Saleh al-Arouri, the Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau and Commander of the al-Qassam brigade’s military operations for the West Bank has been killed in a decapitation air strike by Israel on the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Attack reported as being carried out by a drone firing 3 missiles.

Hezbullah had threatened retaliation for any attacks on their, or Hamas, leadership in Lebanon - let’s see what happens.

Similar article on that topic, different source.
Drone strike kills senior Hamas official in Beirut (axios.com)
One wonders if Hezbollah will respond to this

The senior Hezbollah commander of field operations, Jawad al-Tawil, has been eliminated in a surgical air strike which destroyed his car.

He is reported to be the one commander responsible for the attack on the Israeli Meron air traffic control centre on Saturday in which Hezbollah claims to have "blinded" the Israeli air force.

Reuters:A senior Hezbollah commander killed by Israel has been identified as Wissam al-Tawil, also known as “Jawad”, deputy head of a unit in the elite Radwan force.

A security source speaking to Reuters said he and another Hezbollah fighter were killed when their car was hit in a strike on the Lebanese village of Majdal Selm.

"This is a very painful strike," one of the security sources said. Another said, "Things will flare up now."

Video of car:

Not of the Gaza air war, but related to it - Germany has reportedly dropped its veto on further Eurofighter sales to Germany on account of Saudi Arabia intercepting Houthi missiles bound for Israel https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ge...inister-189463

Dacia Dusts I’d say

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/0...ready-00133949

The war in Gaza may widen. The Biden admin is getting ready for it.

That could put President Joe Biden in the center of a messy Middle East conflict in the midst of a bruising re-election campaign.


Biden administration officials are drawing up plans for the U.S. to respond to what they’re increasingly concerned could expand from a war in Gaza to a wider, protracted regional conflict.

Four officials familiar with the matter, including a senior administration official, described internal conversations about scenarios that could potentially draw the U.S. into another Middle East war. All were granted anonymity to speak about sensitive, ongoing national security discussions.

The military is drafting plans to hit back at Iran-backed Houthi militants who have been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea, according to three U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the discussions. That includes striking Houthi targets in Yemen, according to one of the officials, an option the military has previously presented.

Intelligence officials, meanwhile, are coming up with ways to anticipate and fend off possible attacks on the U.S. by Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria, according to one of the officials. They are also working to determine where the Houthi militants may strike next.….

Tensions in the region ratcheted up even higher on Thursday after the Biden administration launched a drone strike in Baghdad that killed the Iran-backed militia leader Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, or “Abu Taqwa,” and at least one other militant, according to two Defense Department officials.…

BREAKING:

The commander of Hezbollah’s aerial forces in southern Lebanon, Ali Hussien Barji, was killed in an Israeli drone strike.

He was killed on his way to the funeral of another senior Hezbollah commander, Wissam al-Tawil, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike yesterday.
.
​​​​​…

I have read a few bits lately about the Tunnel War in Gaza. Very interesting analysis of how the tunnel system can, or cannot, be reduced in effectiveness. In particular, both articles I read pointed to how limited the Air Assets are in dealing with the tunnels if the objective is to render them unusable, or to massively degrade their usefulness.

The more important bit I gleaned from that article is that reduction of the tunnels is a major objective. It is the long pole in the tent insofar as the IAF / IDF PR releases regarding their operation in Gaza continuing for a few more months...but Air Power seems to offer little to help that effort at this point.

And that makes sense, from the macro perspective. The tunnel construction was, in part, a counter to the air power assymmetry between sides. (See also North Korea and their tunneling efforts since the 1950's as a way to mitigate their opposition's air power ...)

An Israeli Airstrike earlier this morning on a Car in Southern Lebanon has reportedly resulted in the Successful Assasination of 2 Senior Members of Hezbollah, including Ali Muhammad Hadraj the Head of Hezbollah’s Electronic Warfare Department.
.Brigadier General Sadegh Omidzadeh and Haj Gholam as well as 3 other Members of the Quds Force attached to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were Killed today by an Israeli Airstrike on the Syrian Capital of Damascus.

This ssassination by the Israel Defense Force comes less than a month after another General in the Quds Force of the IRGC, Razi Mousavi was Killed by an IAF Airstrike near Damascus, Syria.
​​​​​​​.

The Israeli Air Force has reportedly conducted airstrikes tonight against several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon to the north of the Litani river including a large arms depot near the city of Nabatieh causing a massive explosion and fire.

These strikes are likely in retaliation for a significant escalation in attacks by Hezbollah over the last 24 hours against northern Israel.

​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​This morning's attack on Safed by Hezbollah marked the most significant attack since the war's onset. Key observations include some of the rockets' travel exceeding 15 km without interception by the Iron Dome, their accuracy in hitting precise targets, and the impact of a single strike, resulting in at least one killed and seven injuries.

The Israeli Air Force has reportedly launched a significant wave of airstrikes against targets in southern Lebanon, with massive damage and several fires noted in the town of Aadchit.

The Israel Defense Force has announced that its Widespread Air Campaign this morning, as Retaliation against the Hezbollah Terrorist Group in Southern Lebanon for a Rocket Attack earlier on the City of Safed which resulted in the Death of a Woman and Injury of 8 other Civilians, is now Complete; with the Strikes reported to have Targeted several Dozen Facilities including Command and Control Buildings operated by Hezbollah’s Rocket Forces as well as the Organization’s “Redwan” Special Operations Force.

Happy Valentine's Day, Hezbollah.
Happy Valentine's Day, Israel.
Eye for an eye accomplished, I suppose.

Now the challenge is to avoid an escalation cycle. How Hezbollah responds in the next few days will be very consequential to avoiding opening a second front for Israel. Dangerous times ahead for everyone.

Yesterday: Videos

Heavy airstrikes reportedly conducted in the Sidon area in Southern Lebanon.

The airstrikes were allegedly carried out by Israeli aircraft on the village of Al-Ghaziyeh "and the outskirts of the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp" according to Roya News.

"Multiple and consecutive strikes were conducted," the outlet reported.

The strike hit a warehouse facility suspected of storing weapons for Hezbollah in the Sidon area of Lebanon.

​​​​​​​Note the secondary explosions. That shows that the bombing was of a weapons storage site.

IDF have conducted a reported 2 air strikes against targets in Baalbek, Lebanon. Some reports say using bunker busters.

Meantime Hezbullah claim sto have shot down an IDF Hermes 450 drone, perhaps related to the above attack.

I wonder how the Hezbollah tunneling operations are going. I have an idea that they have filed away some lessons learned as regards the Hamas approach to tunnels in the past 15 years.

Video
IDF aircraft struck a vehicle in southern Lebanon containing terrorists who launched rockets into Israeli territory. The terrorists operated under the Imam Hossein Division, which is affiliated with Iran and operates for the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

IDF fighter jets also struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure, as well as struck 2 Hezbollah military compounds.

Hasn't that been going on for about 40 years or so? Israel strikes something in Southern Lebanon now and again ...

Cyprus
 

https://www.declassifieduk.org/uk-re...s-cyprus-base/

I wonder if they mean they’ve been using it as a diversion airfield or if they’ve actually operated there. Either way, I bet the front gate security will be beefed up a tad.

BV

It makes perfect sense for the Israelis to fly nearly 600 km away from the conflict area just so they can fly 600 km back to it to strike their targets, when their bases are right next door.