I had no idea UNIFIL allowed itself to actually act.
[IsraelTimes] PM says military found ‘state-of-the-art’ Russian arms in Hezbollah bases; blasts in Beqaa Valley after army called on village to evacuate; Iran-backed Iraqi group launches drone at EilatA German warship operating as part of the United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
’ UNIFIL mission brought down an unmanned flying object off the coast of Lebanon on Thursday, a spokesperson for the German defense ministry said.
“The corvette brought an unidentified unmanned aerial vehicle into the water in a controlled crash,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that there was no damage or injuries to the German vessel or its crew.
The corvette Ludwigshafen am Rhein is continuing its duties, the spokesperson added. There were no further details given.
The drone interception comes amid tensions between Israel and UNIFIL, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu angering European allies in recent days by insisting that the international peacekeeping force leave its posts in southern Lebanon to avoid getting caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah. The IDF says its operations in Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...have targeted Hezbollah posts, but their proximity to UN peacekeepers and members of the Lebanese army has led to several accidental strikes on the latter two groups. Netanyahu has accused Hezbollah of using UNIFIL positions as cover while it attacks Israel.
Meanwhile,
...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start on his third quart...
Netanyahu told a French newspaper in an interview published Thursday that Israeli forces had found "state-of-the-art" Russian weapons in searches of Hezbollah bases in south Lebanon. Netanyahu highlighted to Le Figaro newspaper that under a 2006 UN Security Council resolution only the Lebanesearmy was allowed to have weapons south of the country’s key Litani River. That resolution tasked UNIFIL with helping ensure Israel was not threatened by Hezbollah from south Lebanon.
“However, in this area, Hezbollah has dug hundreds of tunnels and caches, where we have just found a quantity of state-of-the-art Russian weapons," the French article quoted Netanyahu as saying.
"A new civil war in Lebanon would be a tragedy. It is certainly not our aim to provoke one. Israel does not intend to interfere in Lebanon’s internal affairs,” Netanyahu told Le Figaro. “Our only aim is to allow our citizens living along the Lebanon frontier to go home and feel safe.”
As the IDF’s ground operation widens, the military said Thursday that it killed a Hezbollah battalion commander in the southern Lebanese Bint Jbeil district. The military said Hussein Muhammed Auda was responsible for rocket fire on Israel originating from several towns in the district, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Additionally, airstrikes killed 45 terrorists and destroyed 150 Hezbollah sites over the past day, including weapons stores, rocket launchers and buildings used for military purposes, according to the army.
Explosions were heard in east Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley on Thursday shortly after the military’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee called on residents of the village of Tamnine El Tahta to evacuate. Adraee said the military would strike strategic facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah located in the area, and that residents nearby should evacuate for their own safety. A map of the area to be targeted was posted on X and a short time later, explosions were heard in the area.
Meanwhile terrorists in Lebanon continued to fire rockets at northern Israel overnight and into Thursday morning, with multiple projectiles intercepted.
A barrage of some 30 rockets was fired at the Upper Galilee. Some were intercepted, while others landed in open areas. A short time later, two more rockets were fired from Lebanon, triggering sirens across northern Israel, including towns in the Haifa area. Air defenses shot down one rocket while the other fell in an open area, the military said. No injuries were reported in the attack.
There was also rocket fire at multiple communities closer to the northern border. In the early hours of the morning, a rocket fired by Hezbollah struck a building in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona. There were no injuries.