Rescue attempts foiled by repeated strikes | Israel’s assassination last weekend of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has put the group in a thorny position, fighting ongoing Israeli invasions in southern Lebanon while scrambling to keep its leadership organized. ● The assumption has been that Nasrallah would be succeeded by Hashem Safieddine. Safieddine is Nasrallah’s cousin and, reportedly, is Hezbollah’s head of intelligence. He is also the head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council. Friday’s Israeli strike on Hezbollah’s compound in southern Beirut is thought to have targeted Safieddine. ● However, Safieddine’s fate is unclear following that attack. Hezbollah reports rescue attempts at the site have been prevented by multiple, subsequent Israeli attacks. Israeli media, indeed, speculates that Safieddine has been killed, but there is no confirmation yet.

According to the Israeli army, 80 ‘bunker buster’ bombs were dropped during the September 27 strike that killed the Secretary-General of Hezbollah. | Most Beirut residents probably still have that deep rumble etched in their memory. Exactly two weeks after the first strike hit the bunker where Hassan Nasrallah was hiding, Israeli air forces dropped a new payload of several dozen "bunker busters" on Beirut's southern suburbs at exactly midnight on Friday. These bombs are designed to explode after deeply penetrating the ground. ● The staggered explosions, which shake walls for kilometers around, also produce large plumes of smoke, indicating the power of the explosives. According to the Israeli army, no fewer than "80 tons" of explosives were dropped on September 27 by eight F-15 jets on at least four residential buildings of at least seven stories. This unprecedented operation in Lebanon was launched to assassinate the Hezbollah leader, who was reportedly in a bunker buried nearly three meters deep. It also caused over a hundred civilian casualties, according to estimates from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Moon of Alabama | How Netanyahu is ‘running rings’ around Biden (Edward Luce) | This has been the general theme of a media campaign for a while. "Natanyahoo is steamrolling Biden and the poor guy can do nothing about it." I do not buy it. One phone call from the White House to the Pentagon would hold resupply flights from the U.S. to Israel. Without constant supply renewal the Israeli Air Force would have to stop its bombing campaigns in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen within days if not within hours. But instead of calling the Pentagon the whole Middle East team around Biden, Antony Blinken, Brett McGurk and IDF soldier Amos Hochstein, has been urging Israel to extend its campaign. They are hoping, like the neoconservatives in 2006 during the Bush administration, for the 'birth pangs of a new Middle East', which will forever change the strategic situation on the ground.

■ The Julian Assange Show Episode 1: Nasrallah (2012) (Journeyman Pictures) - VIDEO

Israel's 364th-day genocidal war on Gaza has killed 41,788 Palestinians, based on conservative estimates. Separately, Israel's bombardment across Lebanon since October 2023 has killed 2,011 people and uprooted 1.2 million people. | 1736 GMT –– The death toll in Lebanon has surpassed 2,000 after nearly a year of cross-border fighting with Israel, according to a government statement. Lebanese Minister of Environment and coordinator of the Government Emergency Committee Nasser Yassin said the overall number of deaths since October 7 has now risen to 2,011 with 9,535 wounded.

Israel bombarded south Beirut at least 10 times late Thursday, Lebanese sources said, after it launched its deadliest strike on the occupied West Bank in decades. | The escalating assaults by Israel come as it weighs retaliation for Iran’s barrage of missiles fired at the country, with the United States saying Israel hitting Iranian oil facilities is on the table. Iran said the attack was its response to the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, chief of its ally Hezbollah, and other top figures. ● There was no let-up to Israeli strikes on Beirut, with AFP correspondents in the capital and beyond hearing loud bangs that made buildings shake. The military launched 11 consecutive strikes on Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold late Thursday, a source close to the group told AFP, while the official National News Agency (NNA) put the tally at more than 10. The Israeli military said it hit “targets belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut”. ● Israel’s bombing in Lebanon has killed more than 1,000 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in a nation already mired in economic and political crisis.

