Lebanese Hezbollah's retaliatory raid on IDF

Above: IDF Isuzu D-Max vehicle destroyed by Lebanese Hezbollah 9M133 Kornet anti-tank guided missile (ATGM)

On 28JAN15, in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike last week that killed six Lebanese Hezbollah (LH) fighters and an IRGC brigadier general, LH launched Operation "Statement Number One" against an Israeli Defense Force (IDF)  motorized column at Sheba Farms.

LH claims its "Quneitra martyrs of the Islamic Resistance" targeted 9 vehicles, with Israeli sources reporting the column included members of the Tzabar battalion of the Givati Brigade ("Highland Brigade”).  Israeli sources further state LH fired at least five 9M133 Kornet anti-tank guided missiles at the column. Reported IDF casualties are 2 KIA (including a company commander) and 7 WIA.

Israel responded with rocket and artillery strikes against targets along the Lebanon-Israel border, killing a UNIFIL peacekeeper from Spain.

COMMENTARY: Since the IDF strike last week that killed senior Hezbollah and Iranian military leaders, Iran and Hezbollah have publicly declared the intent to retaliate.

Judging by the results, Israel's political and military leadership have again underestimated the tactical capability of Hezbollah. (Past underestimation triggered the 2006 Lebanon War and unsuccessful outcome.)

The IDF experienced Hezbollah 9M133 Kornet ATGM fire during the 2006 Lebanon War. Curiously, despite the heightened sense of risk following last week's IDF strike at Quneitra, soft-skinned vehicles belonging to members Tzabar battalion of the Givati Brigade found themselves within range of infiltrating LH raiders.

Whatever the next moves made by Israel or the Iran-led coalition, it appears the multi-dimensional armed conflicts taking place at or about the Levant are now even more complicated.

Soft-skinned vehicles of the IDF Givati Brigade, successfully targeted during LH's Operation "Statement Number One"

File photo of a Lebanese Hezbollah 9M133 Kornet anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system

Israeli Jets Strike Sites Near Damascus - UPDATE

Israeli fighter jets launched an airstrike on two military sites outside Damascus, Syria’s official SANA news agency and Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV reported Sunday. (AFP, 7 December)

The targets were military sites at Damascus’s main airport and at Dimas on a key road near the Syrian-Lebanese border.

“The Israeli enemy attacked Syria by targeting two security areas in Damascus province, namely the Dimas area and the area of Damascus International Airport,” said SANA, adding that no casualties were reported. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the target at Dimas was a military position, and the strike near the airport hit a warehouse.

Comment: The Israeli attacks on a warehouse near the airport and a site in Dimas, half way between Damascus and the Lebanese border, probably point to attacks on a weapons storage warehouse near the airport and on a possible shipment of weapons en route to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran is believed to regularly ship its Fateh-110 ballistic missiles to Damascus airport for use by the Syrian military and the Hezbollah.

Photo credit: A fireball after an Israeli airstrike inside Syria; 7 December 2014 (Screen capture: Channel 2/The Times of Israel)

Israel Launches Next-Generation Satellite

High Resolution Images as Small as 18 Inches Across

Israel’s Defense Ministry has successfully launched Ofek 10, a next-generation satellite capable of highly-targeted surveillance of specific locations – such as Iranian targets.

“We continue to increase the vast qualitative and technological advantage over our neighbors," said Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. (RT, 10 April)

Ofek 10 functions in a fundamentally new way than its predecessor, Ofek 9, launched four years ago. Instead of sweeping through vast swathes of territory with its cameras, it can momentarily switch between different locations by altering orbits, producing high-resolution images of objects as small as 18 inches across. (RT, 10 April)

Ofek 10 has already begun relaying visuals and information from orbit. It is expected to become fully operational within three months.

Photo credit: Ofek 10's launch, 9 April 2014. (IDF/Israel Aerospace Industries/RT)

Israel Intercepts Ship Carrying Rockets – Reportedly Loaded in Bandar Abbas

Israeli naval commandos today raided a cargo ship that had reportedly left the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas destined for Sudan and seized dozens of advanced heavy rockets hidden in boxes covered by hundreds of sacks of cement. The Associated Press quoted an Israeli Defense Force spokesman that the rockets were to be ultimately delivered to Palestinian militant groups in Gaza.

The rockets were M-302C, M-302D and M-302E with ranges of 100-130 miles (160-215 km), putting all of Israel in their range from Gaza. They were made in Syria.

The IDF Intelligence sources were quoted by as saying that Iran’s Quds Force was behind the elaborate plan to ship the rockets by air from Damascus International Airport to Iran, presumably through Iraqi airspace, then taking them to Bandar Abbas.

The ship, KLOS C (IMO: 8918710; MMSI: 373773000), is a general cargo vessel registered in Panama. The IDF says the ship left Bandar Abbas, made a stop at Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, where it loaded some more cargo containers, and then sailed toward Sudan. IDF says by stopping in Iraq, the Iranians were obscuring their tracks. IDF was reportedly following the weapons transfer for several months.

The ship was intercepted at 05:30 local time on Wednesday in the Red Sea by Shayetet 13, Israeli navy’s special forces, and along with its 17-man crew was taken to an Israeli port.

