Hezbollah launched several barrages of rockets and anti-tank missiles at Israel on July 7. The attacks injured several people, including an IDF soldier, an Israeli civilian farmer, and a US citizen. Israel’s Minister of Defense visited Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights and said Hezbollah has lost 15 senior commanders, including three division commanders, in fighting over the last nine months.
The IDF eliminated Muhammad Nimah Nasser, the commander of Hezbollah’s Aziz Unit, the second senior Hezbollah commander eliminated in the last month. The IDF stated Nasser commanded a unit responsible for firing rockets and anti-tank missiles from southwestern Lebanon toward Israeli civilians. A new Israeli Mountain Brigade also completed a training in northern Israel.
Hezbollah increased its attacks on northern Israel with barrages on June 27 and June 28. It also carried out a series of drone attacks on June 30, injuring 18 IDF soldiers, one of them severely. The IDF responded to the attacks with a series of airstrikes on half a dozen locations in southern Lebanon.
Israel-Hezbollah tensions increased on June 18 and June 19. Hezbollah released drone footage showing sites in northern Israel, and the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, threatened Cyprus and warned it against letting the IDF use its bases. IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi HaLevi and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held discussions with Israel’s Northern Command to discuss the situation.
In a significant escalation, Hezbollah pummeled northern Israel on Wednesday with more than 200 rockets in the terror group’s largest single-day attack since the start of the war in Gaza. If the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) does not execute its mandated mission by stopping Hezbollah attacks on Israel and ensuring the group withdraws north of the Litani River, the steadily intensifying violence on Israel’s northern border could become a full-scale war with massive loss of life.
Three years into the uptick of violence in the West Bank, Palestinian terrorist groups continue to operate against Israeli targets and are growing more sophisticated.
Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets at Israel on June 13, a day after it launched more than 215 rockets. The continuing escalation, the largest in eight months of war, led to calls by Israeli mayors for Israel to decide about confronting the increasing threats. Iran’s acting foreign minister warned Israel against attacking Lebanon as IDF brigades train for a possible war in the north.
Hezbollah launched more than 215 rockets at Israel from Lebanon on June 12, its largest escalation of the war. The attacks came in the wake of Israel eliminating senior Hezbollah commander Taleb Sami Abdullah on June 11. The terrorist group also targeted areas along the Sea of Galilee in some of the deepest attacks it’s carried out since October 2023. In Gaza, the IDF’s 98th Division completed operations in central Gaza, and the IDF continues to operate in Rafah.
Iranian-backed Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba’ issued a statement warning that it would respond against Israel for attacking a site in Damascus belonging to the militia.
Evidence of foreign fighters operating in southern Lebanon continues to mount as the Israeli military recently killed three Syrian members of Islamic Jihad.
Bill and Joe discuss the latest updates from Israel’s defensive war in Gaza, including a potentially dwindling supply of ammunition for Hamas and its subsequent cooperation with other Palestinian terror groups; Egypt “fortifying” its border (but only above-ground and only because they want to keep Gazans out); whether Yahya Sinwar is still hiding out in a tunnel somewhere under Khan Younis (“with pneumonia”); the possibility and consequences of a ceasefire during Ramadan; and why Israel is indeed “winning” but will only win if it to continues its ground operation in Gaza, including in Rafah.
“Hezbollah has spent nearly two decades amassing a massive arsenal of short-range projectiles. Israel’s defensive systems are insufficient to contend with this threat, and the mobility of this portion of Hezbollah’s arsenal will likewise render Israeli standoff firepower ineffective against it — leaving Israel with no option but to launch an overwhelming, massive, and immediate ground invasion”
Israel’s navy conducted a drill aimed toward “readiness in the northern arena” as threats from Hezbollah continue. The navy practiced countering drone threats and refueling at sea. Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon and Israel’s Arrow air defense system intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen on February 22.
Hezbollah carried out multiple rocket, drone and ATGM attacks on Israel between February 19 and 21. New reports revealed Hezbollah concerns about Hamas operations in Gaza as well as insights into Hezbollah’s decision to not launch a larger war in early October.
