Hezbollah Announces 509 Operations against Israel Since War Began

A man walks near a destroyed home in Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike (AFP)
A man walks near a destroyed home in Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike (AFP)
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Hezbollah Announces 509 Operations against Israel Since War Began

A man walks near a destroyed home in Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike (AFP)
A man walks near a destroyed home in Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike (AFP)

Hezbollah conducted 509 operations against Israel in northern Palestine and southern Lebanon since the beginning of the war on Gaza until Dec. 14.

Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah continued, and the Israeli army said on Saturday that it targeted an area in southern Lebanon after three rockets were launched from Lebanese territory.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said via his "X" account that warplanes raided a series of Hezbollah targets, referring to several missiles launched from Lebanon towards Israel in recent hours.

Adraee indicated that the army responded with artillery shelling towards areas in Lebanon.

Al-Manar channel quoted Israeli media as saying that a bomb-laden drone was launched from Lebanon and hit an army gathering in Margaliot, causing two casualties. It also noted that Israeli military censorship banned publishing information about the security event.

Hezbollah mourned one of its fighters while announcing several military operations that targeted gatherings of Israeli soldiers and military sites, in addition to two homes where soldiers were stationed.

In separate statements, the Islamic Resistance announced that its fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the Ramim forest.

They also spotted a group of Israeli soldiers entering two houses in the al-Manara settlement. They targeted the two houses with appropriate weapons, directly hitting them and causing deaths and injuries.

A drone attacked a position of Israeli soldiers outside the Ramim barracks, the occupied Lebanese village of Honin, which led to confirmed casualties. ‏

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the operation, followed by another statement in which it said that the resistance fighters attacked the Israeli Metula site using guided munitions, adding that it was able to verify several casualties.

Earlier in the day, the Islamic Resistance announced that its fighters targeted a bunker where Israeli soldiers were entrenched in the occupied Birket Risha military site with a guided missile, resulting in confirmed casualties.

The National News Agency (NNA) reported that the operation was hours after Israel targeted the position in Birkat Risha on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab and Ramieh.

An Israeli raid targeted the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab and Wadi Hassan between Majdal Zun and al-Jebain, and attacks were recorded on a valley near Ramiya and Jabal Balat in the western sector.

It was also reported that an interceptor missile had exploded in the airspace of al-Dhahira.

The NNA reported that the Israeli army escalated its violent attacks at night until just before midnight, as military aircraft raided an area between Mansouri and Majdal Zoun and on the outskirts of Naqoura and Jabal al-Labouneh.

The drones fired a ground-air missile targeting the vicinity of Aita al-Shaab. The artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of most of the towns in the western and central sectors adjacent to the Blue Line.

On Friday evening, CNN quoted US officials saying that Israelis attacked Lebanese Armed Forces positions more than 34 times since Oct. 7, including with small arms and artillery fire, drones, and helicopters.

The Biden administration has told Israel that the strikes against the Lebanese military are unacceptable, officials said.

According to a senior US official, Washington believes at least some of those strikes have been accidental, intended instead for Hezbollah.

But the intention of other strikes has been less clear, the official said, and more junior Israeli troops may not be exercising enough restraint.



Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.