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In the same way that resistance in Afghanistan caused the US to rely more and more on drones and airstrikes, Israeli Defense Forces are now leveraging their air superiority in their invasion of Lebanon to attack positions where their soldiers have been eliminated.
From the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, analysts have commented that, if Israel should escalate into Lebanon, the IDF will find Hezbollah a much more difficult opponent than Hamas. WaL reported that Israeli casualties from the operations in Gaza have already totaled between 10,000 and 20,000 killed and wounded, but almost none of those casualties were ever acknowledged by IDF spokesmen.
Now though, casualties are being reported routinely, as groups of IDF infiltrators are wiped out or driven back by Hezbollah ambushes.
Israeli Army Radio admits that five soldiers and officers from the 89th battalion of the 8th ‘HaZaken’ Brigade were killed and 19 injured in southern Lebanon, after Hezbollah fighters targeted a house they were holed up in with a barrage of rockets yesterday evening.
Israeli… pic.twitter.com/A00VWiwH6c
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) October 25, 2024
Israeli media reports that in a recent attack, Hezbollah fighters killed 4 soldiers and injured 6, with 3 in serious condition. The fighters emerged from a tunnel and fired grenades at Israeli soldiers, leading to casualties; Israeli forces returned fire but are uncertain if any… pic.twitter.com/viF1bdoFOg
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) October 24, 2024
Officially 57 soldiers have been killed in Lebanon since mid-September, and about 200 injured.
As recently as October 4th, IDF has been fighting in the same 1-kilometer vicinity of the border between the two countries, unable to make any inroads into the country.
With operations stalling, IDF air strikes have become the dominant tool of offense in the theater.
Destruction of Patriomny
By October 28th, air strikes had “escalated dramatically” killing 67 and injuring 128 civilians in a single day across multiple cities.
Yesterday, Antiwar’s Jason Ditz reported that Israel issued a total evacuation order for the entire Lebanese city of Baalbek, a major eastern city and metro area with a population of over 200,000. Baalbek is a very ancient city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and home to many historic ruins, which are included in the evacuation orders.
Within hours, Reuters reported Israeli air strikes had already hit Baalbek.
In Gaza, Israel has deliberately attempted to exterminate the historic and cultural traces of the Palestinian race with a campaign of destruction of patrimony on a similar scale to ISIS activity in Syria and Iraq.
Israel has damaged or destroyed over 100 historic and cultural sites in Gaza.
These include the Great Omari Mosque and its library of medieval Islamic manuscripts, the Sayed al-Hashim Mosque, built in the 12th century and supposedly housed the tomb of one of the Prophet’s great-grandfathers, a collection of over 3,000 artifacts found in Gaza since the time of the Canaanites, housed in a museum called Al Qarara, and the Byzantine sites of Jabalia Church built in the year 444, and the Saint Hilarion Monastery, the spiritual hilltop retreat built by the man who is said to have founded monasticism.
Satellite imagery reveals the destruction in Mhaibib village, southern Lebanon, following the IDF ground operation, with before-and-after images from October 5 and October 24. pic.twitter.com/rGBnpcXYVG
— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) October 28, 2024
Also turned to rubble was a Roman necropolis dating to 200 CE, the Othman bin Qashqar Mosque where another great-grandfather of the Prophet is said to have been buried, and the Sarmatian Hammam, or bathhouse, which pre-dated Islam. A sign once hung by its entrance, Al Jazeera reports, stating it had been restored in 1320 by Mamluk ruler Sangar ibn Abdullah.
Perhaps most globally consequential of all this cultural carnage was a strike upon the Anthedon, a seaport established by migrating Mycenaean Greeks in the year 800 BCE.
Baalbek houses two of the largest and most intact Roman temples in left standing from Imperial times: the Temple of Bacchus and the Temple of Jupiter. Several major complexes of ruins dating from Late Antiquity through to the time of the Umayyids and the Crusades are found in Baalbek, some of which have already sustained damage from past conflicts with Israel.
Israel has already completely obliterated the ancient south Lebanon town of Mhaibib, which housed a shrine that marked a location visited by Jacob, the son of Abraham, and was once a pilgrimage site for Jews and Muslims alike. WaL
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PICTURED ABOVE: Smoke rises from the Lebanese city of Tyre following an Israeli airstrike on October 28th. PC: retrieved from X @WarWatchs
