Syria condemns ‘despicable’ Israeli killing of Nasrallah

Israel has shown “through this despicable aggression once again … its barbarism and wanton disregard for all international standards and laws”, Syrian state media quoted its foreign ministry as saying.

Although it rarely claims responsibility, Israel regularly bombs Hezbollah targets in Syria.

After the country’s civil war broke out in 2011, the Syrian government’s survival was made possible with the support of tens of thousands of Iran-backed fighters – including from Hezbollah – on the ground, as well as Russian air power.

In April, an Israeli missile attack killed seven Iranians – including a top commander and his deputy – after it hit Tehran’s consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus.

Russia condemns ‘killing of Palestinian civilians by American weapons’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia is concerned by the Israeli strikes on Beirut that killed Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Lavrov added such “political killings” had become commonplace. He also denounced Israel’s devastating war on Gaza.

“Everyone who still has a feeling of compassion is outraged that the October tragedy is being used for mass collective punishment of the Palestinians, which turned into an unprecedented humanitarian disaster. The killing of Palestinian civilians by American weapons must be stopped immediately,” said Lavrov.

Well he should know with Russia doing the same to Ukraine...


Iran wants to avoid ‘larger war’ with the United States

Analyst Trita Parsi says Iran’s unwillingness to relieve the military pressure on Hezbollah stems from Tehran’s belief that Israel is seeking a “much larger war”.

“[Iran thinks] the minute the Iranians step in, that larger war would be a reality because the US would also then step in at that point. This is part of the reason why they’re not going in that direction,” Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, told Al Jazeera.

The new government of President Masoud Pezeshkian is prioritising a policy of “national reconciliation” in the country, he said.

“They recognise clearly the tremendous anger that exists in society against the government for its many failures and for its repression. A war at this moment is not something that in any way, shape or form will move that reconciliation in the right direction,” said Parsi

Houthi leader says Nasrallah’s death ‘will not be wasted’

The leader of Yemen’s Houthis promises the death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah “will not be in vain”.

“These great sacrifices and great injustice will not be wasted,” Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech. He added his fighters were directed towards “improving performance” after previous missile and drone strikes against Israel.

The Iran-aligned group pledged on Friday to continue its attacks on Israel until its “aggression on Lebanon and Gaza stops” after it emerged that its attempt to hit Tel Aviv had been foiled by air defences.

 
Houthis say they fired ballistic missile at Ben Gurion airport

The Yemen-based group’s military spokesperson says it launched an attack on Ben Gurion airport during the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

There was no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Netanyahu was returning from the United States after addressing the UN General Assembly. “The operation was carried out with a Palestine 2 ballistic missile,” Yahya Saree said in a statement.

“The Yemeni armed forces – along with all the honourable and free people of the nation – continue to respond to the crimes of the Israeli enemy, and will not hesitate to raise the level of escalation in response to the requirements of the stage and participate in the defence of Gaza and Lebanon.

“These operations will cease only after the cessation of the aggression against Gaza and Lebanon.”

Lebanon declares three days of mourning for slain Hezbollah chief

Lebanon has announced three days of mourning for Hassan Nasrallah. Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the official mourning would start on Monday with flags to fly at half-staff on public buildings, a statement said.

Public offices will also close on the day of Nasrallah’s funeral. Hezbollah has yet to announce a date.

Netanyahu: Nasrallah’s death will change balance of power in the region

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is a historical turning point that could change the balance of power in the Middle East, though he warned of “challenging days” ahead.

I thought Mohammed Deif was, or was it Yahyha Sinwar, the architects of Oct 7. Now Nasrallah is 'the terrorist'.

Nasrallah was already getting old (64) and had plenty enemies after Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian civil war on Iran's behalf. Now a younger, likely more radical less restrained leader will take over. Unifying Hezbollah support under the current bombardments.

Netanyahu is right, it will change the balance of power. It will strengthen Hezbollah's resolve, as well as the Houthis' and groups operating in Iraq. And while Iran is not interested in an all-out war, their support for their allies will continue unabated.

