Lebanese newborn dons Hezbollah military fatigues as first outfit

A Lebanese baby boy dressed in Hezbollah military fatigues as his first outfit. Credit: YouTube/MEMR

(JNS.org) A newborn baby in Lebanon was dressed in Hezbollah military fatigues as his first outfit, according to a Hezbollah news report.

In a report that recently aired on the Hezbollah satellite TV channel Al-Manar and was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a correspondent said that the military fatigues “were the first garment to touch [the boy’s] tender body.”

Terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas have long been known to indoctrinate children in violence and hate.

“Nothing could be better than him becoming a soldier of Imam Mahdi,” said the Lebanese mother of the boy, referring to a prophet of Shi’a Islam who is believed to return on Judgment Day. “This reflects the continuation of the path of the Islamic resistance, one generation after another.”

JNS.org.

DON'T MESS WITH ISRAEL OR YOU GET HURT : Lebanese TV allowed onto IAF base to send Hezbollah a message

In rare use of public media, Israeli air force allow Lebanese television network to film inside base, interview IAF commander in bid to send Hezbollah a clear, direct threat

A Lebanese network was given rare and unprecedented access to an Israeli Air Force base as part of a larger attempt to sendHezbollah a message.

A reporter from Lebanon's LBC interviewed Ramat David Air Force Base commander, as well as Captain Avihai Aderi, head of Arab media at the IDF Spokesperson Unit.

 

LBC's report on IAF and Hezbollah threat

 

At the beginning of the report, the Lebanese network focused on attempted to reach an agreement regarding Syria: "While world power are at the Geneva II conference to find a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis, head of the Ramat David Air Force Base sends a threatening message, warning against the continued transfer of strategic arms from Syriato Hezbollah, threatening that his army will work to prevent arms' transfer."

 

IAF commander in Lebanese report

 

The air force unit commander – who like all IAF pilots and commanders must remain unnamed and masked – said in the rare interview that "We are closely following attempts to smuggle arms from Syria to Lebanon and attempting to prevent it from reaching Hezbollah."

 

He further noted that "Hezbollah has begun receiving the type of weapons that are superior to those of independent and neighboring countries and we must prepare for such a scenario."

 

Ramat David base in Lebanese report

 

Aderi, the Arab language IDF spokesperson, told LBX that "Hezbollah has turned 200 villages in southern Lebanon into munitions caches, using them to threaten the Israeli home front. The IDF cannot let Hezbollah to harm Israelis so easily."

Eventually, the message the IDF was panning on sending Hezbollah was made crystal clear: "The IDF understands that the arrival of such strategic arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon will be what sparks the next war."

Ynet News

Clashes on the Israel/Lebanon border as Israel defends itself from attack

The IDF fired shells into southern Lebanon in retaliation after five Katyusha-style rockets were launched against the Jewish state on Sunday, officials said.

The Israeli attacks struck uninhabited areas without causing any casualties to civilians or IDF spokespersons said. The IDF carefully Checked its targets to eliminate or minimise any risk to civilians. 

The Israeli shelling came in response to two Katyusha-style rockets fired from Lebanon that struck an open field west of the town of Kyriat Shmona and which were fired with the express desire to inflict casualties on Israeli women and children.

An Israeli spokesman said:

"The Israeli artillery responded to rocket attacks from Lebanon against Israel that left no victims, targeting the area where these projectiles were fired from," 

Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner tweeted later that "5 rockets (were) launched this morning from #Lebanon, (causing) one confirmed explosion in #Israel," and the military was searching for others.

Tension has spiked on the border between the two countries since Lebanese troops gunned down an Israeli soldier driving near the frontier on December 16.

The United Nations monitoring force on the border, UNIFIL, confirmed the exchange of fire, adding that it had contacted both sides, urging them to "exercise maximum restraint".

"This is a very serious incident... and is clearly directed at undermining stability in the area," UNIFIL chief Paolo Serra said in a statement.

"UNIFIL's first imperative is to ensure that there is no further escalation of the situation."

Lebanese army and UNIFIL forces were carrying out patrols in the area after the exchange of fire, an AFP correspondent said.

