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Israeli Cabinet Votes to Push Deeper into Southern Lebanon
The Israeli Cabinet vote on the authorization for the Israeli Defense Force to expand ground operations in southern Lebanon highlights the government’s lack of a cohesive plan at the war’s outset and the hesitation to take the fight directly to Hezbollah on the ground. At the start of the war, the initial plan was to establish a 1-2 kilometer buffer zone and patrol southern Lebanon via air. This morphed into a 6-8 kilometer buffer, which was basically the posture of the Israeli Defense Force up to the withdrawal from Lebanon in 2002. Hezbollah’s continuous shelling of northern Israel has shown…
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IDF Commando Raid South of Tyre; Abandoning the Litani?
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied town; red IDF warned towns of operations; yellow Israeli airstrikes; orange clashes. Click map to view. Israeli Defense Force commandos have conducted another behind the lines raid in Hezbollah territory, this time in the town of Ras al-Biyada (Al Bayyadah on the map), which sits on the Lebanese coast about five kilometers north of the Israeli border. Reports indicate 30 to 40 commandos were inserted by helicopter near Ras al-Biyada, the target being an apartment complex. Five Lebanese are reported to have been killed and 8 IDF commandos were wounded. The Ras Al-Biyada raid…
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Doctored Reuters Photo of Beirut and the Manipulation of the Media
“We are in a battle, and that more than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media. And that we are in a media battle in a race for the hearts and minds of our Ummah.” – Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Reuters’ faked photograph of Beirut burning, by Adnan Hajj. Click to view full size at Little Green Footballs. Ayman al-Zawahiri’s words do not only apply to his al Qaeda and affiliated groups, but to all terrorist organizations. Terrorists do not employ terror tactics because of their military strength, but…
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IDF Commando Raid in Tyre; Iranian Missile Resupply
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied town; red IDF warned towns of operations; yellow Israeli airstrikes; orange clashes; dark blue IDF commando raid. Click map to view. The naval commandos of Flotilla 13, one of the Israeli Defense Force’s elite units, conducted a raid into the heart of Tyre, striking at what is described as “those responsible for the firing of strategic weapons from a vehicle inside a built-up neighborhood.” The target was a Hezbollah missile team located on the second floor of a 16 floor apartment building in the dense, urban environment of Tyre. The commandos from Flotilla 13…
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Israeli Cabinet Continues Debate Over Ground Campaign
The Israeli government continues the debate over the shape of the proposed buffer zone in southern Lebanon, as well as the shape of the campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Haaretz reports that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz are at odds over how deep the IDF should push into Lebanon. Peretz advocates all the way to the Litani River, while Olmert appears to support the current plan to maintain the 8 kilometer buffer zone.
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The Southern Lebanon Offensive and the New Buffer Zone
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied town; red IDF warned towns of operations; yellow Israeli airstrikes; orange clashes. Click map to view. The Israeli Defense Force is probing hard across the entire Lebanese border, from Metulla to Marwahin. Eight Israeli brigades, at about 1,000 soldiers per brigade, plus supporting units (engineering, artillery, reconnaissance, communications, logistics) are currently engaged inside southern Lebanon. “IDF troops had established positions overlooking 11 south Lebanese towns and villages up to six kilometers north of the Israeli border,” according to Haaretz. The southern Lebanon battle map has been updated to include the position of Israeli troops…
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IDF Commando Raid in Baalbek, Deep in the Bekaa Valley; Hezbollah Members Captured
Location of Israeli airstrikes in the Bekaa Valley and Tyre, and the raid on Baalbek. Click map to view. Israeli commandos made a bold strike deep into Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, the heart of Hezbollah’s empire. Israeli helicopters, backed by the Israeli Air Force, inserted an unknown number of commandos, who proceeded to the target, a Hezbollah-run hospital which is believed to have sheltered senior Hezbollah commanders. This operation appears to have been carried out in conjunction with a series of air strikes in the Bekaa Valley, including attacks on Hermel, another Hezbollah strong hold and crossings at the Syrian border.
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A Change in Strategy: IDF to Expand Ground Campaign in Lebanon
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied town; red IDF warned towns of operations; yellow Israeli airstrikes; orange clashes. Click map to view. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to “expanded ground operations in Lebanon,” after an early morning vote by the Israeli security cabinet. Senior officers in the Israeli Defense Force have pushed for deploying Israeli troops as far north of the Litani River, but the Israeli government has been vague on this point. If the IDF pushes to the Litani River, this would be a shift in strategy from a week ago.