France calls for an end to Israeli air strikes on Lebanon

In a statement following a call with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also called on Hezbollah and Iran to refrain from any action that could destabilise the region further.

Barrot added France is against any Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon.

Jordan condemns Israel’s ‘brutal aggression against Lebanon’

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi says Jordan holds Israel “fully responsible for the catastrophic consequences of its brutal aggression against Lebanon, which it is waging without any legal or humanitarian deterrent”.

“We condemn its aggression against Lebanon, its violation of its sovereignty, its bombing of its capital, its killing of its citizens, and its threat to its security and stability,” Safadi said in a post on X, without mentioning the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Protesters flood Baghdad’s streets after Nasrallah’s death

People protest Israel’s killing of Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Iraq’s capital. Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani declared a three-day mourning period across Iraq following Nasrallah’s killing.

Kamala Harris: Nasrallah a ‘terrorist with American blood on his hands’

Vice President Kamala Harris called Hassan Nasrallah “a terrorist with American blood on his hands” while urging a diplomatic solution as Israel continues to strike Lebanon and Gaza.

“Across decades, his leadership of Hezbollah destabilized the Middle East and led to the killing of countless innocent people in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and around the world. Today, Hezbollah’s victims have a measure of justice,” Harris said in a statement.

“I have an unwavering commitment to the security of Israel. I will always support Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.”

The Democratic presidential candidate added, “President Biden and I do not want to see conflict in the Middle East escalate into a broader regional war.”

Turkey says Israel won’t stop attacking Lebanon

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was an important figure for Lebanon and the region and will be hard to replace.

Speaking to state broadcaster TRT Haber in New York, Fidan said Turkey believes Israel won’t stop attacking Lebanon and will spread the war on Gaza to the wider region.

The “helplessness” of the United States and other Western countries is allowing the violence to continue, he added.

Sirens go off in Jerusalem

The Israeli army in a post on X says sirens went off following “a launch from Lebanon into Israeli territory”.

Projectile lands in occupied West Bank causing fires: Army

Earlier we reported sirens sounded in the Jerusalem area. The army now says a projectile fired from Lebanon crashed into the occupied West Bank, sparking fires. There are no casualties, according to the Israeli ambulance service.

“The fallen projectile was identified in the area of Mitzpe Hagit,” the military said in a statement, naming an illegal Israeli settlement. “Israeli fire and rescue services are currently operating to extinguish fires caused by the fallen projectile in the area.”

Israeli defence minister holds talks on possible war expansion

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel’s war is not with the Lebanese people. Gallant held talks late on Saturday about possibly expanding Israel’s military campaign on its northern front, his office said.

“Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant is currently conducting an operational situation assessment regarding the expansion of [military] activities in the northern arena,” it said.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon kill 33 people in last 24 hours

Thirty-three people were killed and 195 wounded in Israeli air strikes on Lebanon today, the Lebanese Health Ministry says.

Dahiyeh residents flee en masse during ongoing Israeli air strikes

Israel is continuing its bombardment of the southern Dahiyeh area of Beirut, which is one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in Lebanon. It’s home to about 700,000 people. Since the air strikes began on Friday, they have not stopped.

Most of the people who live there have fled – really scared and disoriented – and the mass exodus continues. We’ve also had strikes near the international airport, some 500 metres (1,640 feet) away.

Israel says it’s targeting any shipment or arrival of weapons that could get in the hands of Hezbollah. In effect, it’s really trying to lay siege to entry points in the country to prevent Hezbollah from restocking weapon supplies.

_{A man walks through the rubble of damaged buildings on Saturday in the aftermath of Israeli air strikes}

Displaced families seek safety on Beirut beach during Israeli bombing

Fatima Chahine, a Syrian refugee, slept on the Ramlet al-Bayda public beach in Beirut with her family and hundreds of strangers.

“We only want a place where our children won’t be afraid,” she said. “We fled from the war in Syria in 2011 because of the children and we came here. And now the same thing is happening again.”

At the beach, the displaced are spread out over the pavement or in cars parked by the kerb. Others camped out in beach pagodas or on blankets in the sand.

