Israel And Hezbollah Exchange Fire Across Lebanon Border

BBC: Israel and Hezbollah trade fire across Lebanon border

The Israeli army and fighters from the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah have traded fire across the border.

An Israeli army spokesperson said there was "ongoing combat" in the Mount Dov area, part of the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

He said there were no Israeli casualties. There has been no official word about injuries from Lebanon.

The area has been tense for days after a Hezbollah fighter was killed in an alleged Israeli air strike in Syria.

Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied it carried out the strike in the early hours of last Monday, had warned Hezbollah not to retaliate.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Hezbollah is saying that all-out no war with Israel is unlikely in the coming months .... Hezbollah says all-out war with Israel unlikely in coming months (Reuters). More here .... Hezbollah says war unlikely as Israel braces for the group's attack (CGTN).

More News On Israel And Hezbollah Exchanging Fire Across The Lebanon Border

Hezbollah fighters battle Israeli troops on northern frontier -- Al Jazeera
IDF says it foiled Hezbollah attack along Lebanese border; no Israeli injuries -- Times of Israel
Israeli Army Says Thwarted Hezbollah Infiltration Attempt Along Lebanon Border -- Haaretz
Live Updates: Exchange of Fire Reported on Israel's Northern Border Amid Rising Regional Tensions -- Sputnik

Hezbollah Tunnel Crossing Between Lebanon And Israel Went 22 Storeys Deep

Reuters: Tunnel crossing between Lebanon and Israel went 22 storeys deep

ZARIT, Israel (Reuters) - The Israeli army on Monday showed the inside of a sophisticated tunnel passing deep underground from Lebanon into northern Israel, saying it was intended for use by Lebanese Hezbollah militants.

The tunnel was rigged with electrical wiring, fuse boxes and communications equipment. An army spokesman said it began almost a kilometer (mile) away inside Lebanon and reached depths of some 80 meters (265 feet) - about the height of a 22-storey building - as it crossed into Israel, near the town of Zarit.

It came to light earlier this year during an army operation in which a number of attack tunnels dug by Iran-backed Shi’ite Hezbollah were discovered and sealed off, the military said.

Read more ....

More News On Israel Destroying The Last Hezbollah Tunnel From Lebanon

Israel destroys last Hezbollah tunnel from Lebanon -- FOX News/AP
IDF reveals ‘longest, most significant’ Hezbollah tunnel on northern border -- Times of Israel
Israeli Army Seals Hezbollah’s Latest Tunnel That Extends Into Israel -- Haaretz
IDF Set to Demolish Longest Hezbollah Cross-Border Attack Tunnel -- The Tower
Reporter's Notebook: Inside Hezbollah’s attack tunnels -- FOX News

Israel Exposes New Iranian Built Missile Site In Syria

Illustrative. Sayyad-3 air defense missiles during inauguration of its production line at an undisclosed location, Iran, according to official information released, July 22, 2017. (Official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry)

Jerusalem Post: Iran builds new secret missile site in Syria for Hezbollah

Israel exposed on Thursday Iranian, Syrian and Hezbollah efforts to build a missile factory in the Syrian town of Safita.

Iran, Syria and Hezbollah are establishing a missile factory on the outskirts of the Syrian town of Safita, Israel revealed on Thursday according to Channel 12.

Israel’s strategy, according to the report, is to make the efforts public to thwart the construction and success of the factory, which is supposed to be where Iran will turn Hezbollah’s missiles into precision-guided munitions, capable of striking targets in the Jewish state with unprecedented accuracy.

Read more ....

Update #1: Israel said to find new Iranian precision missile factory in northwest Syria (Times of Israel)
Update #2: Israel uncovers new Iranian precision missile factory in Syria: report (i24 News)
Update #3: Iran 'builds SECRET Syrian missile site and weapons WITHIN RANGE of US and Israeli bases' (Express)

WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction. Expect more Israeli airstrikes in the future.

