Orientul Mijlociu

What happened?
In early October 2024, Iran launched an attack against Israel, using about 180 Fateh ballistic missiles, which were launched from Iranian territory and targeted, according to Iranian sources, Mossad headquarters and three major air bases, including the Nevatim base in southern Israel, and Israeli troop concentrations around the Gaza Strip. This is Iran’s second direct attack against Israel since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Terror organization: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)

Status: was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination by the United States in 2020, he was the commander of the Quds Force, an IRGC division primarily responsible for extraterritorial and clandestine military operations, and played a key role in the Syrian Civil War through securing Russian intervention.

His end may be just the beginning. On Saturday, Hezbollah confirmed that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli air strike on Friday in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, the site of the group’s headquarters. Nasrallah had run Hezbollah for more than thirty years, orchestrating and inspiring its campaign against Israel. His death is an enormous blow to Hezbollah, and it follows two weeks of ramped-up Israeli air strikes and covert operations against both leadership and rank-and-file of the Iran-backed group. Where does the beleaguered terrorist group go from here? Will Iran launch its own retribution against Israel? Below, Atlantic Council experts answer these questions and more.

Terror organization: Hizballah

Status: “Considered to be the chief of staff of Hezbollah military force in the Southern front.”

Role: Ali Karaki, is a senior leader within Hizballah’s Jihad Council. He led Mu’awaniyeh 105 (Southern Command) and was responsible for military operations in southern Lebanon.

Karaki has been in Hezbollah since its establishment. Over time, he rose through the ranks and took part in the 2006 Lebanon War. Karaki later became a member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, which is Hezbollah’s supreme command and served as the commander of the Southern Front. Additionally, he held Guinean citizenship.

On September 30, 2022, the Islamic regime violently repressed the demonstrations of Baloch protesters who were gathering in front of a police station in Zahedan – leading to what would become known as the “Zahedan massacre,” or “Bloody Friday,” in which more than 150 people were killed and hundreds injured. Baloch media outlet Balochwarna.com stressed that the protests in Zahedan erupted after news emerged that the police head of the coastal city of Chabahar, Colonel Ebrahim Kochzai, had raped a 15-year-old Baloch girl Maho Baloch on September 27, 2022, after arresting her for investigation.[1]

The assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbullah’s secretary-general for more than 30 years, in a September 27, 2024 Israeli airstrike is being viewed by anti-resistance-axis politicians and journalists, both inside and outside Lebanon, as a rare historic and “golden opportunity” to remove Hizbullah from the equation and rebuild Lebanon. This opportunity, they stressed, must be seized quickly before the terror organization recovers and “Lebanon is lost forever.”

Britain’s military could be receiving intelligence from Israel that was obtained under torture, campaigners fear.

Israel’s torture of Palestinian prisoners should have serious consequences for UK intelligence cooperation with Tel Aviv, human rights groups have warned.

Two historical events regarding the Israeli occupation of Palestine have taken place on July 19 and September 18.

The first was a most comprehensive ‘advisory opinion’ by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which reiterated that the Israeli occupation of Palestine is illegal and must come to an immediate end.

The Israeli military cleared the public to exit their bomb shelters and announced that very few injuries were reported after Iran launched a barrage of some 180 ballistic missiles toward the country on Tuesday.

Fire could be seen over the night skies of Israel as missiles exploded overhead. The Israel Defense Forces said the explosions were either successful interceptions or missiles that evaded Israel’s air-defense system and hit open land. Israel, Iraq, and Jordan shut down their respective airspaces as a result; Israel’s airspace reopened a short while later.