GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 325

Dude Looks Like A Lady

What Really Happened

When the IDF and Hezbollah attacked each other both sides declared victory. But did Hezbollah really do as much damage as they claimed? And just how did the IDF keep the terrorists from the north from executing their plans to hit Israel with 6,000 rockets and drones? We read from both sides in an article from CBN.com:

Israel was quiet on Monday morning after the military pre-empted what could have been a massive Hezbollah attack intended to devastate northern and central Israel, including Tel Aviv.

As we’ve heard from many news agencies, Israel’s air force hit many sites in Lebanon before Hezbollah could even use them:

About one hundred Israeli jets struck dozens of sites in Lebanon to destroy more than a thousand rockets and launchers Hezbollah was about to fire at Israel.

Israel Defense Forces Chief Spokesman Daniel Hagari explained, "We monitored Hezbollah for weeks using technological means and aerial patrols by Israeli Air Force aircraft. As soon as we identified Hezbollah's intention to carry out the attack, we thwarted the majority of the attack. Hezbollah attempted to severely harm the north and center of Israel, but was met with an iron fist."

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer asserted, "Thousands of missiles and drones were primed to be launched against civilians in Israel. Had these missiles and drones flown, the death toll would have been in the thousands with massive damage."

So by hitting them first, the IDF actually neutralized Hezbollah’s plans. The terrorists didn’t see it that way, though:

Hezbollah's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, insists that Israel started the trouble, and his terror group was on the defensive. Yet, he also claimed Israel's jets did no real damage.

“It was an aggression, not a preemptive act," Nasrallah said. "If we assume that it was a pre-emptive act then it had no impact at all on our military operations today."

While they were planning a bigger attack, they still did manage to attack on a smaller scale:

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah did manage to get 320 projectiles and attack drones into the air. From one northern Israeli city, distant explosions were visible in Lebanon, as were Hezbollah rockets soaring into the sky.  

Israel did sustain some damage and one fatality:

Still, Israel's only casualty was a sailor killed by shrapnel falling from the sky. He was buried in a military cemetery on Sunday.

As I reported yesterday, Hezbollah’s major damage has become a laughing matter online:

Some in the Arab world mocked Hezbollah because the group's rockets killed more chickens than anything else when they smashed into a chicken farm in the north.

More To Come

Both Hezbollah and Israel maintain that these exchanges are not the end of the fighting:

Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog believes the Jewish nation's preemptive strikes on Hezbollah may have prevented a wider war. He contends the threat is still present on the northern border, as is the untenable reality of thousands of Israelis unable to live in their own homes along the Lebanese border.

Speaking on CBS Face the Nation, Herzog stated, "We have nearly 70,000 people in Israel, northern Israel, away from their homes – refugees in their own country – and we have to make sure that they can go back safely to their homes."

He noted that Israel is being helped by the US:

Herzog also noted that a strong U.S. military presence is helping deter Iran. Two carrier groups are now in the region.

Ultimately Israel must neutralize Hezbollah permanently:

Israel still faces the reality that it must somehow put an end to Hezbollah's ability to strike its communities every day.

The US would prefer that things cool down rather than escalate:

However, the Biden administration still insists Israel must de-escalate rather than go on offense against Hezbollah or Iran. The White House believes a regional peace involves sealing a ceasefire deal in Cairo to end the war in Gaza, insisting Iran and Hezbollah both use that war to justify their attacks on Israel.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on CTV, "It is incumbent on all parties, in the region to work towards de-escalation and stability. And so we are feverishly working in Cairo as we speak, with our team and the teams of the other mediators, as well as with the Israelis, to get to a cease-fire and hostage deal."

It is rather easy for someone living without the threat of even one rocket attack on them to call for Israel who is surrounded by terrorist threats with no nations close wanting them to survive to deescalate. Israel is fighting for their literal lives daily. Which is why the PM states that this fight is nowhere close to being finished:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims the fight with Hezbollah and its Iranian overlords is far from over.

He said on Sunday, "Nasrallah in Beirut and Khamenei in Tehran should know that this is another step on the path to changing the situation in the north and returning our residents safely to their homes. And I repeat: this is not the end of the story."

Dude Looks Like A Lady

It could be seen as the prelude to a victory over Hamas when it’s leader is reduced to dressing like a woman to survive as we read in a report from The Jerusalem Post:

Yahya Sinwar, now Hamas’s overall leader, has “dressed as a woman” while hiding among Gaza’s populace outside the terror group’s tunnel network in the Gaza Strip, the UK’s Daily Express reported on Sunday, citing Israeli intelligence sources.

The New York Times on Sunday, citing American and Israeli officials, reported that Sinwar may have left tunnels in which he had been hiding on a number of occasions over the last year.

In a testament to the IDF taking over in Gaza, Sinwar is always on the move which will eventually take its toll on him and his family:

Sinwar has reportedly been moving from place to place in the Gaza Strip to stay ahead of Israeli efforts to hunt him down.

Sinwar is literally the last man standing for Hamas:

Since his appointment to head Hamas’s political bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, Sinwar has been the Islamist organization’s undisputed leader of both its political and military wings.

The noose is getting tighter and he can’t communicate easily now:

In August, speaking to Maariv, one Israeli security source estimated that Sinwar was running out of places to hide as the Israeli offensive in the Strip cut away at Hamas’s leadership and continued to advance in Gaza.

Sinwar is believed to be relying on human couriers to receive information and send instructions, the Times noted.

“Sinwar is said to no longer trust electronic communications, fearing that the Israeli army will discover his location and kill him,” the Emirati Al-Ain reported earlier this month.

In a request that I am certain Israel is rejecting the terrorist leader still wants to survive:

London-based Asharq al-Awsat reported that Sinwar is insisting that his life be spared as part of ceasefire deal. In July, the IAF targeted the head of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammad Deif, who had survived seven previous assassination attempts, and later confirmed his death. In the same strike the IAF also eliminated Khan Yunis Brigade commander Rafa’a Salameh.

Israel will most likely find out where Sinwar is because of someone who knows his whereabouts and is incentivized to rat him out. And once he’s gone Hamas will be on fumes and the rest of the rats will scatter to survive as well. However, when that happens Hezbollah and all the rest of Iran’s proxies will have no choice but to avenge his death and wage an all out attack on Israel. At least that’s what I see coming. Your mileage may vary.