Israel launches multiple attacks! Over a thousand people dead in Lebanon; Nasrallah's son-in-law targeted for "elimination"; Iran, Hezbollah conduct comprehensive investigations

Abstract

• Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria, Israel continues to launch attacks in multiple areas.
• The Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency issued a joint announcement on October 3, announcing the killing of Hamas leader Lahixi Mushtaha in the Gaza Strip and two other senior members.
• On October 2, in a targeted strike by Israel on a residential building in the Syrian capital Damascus, three people were killed, including one who was the son-in-law of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon who was previously killed in an attack.
• On September 27, Israel bombed Beirut, Lebanon, killing Hezbollah leader Nasrallah.
• The Foreign Minister of Lebanon stated on the 2nd that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a ceasefire with Israel before being killed in the attack.
• Three Iranian sources said that Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei had warned Hassan Nasrallah to leave Lebanon days before he was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Khamenei is now deeply concerned about Israeli infiltration into senior levels of the Tehran government.
• Three sources in Lebanon said that meanwhile, Hezbollah has launched a large-scale investigation to eliminate Israeli spies in Lebanon, questioning hundreds of members after the pager explosion incident. The sources stated that a "more thorough and comprehensive investigation" and cleansing is now needed after the killings of Nasrallah and other commanders.

Israel continues to launch attacks in multiple areas

Israel bombed the center of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on the 3rd, killing at least 6 people and injuring 8. In addition, on the 2nd local time, Israel launched attacks in multiple areas, resulting in dozens of deaths.

Reuters cited sources as saying that Israel's target in Beirut on the 3rd was a building near the Lebanese parliament, marking the closest Israeli airstrike to the Lebanese government headquarters.

Lebanese security officials said that 3 missiles also hit the southern suburbs of Beirut. On the 2nd, the southern suburbs of Beirut were attacked by Israel more than ten times. According to the Lebanese National News Agency, the Israeli military used white phosphorus, which is banned by international law, in the attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut.

According to Reuters, Hezbollah in Lebanon claimed to have repelled Israeli troops near several border towns and fired rockets at Israeli military outposts. The Israeli army stated that regular infantry and armored units joined Israel's ground operations in Lebanon on the 2nd.

According to the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz," 8 Israeli soldiers have died in a "limited ground operation" in southern Lebanon. Al Jazeera cited the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health on the 3rd, stating that Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon in the past 24 hours have killed at least 46 people and injured 85.

According to the Associated Press, Israel has stated that it will continue to strike Hezbollah until tens of thousands of "displaced Israelis" on the Lebanese border can safely return home. Hezbollah has vowed to continue firing rockets at Israel until a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Associated Press cited a statement from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health on the 3rd, stating that Israel's attacks in the past two weeks have resulted in over 1,000 deaths in Lebanon, with nearly a quarter being women and children.

On the evening of the 2nd local time, the Gulf Cooperation Council held a special ministerial meeting in Doha and expressed support for Lebanon in this "critical stage," calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza According to the Syrian state news agency, Israel launched an airstrike on a residential building in the Syrian capital Damascus on the evening of the 2nd, resulting in the deaths of 3 civilians and injuries to many.

The Gaza Health Ministry stated on the 2nd that an Israeli attack in the early hours of the 2nd in southern Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip has resulted in at least 51 deaths and 82 injuries.

On the 2nd, the Israeli Foreign Minister announced that he had banned UN Secretary-General Guterres from entering Israel because Guterres "did not clearly condemn" Iran's missile attack on Israel on the 1st. UN Secretary-General's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that Israel's ban on Guterres is a political statement by its Foreign Minister, emphasizing that the UN will continue to maintain contact with Israel.

Israeli Military Claims to Have Killed Hamas Leader Lohei Mustaha in Gaza

According to CCTV International News, the Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency issued a joint announcement today (October 3rd) local time, announcing the killing of Hamas leader Lohei Mustaha in the Gaza Strip and two other senior members.

The announcement stated that in a precise strike by the Israeli Defense Forces and the Security Agency, an air force plane attacked and eliminated "terrorists" hiding in a heavily guarded, well-equipped underground building in the northern Gaza Strip. The location served as Hamas' command and control center, managed by senior members responsible for security mechanisms.