Israel's border with Lebanon has been largely quiet since the 2006 war with the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah.

The last time a soldier was killed there was in August 2010, when two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist also died.

In August, four Israeli soldiers were wounded by an explosion some 400 metres (yards) inside Lebanese territory, in a blast claimed by Hezbollah.

Last week, Hezbollah said one of its top leaders was killed near Beirut and blamed Israel for his murder, a charge denied by Israel, which warned against any retaliation.

UN peacekeepers were deployed along the border following the 34-day war in 2006 which killed some 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Report red with help from

AFP news 

Another excuse to cause suffering : Hezbollah chief vows to 'punish' Israel over killing of key aide

Nasrallah accused Israel of assassinating Hassan al-Laqqis, a senior operative with the organization, earlier this month.

The head of the Lebanese-based Shi’ite militia Hezbollah vowed retribution against Israel on Friday for the killing of one of his most trusted aides earlier this month.

Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, accused Israel of assassinating Hassan al-Laqqis, a senior operative with the organization who was believed to have commanded Hezbollah forces fighting in Syria.

"All evidence indicates that Israel is behind the assassination,” Nasrallah said on Friday in a televised tribute to al-Laqqis.Earlier this month, al-Laqqis was shot in the head from close range outside his home in the Hadath district of Beirut. Hezbollah immediately accused the Israeli government of masterminding the hit, a charge which officials in Jerusalem flatly denied.

The Hezbollah chief praised al-Laqqis as “one of the brilliant brains of the resistance.”

"All the indicators and clues points to the Israeli enemy," Nasrallah said, in his first public comments since the attack.

"Our killer is known, our enemy is known, our adversary is known ... When the facts point to Israel, we accuse it," he said in televised remarks to supporters in southern Beirut.

Israel has denied any role in the shooting and hinted that the motive may have been Hezbollah's military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad in his war with mainly Sunni Muslim rebels.

The 2-1/2 year-old civil war in Syria has polarised the Middle East between Sunni Muslim powers, such as Turkey and the Gulf Arab states who support the rebels, and Shi'ite Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, who back Assad.

The president's Alawite faith is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.

Hezbollah has sent several thousand fighters to Syria, helping to turn the tide in Assad's favor this year. But Nasrallah said on Friday that would not prevent it from avenging the killing of al-Laqqis.

"If the Israelis think ... that Hezbollah is busy and that Israel will not pay the price, I say to them today, 'You are wrong'," he said.

"The killers will be punished sooner or later and the blood of our martyrs - whether large or small - will not be wasted. Those who killed will not be safe anywhere in the world. Vengeance is coming."

The open role of Hezbollah fighters in the Syrian civil war and the steady flow of Lebanese Sunnis joining the anti-Assad rebels have fuelled sectarian strife in Lebanon.

Car bombs killed dozens of people in Beirut in August and a twin suicide attack on the Iranian embassy in the Lebanese capital killed at least 25 people last month.

But Nasrallah mocked critics who he said blamed Lebanon's woes - from sectarian tension to the flooding of a road during winter storms - on Hezbollah's intervention in Syria.

"Why isn't there a government? Because Hezbollah entered Syria. Why haven't we held elections? Hezbollah is in Syria. Why is the economic situation like this? Hezbollah is in Syria. Why did the tunnel on the airport road become a lake? Because Hezbollah is in Syria. This of course isn't logical."

“This has strictly nothing to do with Israel,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said earlier this month. “Hezbollah has made a fool of itself in the past with these automatic and groundless accusations against Israel.... If they are looking for explanations as to what is happening to them, they should examine their own actions.”

Israeli security sources speculated that the motive for the hit may have been Hezbollah’s guerrilla support for Syrian President Bashar Assad in his war with Sunni rebels.

A previously unknown group, Ahrar al-Sunna Baalbek Brigade, claimed responsibility for the attack in a message on Twitter. The claim could not be verified, but the name of the group suggested Lebanese Sunni connections.

Three or four assailants ambushed al-Laqqis, according to Lebanese security sources quoted by Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International.

Al-Laqqis was “very close” to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a Hezbollah source told the Turkish Anadolu Agency.

