Israel and Hezbollah on brink of all-out war
Hezbollah drones reveal Israel's weaknesses
Hezbollah is giving us a live broadcast of the most sensitive Israeli sites all over the country. From water reservoirs, oil tanks, military installations and the port of Haifa
Undetected, Hezbollah Hoopoe mission exposes sensitive Israeli sites
Al Mayadeen18
Jun 2024
Hezbollah publishes a nine-minute video showing its drones flying in occupied Palestinian airspace over sensitive Israeli infrastructure.
A screen grab from the nine-minute video published by the Military Media of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, showing one of its reconnaissance drones flying over the Haifa Bay area in occupied Palestine (Islamic Resistance in Lebanon Military Media)
The Military Media of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah released Tuesday footage showing its reconnaissance drones flying over swathes of occupied Palestinian land, including Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya, Safad, Karmiel, Afula, all the way to Haifa and its port.
Titled "This is what the Hoopoe came back with," the nine-minute-and-a-half video captured footage and exposed sensitive Israeli sites. Hezbollah indicated that the video was only the first episode of more yet to come, highlighting that the drones bypassed Israeli air defenses and returned to Lebanese airspace undetected.
The published footage included intelligence about Israeli sites inside occupied Palestine and clearly showed that the drone arrived at the port of Haifa intact. Hezbollah's drones brought back footage and information about sensitive sites they captured over Haifa starting with the port itself to oil refineries and military factories, not to mention the locations of military battleships and important economic hubs in the port.
Rafael military-industrial complex
In detail, the video first shows Hezbollah's drones flying over a military-industrial complex belonging to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which includes numerous factories, warehouses, and testing fields in which components of air defense systems are manufactured and assembled, especially the Iron Dome and David's Sling.
Iron Dome and David's Sling platforms, rocket engine test tunnel and storage, air defense missile storage, missile component manufacturing facilities, control and guidance systems factories, company administrative buildings, and missile testing radars all appeared in the video.
The Military Media for the Islamic Resistance in #Lebanon published a lengthy video of a reconnaissance drone surveilling vital and sensitive regions in northern occupied #Palestine to Haifa.
🧵1/4 pic.twitter.com/snzuHym3Hn— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 18, 2024
According to Hezbollah, the area is highly vital and sensitive, occupies an area of around 6.5 km2, and is 24 km away from the Lebanese-Palestinian border.
Krayot
The video also included an overview of Krayot, an Israeli suburb north of occupied Haifa, which includes six occupied cities with a population of 260,000 Israeli settlers. Hezbollah published a complete high-definition view of the urban conglomeration there, with a real-time tour detailing Krayot districts and neighborhoods, including residences of Israeli official residences and commercial complexes.
Haifa Port Area
In addition, the Islamic Resistance's drones reached occupied Haifa's port -- the largest in the occupied territories -- and captured footage of the Haifa port Bay area, a highly valuable economic and trade area that hosts massive military installations, industrial infrastructure, and commercial areas.
The area includes the Haifa military base, which is the main naval base for the Israeli occupation forces, which is responsible for the northern naval front, as well as Iron Dome storage and platforms, petrochemical facilities, oil silos, the Haifa power station, and Haifa airport.
The Haifa Port area includes ship maintenance hangars, the building of Unit 3800 at Haifa Naval Base, the main warehouse and supply section at the Haifa Base dockyard, the Yaltam Unit building, submarine unit buildings, submarine dock and mooring, and the Sheyetet 7 submarine unit command building.
In addition, Hezbollah's video filmed the Karmiel and Mizrahi piers, as well as container ships and port operations.
Warships filmed comprised military vessels, including the Bat Yam logistical support ship, Sa'ar 4.5, 5, and 6 boats, and the Dvora-class fast patrol boat.
Hezbollah's video unveiled dozens of "super vital" targets
Major General Wasif Arikat described what Hezbollah revealed in the latest video as the "most valuable bank of targets."
He told Al Mayadeen that the message behind the video has been received, adding that what is happening now is not a field war but a war of awareness that proved that the Israeli occupation army, once described as the "invincible army", has been defeated and retreated.
On his part, Brigadier General Mohammad Abbas said that Hezbollah's drones surpassed all air defense systems and returned without being detected by Israeli systems.
He highlighted to Al Mayadeen that the video unveiled dozens of "super vital" targets, demonstrating that the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon possesses highly advanced capabilities.
Brigadier General Abbas further explained that the name "Hoopoe", which is a type of bird, reflects the long distance that Hezbollah's drones traveled in occupied Palestinian lands before returning with such valuable scenes.
Israeli media described what Hezbollah's drones documented as "disturbing" and "very dangerous".
Read more: Hezbollah drone surveys attack on Israeli base in a first (footage)
From Israeli media
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/391744
Blinken made secret weapons promise to Israel – Netanyahu
The Secretary of State said the White House “is working day and night” to resume all arms shipments, according to the PM
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed to have pressured the United States over arms supplies that his country needs in its war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The US paused delivery of weapons to Israel in early May amid calls for it to scale back its assault on the densely-populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza. The shipment reportedly included 3,500 bombs for fighter jets. The Jewish state’s offensive on Rafah has left thousands of Palestinians dead and injured, according to the local Hamas-run authorities.
In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Netanyahu said in English that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has assured him the White House “is working day and night to remove these bottlenecks,” referring to arms supplies.
The statement confirms the latest media reports that during a meeting with Blinken last week in Jerusalem, Netanyahu had demanded the removal of barriers to the flow of munitions.
Give us the tools and we'll finish the job. pic.twitter.com/eQHpyd9q0X
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) June 18, 2024
“When Secretary Blinken was recently here in Israel, we had a candid conversation. I said I deeply appreciated the support the US has given Israel from the beginning of the war,” Netanyahu stated.
“But I also said something else, I said it’s inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel.”
The Israeli leader stressed that an increased flow of US weapons would help bring the end to the struggle with Hamas. “During World War II, [Winston] Churchill told the United States, ‘Give us the tools, we’ll do the job.’ And I say, give us the tools and we’ll finish the job a lot faster.”
Netanyahu has reportedly told Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other high-ranking officials to make sure that arms transfers are fully resumed during upcoming meetings with American counterparts in Washington this week.
READ MORE: Israel and Hamas disagree on US-backed ceasefire – media reports
US President Joe Biden has repeatedly warned Israel he would halt arms shipments over the situation in Rafah, but despite those warnings his administration had reportedly kept weapons and ammunition flowing. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the US proceeded with a transfer of $1 billion worth of ammunition and vehicles for Israel in May, the same month it stopped the delivery of bombs.
On Monday, the Washington Post reported that the White House had successfully pressured Democrats in Congress to support a major arms sale to Israel that includes 50 F-15 fighter jets worth more than $18 billion.
Israel declared war on Hamas after militants killed around 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostage in a surprise attack on October 7. More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in the months of fighting that have followed, according to the latest figures from Gaza’s health ministry.