Israel SitRep: November 13, 2024

Today’s Issue: | IDF Announces Elimination of Four Hezbollah Commanders | IAF: Hezbollah Intentionally Stores Weapons Underneath Civilian Structures, IAF Working to Dismantle Hezbollah’s Terrorist Infrastructure | IAF Hits Hezbollah Command Centers and Weapons Depots in Overnight and Afternoon Strikes in Dahieh | COGAT: Hundreds of Food Packages Delivered to Northern Gaza; Kissufim Crossing Opened for Aid Delivery | Latest FDD Analysis

IDF Announces Elimination of Four Hezbollah Commanders: On Wednesday, the IDF announced the elimination of four Hezbollah commanders in airstrikes in recent weeks. In early October, Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out a strike in Khiam in southern Lebanon and killed Mahmoud Musa Salah, the commander of Hezbollah’s Khiam sector. According to the military, Salah was responsible for more than 2,500 rockets fired at the Golan Heights, the Galilee panhandle, and the upper Galilee, and at IDF troops in southern Lebanon. On Sunday this week, Ayman Muhammad Nabulsi, the commander of the anti-tank missile array of the Hajir sector in Hezbollah’s Nasser unit, was eliminated. In other targeted strikes, the IAF killed Hajj Ali Yussef Salah, the Hezbollah commander in Kfar Tebnit, as well as Hezbollah’s commander for the Ghajar region. According to the IDF, “this further degrades Hezbollah’s capability to carry out terror attacks from southern Lebanon against Israeli civilians on the northern border.”

IAF: Hezbollah Intentionally Stores Weapons Underneath Civilian Structures, IAF Working to Dismantle Hezbollah’s Terrorist Infrastructure: On Tuesday, the Israel Air Force published a report about its campaign to dismantle Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure. According to the IAF, Hezbollah has placed dozens of weapons depots and weapons-production sites in the heart of Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold in the Beirut suburbs. The announcement notes that hundreds of missiles and rockets intended for use against Israel have been “systematically” hidden beneath civilians, often without their knowledge. Citing the August 2020 explosion at the port of Beirut, the IAF notes that 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, which Hezbollah uses to produce weapons, was stored there. The explosion killed some 190 civilians and injured thousands. According to the IAF, the decision to store the ammonium nitrate at the port was deliberate. The announcement notes that the IAF has carried out strikes in recent weeks to dismantle Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure, adding that the strikes have caused secondary explosions, indicating the presence of weapons.

IAF Hits Hezbollah Command Centers and Weapons Depots in Overnight and Afternoon Strikes in Dahieh: The IDF announced on Wednesday morning that overnight, Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck Hezbollah command centers and weapons depots in the area of Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold in the suburbs of Beirut. Noting that the targets were located in the heart of a civilian population, the IDF added that Hezbollah uses Lebanese civilians as human shields. According to the announcement, the military took numerous steps to minimize harm to civilians, including issuing warnings to the local population. On Wednesday afternoon, the IDF published an additional announcement stating that a short time ago, IAF fighter jets completed another series of strikes in the Beirut area against Hezbollah command centers and weapons depots. According to the graphic included with the post, the attacks were also in Dahieh. Earlier on Wednesday, the IDF announced that in the past day, the IAF struck more than 120 Hezbollah and Hamas targets. In Lebanon, it struck dozens of launchers, including the launchers from which rockets and missiles were fired at Nahariya and central Israel yesterday, killing two men in Nahariya.

COGAT: Hundreds of Food Packages Delivered to Northern Gaza; Kissufim Crossing Opened for Aid Delivery: On Tuesday, the IDF announced that hundreds of food packages were delivered to the Beit Hanoun and Jabalya areas in northern Gaza. The operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli entity coordinating humanitarian aid for Gaza, in cooperation with international aid organizations. The announcement adds that 741 aid trucks have entered Gaza through the Erez West crossing since October, and that 180 units of blood, hundreds of boxes of food and medical supplies, and 50,000 liters of fuel have been delivered to northern Gaza for “critical hospital infrastructure.” Also on Tuesday, COGAT announced the opening of the Kissufim crossing for humanitarian aid, which it calls “part of our effort and commitment to increase the volume and routes of aid to Gaza.” In Wednesday’s humanitarian aid update, COGAT stated that yesterday, 117 aid trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom, Erez, and Kissufim crossings, and 32 of them went to northern Gaza carrying food, medical supplies, shelter equipment, and water sanitation equipment. The announcement adds that international organizations collected the contents of 41 trucks from the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom.

Latest FDD Analysis:

“Why Iran May Dash for the Bomb,” Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh, The Wall Street Journal

“Trump’s next move on the election’s biggest loser,” Mark Dubowitz and Andrea Stricker, Fox News

“What Ukraine’s Kursk gamble has — and has not — achieved,” John Hardie, The Insider

“Qatar Will Reportedly Oust Hamas After Months of Failed Gaza Hostage Talks,” Natalie Ecanow, FDD Policy Brief

“European Prosecutors Launch Probe into Allegations that Senior EU Official Accepted Bribes From Qatar,” Natalie Ecanow, FDD Policy Brief

“U.S. and Israel Expose Iran’s Tenacious Malign Influence,” Max Lesser and Ari Ben Am, FDD Policy Brief

“Responding to Biden Administration, Israel Opens New Route for Aid Into Gaza,” David Adesnik, FDD Policy Brief

“Naim Qassem commemorates 40 days since Hassan Nasrallah’s death,” David Daoud, FDD’s Long War Journal

“IDF uncovers Hezbollah training facility near UNIFIL post,” Seth J. Frantzman, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Russia looks to encircle the eastern Ukrainian city of Kurakhove,” John Hardie, FDD’s Long War Journal

“‘Ring of Fire’: IDF Intercepts Missile Launched by Houthis as Seven Injured in Hezbollah Rocket Barrages,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“‘Central Operative’: Palestinian Islamic Jihad Leader Killed by Airstrike as Israel Ramps Up Concerted Air Campaign,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

““Its leaders should no longer be welcome:” Qatar Agrees to Oust Hamas,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

““Natural Allies”: Israel to Cultivate Kurdish, Druze Ties,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“‘We Failed the Jewish Community’: Pro-Hamas Muslim Mob Carries Out Pogrom Against Israeli Soccer Fans in Amsterdam,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“‘You are Going to See the Sanctions Go Back On’: Trump Expected to Restore Maximum Pressure Against Iran,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Iran Executes At Least 23 Prisoners in Two Days,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel SitRep: November 8, 2024,” FDD Experts, FDD Israel at War Situation Report