By Israel Hayom— Five projectiles from Syria set off air raid sirens in Israeli communities on Saturday, prompting the IDF to say it would step up its response to stray fire from the Syrian civil war that has repeatedly spilled over its northern border. The fire at the Golan Heights caused no injuries or damage.…
By Anna Ahronheim, Jerusalem Post— Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Israel that Moscow has agreed to expand a buffer zone along the Israeli-Syrian border, where Iranian and Hezbollah forces will not be allowed to enter, Arab media reported Wednesday. The statement attributed to an Israeli diplomatic official by London-based Asharq Al-Awsat said that Russia had…
BY Michael Eisenstadt and Jeffrey White, American Interest— The recapture by pro-Assad regime forces—including Lebanese Hizballah—of rebel-held Aleppo (December 2016) and of IS-held Deir al-Zur (ongoing as of September 2017) may not just mark the denouement of Syria’s tragic civil conflict, but may also pave the way for the next Hizballah-Israel war. Buoyed by these…
By Lilach Shoval, Israel Hayom— In the event of another war with Hezbollah, Israel’s achievement will be measured according to how massive a blow it would deal the Shiite terrorist group’s leadership and infrastructure, a senior officer involved in the wide-scale military exercise taking place near the northern border said Monday. “In any case, there…
By Tablet Magazine— In recent years, federal law enforcement agencies have repeatedly arrested Hezbollah operatives in the US who were trying to procure weapons and other combat-related equipment for the group. Those arrests have given US law enforcement a pretty clear idea of the specific items on Hezbollah’s wish-list – advanced rifles, night goggles, specialized…
By Earl Cox, JPost— In its short history just shy of seventy years, Israel has fought in eight recognized wars, two Palestinian intifadas, a number of armed conflicts with hostile neighbors and not one of these wars or armed conflicts was instigated or provoked by Israel. Israel’s neighbors should begin to wrap their heads around…
By Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira, JCPA— In a speech marking al-Quds Day, as established by Ayatollah Khomeini to identify with the Palestinian struggle on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened that in the next war with Israel he would open the borders of Lebanon to tens of…
By Israel Today— Israel’s Minister of Intelligence Israel Katz on Thursday strongly hinted that the Jewish state had carried out a large aerial strike on Damascus International Airport earlier in the day. Various regional and international media reported massive explosions on the outskirts of Syria’s main airport early Thursday morning. Hours later, Katz told Israel…
By JPost— Israel should get ready for a possible escalation with Hamas in the summer, according to Housing and Construction Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday. “We must be prepared for a confrontation with Hamas this summer,” he said, speaking to Army Radio. A member of the security cabinet and a former IDF general, Gallant continued,…
By Matt Brodsky, The Hill— Are Israel and Hezbollah headed for war? That’s the question many analysts are grappling with in the wake of recent escalations involving an Israeli strike inside Syria that targeted a weapons shipment meant for Hezbollah. It prompted Bashar Assad’s launch of three SA-5 surface-to-air missiles, triggering the first known use…