First Time Here? Readers suggest starting with the expanded Gaza Explainer in #133 and #120.
Tags: 7 Min Read; Must See Videos of Beirut’s Underground
Update: The email release was accidentally mis-numbered which resulted in many broken video links. The solution is to read the entry on the site.
Friday Afternoon in Tel Aviv outside the Kendama store:
Life isn't just a bitch. It's also a beach:
The haggim are over. It is time to take down the succah. The weather is ideal (in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv). And the small Pilates studio near Baka did not cancel classes (for once).
A good day at the end of a good, yet tough, month?
Turning to the sturm und drang of 2024… but only that of this region…
Casualties
The war in Gaza appears to kill about one IDF soldier a day (two a day if we count October 7 itself). Hezbollah is killing more, but still far less than feared. Captured Hezbollah terrorists, when asked "Where are your comrades?" respond that most were in it for the salary and don't want to fight. When the IDF crossed the border, the vast majority bolted. Based on available info, firefights are relatively few, and sometimes include Hezbollah terrorists from Syria or Iraq--possibly confirming the understanding that relatively few Lebanese Hezbollah seek combat.
Not to say that the death and destruction are not real.
Hamas and Hezbollah, by tunneling under civilian areas and storing arms everywhere (densely populated areas of Beirut, hospital basements, and more), turned whole swaths of Gaza and Lebanon into legitimate military targets. Recall the words of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock who said that protected (under international law) spaces like schools and hospitals lose that protection when Hamas uses them. This is why swaths of southern Lebanon are now rubble.
Mail
Remind me what happened August 7 Iran is gloating about?
I have no idea!
Readers who have an answer to that riddle (from #146) drop a line! (Simply reply to any of these emails or contact me directly.)
Dept of The Invisible
Items invisible in the Western media.
Part 1: Hezbollah's Funding Sources & Control of Lebanese Economy
2 Minute Video by the IDF: Hebrew w/English subs.
The segment above has a concrete mission: Explain how Iran and Hezbollah have, mafia style, exploited the economies of Lebanon and nearby countries. It doesn't go into Hezbollah's revenue from illicit drug smuggling, human trafficking and other illegal activities.
Part 2: The IDF Announces Location of Hezbollah's Bunker of Gold...
IDF Spokesperson: Hezbollah holds at least half a billion dollars in cash and gold in a bunker it built under Al Sahel Hospital in the Harat Harikh neighborhood of Dahieh in Beirut.
The IDF spokesperson announced that the IDF did not attack (and will not attack) the place.
Perhaps the hope is it will be nationalized by the Lebanese government?
Then, panic sets in:
The director of Al Sahel Hospital in Harat Kharich in Dahieh:
”I deny that there are Hezbollah funds under the hospital.
The hospital is now being evacuated.” [Apparently fearing an Israeli strike even though the IDF clearly stated it would not. Or do they fear a domestic Lebanese battle over the loot?]
Part 3: Lebanese Journalists Look for the Bunker!
And fail to find any gold!
Joke's on you, IDF!
Part 4: The IDF Arabic Spokesperson Responds To Lebanese Journalists In Detail: It Is Here
After the IDF revealed 👆about a week ago the location of Nasrallah’s bunker, reportedly hiding half a billion dollars under the al-Sahel Hospital on Chera'am Street in the Harat Harikh neighborhood of Dahieh in Beirut, Lebanese journalists toured the site and showed they found nothing.
The IDF’s Arabic spokesperson uses the videos filmed by the journalists, pausing at specific moments during the televised tour, to point out, to the exact meter, where the mysterious bunker with the "treasure" is located - and asking them to go back for another look.
Worth a watch. Arabic w/English subs.
Part 5: And Now...
Following the above video from the IDF spokesperson in Arabic about Hezbollah's "treasure" beneath the al-Sahel Hospital in Dahieh, 👆 Lebanese Christian journalist Sabine Youssef asks:
“Why isn't the Lebanese government sending the army and security forces to al-Sahel Hospital to search for the half a billion dollars and use it to assist the displaced or to rebuild the destroyed villages?”
“What is the state afraid of when Hezbollah is at the height of its collapse?”
The status of Hezbollah is stated by many Lebanese, including this member of the Lebanese Parliament Mark Daou (Christian):
"As a military force - fighting, regional, offensive - Hezbollah no longer exists. As a regional power? Bye-bye. It’s over."
Rockets... 50-200 rockets and drones/day
For all its degradation (which is great), Hezbollah continues to fire 50-200 drones and rockets a day at Israel. Arab Israelis and West Bank Palestinians are among the casualties.
It's not all bad news in rocket-land:
IDF: Approximately 130 launchers dismantled by the IAF over the past week
Over the past week, IAF aircraft struck approximately 130 ready-to-fire launchers, some of which had previously been used by Hezbollah terrorists to fire toward the State of Israel.