■ Iran Considers Sending Troops to Lebanon if Attacked by Israel (Asharq Al-Awsat)
■ Evacuate or else: 'Israel's' 'thoughtful' tactics in Lebanon and Gaza (Al Mayadeen)
■ Iran's Khamenei says October 7 attack was legitimate, so was Iran's strike on Israel (India Today)
■ Civilians bear brunt of Israel's attack on Lebanon, over 1 million impacted: UN (India Today)
■ Πλήγμα του Ισραήλ στο Ιράν: Kλείσιμο των Στενών του Ορμούζ + Παγκόσμια οικονομική κατάρρευση (Pronews.gr)
✅ Biden Is Pushing Israel Towards Larger War (Moon of Alabama)

Oil price soared on Thursday after US President Joe Biden said the United States was discussing with Israel possible strikes on Iranian oil facilities. | WTI, the US contract, rose by as much as five percent before paring back some gains to sit at around $73 per barrel while Brent, the international benchmark, rose around four percent to $76.81. Biden told reporters at the White House however that he was not expecting Israel to launch any retaliation for Tehran's missile barrage on Israel before Thursday at least. When asked by a reporter if he supported Israel striking Iran's oil facilities, Biden said "we're discussing that. I think that would be a little... anyway." ● A rise in oil prices could be hugely damaging for Biden's Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat confronts Republican former president Donald Trump in a November 5 election where the cost of living is a major issue. Biden said he did not expect any immediate action from Israel -- even if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently paid little heed to calls for restraint as he targets the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

■ Bank of England issues oil price shock warning (RT.com)
■ Biden’s Israel Policy Has Led Us to the Brink of War on Iran (Medea Benjamin)

Reports are flooding-in that "unknown aircraft" have attacked Russia's Hmeimim Airbase in Latakia / Tartus Syria. The battle is ongoing for the past 55 minutes. | Not only did "unknown aircraft" hit a warehouse on the base where an Iranian Plane had just been unloaded, reports also indicate "salvos of ship-launched missiles began hitting the Russian base launched by ships in the Mediterranean Sea." To my knowledge, only the United States and NATO have naval vessels in that part of the Mediterranean. Info is coming in fast, but if the air strikes were carried out by Israel, and the naval missiles by the US, NATO, then World War 3 has just begun.

■ Israel Attacks Russian Airbase in Syria (Hal Turner Show)
■ Massive explosions reported in the vicinity of Hmeimim Air Base (Albawaba)
■ Israel bears all blame for Middle East escalation — Russia’s UN envoy (TASS)

An Israeli airstrike targeted a center of the Islamic Health Society in Lebanon's capital Beirut early on Thursday, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported. | An Israeli airstrike targeted a center of the Islamic Health Society in Lebanon's capital Beirut early on Thursday, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported. According to the Lebanese TV network's correspondent, several casualties were reported in the Israeli strike on Beirut. ● Later the Ministry of Health said that according to an initial toll, two people were martyred and 11 others were injured in the strike, which struck a building in the Bachoura neighborhood. Three of the casualties were critically injured and succumbed to their wounds later on Thursday, raising the death toll to five. ● Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the strike utilized internationally banned white phosphorus bombs on the targeted residential building. ● The strike marks a rare occurrence in the ongoing aggression on Lebanon, as only one other airstrike targeted a building near the Cola Station in the capital. Most Israeli airstrikes have struck and destroyed residential areas in the Southern Suburb of Beirut, which falls under the Mount Lebanon governorate.

Jonathan Cook | Western publics are being subjected to an unprecedented campaign of media propaganda to conceal Israel’s true goals as it expands the slaughter [...] Words like “audacious”, “escalation” and “targets” have become tools to conceal meaning, not to illuminate – and for good reason. Because Israel’s actions are so obviously criminal, so obviously horrifying, so obviously genocidal. Language becomes a weapon to hide the truth. ■ The media chorus goes like this: Israel is attacking Lebanon to stop Hezbollah rocket fire and allow the residents of Israel’s most northerly communities to return home. Or in the blunter, Orwellian language of Israeli officials framing this horror show: Israel must “escalate to de-escalate”. ■ Lebanese civilians are paying the heaviest price: some 550 of them were killed in the first day of Israel’s bombing campaign alone. Many tens of thousands have been driven – ethnically cleansed – from the territory of south Lebanon.

The Jerusalem Post ignites controversy after publishing, then quickly removing, an article suggesting Lebanon is part of Israel's "promised land". | The Israeli broadsheet newspaper The Jerusalem Post attracted controversy online on two fronts — first by publishing an article that entertained the idea of Lebanon being part of "Israel's promised land", and later by taking it down. On September 25, 2024, the newspaper published an article titled "Is Lebanon part of Israel's promised territory?" which sparked controversy online, particularly amid ongoing Israeli air strikes in Lebanohivedn. The strikes, which began the previous Monday, have resulted in over 900 killings, according to Lebanese officials.