“Al-Laqqis was involved in scientific development and played a key role in developing Hezbollah’s unmanned aerial vehicles program,” a source close to the movement told The Daily Star.

Jeruselam post

BLOG OPINION : BBC bias belittles aggression and criminalises legitimacy

It's amazing and mind boggling the double standards of the UN and western media, not forgetting the Obama administration and EU. 

An Israeli soldier has been shot from across the Lebanon border, in a clear act of international violation, yet nobody has anything to say, not a whisper, or squeak from anyone. 

Now imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and an Israeli soldier had shot a Lebanese soldier from a cross the border? Imagine the condemnation from the Arab cartel from within the UN; the EU would be demanding boycotts and sanctions and the US under the direction of the appeaser in chief, Kerry, would be demanding all sorts of 'concessions' from Israel as compensation. 

But when it happens against Israel everyone are suddenly looking at the floor then. Suddenly, the fact that an international violation has occurred, seems not so bad.

Meanwhile the BBC are reporting the whole incident in their usual bias anti Israel fashion. In the BBCs view the whole focus was on the Israeli response and the fact that two Lebanese soldiers had been taken out of action after the original incident. 

The BBC headline read "Troops shot on Israel-Lebanon border" meaning Lebanese troops shot 'after' the fact that an innocent Israeli soldier was initially killed in an act of clear aggression. 

The fact that the Lebanese casualties were only wounded and not killed didn't really get much of a mention. One got the impression that the BBC was a little bit put out by this and they would have been much happier if the casualties had taken a head shot each with all the blood and splattered brain included, then they couldn't have had something even juicier to report and blacken Israel's name with.  

The BBC story then ran its usual biased course and during the write up it stated "There is no word on their condition and Lebanon has not yet commented....." Referring to the condition of the two Lebanese soldiers - how touching and caring of the BBC .

But when it came to the shooting of the Israeli soldier the BBC stated: "The shooting came after the 31-year-old Israeli soldier was 'fatally wounded' when his vehicle was hit by up to seven shots fired from Lebanon. 

Yes you heard right, "fatally wounded" - The BBC can't even bring itself to admit the Israeli soldier was killed, so they decided to gloss it over with a posh word to make it sound not so bad.

But when it comes to the Israeli response it's a clear case of Israeli aggression and that they "shot" two Lebanese soldiers. The whole layout is worded in a way that it sounds as if the Israelis were being somehow obstructive , aggressive and unreasonable. 

But look at this bit:

"An Israeli army spokeswoman said Israeli troops opened fire after noticing "suspicious movement".

You see how the BBC highlighted the "Suspicious movement" bit, hinting that somehow the Israeli suggestion could be somehow a lie, a false statement and an excuse to be 'aggressive'. 

The BBC is a public funded enterprise and instead of being fair, balanced to its readers and listeners it reports biasedly, unfairly and it clearly takes sides. 

This latest biased reporting of a clear act if aggression against Israel just proves that the public funding the BBC receives is funding a corporation if anti Semites and thus giving evil a platform to Israel's and the free worlds enemies to spread its tentacles into every household. 

Murdered Israeli fails to evoke the Guardian’s sympathy

As we noted in a post yesterday, the Guardian’s Harriet Sherwood evidently believes – contrary to all evidence – that Palestinian terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) are rare.  

However, the only thing truly rare is substantive coverage by the Guardian of ubiquitous terror attacks(and attempted attacks) on Israelis inside and outside the green line.  A case in point is their “coverage” of the murder of Eden Atias, the 19-year-old from Nazareth Illit who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian teen on a bus at Afula’s central bus station.  

Their sole piece on the lethal terror attack consisted of a generic video they posted on Nov. 13 (with NO accompanying text) which has since been removed.  When you open the link to Harriet Sherwood’s “report”, all you see is the headline and a message below inserted by editors which notes that the content has been removed.

The Guardian’s tendency to downplay Palestinian attacks on Israelis was again on display following the death on Sunday of 31-year-old Master Sgt. Shlomi Cohen, from Afula, who was killed (while driving an army vehicle) by cross-border gunfire from Lebanon.  The following morning, the Guardian published a story on the incident by Conal Urquhart titled ‘Lebanon-Israel border shooting sparks tensions‘.  