The Israel Defense Forces continue to redeploy reserve units from Gaza after months of war, with several reserve brigades having been withdrawn in the last two weeks. With fighting in Gaza reduced, these reservists are able to return home. In Gaza, the IDF has increased its ability to respond to rocket fire and eliminate perpetrators of rocket launches and other types of attacks.
In the final part of its narrative strategy, Hezbollah sets demands for the international community, but which are designed to advance Hezbollah’s goal of gradually and slowly achieving Israel’s destruction.
Hezbollah did not claim today’s rocket barrage on Safed, which struck an IDF base and killed a soldier. But the dynamics surrounding the attack suggest it may have been a retaliation for Israeli strikes on high-value Hezbollah targets beginning with an Israeli attack last week in Nabatiyeh targeting two high-ranking Hezbollah commanders.
Part II: Propaganda is a critical element of Hezbollah’s warfighting toolkit. The current Gaza-Israel War, of which Hezbollah considers itself a part, is no different, and the group has therefore crafted a narrative around that conflict to appeal to Western audiences to side against the Israelis.
Hezbollah launched two barrages of rockets at Israel on February 9. The head of Israel’s air force told an Israel Defense Forces conference that “Hezbollah will continue to pay with the loss of its systems. Dozens of aircraft are now operating in the skies of southern Lebanon.” Israel carried out retaliatory strikes against Hezbollah on February 9
Israel targeted two high-ranking Hezbollah commanders in an airstrike in Nabatieh. While the details and outcome remain uncertain, the location of the strike and nature of the targets suggest Israel’s patience is wearing thing with Hezbollah’s ongoing attacks.
Propaganda is a critical element of Hezbollah’s warfighting toolkit. The current Gaza-Israel War, of which Hezbollah considers itself a part, is no different, and the group has therefore crafted a narrative around that conflict to appeal to Western audiences to side against the Israelis.
Hezbollah continued to fire rockets at Israel on February 4 and 5, as Israel’s Minister of Defense warned that Israel’s air force is “pointing” north and as the Israel Defense Forces released new data on strikes against Hezbollah. US envoy Amos Hochstein was in Israel at the same time France’s Foreign Minister visited Jerusalem.
Rockets from Lebanon targeted the northern Israeli community of Arab al-Aramshe. Israel’s Defense Minister visited Haifa and warned about a potential conflict in the north. Israel’s Chief of Staff visited the Gaza border and met with a reserve battalion that had suffered losses in Gaza. The IDF also revealed more details about its operations using water in Gaza tunnels.
Israel revealed the existence of Hezbollah’s airstrip back in September. Information available at the time indicated Hezbollah would use it to launch drones to attack Israel. When the group did so last Wednesday, Israel bombed the airstrip.
Bill and Joe catch up on the latest news from the Middle East, including U.S. pressure on Israel (led by Secretary of State Blinken) to come to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza while the U.S. also considers withdrawing its own troops from Syria; Israeli casualties in Gaza (including suffering the recent historic loss of 24 IDF reservists); Israeli strikes inside Lebanon; and, yes, more Houthi drama.
An airstrike in the Syrian capital of Damascus killed five IRGC military advisors, including General Sadegh Omidzadeh. The strike is the second against Iranian advisors in Syria in the past four weeks.
The US Ambassador to Israel visited Israel’s Northern Command, where IDF commanders discussed threats from Hezbollah. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. IDF tanks found a terrorist training facility in Gaza, and the IDF wrapped up a two-day raid in the West Bank.
Bill and Joe discuss stats released this week by the IDF pertaining to its operations in Gaza and why escalation at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is “just a matter of time.”
The Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi HaLevi discussed the likelihood for escalation in northern Israel amid continued Hezbollah attacks. As Israel’s 36th division is ending its deployment in Gaza, two airstrikes targeted terrorist cells in the West Bank.
Joe just returned from Israel and joins Bill to share insights from his trip which included a sobering visit to Nir Oz, one of the kibbutz communities along the Gaza border that was brutally attacked by Hamas on October 7, 2023.