■ Is Lebanon part of Israel’s promised territory? (Jerusalem Post)(Archived)(H/T: Moon of Alabama)

Israel has begun its invasion of southern Lebanon as the IDF announced early Tuesday that troops were carrying out “limited” raids aimed at wiping out Hezbollah outposts — the latest stage of the Jewish state’s offensive against the Iran-backed terrorist group. | The boots-on-the-ground operation will see Israeli soldiers take out Hezbollah’s tunnels, rocket launchers and weapons caches along the southern border, all in an attempt to halt the US-designated terror group’s ability to launch daily attacks over the border, Israeli officials have said. The widely expected ground incursion came after Israel mobilized its tanks and troops, and secured a wide stretch of the northern border on Monday. [...] The IDF also deployed air force and artillery units to support troops on the ground.

■ US secretly approved Lebanon escalation – Politico (RT.com)
■ Israeli tanks, artillery conduct heavy fire on Lebanon — report (09/30/24)

Andrew Korybko | It’s possible that this scenario was speedily devised sometime in the past month after the aerial phase of the latest Israeli-Lebanese War began. | Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) warned on Tuesday that some NATO countries and Ukraine are preparing a chemical weapons false flag provocation in Syria so as to discredit Russia in the Global South. They specified that “The plan of the operation envisages the militants dropping a mined container with chlorine from a UAV during strikes by the Syrian Armed Forces and the Russian Aerospace Forces on terrorist groups' positions in the Idlib de-escalation zone”, which the White Helmets will then film. ■ The timing is suspicious since it coincides with the start of Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon. Syria isn’t any stranger to chemical weapons false flags so the latest one could have been cooked up in a jiffy by building upon the experience obtained in all the prior ones.

■ West set to stage chemical weapons use by Syria and Russia in Arab republic — SVR (TASS)

The report came amid expectation that Israel could start a limited ground operation in Lebanon | Israeli artillery and tanks are expanding the geography of strikes on Lebanese border areas, the Ynet news website reported. "Artillery fire by the Israel Defense Forces is expanding to new areas on the border with Lebanon," the report said. "Tanks are also firing at targets on the Lebanese side of the border." The report came amid expectation that Israel could start a limited ground operation in Lebanon. Israeli officials and military representatives have so far refrained from any comments on the latest events. NBC television reported earlier, citing sources, that the Israeli ground operation could begin as early as Monday night and last several days.

■ Iran won’t deploy forces to Lebanon to help Hezbollah – foreign ministry (RT.com)
■ Even ‘Limited’ Israeli Ground Operation Against Hezbollah in Lebanon Would Be ‘Perilous’: Here’s Why (I. Tsukanov)

Israel hit the headquarters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s brother during a recent wave of strikes on the war-torn country, Arab and Hebrew media reported. | The strikes, which took place on April 9, were a response to two salvos of rockets which were launched from southern Syria at the Israeli-occupied Golan heights in the early morning and late on the prior day, April 8. No side claimed responsibility for the rocket attack, which didn’t result in any losses. However, Tel Aviv held the Syrian government responsible. Israel fighter jets, combat drones and artillery hit targets in the southern governorates of Daraa and al-Qunitra as well as in the outskirts of the capital, Damascus. [...] Israel’s Channel 13 said that Maj. Gen. Maher al-Assad was not implicated in the rocket attack on the al-Golan Heights. However, the bombing of his headquarters was meant to send a message that the Israeli attack was not solely in retaliation to the rocket fire, but also a response to a drone launched from Syria approximately on April 2. Maher al-Assad, who commands the Syrian Army's 4th Division, was allegedly in a meeting with Iranian officials at the time.

The core of the Lebanese capital has not been targeted since the 2006 war | An apparent Israeli airstrike on Monday morning hit central Beirut for the first time since the 2006 war, according to reporters on the ground in the city. A week-long bombing campaign on Lebanon has decimated the leadership of Hezbollah and sent hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing north. The strike in the capital's Kola district killed three leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the organization has confirmed.

Ahmad Karakira | Despite the huge loss for Lebanon, the region, the Ummah, and the free world, there is no doubt that the blood of Sayyed Hassan will haunt "Israel", and his legacy will continue to light the path of Resistance fighters worldwide. [...] On February 16, 1992, the Israeli occupation forces assassinated Sayyed Abbas, along with his wife and his five-year-old son. Hezbollah's Shura Council then convened and chose Sayyed Nasrallah as the group's Secretary-General, despite his relatively young age compared to other council members. ■ He initially rejected the decision to be elected, as he was only 32 years old. However, after their insistence, he completed the remainder of Sayyed al-Mousawi's term, which ended in 1993, and has since been re-elected several times before his martyrdom. ■ Hezbollah's wise leadership believed that Sayyed Nasrallah, who possessed unique leadership qualities and a charismatic persona, and maintained strong ties with the group's grassroots, was capable of leading Hezbollah and the Resistance during a time of highly sensitive political and security status within the country. He had a deep understanding of the developments on the ground and commanded the trust of the leadership, particularly that of Sayyed Abbas. ■ During Sayyed Abbas's tenure as Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Sayyed Nasralla was often delegated to represent him at celebrations, rallies, and party meetings. [...] Despite this grave loss for Lebanon, the region, the Ummah, and the free world, there is no doubt that the blood of Sayyed Hassan will haunt "Israel", and that his legacy will continue to light the path of Resistance fighters worldwide.

