Orientul Mijlociu

Source: Online Platforms – “Spot Shot (Lebanon) on YouTube”

Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech that was posted to the Spot Shot YouTube channel on February 13, 2024 that Israel does not need human collaborators because people carry cell phones with them wherever they go. He said that Israel taps people’s cell phones and monitors their location, conversations, data, images, and families, whether they are at home, at work, or in the car. He said that Israel even knows in which seat in the car a person is riding in, and he called on the “brothers” throughout southern Lebanon to refrain from using cell phones, which he referred to as “lethal collaborators,” and to disable or bury them for weeks, months, or however long is necessary in order to protect their security, lives, and honor. He added that people cannot live without their cell phones, but that Islamic law prohibits this during a time of war because it endangers people’s lives.

Israel is bombing targets across many parts of Lebanon, striking senior militants in Beirut and apparently hiding bombs in pagers and walkie-talkies. Hezbollah is firing rockets and drones deep into northern Israel, setting buildings and cars alight.

Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday, sharply escalating the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

The target was Hezbollah’s operations commander Ibrahim Aqil, who served on the group’s top military body.

Over the past two days, the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has been targeted with an attack as sophisticated and audacious as it is brutal, with the devices in their own pockets turned into deadly weapons.

On Tuesday, hundreds of pagers distributed by Hezbollah to its members and associates in Lebanon and Syria exploded, killing at least 12 people, including two children, and injuring nearly 3,000. Then, in a follow-up attack on Wednesday, thousands of two-way radios used by the group exploded, killing nine people and wounding some 300, some of whom had been attending the funerals of those killed in the earlier attack. There have also been reports of solar energy systems exploding in several areas of Lebanon, but few details have been reported about these incidents.

Latest Developments​

The toll of Hezbollah terrorist leaders killed with top commander Ibrahim Aqil in a September 20 Israeli air strike has risen to 15. An Israel Defense Forces statement released September 21 provided an updated toll from the air strike on Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh district. An IDF tweet states that the result is “Hezbollah’s military chain of command has been almost completely dismantled.”

More than 20 members of the Syrian government forces were killed and wounded on Tuesday in an attack by the Islamic State in the central Homs desert

More than 20 members of the Syrian government forces were killed and wounded on Tuesday in an attack by the Islamic State (ISIS) in the central Homs desert. A military source close to the Syrian government forces told the +963 website that ISIS fighters attacked a military convoy with guided missiles and RPGs near the Koum desert as it travelled from Palmyra to Sukhna in eastern Homs.

The situation in Syria remains highly volatile and complex, with various conflicts and tensions continuing to unfold across the country. In northern Syria, Turkish-occupied areas are experiencing rising tensions between mercenary groups over orders to disband and shift control, leading to military mobilizations. Meanwhile, the resurgence of ISIS has been marked by ambushes and attacks on Hezbollah-linked forces and pro-government militias. The international dimension is also in flux, with Ukrainian special forces reportedly targeting Russian military installations in Syria, and US military bases coming under rocket attacks. Amidst these developments, Syria’s internal crisis remains unresolved, as the Assad regime clings to power in a country devastated by war, economic collapse, and sanctions. The situation grows more precarious as Syria becomes a hub for regional drug trafficking and international fatigue sets in over the prolonged conflict.

Israel says the Syrian regime, aided directly by Iran, has established a secret plutonium production facility in Deir-ez-Zor as part of an undisclosed nuclear project.

The head of Israel’s atomic energy agency, Moshe Edri, has accused the Syrian regime of constructing a facility in Deir-ez-Zor to produce radioactive plutonium, with support from Iran.

This news roundup covers a series of developments related to the ongoing conflicts in Syria and its neighbouring regions. In Lebanon and Syria, Hezbollah members and others were wounded in a coordinated attack involving exploding pagers, which officials suspect was carried out by Israel. Meanwhile, the persistent use of torture in Syria continues despite recent legal efforts by Canada and the Netherlands at the International Court of Justice to hold the Syrian government accountable. Additionally, an op-ed discusses the risks of the United States withdrawing its forces from Iraq, which could allow the resurgence of ISIS in Syria. Finally, French cement company Lafarge faces legal challenges over its payments to ISIS during the Syrian civil war, raising questions about corporate complicity in crimes against humanity.

The KNC demanded the removal of the representative of the al-Amshat faction from the General Authority of the Coalition, according to Enab Baladi.

The Kurdish National Council (KNC) has suspended its involvement with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SOC) following reports of attacks by military groups affiliated with the Syrian National Army (SNA) on Kurdish civilians in Afrin, northern Aleppo.