Yesterday (Friday), the IAF rapidly struck the launcher that had fired a rocket toward Majd al-Krum that injured multiple [Muslim] civilians.This week, IDF troops located four armed mobile launchers with approximately 160 ready-to-fire rockets that were confiscated by the troops.
Postmark
Beirut
Beirut still holds many tons of Hezbollah weapons:
The IDF spokesman in Arabic announced [a few days ago] three evacuation warnings for buildings in the neighborhoods of Haret Hreik and Bourj el-Barajneh in the Dahieh area of Beirut.
Shortly after, the sites were attacked. Note the large number of secondary explosions, indicating the presence of munitions.
The Golan
You may have read (it sounds bad, so it must have made the news, right?) that not only is the IDF operating in Syria but has even moved the border fence. The IDF explains that Hezbollah has for years been building infrastructure opposite the border with Syria in and near the Golan.
Israelis Spying for Iran
Several Israelis have been indicted for spying for Iran. Why? They were paid.
The Human Side: Q&A with Released Hostages
This show is region locked to Israel. If you are in Israel (or use a VPN to Israel), use this link:
For everyone else:
Use the Auto Translate option to get English subtitles.
Lebanon
Now It's Hezbollah Tunnels....
I haven't seen tunnel destruction clips from Gaza for.... a month or two now. But there is a steady stream from Lebanon....
And:
And the destruction of the above:
IDF Spokesman RE the above: IDF forces located and destroyed with approximately 400 tons of explosives an underground strategic military facility built by Hezbollah over the past 15 years.
The length of the route is over a kilometer and a half, and in it was located equipment that was used by hundreds of terrorists to stay for a long time, including food, beds, closets, electricity and many weapons - anti-tank missiles, rockets, RPGs, mines and many explosive charges.Side note: The detonation caused earthquake warnings in various areas in the north of Israel—the seismic waves were so strong they triggered earthquake sensors.
Last week, destruction of a Hezbollah tunnel was reported to use 100 tons of explosive. Is that all Israel supplied? Or are the many mines found in Hezbollah arsenals also used?
The ground in Lebanon is not like in Gaza. In Gaza, the ground is soft. Digging tunnels is easy. Blowing them up is also “easy.” In Lebanon, tunnels are hard to dig. And hard to destroy. Where hundreds of tons of explosive come from, I don’t know.
From a Hezbollah Storage Closet near the Israeli Border
This weapons warehouse was located in the heart of a residential neighborhood near a civilian home.
And a mobile rocket launcher pointed at Israel
It Was a Weapons Depot…
Below: Controlled explosion of Radwan Force (Hezbollah) ammunition warehouses in southern Lebanon.
Beirut: Hezbollah Press Conference: “Mic Drop?”
Mohammad Afif, the head of Hezbollah's public relations, held a large press conference in the al-Ghobeiry area of Dahieh in Beirut.
During his speech, the IDF spokesman issued an evacuation notice in Arabic for two buildings in the area of... al-Ghobeiry in Dahieh.
The journalists quickly folded up their gear for fear of being hit by the upcoming Israeli attack
Earlier in this very press conference, Mohammad Afif announced (for the first time) that Hezbollah accepts responsibility for the attack on Netanyahu's residence. In this conference, he also says that Hezbollah will win.
Tehran
A billboard that was put up in Palestine Square in Tehran a few days ago, after the elimination of Sinwar, saying that the "storm" continues.
The President of Iran paid a visit to the Hamas offices in Tehran to show his respect for Yahya Sinwar.
North Gaza
The IDF instructs civilians to evacuate. Hamas opens fire at those who leave. IDF medics offer treatment. What should this be called?
The backstory: Northern Gaza did not evacuate until the past two weeks. Hamas was very dug in there, and had rallied their cause to the slogan that “Northern Gaza Shall Not Fall.” When the IDF issued evacuation orders, thousands did leave, but Hamas used beatings and live fire trying to prevent evacuation.
The population did, from available information, ultimately evacuate.
Relief Area
Alef
(The picture is Sinwar’s family going into hiding hours before the October 7 attack.)
Bet
Gimmel
Dalet
AFAIK, this Hamas announcement is real and not in jest.
Hey: From their lips to God’s Ears...
(Referencing the participation of a number of female navigators and weapons officers aboard the IDF planes that attacked Iran yesterday. Below from the IDF Spokesperson.)
Seen at a Tel Aviv mall:
The haggim were amazing, and a number of friends have been visiting Israel from Seattle. I have been having a great time. I also visited, for the first time, the Tel Aviv Maker Space, which is sooooo Tel Aviv… No hours. No fees. Show up and just use it… Wood shop, metal shop, electronics workbenches…. Overheard: “The problem with Jerusalem is too many religious people and not enough gay people.”
To Peace,
Raf
(Thank you A.K., M.T.)