Mideast Prepares For An Israeli-Iran-Backed Hezbollah War

Israeli soldiers are seen as they conduct a military drill [Nedal Eshtayah/Anadolu Agency]

Mona Alami, Al-Monitor: Mideast braces for war: Israel vs. Iran-backed Hezbollah

On Feb. 27, US Sen. Lindsey Graham warned after a trip to the Middle East that Israel was preparing for war. Hezbollah appears to be ready for the possibility. It is honing its skills and playing a multifaceted role in Syria, where it has also realized several important goals, according to one of its militants and sources close to the Lebanese group.

Syria is facing a new turn in its civil war, and Hezbollah militants haven't shown this much anticipation at the possibility of a conflict with Israel since the beginning of the Syrian revolution in 2011.

“We are very ready for the possibility of a war breaking out, and it will be unlike any other,” said Ahmad, a Hezbollah sniper who spoke with Al-Monitor in Lebanon on condition of anonymity.

Read more ....

Update #1: Israel’s mission creep in Syria raises nightmare scenario of wider war -- Mark MacKinnon, Globe and Mail
Update #2: Israel Seeks US Ammunition, Support for Planned Attack on Lebanese Civilian Targets -- MintPressNews

WNU Editor: Military exercises are not being scaled back .... Israel to launch another military exercise near Lebanon border (Middle East Monitor)

Israel Prepares For War Against Iran And Hezbollah In Syria

The Iranian drone (inset) that entered Israeli airspace was launched from a Syrian base in the Homs desert, which Israel later bombed (IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Newsweek: Israel Prepares to Take On Iran and Hezbollah in Syria

The recent military clashes between Israeli, Iranian and Syrian forces have injected new volatility into an already explosive Middle East, increasing the likelihood of miscalculation and escalatory military action across the region.

As the Syrian civil war grinds on, the pressing concern is not an all-out war between Israel and a Syria whose military has been substantially depleted.

Instead, the real flashpoints are the potential for a permanent Iranian military presence in Syria and the transfer of precision-guided advanced weapons to Lebanese Hezbollah, both of which are stated redlines for Israel.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This is ominous .... Defense minister hints that Israel considered attack on Iran last week (i24NEWS)

More News On the Growing Fear That Israel, Iran, And Hezbollah Are Preparing For War In Syria

Iran, Israel battle openly in race to define ‘rules of the game’ -- NBC
How Israel could take the fight directly to Iran -- The Jerusalem Post

Mid-East on a hair trigger as Israel, Iran clash -- The Weekend Australian

Will the Iran-Israel conflict in Syria lead to war? -- Middle East Eye

Israel Launches Air-Strikes Against Hezbollah Positions In Syria

An Israeli F-16 during an exercise on November 25, 2013. (Ofer Zidon/Flash90)

Times of Israel: Report: Israel strikes Hezbollah positions in Syria, killing 13

According to unconfirmed reports, eight fighters, five Syrian soldiers die in four IAF raids Monday; ‘dozens’ said injured

Unconfirmed Syrian media reports said Tuesday that Israel carried out some four airstrikes on Syrian regime and Hezbollah positions in the area of Syria’s Qalamoun mountains on Monday night.

A report by Al-Souria Net, a pro-opposition outlet, said eight Hezbollah fighters and five Syrian soldiers were killed in the raids, which hit the border region between Lebanon and Syria.

“After several hours of reconnaissance flights above the area, Israeli planes suddenly launched two raids on a joint Assad forces and Hezbollah position,” Al-Souria Net reported. “This was immediately followed by a third raid.. The Israeli planes resumed their attack with a fourth air raid after several minutes, targeting a Hezbollah position in western Qalamoun.”

The report said there were “dozens” injured in the airstrikes, four of them critically. The wounded were transferred to local hospitals for treatment.

WNU editor: These Israeli air-strikes were done before Turkey shot down a Russian military jet on Tuesday.