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Mugniyah’s Hidden Hand in Lebanon
Imad Fayez Mugniyah At the outbreak of war between Israel and Hezbollah, I reported Imad Fayez Mugniyah, Hezbollah’s military commander, was likely behind the operation to snatch the Israeli soldiers, and documented Hezbollah and Mugniyah’s links to Iran and historical involvement in international terrorism. Dr. Magnus Ranstorp explained Hezbollah’s command structure and decision making processes, Mugniyah’s likely involvement with the capture of the Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah’s links to Iran and Hamas.
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Israel Loses the Initiative in Lebanon
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied town; red IDF warned towns of operations. Click map to view. After the airstrike in the Lebanese town of Qana, which killed 57 civilians, Israel has enforced a unilateral 48 hour cessation of air strikes against targets in Lebanon. A new report indicates 28 more civilians were killed during Israeli air strikes against Hezbollah positions in villages in southern Lebanon. The fact that Hezbollah is firing from civilian centers to provoke an Israeli response is generally ignored by the media and international community, and subsequently the tide of international pubic opinion has turned against…
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Hezbollah’s Army Revisited
The skill and training of Hezbollah’s Army in southern Lebanon becomes clearer after details emerge about Wednesday’s fighting in Bint Jubayl, where the Israeli Defense Force’s elite Golani Brigade and Hezbollah fighters have been slugging it out since last week. The most recent combat in Bint Jubayl claimed the lives of 9 Israeli soldiers and wounded 27. The Jerusalem Post provides further information about the fighting in the town the IDF recently claimed was under their control.
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The Battle of Bint Jubayl and Hezbollah’s Army
As the smoke clears from the fighting in the Lebanese border town of Bint Jubayl, Hezbollah’s military capabilities become clearer. Today, 8 Israeli soldiers from the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion were killed and 22 wounded during a “well-planned Hezbollah ambush on the outskirts” outside of Bint Jubayl. This follows the 4 killed and 18 wounded during Sunday’s engagement in the town.
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IDF Operations; Buffer Zones; Operational Possibilities
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied town; red IDF warned towns of operations, orange recent clashes. Click map to view. The Israeli Defense Force’s Golani Brigade has taken the town of Bint Jubayl, Hezbollah’s southern command center, and is moving towards the town of Aytarun, another of the towns the IDF has warned the Lebanese citizens to evacuate due to upcoming operations in the area. The Golani Brigade states it has killed up to 50 Hezbollah fighters, and indicates over 100 may still be holed up in Bint Jubayl. Also, the IDF reports Abu Jaafar, Hezbollah’s “commander of the ‘central…
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IDF, Hezbollah battle over the “Hezbollah Capital”
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied town; red IDF warned towns of operations. Click map to view. The Golani Brigade continues to slug it out with Hezbollah between the towns of Maroun al-Ras and the Bint Jubayl on the Israeli-Lebanon border. Reports indicate 15 Hezbollah have been killed, and 4 IDF killed and 18 wounded during the fight. Two Israelis helicopter pilots were killed in an unknown incident (Hezbollah claims to have shot down the helo) and two tankers were killed. Two tanks were destroyed during today’s fight, one by a mine, another by an anti-tank missile. The “Golani Brigade…
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Telegraphing the punch – IDF moving into southern Lebanon
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied; red IDF warned of operations. Click map to view. The Israeli Defense Force is probing along the Lebanese frontier. Earlier today the IDF took control of Maroun al-Ras. Israeli army units have also occupied the towns of Yarum and Marwahin (Marwahin further west, and is currently occupied by the Herev battalion). The town of Bint Jubayl, described as the “‘Hezbollah capital’ in southern Lebanon”, is a strategic target in the south-central front. “Currently, the IDF is moving [towards Bint Jubayl] with fire and surveillance,” reports Ynet News.
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More fighting near Avivim; prelude to invasion?
Fighting in the Maroun al-Ras / Avivim region. Click map to view. An unknown sized force of Israeli mechanized infantry units are pushing into the Lebanese town of Maroun al-Ras. This town is the scene of the Hezbollah ambush on the Golani Brigade just two days ago, where the Israelis retreated after taking casualties. Today’s fighting does not appear to be a raid or reconnaissance in force. Israeli forces have now established control in Maroun al-Ras and are occupying the town.