(It was in the strap line where we first learned that an Israeli soldier was killed.)  

Though the precise details of the shooting are still being investigated, reports confirm that the gunman was a member of the Lebanese Armed Forces and that he fired several bullets from Lebanese territory at Cohen, who was on the Israeli side of the fence.

The Guardian chose to illustrate the story with the following photo of the Israel-Lebanon border.

Several hours after the shooting, the IDF reportedly fired shots in the direction of Lebanese soldiers in the same area where Cohen was killed, after spotting “suspicious movement” – though there are conflicting reports as to whether any Lebanese soldiers were actually wounded in the incident.

Roughly 12 hours later (and 14 hours after Urquhart’s original story), Harriet Sherwood published her report on the day’s events in a story titled ‘Israeli troops shoot two Lebanese soldiers in border skirmish‘.

(Again, the fact that the shooting took place only after an Israeli soldier was killed is relegated to the strap line.)

The photo Guardian editors used to illustrate the incident was an unrelated photo of Israeli soldiers which dates back at least five years.

Whilst the report itself is relatively fair, it’s nonetheless troubling that in two stories devoted to an incident which clearly began when an Israeli soldiered was killed by a Lebanese soldier, neither the titles nor accompanying photos convey any information about the Israeli victim.  Additionally, in looking back at prior Guardian reports on lethal Palestinian terror attacks over the past two years, we weren’t able to find even one which included a photo of the Israeli victim.  

The Guardian’s failure to humanize Israeli victims of terror stands in stark contrast to their often fawningcoverage of Palestinian terrorists and their families.

Photo of Shabbir Hazam used to illustrate Guardian story: He was a member of Fatah who was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a work colleague – Holocaust survivor Isaac Rotenberg – with an axe.

Here’s one of the photos of Shlomi Cohen used by other media outlets, which the Guardian passed on.

Here’s his final Facebook update:

Cohen leaves behind a wife and seven-month-old baby girl. 

IDF officer killed in cross-border shooting laid to rest

St.-Sgt. Maj. Shlomi Cohen, 31, was shot dead while driving in an army vehicle 50 meters from the Lebanese border Sunday night.

An IDF soldier killed by cross-border gunfire from Lebanon was laid to rest at the Haifa cemetery on Monday evening.

St.-Sgt. Maj. Shlomi Cohen, 31, from Afula, was shot dead while driving in an army vehicle 50 meters from the Lebanese border near Rosh Hanikra on Sunday night.

Paramedics rushed Cohen to the Nahariya Hospital for the Western Galillee, but he succumbed to his injuries soon afterwards.Cohen, an officer from the Israel Navy, was carrying out an official mission near an IDF border post, when six to seven shots struck him and the jeep, critically injuring him.

After the shooting, IDF soldiers spotted suspicious figures on the Lebanese side of the border, and opened fire at them. An IDF source said it was not immediately clear if there were casualties on the Lebanese side of the border as a result.

Lebanese media said two Lebanese soldiers were hit by the gunfire, but did not provide details on their condition.

Addressing the incident, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon sent condolences to Cohen's family, adding, "We view the Lebanese government and the Lebanese army as being responsible for what occurs on their side. Today, liason officers from the IDF and the Lebanese army will meet, together with UNIFIL officials, to clarify the incident. We will demand that the Lebanese army first of all provides an explanation of exactly happened there, and whether this is really a rogue soldier, what they did with him, and what the Lebanese army plans to do to prevent incidents of this type. We will not tolerate a violation of our sovereignty along any border, certainly not the Lebanon border."

An initial IDF assessment, based on data from lookout positions on the border, found that Cohen was hit by shots fired by a soldier from the Lebanese Armed Forces, who apparently acted alone.

"We are sending messages to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) regarding the severity of this incident. There is no indication that an infiltration into our territory occurred," the army source said on Sunday night. "The IDF is prepared in the North," he warned.

The IDF said in a statement that it is investigating the shooting, adding that it reserved the right to respond at a time and place it sees fit.

The source added that several details, such as the identity of the Lebanese soldier, remain currently unknown.