More News On Israel Launching Air-Strikes Against Hezbollah Positions In Syria

Syrian opposition: IAF struck Hezbollah, regime targets near Syria-Lebanon border -- Jerusalem Post
Syrian media: Israeli jets struck Hezbollah base -- Arutz Sheva
Reports: IAF strikes site in Syria -- Israel Hayom
IDF Mum on Report Israeli Fighter Jets Hit Hezbollah, Assad Targets In Syria -- Breitbart

Growing Fears Of An Accidental Israel - Hezbollah War

Hezbollah members holding Hezbollah and Lebanese flags during a rally in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut. Photo by Haaretz Archive

FOX News: Experts fear 'accidental' war between Israel, Hezbollah

Hezbollah has long threatened Israel, but sources in the Jewish state fear that if an all-out war happens near the Lebanon border, it will happen not by design, but by accident.

Fighting on so many fronts, especially in chaotic Syria, where Iran has dispatched Hezbollah to help President Bashar al-Assad's forces, could increase the chances of a rogue element firing rockets into Israel simply to draw the Jewish State into a war, say experts. Suych a move could be made by elements of Hezbollah itself, or by its enemies, including Al Qaeda affiliate Al Nusra, which could frame Hezbollah to push it into war with Israel.

Elusive Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in a recent, rare public appearance to mark the 15th anniversary of Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon, insisted that Israel remains the terrorist group's primary enemy. But with Hezbollah fighting alongside government forces in Syria and with those of its patron Iran in the ongoing war against ISIS in Iraq, the Lebanese-based terrorist group is stretched thin.

WNU Editor: War may come sooner than what the experts may think .... Conflicting reports over Israeli airstrike on east Lebanon border area (Daily Star).

Isarel Launches Airstrikes Along The Lebanese - Syrian Border

An Israel Air Force F-15 taking off. Photo by Daniel Bar-On

L.A. Times: Israeli planes strike targets in Syria, Arab media report

Israeli warplanes struck military targets in Syria early Saturday, according to media reports that were not confirmed by Israeli or Syrian officials.

According to Arab media and pro-opposition sources in Syria, the strikes targeted several bases belonging to Syrian missile brigades in the mountainous Qalamoun region near the Syrian-Lebanese border.

The targets reportedly were Syrian army brigades said to keep long-range missiles and other strategic weaponry.

Syrian pro-opposition sources uploaded a video to YouTube depicting columns of smoke rising from what was said to be the base of a Syrian army brigade, one of many bases and other military installations in the Qalamoun area.

Update #1: Reports: Israeli jets strike Hezbollah targets on Syrian-Lebanese border -- i24 News
Update #2: Report: Israel strikes Syrian military bases, Hezbollah targets near Syria-Lebanon border -- Haaretz

WNU Editor: This conflict is heating up (again).

Israel And Hezbollah Exchange Fire On The Lebanese Border

CNN: Two Israeli soldiers killed in Hezbollah attack near Lebanon, military says

WNU Editor: This is the biggest attack on Israeli forces by Hezbollah since the 34-day war in 2006. If the past is any indication .... this conflict can blow up very quickly.

More News On Israel And Hezbollah Exchanging Fire On The Lebanese Border

Israeli soldiers, UN peacekeeper killed as Hezbollah attacks convoy -- Globe and Mail/Reuters/AP
Hezbollah ambush kills at least 2 Israeli soldiers -- Daily Star
UN peacekeeper, 2 IDF soldiers killed: Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire -- RT
Two soldiers killed, 7 wounded in Hezbollah attack near Lebanon border -- Haaretz
Three killed as Israel and Hezbollah trade fire -- BBC
Violence flares on Israel-Lebanon frontier; seven Israeli soldiers wounded -- Reuters
Officials: UN Peacekeeper Killed in Southern Lebanon -- VOA
Lebanon: Spanish UN peacekeeper killed in Israel-Hezbollah clashes -- Euronews
Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah trade fire across border; at least 3 dead -- Washington Post
Israel Hit by Artillery Attacks -- WSJ
Casualties, evacuations, airstrikes: Violence grips Golan Heights -- CNN
Israeli officials blame Iran for northern border attack -- Jerusalem Post
Israel on brink of new conflict with Hizbollah -- The Telegraph

Israel's Military Chief: Hezbollah Is Now Stronger Than Any Arab Army

The Israeli army's Chief of Staff Benny Gantz (Photo: Reuters)

Israel: Hezbollah Is Now Stronger Than Any Arab Army -- Christian Science Monitor

Israel's top military officer warned today that Hezbollah's capabilities have grown substantially since the 2006 war, putting much of Israel within the reach of the Lebanese Shiite militant organization.

