IDF Strikes Terrorists as Rocket Sirens Continue to Wail Across Israel

Latest Developments

Rocket sirens continued to wail across Israel on October 14 as Hamas and other Iran-backed terrorist organizations surrounding Israel launched further attacks from Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon. During the early hours of the day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck a cell of terrorists attempting to infiltrate into Israel from Lebanon. The attempt came hours after the IDF intercepted what it described as multiple “aerial objects” believed to be Hezbollah drones over northern Israel, including two over the city of Haifa — the third largest city in the country, home to Israelis of Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze, and Bahai faith.

Meanwhile, IDF Brigadier General Daniel Hagari said the military has struck 1,000 strategic Hamas locations in Gaza, since Israel’s operation began. Rockets hit multiple cities in Israel on October 14 as Israeli strikes continued.

Expert Analysis

“Despite Hezbollah’s increasingly strident provocations on Israel’s northern border and its apparent collusion in Hamas’ attack of the Jewish state, it is still unclear whether Lebanon’s premier Iran-backed terror organization intends to enter this war. Irrespective of what Hezbollah wants, Israel has a strong case for dealing a decisive blow to Hezbollah, sending a message to the regime in Tehran that all its subsidiaries are now fair game for the IDF.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“As the war persists, it’s likely that Iran-backed terrorist organizations in Lebanon, namely Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, will attempt to launch attacks on targets located on Israel’s northern border. Notably, these groups also have a presence in Syria and may conduct assaults from this front as well. Their objective is to keep the Israeli forces engaged on multiple fronts while the Jewish state launches a seemingly imminent ground invasion in Gaza.” — Joe Truzman, Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Iran’s Rhetoric Heats Up

On October 12, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian threatened that Israel’s actions would “prompt a response” from Iran’s network of terror organizations in the region, which Tehran calls the “axis of resistance.” This threat comes amid an increasing number of reports that Iran played a direct role in the planning of the Hamas attack.

Who Is Iran-Backed Hezbollah?

Of all of Tehran’s subsidiary terror groups, Hezbollah is the most formidable. As a U.S. designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, Hezbollah claims to have 100,000 fighters, although Israel believes the number is significantly lower. Many Hezbollah fighters have been battle-hardened over the past decade fighting alongside Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator who has narrowly survived the bloody Syrian civil war lasting more than a decade due to reinforcement from Iran and Russia. The most heavily armed nonstate actor in the world, Hezbollah has an arsenal of 150,000 rockets in southern Lebanon — most of which are buried under civilian infrastructure — including hundreds of precision guided missiles (PGMs) that can hit a target with an accuracy of within 10 meters.

Related Analysis

“Syria Reports Israeli Strikes on Damascus, Aleppo Airports,” FDD Flash Brief

“False Alarm of Hezbollah Aircraft Infiltration Underlines Israeli Concern of Multi-Front War,” FDD Flash Brief

“Iran-Backed Terror on Northern Border Threatens to Open New Front,” FDD Flash Brief