✅ Hezbollah: Sayyed Nasrallah Martyred (Staff, Alahed News)

The Israeli army has heavily deployed troops and equipment along the Lebanese border and stepped up military activities there, a report from Beirut says. | For the second day on Wednesday, Israeli troops fired tear gas canisters at Lebanese herders and farmers working near the border with the occupied Palestinian territories, The Daily Star reported. “We were proceeding with our lives normally and everyone was working their land. Then we saw the Israeli patrol and its members begin shooting tear gas at us,” Mustafa Ahmad, one of the herders, said. Residents said the Israeli army repeatedly shot tear gas canisters during the morning. Hours later, a large number of Israeli troops were stationed in an Israeli settlement across the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila. According to witness accounts, Israeli troops used trees and shrubs for cover and monitored the movements within Lebanon as motorized patrols were conducted.

■ Israel deploys troops to northern border amid concerns of possible ground offensive in Lebanon (AfricaNews)
■ Israel deploys troops to border as fears of ground offensive in Lebanon grow (EuroNews)
■ Israel to invade Lebanon – media (RT.com)

■ 'Israel to Wage War for Water' (Israel National News)(Nov 7, 2009)
■ Israel Threatens War with Lebanon (Stephen Lendman)(08/30/10)
■ Israel is Stealing Palestinian and Arab Water (Sawsan Ramahi)(03/24/10)
■ Israel’s Water Wars (Jason Godesky)(02/21/10)
■ Israel Will Go to War over Water (Mitchell Prothero & Peter Beaumont)(11/10/09)

Lebanese Ministry of Health: 33 killed, 195 injured in the lsraeli attacks on Lebanon yesterday. pic.twitter.com/dvhsDWRZrJ

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) September 29, 2024

A new wave of “Israeli” airstrikes hit the Dahiyeh area in the south of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, which had come under deadly aerial attacks by the apartheid “Israeli” entity just hours earlier. | The strikes targeted several buildings in the al-Hadath and Laylaki neighborhoods in the area on Saturday. Shortly afterwards, reports pointed to “a third wave of strikes” on al-Hadath as well as strikes against Choueifat, another southern Beirut suburb, with subsequent accounts putting the total number of the attacks at more than 30. The “Israeli” occupation claimed that it was conducting strikes targeting “weapons belonging to Hezbollah…that were stored beneath civilian buildings” in southern Beirut. Hezbollah's Media Relations’ Office, however, asserted, “The enemy's claims about the presence of weapons or weapons depots in the civilian buildings targeted by the bombing in the southern suburb are false.”

■ Israeli jets pound Beirut with series of massive strikes (MEE)
■ Massive Israeli Strikes on Beirut's Southern Outskirts in Pictures (Sputnik News)

The Iranian Parliament is set to present Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) with its proposals on ways to respond to the Israeli regime, in order to make the final decision. | The Iranian Parliament held a closed session to discuss the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah chief in Beirut. During the session, the Iranian lawmakers discussed the latest developments in the region. The closed meeting of the parliament was held today to investigate the dimensions of the assassination of martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and several other Resistance commanders, Ahmad Naderi, a senior Iranian lawmaker told Mehr News Agency. He added that during the meeting, lawmakers offered suggestions on how to take revenge and respond to the Zionist regime. The Iranian Parliament would present the proposals to Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), he said, adding that the SNSC would discuss the ways to choose the best action against Israel's crimes.

■ Hezbollah: Sayyed Nasrallah Martyred (Staff, Alahed News)

The ongoing bombing of Beirut, and other places in Lebanon shows the situation is spinning rapidly out of control. | Germany has begun the evacuation of its diplomats and their families from Israel and Lebanon. Iran has raised Black Flag of Mourning over over Shrine of Imam Reza; Israel has let it be known they intend to target Iran's Supreme Leader, and word is that Iran is readying troops to go into Lebanon in support of Hezballah. ● That Germany is evacuating Diplomats and their families from Lebanon is self-explanatory. That they are also evacuating from ISRAEL is quite revealing. It gives everyone a sense of just how serious the developments actually are in the Middle East in the conflict between Israel and Hezballah. ● When Israel utilized consumer electronic devices such as pocket-pagers, cell phones, and walkie-talkies, to be small bombs by adding explosive to their battery packs, then detonated them, killing hundreds and wounding thousands, it set in-motion what is likely to become an all-out war.