Israel’s top military officer warned today that Hezbollah is more powerful than most of the world’s armies and that a confrontation between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militant organization was a near certainty.

While the threat posed by conventional Arab armies has diminished in recent years, Israel now faces highly mobile enemies like Hezbollah, skilled in asymmetric warfare and equipped with advanced weapons systems, Gen. Benny Gantz said. However, the massive destruction Israel can inflict on Hezbollah’s assets and Lebanon’s infrastructure continues to deter Hezbollah from overt aggression against Israel.

“Bring me four or five states that have more firepower than Hezbollah: Russia, China, Israel, France, and England,” he told Israel’s annual security-oriented Herzliya Conference. “What is this enormous power that they [Hezbollah] have that can cover every area of the state of Israel?”

Read more ....

More News On Israel's Military Chief Saying That Hezbollah Is Now Stronger Than Any Arab Army

IDF chief Gantz: Only a handful of states have more firepower than Hezbollah -- Jerusalem Post
IDF Chief: Hezbollah Stronger than Most Countries in the Region -- Arutz Sheva
Hezbollah is stronger than most world armies: Israel's military chief -- Ahram Online
Head of Israeli Army: Hezbollah Seventh Military Power in the World -- Al Manar
Hezbollah and Iran are making Israel appear isolated and divided -- The Independent

How Iranian Weapons Are Smuggled Through Syria To Hezbollah

In Depth: How Iranian Weapons Go Through Syria To Hezbollah -- Jerusalem Post

For 20 years, Israeli intelligence has been playing a game of cat and mouse against the weapons smuggling axis of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah in a battle in which "every imaginable method is employed."

In the last few months, electricity and telephone services have been occasionally disrupted without warning in various areas of the Bekaa Valley and other regions near Lebanon's border with Syria.

The Lebanese Daily Star recently provided the explanantion for the unclear phenomenon.In a report released some two weeks ago on Israel's efforts to prevent the flow of missiles and advanced weapons from Syria to Lebanon, it was stated that the electricity and telephone service was not being disrupted accidentally, but rather intentionally. Hezbollah is behind the disruptions of service in attempts to make it difficult for Israeli intelligence services to get information on weapons caravans, which begin in Iran, pass through Syria and end in warehouses and underground bunkers in Lebanon.

Read more ....

My Comment: Nothing new in this report .... but the last paragraph provides an interesting analysis on what is the mindset of the m,military-political mindset of Israel's leaders .....

.... but the political and military echelon know well that as long as the war continues, Syria will continue to crumble, thousands of Hezbollah fighters will spill their blood in defense of the Assad regime and Iran will also be bothered by the events; thus, the reality plays into Israel's hands and its starategic situation will continue to improve. However, no senior Israeli offcial would dare say this publicly, because remarks such as this will display a utilitarian and not moral approach. To believe this is allowed, to say so is forbidden.

Syria’s Conflict Threatens To Spin Out Of Control

Hizballah And Israel Spar As Syria’s Conflict Threatens To Spin Out Of Control -- Nicholas Blanford, Time

A dangerous game of brinkmanship is unfolding in the Middle East pitting Israel against Syria and its militant Shi‘ite ally Hizballah in what threatens to expand the two-year Syrian civil war into a full-blown regional conflict. On three separate occasions since January — two of them within 48 hours of each other last Friday and Sunday — Israeli jets have attacked Syrian military bases, targeting consignments of advanced weaponry supplied allegedly by Iran that were pending transfer to Hizballah across the nearby border with Lebanon. The air raids were unprecedented. Israel has never before risked striking at Hizballah’s Iranian-supplied weapons inside Syria.

For now though, Israel’s gamble seems to have paid off. Other than some initial huffing and puffing from Damascus, no immediate retaliation was forthcoming. But rather than acting as a deterrence, the air strikes appear to have galvanized Syria to promise even greater amounts of sophisticated weaponry to Hizballah and also to announce the launch of a popular resistance campaign to liberate the Golan Heights, the strategic volcanic plateau in the south west corner of the country that has been occupied by Israel since 1967.

