Lebanon

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (July 15 – 22 , 2024)

During the past week Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 44 attacks on military and civilian targets in northern Israel, including towns and villages which had not previously been attacked. The Lebanese Companies for Resistance to the Israeli Occupation and Hamas-Lebanon also claimed responsibility for attacks on military targets. Two IDF soldiers were wounded in the attacks, there was significant damage to property; Israeli Air Force aircraft attacked Hezbollah targets and operatives in south Lebanon and the Lebanon Valley, including the commander of a unit of the Radwan Force; Hezbollah announced that seven operatives had been killed in the attacks. The IDF also eliminated a senior terrorist operative who belonged to al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya and Hamas-Lebanon; Hezbollah and the "resistance axis" continued preparing for the possibility of a war; Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah secretary general, threatened to attack new cities, towns and villages in Israel in response to harm to Lebanese civilians, and promised Hezbollah would restore the settlements in south Lebanon; Syria: A Syrian businessman close to the regime and the "resistance axis" was killed in an attack attributed to Israel.
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (July 8 – 15 , 2024)

This past week, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 43 attacks on military and civilian targets in northern Israel, compared to 47 attacks the previous week. For the first time since the beginning of the fighting, the Lebanese Companies for Resistance to the Israeli Occupation claimed responsibility for firing a rocket at Israel. Two civilians and a soldier were killed and eight soldiers and civilians were injured in the attacks, and property was damaged; Israeli Air Force aircraft attacked Hezbollah targets and operatives in south Lebanon and deep inside the country. Hezbollah reported that three of its operatives had been killed; According to reports, Hezbollah tightened the rules for securing information because of Israel's attacks on senior commanders and operatives; Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah gave four speeches in which he reiterated the organization's position that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip would lead to an end to fighting on Israel's northern border and rejected the demand for the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces beyond the Litani River; A survey revealed that only 30% of Lebanese residents trusted Hezbollah, but support for Hezbollah's regional involvement among the non-Shi'ite communities increased; Syria: A Hezbollah operative responsible for the transfer of weapons was killed in an attack attributed to Israel on the Damascus-Beirut road. IDF forces attacked Syrian army targets in response to the launch of UAVs at Eilat and because Syria had violated the agreement for the separation of forces in the Golan Heights.
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Reactions to the targeted killing of the commander of Hezbollah’s Aziz Unit

On July 3, 2024, Hezbollah announced the death of Muhammad Naama Nasser, aka Hajj Abu Naama, killed in an Israeli airstrike which targeted his vehicle in south Lebanon. another Hezbollah operative was killed in the attack. The IDF spokesperson confirmed that the Israeli Air Force had attacked Nasser, who since 2016 had commanded Hezbollah's Aziz Unit, which is responsible for the western sector in south Lebanon; The organization's announcement called Nasser the "shaheed commander," only the third time since the beginning of the current conflict that Hezbollah awarded the title to one of its operatives; Hezbollah's responded to the killing with six attacks on military targets in northern Israel over two days. Two of the attacks, the most extensive since the start of the hostilities in October 2023, were simultaneous, with upwards of 200 rockets and more than 20 UAVs launched at IDF headquarters and bases in the Golan Heights, the Upper Galilee and the Western Galilee. An IDF soldier was killed, three civilians were injured and fires broke out in various areas; Senior Hezbollah figures said killing Abu Naama would not weaken the organization and or stop the "resistance".
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (June 24 – July 1 , 2024)

This past week Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 38 attacks on military and civilian targets in northern Israel, similar to the previous week. Eighteen IDF soldiers were injured in the northern Golan Heights by a UAV attack; Israeli Air Force fighter jets and UAVs attacked Hezbollah targets and operatives in south Lebanon. Nine Hezbollah operatives and a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative were killed; Senior Hezbollah figures warned Israel not to expand the conflict in Lebanon. According to reports, Hezbollah put its border units on higher alert out of concern for Israeli military infiltration. Several countries called on their citizens to leave Lebanon for fear of escalation; According to reports, Iran provided Hezbollah with new weapons, including unmanned naval vessels; The prime minister of the transitional government in Lebanon, Najib Mikati, visited south Lebanon and said the country was already at war; Syria: A Hezbollah operative was killed in an attack on a Jihad al-Bina Association target. The attack was attributed to Israel; For the first time since 2016, the Arab League announced it did not designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (June 17 – 24 , 2024)

This past week, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 38 attacks on military and civilian targets in northern Israel. An IDF soldier was injured by a UAV and two reserve soldiers were injured by an anti-tank missile; Israeli Air Force fighter jets and UAVs attacked Hezbollah targets and operatives in south Lebanon. A senior terrorist operative of al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya was killed in a targeted attack in the Lebanon Valley; Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah secretary general, warned that the organization would act without limitations in the event of an all-out war against Israel, could hit any target in Israeli territory and could invade the Galilee. He warned Cyprus not to participate on Israel's side in the event of a war; According to reports, Hezbollah uses the Beirut International Airport to store Iranian weapons, including missiles and rockets; Hezbollah published a video of a UAV that photographed security and civilian facilities in the Haifa area. Another video threatened to attack strategic sites in Israel; The estimated damage to south Lebanon since the beginning of the fighting is over $1.5 billion and there are more than 90,000 displaced persons; The American envoy Amos Hochstein held talks in Lebanon in an attempt to prevent further escalation in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (June 9 – 17 , 2024)

This past week Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 80 attacks on military and civilian targets in northern Israel, compared to 52 attacks the previous week. Attacks escalated in response to the killing of Taleb Sami Abdallah, the commander of the al-Nasr unit and a long-time Hezbollah operative. Two Israeli civilians and two IDF soldiers were injured in the attacks and considerable damage was caused by extensive fires which broke out in northern Israel; Israeli Air Force fighter jets and UAVs attacked Hezbollah targets and operatives in south Lebanon and the Lebanon Valley. A convoy of Hezbollah trucks was hit on the Lebanon-Syria border in an attack attributed to Israel; In the assessment of senior Hezbollah figures, Israel is not prepared to launch an all-out war in Lebanon and Israel finds it difficult to intercept the organization's UAVs. In Lebanon, public displays of opposition to Hezbollah continued: Kamil Chamoun, leader of the Free Nationalist Party, warned that twenty thousand armed Sunnis, Druze and Christians would take to the streets if Hezbollah attacked the Christian areas.
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