The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel that began on October 8, 2023, has evolved into a protracted war of attrition that neither side initially expected to last this long. Hezbollah’s goal was to support Gaza by diverting the Israelis’ attention and impacting their morale, but the group miscalculated Israel’s resolve, leading to an extended and more intense conflict.
A Hezbollah kamikaze drone struck an IDF training base, killing four soldiers and wounding 60 others. Hezbollah has used more than 200 drones in attacks over the past year. IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi visited the site of the attack, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “We must investigate it, study the details, and implement lessons in a swift and professional manner.” Gallant also spoke with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and visited northern Israel to oversee operations against Hezbollah.
IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi visited Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon on October 10. He reviewed how the IDF is operating against Hezbollah in Lebanese villages near the border from where Hezbollah has threatened Israel with rockets over the past year. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on October 11 that two of its peacekeepers were wounded in Lebanon. Hezbollah fired 190 projectiles into Israel on October 10.
Iranian politicians, military officials, and media outlets are currently advancing a series of threats, half-truths, and outright lies in the service of softening the political blow that any Israeli strike could land while also raising military costs.
The IDF focused air strikes on Hezbollah command centers in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military estimated that it eliminated fifty Hezbollah terrorists, including six “senior commanders from Hezbollah’s southern front and the Radwan forces,” the IDF said on October 8. Hezbollah launched 220 rockets into Israel on October 9. Two Israelis were killed by Hezbollah rocket fire in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to US President Joe Biden about possible Israeli retaliation for Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel.
With Israel’s September 27 assassination of Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s voice has been subdued. But it has not, unfortunately, been entirely silenced. The mantle of Hezbollah’s spokesman is a heavy one to take up, made all the more difficult by Israel’s continued elimination of the group’s top leadership cadre. For now, however, Hezbollah seems to have settled on Nasrallah’s deputy, the soft-spoken philosopher-idealogue Naim Qassem. An intellectual, Qassem lacks any of the charisma or presence around which Nasrallah’s hold over Hezbollah’s flock and cult of personality were built – and therefore his ability to inspire and rouse the base remains in question. But for lack of any other options, he now appears to be Hezbollah’s placeholder voice.
Israel announced that it killed Hashem Safieddine, the likely successor to Hezbollah’s longtime Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Safieddine was a veteran Hezbollah leader, and the group has suffered significant losses to its leadership cadre.
Hezbollah targeted Israel’s northern city of Haifa with rocket fire on October 8 after launching 190 rockets at Israel on October 7. The IDF continued to carry out operations in southern Lebanon. Israel’s Golani Brigade uncovered Hezbollah weapons in Maroun al-Ras. The IDF also dismantled a tunnel that stretched into Israel. Four IDF divisions are now operating in Lebanon.
Israel commemorated the anniversary of the October 7 massacre as Hamas fired more than 135 rockets at southern and central Israel, Iraqi militias targeted Israel with drones, and the Houthis launched a long-range missile at central Israel. The IDF’s top general met with the head of US Central Command on October 6. A third IDF division began operations in Lebanon as the Israeli Air Force hit 120 Hezbollah targets.
On the anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attack, the Islamic Republic has pledged to target Israeli cities and critical infrastructure while US and Israeli officials consider their options in response to Tehran’s second ballistic missile assault. With Israel’s air defense capabilities demonstrating superiority over Iranian missiles and the military setbacks suffered by the regime’s proxies, Tehran has increasingly diminished its leverage over Jerusalem. This shifting dynamic offers Israel a strategic opportunity to target the regime’s nuclear facilities, addressing the primary existential threat it faces.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a new operation in northern Gaza directed at Hamas terrorists in Jabliya, an area the IDF has cleared three times during the war. The new operation, launched as Israel prepares for the anniversary of the October 7 attack, began after the Israeli military detected evidence that Hamas was seeking to rebuild its forces there.
The Houthis in Yemen have an extensive leadership hierarchy. FDD’s Long War Journal lists some of the leaders of the organization, their roles, and if they have been sanctioned by the United States government.
The Israeli military suffered its first casualties in southern Lebanon battles with Hezbollah on October 2. Eight soldiers were killed in one incident and a ninth in a second clash, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reports from October 2 and October 3. The IDF struck approximately 200 Hezbollah targets and estimated it eliminated 60 of the group’s members. During the same two days, Hezbollah launched 360 projectiles at Israel. In addition, the IDF downed several drone threats off the coast. Two Israeli divisions, the 98th and the 36th, are now operating in southern Lebanon.
