marwan
CrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabia
Saleem Ayoub QunaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabiaCrossFireArabia
A senior Israeli officer told the Israeli Army Radio:
There are many dangers in Iran, and we always take into account the possibility of our aircraft being hit. The Iranians fire at our planes all the time and they are creative in in setting ambushes against our aircraft, and we must learn their methods.
CrossFireArabia
By Abdel Bari Atwan
We do not dispute the official and popular Iranian resistance narrative and use by its military leadership of hypersonic missiles with cluster warheads weighing between one and two tons, and which penetrated most of Israel’s air defenses and destroyed its targets in the occupied Palestinian cities (Israel) in the first five weeks. These were one of the most prominent surprises of the current American-Israeli war on Iran.
However, the biggest and most unexpected surprise for many, both for Israel and the Arab environment, is this powerful resurgence of Hezbollah in Lebanon, its military wing, formidable missile and drone capabilities, and the highly efficient management of the ongoing battle by its “hawkish” leadership. This is constituting a powerful shock to the Israeli enemy, official Lebanese authorities, and the Americans.
The Hezbollah Party’s military wing, led by a young command trained in North Korea and China in the latest guerrilla warfare tactics, is waging the war with high efficiency, overseeing the launch of more than 200 rockets and drones daily. Most of these reach their targets in the Greater Tel Aviv area, much of whose cities now destroyed, and Haifa and its bay, reduced to a blazing inferno. The Hezbollah missiles are targetting settlements in the Upper and Lower Galilee, most notably Kiryat Shmona, which has become a ghost town.
***
Hezbollah deceived all of its adversaries, inside and outside Lebanon, remaining steadfast, feigning restraint and flexibility, and avoiding confrontation with the state by all means. It never responded neither to the clamorous voices predicting its demise and political and military exit from the scene, nor to the killing of some of its new leaders, even after the “Pagers War” or to the provocative Israeli violations of the ceasefire, which exceeded 10,000 over the past 16 months. This was because its priorities focused on internal restructuring and rebuilding its missile and drone industries to achieve military self-sufficiency for the current major confrontation.
Data from trusted sources confirm that the party currently possesses more than 30,000 short- and medium-range missiles, thousands of Shahed and Hudhud drones, and more than one 100,000 fighters, most of whom are young men under the age of thirty.
The party’s success and precision of its missiles in exhausting the Israeli enemy and its forces and emptying the occupied Galilee of all its settlers who fled to central and southern Israel seeking safety and security, restored its prestige and broadened its popularity, both within its Shiite base and among many members of other sects, especially young people, as well as in the wider Arab and Islamic worlds.
Hezbollah destroyed at least 40 Israeli Merkava tanks, killed more than 35 Israeli soldiers, and wounded 80 others since entering the war on 4 March. This number of casualties, by the Israeli enemy’s own admission, is the same as their numbers during the 12-day war last June.
We do not believe the Israeli leaks circulated by some Lebanese circles, whether in their media outlets and/ or on social media platforms, claiming the existence of three wings within Hezbollah: First, the moderate wing, which wants to avoid confrontation with the state; second, the “doves,” who do not object to linking disarmament to Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction; and third, the “hawks,” united behind its military leadership, which believes in the option of resistance, maintaining and developing weapons until the liberation of all Lebanese and Arab lands.
The upper hand now belongs to the “hawks,” around whom everyone rallies, and who have absolutely no trust in the capitulating state, nor in America and the Western world in general, who have starved the Lebanese people, supported the Israeli occupation and all its crimes in displacing more than 1 million Lebanese from the south, seized the border strip south of the Litani River, and whose planes have not ceased bombing the southern suburbs of Beirut, Bekaa Valley, and cities and neighborhoods that support the resistance.
***
We urge those who focus solely on Israel’s theatrical assassinations in Lebanon—and which are clearly part of a psychological warfare campaign—to reconsider and focus on stamping out intelligence breaches, to cease promoting Israeli plans and instead see the other side of the cup: The significant losses inflicted deep inside Israel, even reaching settlements around Gaza Strip in the far south. This war is still in its early stages, specifically its first month, and more than seven million settlers are living in shelters and tunnels day and night, terrified of Lebanese, Iranian, and Yemeni missiles.
Sheikh Naim Qassem, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, hit the nail on the head when he said that Israel poses an existential threat to everyone in Lebanon and beyond. Therefore, the resistance war must continue until this threat is eradicated. Hezbollah’s patience has its limits; it is not unlimited.
No pagers, no smartphones, no announcement of the names of the new leaders, and the party has returned to its early beginnings, which is equivalent to carrier pigeons, direct communication, smart ambushes, limited-number cells, and finally, patience and fighting until victory, which is imminent, God willing… and the days will tell.