“We spent more than three hours going in circles between schools and shelters and we didn’t find one with room,” said Talal Ahmad Jassaf, a Lebanese man who also slept on the beach with his family.

He said he is considering going to the relative safety of Syria, but worries about air strikes on the road between Beirut and Damascus.

South Africa denounces Israel’s ‘indiscriminate’ attacks on Lebanon

Pretoria expressed concern regarding the recent escalation of “extrajudicial killings”, most notably the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other leaders in Lebanon.

“The scale of injuries caused by Israel’s indiscriminate explosions is deeply troubling and warrants strong condemnation from the international community,” South Africa’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Such attacks on civilians constitute a grave violation of international human rights and humanitarian law. These actions serve to exacerbate an already tense situation in the Middle East and appear to be aimed at undermining international peace efforts in the region.

“We stand in solidarity with the government of Lebanon during this challenging time and express our support in the aftermath of these ongoing attacks.”

Israel wants all Pan-African YouTube Channels Deleted from YouTube

African Stream is under ATTACK! More Channels to Follow.

UN chief urges all sides to step back from the brink in Lebanon

The head of the United Nations is urging all sides to “step back from the brink” following the dramatic escalation of events in Beirut over the last 24 hours, his spokesman said.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes “this cycle of violence must stop now”, Stephane Dujarric said. “The people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, as well as the wider region, cannot afford an all-out war.”

Guterres urged both sides to recommit to the full implementation of the 2006 UN Security Council resolution that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, “and immediately return to a cessation of hostilities”, Dujarric said.


Biden calls for ceasefire now in Lebanon

Asked by reporters if an Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon was inevitable, US President Joe Biden said on Saturday: “It’s time for a ceasefire now.”

Asked if the US would respond to missile attacks on its warships in the Red Sea, Biden said: “We’re responding.”


Israeli society ‘giddy’ over killing of Hezbollah leader

Ori Goldberg, a political analyst based in Israel, says that “the broad consensus in Israeli society that supports war is giddy with excitement at the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah”.

“For most Israelis, there is support for this government’s policy. It is probably the greatest support this government has seen since the war on Gaza began,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera.

He said that many Israelis are excited about “the new beginning in the Middle East … of the Lebanese rising in revolt against Hezbollah, of Israel freeing the Iraqis, Iranians, the Yemenis from their tyrannical terrorist rulers”.

Goldberg added that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s moves in Lebanon are political and not about “security”.

“The truth is, he has very few options. Israel does not want to commit to a ground invasion of Lebanon. What we’re more likely to see is … a few more days of concentrated Israeli bombing that allows Israel to have its ‘mission accomplished’ moment.”

Jordanian military says rocket launched from Lebanon landed near Amman

The Jordanian Armed Forces says a rocket launched from southern Lebanon landed in an uninhabited desert area of Muwaqqar, east of the capital Amman, on Saturday. Teams were dispatched to the site, but no casualties or material damage were reported, it said in a statement.

Air defense systems were ready to intercept any projectiles or drones attempting to enter Jordanian airspace, it added.

“The armed forces are continuing to protect the skies, land and borders of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from any danger intended to destabilize its security and stability,” it said.

Iraq’s Green Zone blocked by protests following Nasrallah killing

This country is in mourning after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination by Israel and there has been a public outpouring of anger in various regions.

We’ve been seeing pictures of hundreds of people coming out to protest in the southern provinces of Basra, in Karbala, and also here in Baghdad, where many access roads to the Green Zone [a district in central Baghdad, which is the seat of the Iraqi government] have been blocked because of demonstrators.

They’re all condemning this Israeli attack and saying this is a complete breakdown of the international rules-based order.

Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the Grand Ayatollah of Iraq, has condemned the killing and talked about how Nasrallah was not just important for the Palestinian resistance but also for the role he played for Iraq during its fight against ISIL [ISIS].

All in all, Hassan Nasrallah is somebody who is remembered here, somebody who played an important role. We’re hearing from various factions, both in the security and political spectrum of Iraq, that there are going to be more protests.