The Russian foreign minister accused Tel Aviv of converting civilian technology into a deadly weapon. | Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has asserted that the US was likely aware of "Israel's" intentions to carry out a “terrorist attack against Lebanon using communication devices". He suggested that the attack's complexity and the subsequent leaks to Western media imply possible complicity from Washington. Last week, a coordinated series of explosions involving thousands of hand-held pagers and wireless receivers occurred simultaneously across Lebanon, resulting in dozens of killings and thousands of injuries. The Israeli attack, largely attributed to the Mossad spy agency, faced international backlash, with UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk labeling it a “shocking” and “unacceptable” act that violates human rights laws.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked dozens of Hezbollah targets deep inside and in southern Lebanon in recent hours. | The Israeli army has announced the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah following a strike on Beirut.

💬 "The IDF announces that yesterday (Friday), September 27th, 2024, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization and one of its founders, was eliminated by the IDF, together with Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders," the IDF said.

According to Israeli media, citing the IDF, Nasrallah was targeted while at Hezbollah's main headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh. The headquarters was located underground, under residential buildings in the Dahiyeh, the IDF added.

⚡ Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah Martyred On the Way to Al-Quds (Al Manar TV)
⚡ Hezbollah confirms martyrdom of Nasrallah in Israeli strike (Mehr News)
⚡ Le Hezbollah annonce officiellement la mort de son chef, Hassan Nasrallah (L'Orient-Le Jour)
■ US Gives Israel $8.7 Billion in Military Aid for Operations in Gaza and Lebanon (Antiwar.com)
■ Live blog: Over 50,000 flee Lebanon for Syria amid Israeli strikes — UN (TRT World)
■ Iran's Supreme Leader Moved to Secure Location Under Heavy Guard (Hal Turner Show)
■ Israel bombs Beirut: LIVE UPDATES (RT.com)
■ New wave of Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut hours after deadly raids (PressTV)
■ Israel attacks Lebanon: Israel claims killing of Hezbollah’s Nasrallah (Al Jazeera)
■ Hezbollah leader eliminated – Israel (RT.com)
✅ Everyone Was Wrong About The Latest Israeli-Lebanese War (Andrew Korybko)

Just as Hitler was stopped by an international alliance 70 years ago, Netanyahu must be stopped, President Erdogan says in his speech at the annual UN General Assembly. | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pressed global leaders to recognise Palestine as a state.

💬 “I invite those states that have yet to recognise Palestine to stand on the right side of history during this critical period and promptly acknowledge the Palestinian state,” President Erdogan said in his address to the UNGA in New York on Tuesday. ● “In recent years, the United Nations has failed to carry out its foundational mission, gradually transforming into an inefficient, cumbersome, and inactive structure,” Erdogan stated, underscoring the need for reform within the global body.

The creation of a fully independent and sovereign Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital and ensuring its territorial integrity, must no longer be delayed, Erdogan underlined. The Turkish leader also voiced his growing frustration with the UN's inability to take decisive steps to end conflicts, emphasising that the organisation has become increasingly ineffective.

■ President Erdogan’s UNGA speech: From Gaza to the "world is bigger than five" (Dr. Mehmet Celik)

Thousands of fighters from Arab nations have reportedly gathered near the Golan Heights to support Hezbollah in its war with Israel, Haaretz reported. | Thousands of militia fighters and mercenaries from three Arab countries have reportedly arrived near Syria's occupied Golan Heights to aid Hezbollah in its ongoing war with Israel, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Tuesday. ● Around 40,000 fighters had come to Syria from "a number of countries, including Iraq, Yemen and Syria", the report claimed, citing unnamed sources in the Israeli military. ● 
The fighters were reportedly within "the vicinity of the Golan Heights" waiting for orders from Hezbollah's secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, to join the fighting, the daily said, without citing any evidence to support the claim by the Israeli military source.

■ In first, Hezbollah targets Mossad HQs in Tel Aviv suburb with Qader 1 (Al Mayadeen)
■ IDF Preparing for All Options in Lebanon, Including Ground Operation – Representative (Sputnik News)
■ Hezbollah fires a missile at Tel Aviv in deepest strike yet after Israel bombardment in Lebanon (Burnaby Now)