This comment by Chief Editor of Abdel Bari Atwan of Al Rai Al Youm was translated from Arabic and published in crossfirearabia.com
CrossFireArabia
The death toll from US and Israeli attacks on the B1 Bridge in the city of Karaj in Iran has risen to 13, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency, citing Amir Hossein Daneshkuhan, director general of the Alborz Martyrs and Veterans Foundation.
“The number of people who lost their lives in the US-Israeli attacks on the B1 Bridge in Alborz province has risen to 13,” Daneshkuhan said early Saturday.
A US-Israeli strike hit a key bridge on a major highway in northern Iran’s Alborz province earlier Thursday, according to media reports.
The Fars News Agency said multiple sites were struck in the Azimieh area near Karaj, including the B1 Bridge, described as the highest bridge in the Middle East.
The outlet reported several injuries and that the bridge, part of a major infrastructure project expected to be inaugurated soon, was damaged.
Reports indicate that the US military may have carried out a “double tap” strike in Iran, meaning the same location was hit twice in succession.
According to accounts cited in media coverage, the second strike occurred roughly an hour after the first, at a time when emergency responders were already on the scene assisting the wounded, despite the personnel being considered protected civilians under international law.
The strike is the latest escalation in a campaign that began Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched an air offensive against Iran that has killed more than 1,340 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes on Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf states hosting US forces, causing casualties and infrastructure damage, while disrupting global markets and aviation. Anadolu
CrossFireArabia
Iranian missiles directly struck multiple locations in and around the occupied city of Haifa according to reports by the Israeli media, Friday.
It stated that missiles debris landed on two significant sites in Haifa, while videos circulated by settlers on the Telegram platform showed projectiles landing in the settlement of Kiryat Ata, east of Haifa.
According to Israeli media, six injuries were initially reported as a result of the Iranian missile strikes in Haifa.
Earlier, the Israeli Home Front Command reported detecting missile launches from Iran and urged settlers to immediately seek shelter.
Iranian attacks on the occupied Palestinian territories targeted Haifa on several occasions, striking military sites, oil refineries, and energy infrastructure.
The attacks on Haifa and other areas are part of the response to the US-Israeli aggression against Iran, specifically Operation “True Promise 4,” which has seen over 90 waves of strikes in the first month of the offensive. Jo24
CrossFireArabia
The Israeli occupation continues its closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the 35th consecutive day. This is a move that is described as unprecedented in decades and comes amid escalating calls for mass mobilization and protests in support of the mosque.
The continued closure comes amid warnings of attempts to impose a new reality on the Al-Aqsa by enshrining a temporal and spatial division of the site and coincides with the increased activity of extremist Israeli settler Temple Mount groups who want to storm the mosque and perform Talmudic rituals in its courtyards.
These settlers intensified their incitement to storm the mosque in the Jewish Passover holiday and calling for the “sacrifice of animals” on its grounds and demanding its reopening in the holiday period, which extends from 2-9 April. Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation is exploiting the current state of emergency to consolidate its control over the mosque, while Jerusalemites and the wider Palestinian public are calling for mass mobilization towards the nearest military checkpoints and barriers surrounding it to break the Israeli military siege and force the reopening of the mosque.
In parallel, the Israeli occupation authorities are preparing to open the Western Wall on 5 April to dozens of rabbis for the Priestly Blessing, a move seen as part of attempts to solidify their Jewish presence, including religious rituals in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Jerusalem affairs researcher Abdullah Marouf warned of the seriousness of the current situation. He noted the mosque has not been closed in this way since the liberation of Jerusalem in 1187. He believes that these Temple Mount groups are seeking to exploit the holiday period to impose a reality that paves way for their plans.
Meanwhile, there are calls for escalation to transform the coming days into a widespread wave of anger. Hamas is calling for general mobilization under the slogan of “Friday of the Night Journey and the Prisoners,” in light of the ongoing violations against the mosque and Palestinian prisoners. An international campaign titled “Al-Aqsa is Crying for Help” has also been launched, with the participation of Arab and Islamic institutions to mobilize public opinion and pressure for an end to the violations.
Jerusalemite activists warned that the continued closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque represents a “dangerous escalation,” stressing that it falls within attempts to impose realities that are difficult to change, and are calling for increased presence and vigilance around the mosque to emphasizine its Arab and Islamic identity.
Ayat, Qamar Bid Farwell to Their Martyr Dad
‘We Killed Our Own Then Blamed Hamas’
An Unholy War!
‘Journalist Khalil Trapped Under Rubble Left to Die’