Israeli army says it intercepted drones from southern Lebanon

Israel’s military says it “neutralised” two uncrewed aerial vehicles launched from southern Lebanon towards the western Galilee region.

Israel’s Army Radio says Israel is prepared for retaliation from Hezbollah after two weeks of deadly attacks on Lebanon.

More than 1,000 people have been killed and about 6,000 wounded as a result of Israeli strikes, Lebanon’s Health Ministry has said. And about 1 million Lebanese people have been displaced – including hundreds of thousands since Friday, said Nasser Yassin, the minister coordinating the government’s crisis response.

‘I’m afraid we’re going to see more violence and bloodshed’

Nabeel Khoury, a former US diplomat, says Israel continues to act with impunity in the Middle East without even “a rap on the knuckles” from the United States, and this could lead to their enemies acting against international law in a similar fashion.

“All in all, this is very bad news that you could assassinate someone in the middle of another country’s capital, destroying several high-rise residential buildings in the process,” Khoury told Al Jazeera.

“It’s a very bad precedent for the international community indeed,” said the non-resident fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC. “The Israelis have massacred close to 50,000 people in Gaza now – most of these, by all international counts, women and children. So, they clearly don’t care about the loss of human life, and the Biden administration has not punished them in any way.

“I’m afraid we’re going to see more violence and bloodshed in Lebanon, in Gaza certainly, and the West Bank as well.”


_{Palestinians mourn after deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp last week}

Israel is ‘sprinting in the opposite direction of a ceasefire’

The US has a moral, ethical and strategic responsibility to stop the fighting in the Middle East but Israel also faces international pressure, a professor of international relations at the American University says.

“Beyond that, there’s now the legal obligation with the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court’s decisions. Whether or not the US recognises them, they’re binding,” William Lawrence told Al Jazeera.

Lawrence said the Israeli government “listens to no one except, occasionally, they listen to the United States”.

“But none of this is leading to a ceasefire. This is all leading, sprinting in the opposite direction, of a ceasefire,” he added.

Iran requests UN Security Council meeting

Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) following Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah using bunker-buster bombs.

In a letter to the council’s president, Iravani urged members of the 15-member body to condemn in the strongest terms possible Israel’s “cowardly acts of aggression”. Iravani also “strongly” warned against “any attack on [Iran’s] diplomatic premises and representatives”.

The UNSC met on Wednesday at the request of France, following Israel’s attacks on electronic devices used by Hezbollah and bombardments that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as the “bloodiest day in Lebanon in a generation“.


Russia’s Lavrov suggests killing of Nasrallah aimed at provoking US-Iran war

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that a lot of people believe Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was aimed at provoking Iran and the US “to unleash a full-blown war in the entire region”.

Killing the Hezbollah leader was “not simply a political assassination. It’s very cynical as an act,” Lavrov told a news conference after addressing the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

“I think – well not even, I think, but a lot of people say – that Israel wants to create the grounds to drag the US directly into this, and so to create these grounds, it is trying to provoke Iran,” Lavrov said.

“The Iran leadership, I think, are behaving extremely responsibly. And this is necessary. This is something that we should take due note of,” he said.

Beirut bombed again as Israeli attacks continue across Lebanon

The Israeli air strikes have not stopped. Just this evening, over the last few hours, there have been multiple strikes on Choueifat, which is a neighbourhood very close to the airport here in Beirut.

Those come after at least five strikes across the country in Baalbek in the Bekaa and two in the southern city of Tyre.

In response, Hezbollah announced it carried out eight attacks today, including the rocket attacks that caused the air raid alarms to go off in occupied East Jerusalem.

And the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, as they are called, they fired drones at Eilat. There’s been no word from the Israeli military on that strike.

The Ministry of Health here in Lebanon has updated its figures and just today, across the country, 33 people have been killed in these strikes and almost 200 injured and that doesn’t even take into account the incredibly large aerial bombardment of Beirut that started on Friday night and went all through today and is still carrying on now.

I think the whole country is in a state of fear, exhaustion and emergency.