Lebanese sources said they had lost contact with the Lebanese soldier after the shooting.

UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said. said, "We are now trying to determine the facts of what happened and the situation is ongoing.

UNIFIL's force commander is in contact with counterparts in the Lebanese and Israeli army, urging restraint."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that both the Israel Defense Forces and the Lebanese military were cooperating with the investigation, though he urged both sides to maintain calm.

Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Israel Ziv, former head of the Operations Branch in the IDF, told Army Radio on Monday morning that the IDF will have to examine how Cohen was permitted to drive alone at night near the frontier.

"The chances of Hezbollah [being responsible]  are very low. This does not fit in with their pattern, it's not in their interest, and it didn't occur in an area they are active in," Ziv said.

"What was the motivation of the [Lebanese] soldier? All options could be true. The Lebanese army also does not have an interest in this happening," Ziv added. He added that the Lebanese Armed Forces, which has limited capabilities but strong discipline and internal order, will investigate the shooting.

Yaakov Biton, a relative of Cohen, described him as a "modest, quiet guy, very dedicated to his wife and daughter." Weeping quietly while speaking to Army Radio, Biton said Cohen leaves behind his wife, Ma'ayan and a daughter who will turn one next month.

The young family had bought an apartment and planned to move soon. "All of these plans are gone now," Biton said.

Jeruselam post

Israel opts for restraint in face of Lebanese provocation

In today’s increasingly volatile region, incidents like yesterday's shooting death of an IDF soldier have the potential to spark a wider escalation, one that could see Hezbollah and the IDF trade blows.

All indications are that the gunman who shot and killed an IDF soldier on the Lebanon border Sunday night, without any provocation or cause, was a Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) member who acted alone.

Urgent questions remain unanswered: Why did the LAF soldier pull the trigger? If he was indeed a rogue attacker, how will the LAF deal with him? And why did the IDF allow St.-Sgt. Maj. Shlomi Cohen, 31, to travel alone near the border in an unarmored vehicle at night? As the IDF investigates, the incident will serve as a reminder that the Lebanese border, usually calm and stable since the ceasefire that ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, can still produce sudden outbursts of deadly violence at any time.

The IDF too is readying itself.In today’s increasingly volatile region, such incidents have the potential to spark a wider escalation, one that could see Hezbollah and the IDF begin to trade blows. In fact, senior IDF commanders are seeing large-scale preparations by Hezbollah for its next clash with Israel.

Counteracting the explosive risks are stabilizing factors.

First among them is Israeli deterrence, which remains in place, based on the enemy’s understanding of the devastating firepower the IDF can employ. To bolster this deterrence, IDF units on the northern border have been given enough flexibility to respond immediately and forcefully to attacks against them.

Additionally, the IDF’s methodical decision-making process, based on a careful assessment of the situation, helps prevent knee-jerk reactions.

That Hezbollah remains neckdeep in sectarian Shi’ite-Sunni fighting in Syria and faces growing numbers of attacks on its home court of Lebanon suggest it stands little to gain from opening up a second front against Israel. Therefore, its involvement in Sunday’s incident appears unlikely.

For these reasons, the IDF chose to respond with restraint. (The shots fired by IDF soldiers soon after the initial shooting were in response to suspicious border activity and did not constitute retaliation.) The restraint is a reflection of the fact that it is not in either side’s interest to escalate. This is especially true for the LAF, which, militarily speaking, is weak and would stand to lose a great deal in any clash with Israel.

Another stabilizing factor lies in the regular meetings by IDF officials with the LAF, as well as with representatives of the UN Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) to discuss border security. The talks are aimed at trying to prevent unnecessary developments.

The security dialogue will now enable the IDF to demand firm answers from the Lebanese military and, no less importantly, to deliver a clear warning that any repeat will jeopardize the border’s stability in the future.

Jeruselam post

IDF soldier killed in Lebanese border shooting identified as St.-Sgt. Maj. Shlomi Cohen

Israel suspects Lebanese soldier acting alone opened fire; IDF will have to examine how Cohen was permitted to drive alone at night near the frontier, former senior IDF official says.

