The muted Israeli response to Hezbollah's drone attack in Caesarea

...and the mourning of the late Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, by the Axis of Resistance.

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From Al Mayadeen.

Before delving into the core of this article, as per its title, let me first talk about how soon after the announcement of Yahya Sinwar’s death, US and European leaders started talking about renewing ceasefire negotiations between Little Satan (a.k.a. Israel) and Hamas, after weeks of silence on this front and despite Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that the war against Hamas would carry on. It is quite funny how, all of a sudden, they want to restart negotiations between the two warring parties… and why would it be? Maybe because of the upcoming US elections in less than 3 weeks?! If the Biden-Kamala’s team managed to secure a ceasefire at least between Hamas and Little Satan, that could boost Kamala’s chances of winning the elections! The problem is: how to negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas without its leader? Whom are they going to talk to? Maybe it was not a good idea to kill Sinwar now… unless Kamala’s supporters wanted to get rid of both Hamas and Israeli leader, so that they could replace the latter with someone less belligerent than Netanyahu and reach a ceasefire just before the election, meaning that the US passed some intelligence to Hezbollah to attempt to his life… yes, quite a wild theory, but who knows?

Not that Hezbollah needs US intelligence to achieve its aims! After all, it is well known that Hezbollah’s capabilities are quite impressive and that one of their drones may have taken photos of Netanyahu’s seaside residence in Caesarea (Qaysaria) back in August, as I reported in the second half of this article, though the Israeli military dismissed the incident and claimed that it was a false alarm. Having photos of targets allows Hezbollah to avoid relying too much on GPS, which can be easily spoofed, and get a hit exactly where they want!

This brings me to the main topic of this article: Hezbollah’s attempt to Netanyahu’s life yesterday (see my previous article, in case you missed it) and the eerie silence on this matter yesterday, followed by quite a muted Israeli (and western) response, as military censorship and media blackout was imposed for several hours yesterday.

First of all, let’s review the event: Israeli media, quoted by Al Mayadeen, were initially talking about a huge explosion near Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea and about casualties:

From Al Mayadeen.

Also, some media were reporting that Netanyahu was present, while others, however, citing government sources, were saying that Netanyahu was not there.

Secondly, several ambulances were present at the site (see lead image and photo below), so it is safe to assume that there were casualties, thus confirming initial reports, before military censorships was applied, even on Western MSM (as I reported in my article yesterday), for many hours - full news articles started appearing on most Western media only in the afternoon/evening (just check Google), when the media blackout was probably lifted - read these two Al Mayadeen articles (1 and 2) on reactions of Israeli media to the Hezbollah’s drone attack.

Ambulances near Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea - from Palestine Chronicle.

Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea - from The Times of Israel.

At around midday yesterday, two videos (one in Hebrew and one in English) surfaced on X showing Benjamin Netanyahu walking through what The Times of Israel calls “a sunny park”, though it could well be his seaside residence (see photo above). Both videos look a bit strange to me, as if they were generated by AI (Artificial Intelligence), but maybe this is just me. What’s “funny” is that these videos were not published on the official accounts of Benjamin Netanyahu or of the Prime Minister of Israel, which were silent until the evening, but by journalists Gil Mishali and Barak Ravid. Another thing that’s odd is that Netanyahu did not make any reference to the drone attack that just happened, instead he refers to - why is that? Maybe it was recorded earlier or the day before? Also, he does not look shaken at all and, strange enough, he does not even promises retaliation. Look at the videos yourself:

Were these (AI-generated or pre-recorded?) videos published in a rush to reassure the Israeli public about the Prime Minister’s conditions? It could be.

As aforementioned, only in the evening military censorship and media blackout were lifted, with Benjamin Netanyahu’s official X account posting the following statement (posted also on the account of the Prime Minister of Israel, but in multiple tweets):

From X (formerly Twitter).

…followed by this tweet by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, whose X account was also quiet for the whole day:

From X (formerly Twitter).

Quite strong statements, but not as strong as I would have expected after such an assassination attempt.

In conclusion (of this first part of the article), is Benjamin Netanyahu still alive?
Most likely (we would have seen completely different reactions from Israeli authorities, otherwise!), as we know that he spoke with Trump earlier today (source: The Guardian) and that he is chairing a security cabinet (source: Times of Israel), although no photo/video of him has surfaced yet today (as far as I know - please write a comment, in case you have seen any), but maybe he was (lightly?) injured, hence all this military censorship and media blackout for most of the day yesterday.

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From Al Mayadeen.

Back to Yahya Sinwar’s death, this is galvanizing the Axis of Resistance instead of undermining it, especially after the Israeli military released the photo of Sinwar’s body wearing a bullet-proof vest and the drone footage of him fighting until his last breath, as reported also by Al Mayadeen (I am not posting the photo and video here directly, as they could be distressing for some, but I have provided the links in case someone is interested), thus countering “Israeli claims that he was hiding in tunnels and using captives as human shields”. Just look at a few of the reactions, as reported by Al Mayadeen:

• Here is Hamas’s statement and mourning of Yahya Sinwar’s martyrdom:

  He believed in God, and God was truthful with him, choosing him as a martyr alongside his brothers who preceded him.