About 1 million people in Lebanon displaced by Israeli attacks: Minister

Nasser Yassin, the minister coordinating Lebanon’s crisis response, told the Reuters news agency that about 1 million Lebanese people have been displaced by Israeli attacks, including hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes since Friday.

As we reported earlier, heavy Israeli bombardment have forced many families to flee the densely populated neighbourhood of Dahiyeh, in southern Beirut, since Friday.


_{Families gather in Martyrs’ Square after fleeing the Israeli air strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Saturday}

No clear end in sight as Israel bombards Beirut

This has been a nonstop bombardment campaign launched by Israel’s military, and there is really no clear end in sight. Various points throughout Beirut are being hit by Israeli jets and people continue to try and move around the city to find a safe space.

Of course, this all began on Friday in that large attack that killed Hassan Nasrallah and levelled at least six residential buildings in the Dahiyeh neighbourhood in southern Beirut.

And since then, it has been one attack after another in that area as well, now expanding to other areas around the capital, the area near the airport being hit as well – and it is clear civilians are being caught in the middle.

We’re also hearing constant drones overhead throughout the day.


_{People walk amid the rubble of a destroyed building in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in Lebanon, on Saturday}

Families sleep on Beirut’s streets amid Israeli bombardment


_{A young Lebanese family sleep near the seaside amid Israeli bombardment in Lebanon’s capital Beirut}

‘Fear, anger, exhaustion’ amid Israeli bombardment of Beirut

There is a feeling of fear and anger and exhaustion. I spoke to one young man earlier today, a man named Hassan who lives in Dahiyeh, and he said everyone he knew, all of his friends, everyone he was speaking to, were just crying. He felt they didn’t know what was going to come next. It’s all or nothing now.

We’ve seen dramatic footage of Jawad Nasrallah – Hassan Nasrallah’s son – standing in front of the huge crater left by these bunker-busting missiles in Dahiyeh. He’s standing there and he is screaming for revenge.

On the other side, you have this fear and there is are still a lot of people who are out on the streets sleeping in Martyrs’ Square, sleeping along the Corniche, and trying to find any safe place they can. Maybe sleeping on concrete benches here in downtown Beirut.


_{People inspect the damaged following an Israeli air strike in Choueifat, southeast of Beirut, on Saturday}

Fears of Israeli invasion of Lebanon after assassination of Hezbollah’s Nasrallah

Speaking for the first time since the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there are now two war goals for the north.

The first is to return those evacuated Israelis back to those towns and settlements. The second is to restore the balance of power on the northern border.

Israeli officials were saying all day on Saturday that they are determined to destroy Hezbollah and destroy all of its military capabilities. The Israeli army chief of staff, along with Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, have approved new plans for offensive strategies in the north.

This comes amid fears of a looming ground invasion into southern Lebanon – something that is causing a lot of fear on both sides of the border.

Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis still took to the streets in several parts of the country, including Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem, where high-level meetings were taking place.

At Israel’s Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, protesters demonstrating outside of it are saying that Benjamin Netanyahu needs to agree to a ceasefire deal. Israelis are saying that the time for a ceasefire deal is now because there are still 100 captives remaining in Gaza.

Nonetheless, Israel says their fight against Hezbollah and the escalation of the conflict is only going to continue.


Historic opportunity to finish Hezbollah, says former Israel PM

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said there was now a “huge opportunity” for Israel to “remove this whole threat” of Hezbollah, and for the Middle East to reject it and other militant Iranian proxies.

“Hezbollah right now is temporarily badly harmed and injured, but if we let go of them now, they’ll just recover and hit us back in two or three or five years, that’s something none of us want to do,” Bennett said, adding that this could be achieved with or without a ground incursion by Israel into Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based.

The former prime minister called on the people of Lebanon to “rise up” and “take back” their country.

“Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, hijacked your nation 30 years ago, and it’s made everyone’s life miserable. Now is your time to kick them out – don’t let them come back,” he said.

He also framed the current moment, in which Israel says it has weakened Hezbollah, as well as Hamas in Gaza, as an opportunity for Iranian proxies across the region to be “thrown away.”