Read more ....

My Comment: Syria and Hezbollah are not in a position to confront Israel .... especially now. But events during war time have a tendency to occur when least suspected .... and in this case .... a Syrian - Hezbollah - Israel conflict cannot be easily discounted.

Experts Predict 200 Israeli Fatalities In War With Hizbullah, Iran

Report: Experts Predict 200 Israeli Fatalities In War With Hizbullah, Iran -- Naharnet

The Israeli Defense Ministry estimated that if the country engaged in a war with Hizbullah and Iran some 200 Israeli civilians would die.

According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the number of fatalities could rise to 300 if Syria joins the war as well.

The Defense Ministry experts said that there would be “less than one fatality for every ballistic missile,” warning against Hizbullah’s arsenal that contains short and medium-range Katyusha rockets and hundreds of relatively accurate M-600 rockets.

The experts say that these rockets could strike the center of Israel.

Read more ....

My Comment: Only 200 Israeli fatalities .... 300 if they get involved in a war with Syria !!!!! I do not think so.

A more realistic analysis is this assessment .... where Israeli commanders themselves are admitting that if a war should break out, the goal will be to annihilate Hezbollah .... a military operation that will dwarf the last Israel - Hezbollah war that claimed 1,200 casualties. Throw in Syria and Iran .... hmmmm .... we are talking thousands of casualties.

If War Breaks Out, Israel Will Come Under Fire From 8,000 Rockets And Missiles

Photo by: Reuters

IDF: 8,000 Rockets, Missiles Could Hit Israel If War Erupts -- Jerusalem Post

Based on enemy capabilities, IDF assesses hundreds Israelis could be killed if war breaks out this year; a war in 2017 would likely include 15,000 rockets, missiles fired into Israeli cities, greater devastation.

Israel is likely to come under fire from 8,000 rockets and missiles if a war breaks out in the coming year, according to updated IDF intelligence. Regarding the capabilities in the hands of it enemies, according to the assessment, it is possible that hundreds Israelis would be killed in such a war.

Read more ....

My Comment: Even with all of this fire-power directed at them, I suspect Israel has even more fire-power directed at Hezbollah and their allies in Lebanon/Gaza strip.

Plot To Assassinate The Israeli Chief Of Staff Had To Be Approved From Iran

Photo: Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of staff of the Israeli army. Photo from Times Online

Israeli Accused Of Hezbollah Plot To Assassinate The Israeli Chief of Staff -- BBC

An Arab man, who belonged to the same Tel Aviv health club as the Israeli armed forces chief, has been accused of assisting in a plot to assassinate him.

Prosecutors say Rawi Sultani told Hezbollah about Lt Gen Gabi Ashkenazi, as it sought to avenge the killing of its military commander Imad Mughniyeh.

Mr Sultani admits talking to people who may have been in the Lebanese militant group, but denies any role in a plot.

About one fifth of Israel's population are Arabs of Palestinian descent.

Israeli Arabs frequently claim their community is subject to political persecution, while Israeli Jews often voice suspicion about the loyalty of the Arab minority to the Israeli state.

Read more ....

More News On This Assassination Plot

Plot to kill Israel’s army chief of staff -- Times Online
Analysis: Assassinating Ashkenazi would likely have led to war -- Jerusalem Post
Israeli Arab charged with giving Hezbollah info on IDF chief -- Haaretz
Hezbollah spy / Still seeking to avenge Mughniyeh's murder -- Haaretz
Israeli-Arab charged over plot to kill top general -- ABC News (Australia)
Out of shape: Revelation of ‘gym plot’ against army chief highlights bodyguard problem -- Ynet News opinion

My Comment: I missed this story this week. I only learned about it when I read a news summary from the Small Wars Journal. If this assassination attempt was successful, it would have plunged Israel/Lebanon into another war that would have matched the 1982 conflict.

What is the most troubling aspect of this plot, is that for it to go forward it had to receive support from Iran .... a major escalation in the continuous "underground" war between Israel and Iran.