Israel
strikes Palestinian group in Lebanon after punishing Hamas for Gaza
rocket fire
RT,
26 August, 2019
Israeli air strikes targeted the headquarters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Lebanon’s Bekaa region, local media report. Earlier the IDF struck several targets in Gaza, in retaliation to rocket fire.
“Three Israeli air strikes targeted the Lebanese-Syria border east of Zahle... explosions were heard in several parts of the Bekaa valley,” An-Nahar news channel said as unverified footage of the strike apparently targeting the PFLP office spread across social media. The strikes seem to be limited as the PFLP said initial reports indicate no casualties.
المضادات الأرضية تعترض الغارات الإسرائيلية على موقع #الجبهة_الشعبية في قوسايا في #البقاع الأوسط.#ملحق
The alleged raid on the Lebanon-Syria border area follows a confirmed Israeli attack against Hamas targets in Gaza Strip that targeted a military compound and the militant group battalion commander’s office. Earlier, Tel Aviv accused the organization of firing three rockets into Israel, two of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.
While it remains unclear if the two latest raids are linked, the Monday morning Beqaa Valley incident follows a ross border intrusion of alleged Israeli drones into Beirut the night before.
Israel has recently intensified its efforts to root out ‘Iran’s proxies’ in the region. Benjamin Netanyahu openly declared that any country Tel Aviv suspects of “allowing” its territory to be used for attacks against Israel will “bear the consequences.”
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has warned that his organization would shoot down Israeli drones if they appear in Lebanon’s airspace, after two IDF unmanned aerial vehicles had crashed in the country earlier.
He said that the drones had targeted a specific location in a Hezbollah-dominated suburb of Beirut, yet noted that they had not been shot down.
Nasrallah also threatened the Israeli military at the border with an imminent response if they were to kill any of Hezbollah's members in Syria, revealing also that two members of the organization had been killed in a Saturday night strike on Damascus.
https://www.rt.com/news/467269-hezbollah-down-drones-israel/
Tehran has mocked Israel’s intensified efforts to root out Iranian presence in the region after the IDF struck targets in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq in one day, while threatening to continue attacks against Iran’s ‘accomplices’.
“These insane operations are absolutely last struggles of the Zionist Regime,” Qassem Soleimani tweeted after the IDF accused the chief of Iran’s Quds Force of personally devising a plot to strike Israel with a flock of ‘killer drones.’
Tensions in the region heated up over the weekend after the IDF struck targets on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, in order to thwart what it called an imminent attack by Iranian proxies against the state of Israel. While Syria claims it downed most of the missiles, Israel called the pre-emptive strike a success, releasing a blurry video as a proof.
Hours later, Israel allegedly sent drones to hunt for Hezbollah targets in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. One surveillance UAV was downed by rock-throwing youths over Hezbollah's media office, while the second “suicide drone” exploded in the air.
Another attack against Iran-linked targets rocked the Iraqi Anbar province near the border with Syria on Sunday afternoon, when two unidentified UAVs targeted transport vehicles belonging to the Hezbollah faction known as Brigade 45. The strike, which the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) blamed on Israel, killed at least one Shiite fighter.
Tel Aviv, which admitted to the Syria raid but so far kept a tight lip about the strikes in Lebanon and Iraq, did make it crystal clear on Sunday that it will go out against any nation-state that supports Iran in the region.
“We won’t tolerate attacks on Israel from any country in the area. Any country that allows its territory to be used for attacks against Israel will bear the consequences,” said Netanyahu.
Israeli defense forces have released footage claiming to show Iranian forces in Syria preparing to launch “killer” drones against the Jewish state. The IDF hit targets near Damascus overnight, saying this prevented such an attack.
The black and grey blurred video shows four figures carrying something. The IDF claims the video was filmed as Iranian Quds operatives were preparing to launch drones filled with explosives on Thursday.
“IDF intelligence can now release the surveillance footage of Iranian Quds Force operatives in Syria carrying a killer drone that they intended to use for an attack on Israel,” the military tweeted. “How do you foil an attack of killer drones? Killer intel.”
Israel launched an attack on alleged Quds facilities outside Damascus on Saturday close to midnight. Syria said its air defenses had destroyed most of the “hostile targets.” Damascus didn’t comment on any damage, but the IDF spokesperson said this was considerable.
On Sunday a top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander denied Israeli claims that Iranian targets had been hit. Later in the day Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah claimed the Israeli strike hit a home and killed two of the organization’s fighters.
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