The military stated that the operation took place 3 months ago, and after the attack, Hamas did not announce the death of its members to prevent morale from falling. Hamas has not yet responded to this.

Mustaha was involved in military decision-making and also served as the civil administration head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, assisting Hamas' new political leader Sinwar.

Nasrallah's Son-in-law Targeted by Israel Killed

According to AFP reports from Damascus/Beirut on October 2nd, according to a UK-based monitoring group, in a targeted strike by Israel on a residential building in Damascus, three people were killed, one of whom was the son-in-law of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah who was previously killed in an attack in Beirut.

The report stated that sources told the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that Nasrallah's son-in-law was killed in the Israeli airstrike on Damascus.

A total of three people died in the Israeli airstrike, two of whom were Lebanese, with one being Hassan Jaafar Kasir, Nasrallah's son-in-law. Nasrallah was killed in Beirut last week.

At least four other people in the building were injured.

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the users of this three-story building were members of Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Lebanese Foreign Minister: Nasrallah Had Agreed to Ceasefire Before Death

According to TASS reports from Beirut on October 2nd, Lebanese Foreign Minister Habib stated on the CNN program that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a ceasefire with Israel before his death.

Habib stated, "He had agreed. Yes, the Lebanese side had agreed. We consulted with Hezbollah, and the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, consulted with Hezbollah. We have informed the representatives of the United States and France of the decision we made." According to reports, on September 26, Australia, Germany, Italy, Canada, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the United States, France, and Japan called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire in the border areas between Israel and Lebanon. The New York Times later cited officials as saying that the ceasefire proposal from the United States and its allies could be accepted "in the next few hours." On September 27, Israel bombed Beirut in Lebanon and killed Hezbollah leader Nasrallah.

An Iranian military advisor injured in an attack in Syria dies

According to CCTV News, recently, Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military advisor Divani was injured during an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital, Damascus. On October 3, local time, Divani was announced dead.

Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the Israeli military has repeatedly targeted Syrian territory under the pretext of striking Iranian military facilities. Both the Syrian and Iranian governments have denied the presence of Iranian troops in Syria. After a new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict erupted in October last year, Israel's attacks on targets inside Syria became more frequent.

Iran, Hezbollah: Comprehensive investigation!

According to Reuters on October 2, three Iranian sources said that Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei had warned Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to leave Lebanon days before he was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Khamenei is now deeply concerned about Israeli infiltration into senior Tehran government officials.

One of the sources is a senior Iranian official. He said that after Hezbollah was hit by a pager bomb attack on September 17, Khamenei immediately sent a messenger to convey a message to Nasrallah and cited intelligence that Israel had moles within Hezbollah and was planning to assassinate him.

The official said that this messenger was Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. When the Israeli bomb hit the shelter where Nasrallah was, he was also there and died together.

A senior Iranian official said that Khamenei personally ordered the launch of about 200 missiles at Israel.

This report interviewed 10 sources. From their conversations, the current situation may complicate the effective operation of Iran's unconventional armed alliance "Axis of Resistance" against Israel.

A senior Iranian official said that Nasrallah's death prompted Iranian authorities to thoroughly investigate possible infiltrations within Iran, from the Revolutionary Guards to senior security officials. An official said they are particularly concerned about those who travel abroad or have relatives living outside Iran.

He said that Tehran began to suspect some Revolutionary Guard members who frequently traveled to Lebanon. The official also said that when one of them started asking about Nasrallah's whereabouts, especially how long he would stay at a specific location, this raised concerns within the relevant departments. After an alert was issued by the Iranian intelligence community, this person and several others were arrested.

In July this year, Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukair and an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander were killed in an Israeli airstrike while meeting at a secret location in Beirut Two Hezbollah sources and a Lebanese security official told Reuters at the time that the incident sounded the alarm in Tehran and within Hezbollah, indicating that "Mossad" may have infiltrated. Hours after the attack, Hamas leader Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran.

Iranian officials said that after the pager explosion, Tehran held several high-level meetings to discuss the security of Hezbollah and Nasrallah. Three sources in Lebanon said that at the same time, Hezbollah launched a large-scale investigation in Lebanon to eliminate Israeli spies, interrogating hundreds of members after the pager explosion.