Later today, the Israeli foreign ministry said that it will lodge a formal complaint with UN Security Council against Iran. If the Iranians were behind the shipment, they are in violation of UNSC resolutions 1747 and 1929, prohibiting arms exports from Iran, and they could be referred to a special Iran sanctions committee set up by UNSC under resolution 1737.

UPDATE: The State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that the U.S. military was prepared to get involved in the seizure of the cargo ship KLOS C.  Psaki added, however, that Israel “ultimately chose to take the lead.” The U.S. and Israel worked together, Psaki said, to track the ship.

UPDATE: Iran has denied the report, calling it “totally without foundation.” (Al Alam, 5 March)

Sources: AP, AFP, Defense-Update, JewishPress (5 March 2014)

File photo above: KLOS C seen at one of its recent port visits. (Super Jeq/marinetraffic.com)
Photos below, from top to bottom:
- Israeli naval commandos inspecting wooden carts containing M-302 rockets loaded on the KLOS-C. (IDF/JewishPress)
- Special operators of IDF’s naval commando unit ‘Shayetet 13′ in a training exercise on a Sa’ar 5-class Corvette of the Israeli Navy. (IDF.JewishPress)
- A still photo grabbed from an IDF video showing sacks of cement allegedly used to hide the missiles.

Israeli Jets Bomb Missile Launchers in Latakia - Report

Israeli fighter planes bombarded missile launchers in the Syrian port city of Latakia just before midnight on Sunday, with explosions reported in the Sheikh Dahar neighborhood of the city, near the city’s port, Israel’s Channel 2, quoting opposition groups, reported today. (JPost, 27 January)

The opposition groups also claimed the airstrikes targeted S-300 battery launcher. But it was not clear if the Syrian military had even received the state-of-the-art Russian air missile system. Last December, AFP quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying that Russia had delivered some components of S-300, but not a complete system yet. It was not clear what components had been delivered, and if the Israelis were targeting those components yesterday.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s LBCI reported today that two Israeli jets breached the sound barrier off Batroun district in north Lebanon at 10:45 pm on Sunday, executed circular flight and then left at 11:55 PM. (LBCI/JPost, 27 January).

In October, Israel conducted air raids against a missile base near Latakia. In September, Israel attacked an arms depot in Latakia.

File photo: IAF A-4, F-16 jets at Hatzerim Airbase in Negev Desert.  (Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Israel-Palestine Conflict Intensifies

Palestinians on Friday launched longer-range rockets toward Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The attack on Jerusalem was the first on the city since 1970s. In response, the IDF launched airstrikes before dawn Saturday on the Gaza City offices of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya. The offices were closed at the time of the attack.

Along with Premier Haniya’s headquarters, which was destroyed, the Israeli military struck the police and homeland security headquarters of Hamas in Gaza City. The Israeli Air Force also attacked 200 targets overnight including 120 rocket launchers as Operation Pillar of Defense intensified.

Hamas said it has developed “M-75” rockets with a range of approximately 46 miles that were fired toward Jerusalem. On Thursday, Hamas had also used Iranian-build Fajr-5 missiles in an attack on Kiryat Malakhi. Fajr-5 also has a similar range of 46 miles. Most of the rockets fired by Hamas have fallen within 25 miles of the Gaza border (see the map). By using the longer-range rockets, Hamas has been able to target Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. About 30 rockets were also fired from Gaza into southern Israel on Saturday morning.

Iron Dome, the Israeli anti-missile shield, jointly developed by the United States and Israel, has been successful in intercepting 90 percent of Palestinian rockets within its 25-mile zone. In response to rockets reaching Tel Aviv, IDF on Friday deployed the 5^th Iron Dome near the city.

Photo credit: Most of rockets fired by Hamas have fallen within 25 miles of Gaza border. Hamas used three longer-range rockets on Friday to hit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. (The Washington Post, 17 November) 

IDF Ready to Hit Iran If Ordered - Gantz

IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said today in an interview with Israeli daily Yediot Aharanot that 2012 would be a critical year in efforts to halt Iran’s “nuclear arms program” and the Israeli military is ready to attack Iranian nuclear sites if ordered. Gen. Gantz added that the IDF is carrying special operations beyond its borders, presumably inside Iran.

“We think that a nuclear Iran is a very bad thing, which the world needs to stop and which Israel needs to stop -- and we are planning accordingly,” Gen. Gantz said. “In principle, we are ready to act. That does not mean that I will now order (Air Force Commander in Chief Maj. Gen.) Ido (Nehushtan) to strike Iran," he added [AFP, 22 April].

Gantz said he had increased the number of Israeli special operations in “other countries,” without providing any details. “I'm not taking the credit, I'm just accelerating all those special operations," he added.


Source: Yediot Aharanot/AFP

IDF Seizes Freighter Headed to Gaza

Israel Defense Force (IDF) seized a freighter ship, known as Victoria, in the Mediterranean Sea, 200 miles off of Israel's coast. IDF reported that the ship was carrying dozens of tons of weaponry from Iran headed for Hamas in the Gaza strip.

The Victoria was boarded by commandos from the Israeli Navy's Shayetet unit, and is expected to arrive in the Ashdod port later today. The ship set sails last night from Turkey, and was expected to dock in Alexandria, Egypt. IDF said that the weapons did not originate in Turkey, but that the containers were unloaded there and transferred onto the Victoria.