“The United States and Israel and the leading Western countries have to set an objective of toppling the Iranian regime in the near future,” he said, adding this could be achieved by sanctions, cyber activities, “overt and covert operations” and “empowering the Iranian people” to fight the regime.

“For the first time in decades, this is actually possible. It’s achievable but we have to be determined about it,” he said, referring to eliminating Iranian proxies. “It’s time for the whole region to kick out the Iranian regime. It’s not going to happen tomorrow, but it can happen over the next few years,” he said.

Some context: The Israel Defense Forces have said the military is preparing for the possibility of a ground incursion into Lebanon, but it was only one option being considered as Israeli forces have ramped up strikes on Hezbollah targets in the country. Israel’s stated goal is to return more than 60,000 residents to their homes in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon.

Trinidad and Tobago minister tells UN the Global South is appalled by Gaza war

Trinidad and Tobago’s foreign minister has blasted developed countries’ “double standards and continued resourcing” of Israel’s “violations of international law” in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

“Only someone absolutely bereft of humanity would think that it is lawful and just, and even godly, to respond to atrocities committed on one awful day of terror by, in turn, committing atrocities after atrocities,” Amery Browne told the annual meeting of world leaders in New York.

Browne also questioned how some countries appeared to be glossing over the killing of innocent civilians including women, children and UN staff in Gaza and Lebanon, stating: “International law is not a tool of mere convenience to be muted for friends and trumpeted against enemies.”

“This is not being done in secret. The entire world is watching and the Global South in, particular, is appalled,” he said.

_{Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Amery Browne addressed the UN General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Saturday}

Nasrallah’s death comes at ‘dire time’ for Hezbollah amid ‘incessant’ Israeli attacks: Analyst

Omar Rahman, a fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, said the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah has come at the “most dire time possible” for Hezbollah while it is engaged in a war with Israel and has suffered “a serious leadership vacuum” following recent killings of senior commanders.

“We have a leadership vacuum and I think there’s probably a lot of confusion within the rank and file, which corresponds with how Hezbollah is responding or not responding to this Israeli aggression at the moment,” Rahman told Al Jazeera.

“I don’t think there is any way to sugarcoat it from Hezbollah’s point of view. In the long run, they’ll replace Nasrallah and regroup as an organisation,” Rahman said.

“But, again, within the midst of what’s happened here – the decimation of their senior leadership, the killing of Hassan Nasrallah who was an iconic figure within the organisation, the disruption of their communications networks and the fashion that happened with the pagers… and then this incessant and severe bombing of Lebanon that’s happened over the past several days – there is no way to sugarcoat it. It has been a huge turning point in Israel’s favour,” he said.

“I think Hezbollah is on the back foot. They may regroup and find their footing here and be able to respond with the capabilities they have. But this took them by surprise.”

Problem is, most of the ammunition and infrastructure is still there. Hezbollah will regroup with their eyes set on revenge. It's merely a temporary success for Israel, yet the new power structure will be more careful within their ranks and likely less careful avoiding civilian casualties :(

Meanwhile the Lebanese people are there to take the blows from Israel. Lebanon lacking air defense has the entire country sitting duck to Israel's bombardments. Israel believes this will erode people's support for Hezbollah, yet people aren't that stupid. They know who is bombing them, and who the ones are that can avenge them / bring them some justice. The West certainly isn't stepping in :/


Israel has tried and failed to invade Lebanon before: Analyst

Mouin Rabbani, non-resident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, told Al Jazeera that while Hezbollah’s leadership is in disarray, it remains a “powerful adversary” against Israel.

“It would take a massive ground invasion, which Israel has tried and failed before, to achieve its proclaimed objectives in Lebanon,” Rabbani said, adding that some Israeli experts have said its troops “are already fatigued in Gaza”.

Rabbani also noted that directly attacking leadership has not always had the effect Israel might have hoped for. “Assassinating a leader and eradicating a movement, as Israel will have learned during the past year in the Gaza Strip, are two very different things,” Rabbani said.


Russia nor the US could take/keep Afghanistan due to the terrain. This looks rather similar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasions_of_Afghanistan (One of the most if not the most invaded country in history)