The source said that after the killings of Nasrallah and other commanders, a "more in-depth comprehensive investigation" and cleansing are now needed.

More News

US Military Expert: Israeli-Lebanese Conflict Different from Gaza War

According to a report from the German news channel website on October 1st, the Israeli army is crossing the northern border into southern Lebanon. American military expert John Spencer, known for his study of urban warfare, said that the ground combat by the Israeli military against terrorists in Lebanon will be different from the attack on Gaza, both in terms of the progress of the battle and its external form.

Spencer said that in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military will face military challenges day and night. Hezbollah's armed forces in Lebanon number about 200,000, five times the size of Palestinian Hamas members. However, in this current operation, the Israeli military will not encounter the sophisticated defense fortifications seen in Gaza. He said, "In Gaza, 40,000 Hamas fighters are hiding in densely populated cities. They are hiding in a 400-mile-long underground maze. Hamas is prepared for battle on every inch of land in the city."

Spencer believes that the challenges faced by the Israeli military in Gaza are unique, with the difficulty of urban warfare far exceeding that in Stalingrad.

This means that when the Israeli military entered Gaza in October 2023, they faced a prepared enemy; whereas now, the Israeli military is facing an enemy whose foundations are shaken and disoriented after a severe blow. Spencer said that Israel's "decapitation operation" against Hezbollah two weeks ago was highly effective, almost wiping out its entire leadership. He believes that this will severely affect Hezbollah's combat capabilities, especially on a psychological level.

Although Hezbollah's armed forces still have a large number of rockets and sufficient manpower, they have not only lost their leadership but also their core communication tools - pagers and walkie-talkies. Hezbollah fighters now do not have time to replenish these devices.

However, in Spencer's view, the most significant difference between the Lebanon war and the Gaza war is the level of threat to the population. He said, "We have seen that the Lebanese are heeding Israel's call and fleeing the danger zone with their families." It is said that about 100,000 people have fled from Lebanon to Syria. This situation is different from Gaza, where Palestinians are still trapped because Egypt refuses to open the border to refugees.

The Israeli military stated that this military operation in Lebanon has clear war objectives - including geographical objectives. Spencer said that this is another key difference between the Lebanon war and the Gaza war: "The Israeli military's war objectives in Gaza are what we call 'infinite objectives' - the Israeli Defense Forces invade to completely destroy enemy military forces and replace the regime "Israel almost daily claims that it does not seek to achieve such comprehensive goals in Lebanon. Israel states that the goal of its military is to stabilize the border situation and eliminate threats faced by its border residents.

Spencer predicts that the southern part of Lebanon will suffer significant losses, as the Israeli military must destroy residential areas in order to drive Hezbollah out of the region. He warns that although the war may not be as intense as in Gaza, the military strength of Hezbollah should not be underestimated.

Shortly after the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Nasrallah, the remaining leaders of Hezbollah announced that they would continue to attack Israel. Nevertheless, Spencer believes that the conflict in southern Lebanon could end quickly, and the hostile parties could reach a compromise: "If Hezbollah acts rationally, they will come to a different conclusion than in Gaza. We must remember: Hamas in Gaza knew from day one that 'we will all die.' They claimed they would die to eliminate Israel."

Spencer analyzes that Hezbollah has never said such things or taken such actions. Furthermore, he believes that Iran, as the sponsor and actual leader of Hezbollah, will also have a significant say in the decision-making process. He said, "Israel spent a year trying to get Hezbollah to stop attacking northern Israel through diplomatic means." Spencer believes that Israelis should now send a signal indicating that they are ready to use force to permanently solve the problem, which may prompt Hezbollah to be willing to resolve the conflict through diplomatic channels.

This article is compiled by Shanghai Securities News from Reference News, CCTV International News, and China News Network, source: Shanghai Securities News, original title "Israel, Striking on Multiple Fronts! Over a Thousand Deaths in Lebanon; Nasrallah's Son-in-law Targeted for Assassination; Iran, Hezbollah Conduct Comprehensive Investigation"