  We mourn the great national leader, freedom fighter and martyr Yahya Sinwar (Abu Ibrahim), the head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and the commander of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. He rose as a brave martyr, advancing and not retreating, with his weapon in hand, confronting the occupation army on the frontlines. He moved between combat positions, steadfast and firm on the land of Gaza, defending the soil of Palestine and its holy sites, inspiring resilience, patience, and the spirit of resistance.

• Here is Iran's Leader, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, saying:

  Hamas is alive, and will stay alive.

  Just like Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Fathi Shaqaqi, Rantisi, and Ismail Haniyeh, the front will not halt, not even for a second, with the martyrdom of Sinwar.

• Here is Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister, who yesterday “met with members of the Hamas Political Council, including Mohammad Ismail Darwish, Khalil al-Hayya, and Mousa Abu Marzouk, in Istanbul, Turkey”:

  The blood of Sinwar and his fellow martyrs is a source of pride for the Islamic World and all the free people of the world. It guarantees the honorable resistance aimed at eliminating the Zionist regime's occupation and oppression, and achieving ultimate victory.

• Here is Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, expressed his condolences to the family of the late Hamas leader:

  We received with deep sorrow the news of the martyrdom of our brother and fighter, Yahya Sinwar, who was martyred in the path of God, in the field of confrontation, heroism, and honor.

  If the Israeli enemy believes that the martyrdom of leader Sinwar will lead to the collapse of the resistance front in Gaza or the demoralization of its fighters, they are delusional.

  [Hamas] will never abandon the banner of resistance, leave the battlefield, or surrender.

  May God have mercy on Abu Ibrahim; he has written heroic epics in confronting the Israeli criminal entity. We are certain that Gaza and the Palestinian cause are destined for victory, no matter the sacrifices involved.

  It is also worth mentioning that last Friday, 18th October 2024, “Yemeni Air Force targeted the ship MEGALOPOLIS in the Arabian Sea using several drones”, since it violated the Houthis’ ban, as reported by Al Mayadeen.

• Here is the mourning of Sinwar by Sheikh Hammam Hamoudi, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, who described the Hamas leader as:

  a remarkable model of bravery, courage, and defiance against occupation, injustice, and bloodthirsty arrogance.

  Resistance is a culture, thought, and ideology that does not die with the martyrdom of one of its heroes.

  …and here is the mourning by Sheikh Jawad al-Khalisi, who depicted Sinwar as…

  a martyr who fell in the field of honor and dignity, fighting courageously, never retreating, carrying his weapon, and defending his cause, people, and land until the last moment.

  The battle led by Sinwar and his fellow Resistance fighters continues and will not stop until victory is achieved.

  …while Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, Secretary-General of Kataib Hezbollah Iraq:

  With his martyrdom, it is now the turn of the generations who were raised under his leadership to carry the banner. Based on our knowledge of the triumphant Hamas movement, the generation that continues the fight against the Zionists will be even more painful for them.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq even dedicated a drone attack against an Israeli military target to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Yahya Sinwar, as reported in this Al Mayadeen article.

From Al Mayadeen.

In the meantime, Little Satan keeps bombing Beirut and northern Gaza, currently under siege and where an Israeli airstrike on a residential complex resulted in more than 100 casualties!

Not happy with just one THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) battery… or maybe because running out of air defence missiles (as reported here by Al Mayadeen), Little Satan has requested Great Satan (a.k.a. as the Outlaw US Empire) to deploy a second one “to bolster its defenses against a potential Iranian retaliation to its planned upcoming attack”, as per Al Mayadeen: they must be up to no good!

By the way, a leak of highly classified US intelligence about Israel’s plans for retaliation against Iran published last Friday, 18th October 2024, on this post of the Middle East Spectator Telegram channel may have disrupted an imminent Israeli attack (all emphasis mine):

— ❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷/🇮🇱 EXCLUSIVE: An informed source within the U.S. intelligence community has shared with us an extremely sensitive ‘top secret’ U.S. intelligence document from the NGIA, dated October 15-16, detailing Israeli preparations for an extensive strike inside Iran.

According to the report, the U.S. has observed the Israeli Air Force handling ALBMs (air-launched ballistic missiles) like ‘Golden Horizon’ (at least 16) and ‘ROCKS’ (at least 40) at Hatserim airbase since October 8. If all of these are used, it would be a major attack.

From October 15 to October 16 the Israeli Air Force also handled several ASMs (air-to-surface missiles) at Ramot David and Ramon airbases, indicating an imminent attack.

Additionally, the Israeli Air Force carried out an LFE exercise on October 15 to practice air-to-air refueling and combat search and rescue operations with a large number of aircraft, including at least three KC-707 tankers, one G-550 Gulfstream AWACs aircraft, and possibly fighter jets.

This classified report originates from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Defense.

@Middle_East_Spectator

This (deliberate?) leak, which was covered also by former CIA analyst Larry C. Johnson on his latest blog post, is now under investigation by US intelligence agency, as reported in this CNN article.

UPDATE (21/10/2024): Today Larry C. Johnson has published another interesting blog post with more information regarding the leak above.

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