A breakdown of the Hezbollah officials Israel has assassinated, those who remain, and the impact on the organization and its durability.
Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for twin attacks in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province that killed IRGC members and local law enforcement personnel. The separatist group has intensified its attacks against regime targets recently, with one previous wave occurring in three cities.
The Israel Defense (IDF) Forces began a ground operation in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah, led by the IDF’s 98th Division. The IDF described the offensive as “localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon.” Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, while Hezbollah fired rocket barrages at northern and central Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with IDF troops from the 188th Armored Brigade. Israeli officials, such as Gallant, and senior commanders have been meeting with IDF troops deployed in the north over the past week, hinting that a ground operation could begin against Hezbollah.
Saraya al-Ashtar and Saraya Wa’ad Allah, two Iranian-backed militias in Bahrain, issued a statement expressing condolences for the death of Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike and calling for vengeance.
The IDF carried out airstrikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis in Hudaydah using dozens of aircraft. An Israeli missile ship intercepted a UAV launched at Israel, and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq took credit for the attack. Israeli forces in Gaza uncovered a tunnel. Hezbollah carried out numerous rocket attacks on Israel on September 29, and the IDF continued strikes on the terrorist group. The IDF confirmed that more than 20 Hezbollah members were eliminated in the September 27 strike which killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
Bill is joined by friend of the show Edmund Fitton-Brown to discuss Edmund’s recent report for the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, Commentary: The Global Jihadi Terror Threat in September 2024.
The Israeli military and Hezbollah have both acknowledged the death of Hassan Nasrallah following an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday.
Bill and show regular David Daoud are joined by their FDD colleague Ahmad Sharawi, making his overdue Generation Jihad debut amidst rumors that today’s Israeli strike in Beirut may have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. They share what they know so far and unpack the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aims to play a central role in post-war Gaza. However, the West should closely scrutinize Turkey’s involvement, especially given Erdogan’s reliance on SADAT, Turkey’s premier private military company, and its Islamist ideology and ties to terrorist organizations.
Russia is close to capturing the city of Vuhledar, a defensive stronghold in eastern Ukraine. Vuhledar’s fall will further stretch Kyiv’s forces and aid Russia’s efforts to push Ukraine out of southern Donetsk Oblast.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called up two reserve brigades as Operation Northern Arrows entered its third day. The Israeli Air Force continued to conduct strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. In addition, Major General Ori Gordin, head of the IDF’s Northern Command, spoke to Israel’s 7th Armored Brigade and urged them to be ready for possible ground operations in the north. Hezbollah launched a ballistic missile toward Tel Aviv and struck Safed and other areas in northern Israel.
The Iranian regime’s current strategy seems focused on damage control, as it believes maintaining a foundation allows it to eventually regain influence in southern Lebanon. The Islamic Republic aims to create an image of total warfare through a series of calculated proxy attacks. This approach not only projects strength to its supporters but also bets on the possibility that the United States will pressure Israel to stop its strikes against Iranian militias.
The Israeli Air Force struck 1,300 Hezbollah targets with 1,400 munitions on September 23. The strikes were the largest since Hezbollah began its attacks on Israel in October 2023. Hezbollah launched long-range rockets at Israel, targeting Haifa and areas close to central Israel for the first time in 11 months. Israel’s Defense Minister said “tens of thousands of rockets have been destroyed” in the IDF strikes on Hezbollah, decreasing the Iranian-backed terrorist group’s arsenal.
Was the international community culpably naive in failing to give unqualified backing to Yemen’s internationally recognized government (IRG)? And was this largely because of a knee-jerk hostility to the Saudis that is so common in Western progressive circles? If the Houthis genuinely pose a chronic threat to the Rules-Based International System and intend to hold freedom of navigation in the Red Sea hostage to any and every tactical interest they choose to pursue, will it become inevitable to try to revive and empower the Saudi-IRG coalition to suppress them?
Bill and Joe are joined by their FDD colleague Dr. Jonathan Schanzer to discuss his recent article for Commentary, “Hamas On The Ropes: A Progress Report.”
The Israel Defense Forces launched wide-ranging airstrikes on Hezbollah after previously carrying out a strike in Beirut that eliminated 16 of the group’s top commanders. More than 150 Israel Air Force warplanes participated in the attacks, and Hezbollah launched more than 150 rockets, missiles, and drones at Israel during roughly the same period.