An IDF soldier has been killed by cross-border gunfire from Lebanon while driving in an army vehicle on Sunday night. He has been named as 31-year-old St.-Sgt. Maj. Shlomi Cohen, from Afula.

Cohen, an officer from the Israel Navy, was carrying out an official mission near an IDF border post in the Rosh Hanikra region, and was driving some 50 meters away from the border, when six to seven shots struck him and the jeep, critically injuring him.

An IDF soldier has been killed by cross-border gunfire from Lebanon while driving in an army vehicle on Sunday night. He has been named as 31-year-old St.-Sgt. Maj. Shlomi Cohen, from Afula.

Cohen, an officer from the Israel Navy, was carrying out an official mission near an IDF border post in the Rosh Hanikra region, and was driving some 50 meters away from the border, when six to seven shots struck him and the jeep, critically injuring him.

Paramedics rushed Cohen to the Nahariya Hospital for the Western Galillee, but he succumbed to his injuries soon afterwards.

An initial IDF assessment, based on data from lookout positions on the border, found that Cohen was hit by shots fired by a soldier from the Lebanese Armed Forces, who apparently acted alone.After the shooting, IDF soldiers spotted suspicious figures on the Lebanese side of the border, and opened fire at them. An IDF source said it was not immediately clear if there were casualties on the Lebanese side of the border as a result.

"We are sending messages to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) regarding the severity of this incident. There is no indication that an infiltration into our territory occurred," the army source said on Sunday night. "The IDF is prepared in the North," he warned.

The shooting occurred at around 9 p.m. on Sunday.

The IDF said in a statement that it is investigating the shooting, adding that it reserved the right to respond at a time and place it sees fit.

The source added that several details, such as the identity of the Lebanese soldier, remain currently unknown.

Lebanese sources said they had lost contact with the Lebanese soldier after the shooting.

UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said. said, "We are now trying to determine the facts of what happened and the situation is ongoing.

UNIFIL's force commander is in contact with counterparts in the Lebanese and Israeli army, urging restraint."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that both the Israel Defense Forces and the Lebanese military were cooperating with the investigation, though he urged both sides to maintain calm.

Cohen will be laid to rest at the Haifa military cemetery on Monday evening.

Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Israel Ziv, former head of the Operations Branch in the IDF, told Army Radio on Monday morning that the IDF will have to examine how Cohen was permitted to drive alone at night near the frontier.

"The chances of Hezbollah [being responsible]  are very low. This does not fit in with their pattern, it's not in their interest, and it didn't occur in an area they are active in," Ziv said.

"What was the motivation of the [Lebanese] soldier? All options could be true. The Lebanese army also does not have an interest in this happening," Ziv added. He added that the Lebanese Armed Forces, which has limited capabilities but strong discipline and internal order, will investigate the shooting.

Yaakov Biton, a relative of Cohen, described him as a "modest, quiet guy, very dedicated to his wife and daughter." Weeping quietly while speaking to Army Radio, Biton said Cohen leaves behind his wife, Ma'ayan and a daughter who will turn one next month.

The young family had bought an apartment and planned to move soon. "All of these plans are gone now," Biton said.

Jerusalem post 

IDF Soldier Reportedly Killed by Lebanon Sniper as IDF troops return fire

An IDF soldier was reportedly killed by sniper fire from Lebanon a short time ago, according to reports in Al Arabiya, The Lebanon Daily Star and other Lebanese news sites. 

The soldier was reportedly shot near Rosh Hanikra, along the Northern border.

 In Lebanon they are claiming that the shooting was done by the Lebanese Army, or by someone wearing a Lebanon Army uniform. The IDF spokesperson confirms there was a shooting incident from Lebanon, a complaint was sent to the UN, and that Israel reserves the right to respond to it. 

There was no mention of an injured or killed soldier, or of an exchange of fire. 

According to a more recent IDF update, the soldier was driving a civilian car at the time of the attack. The IDF also confirms that the shooter was a member of the Lebanese Armed Forces. 

According to Nahariyah Hospital director Dr. Masaad Barhom, an IDF soldier was brought unconscious to the hospital at around 8 PM, after his car had flipped. 

He had holes in his upper body that appear to be from gunfire or possibly shrapnel. The doctors were unable to save his life. It would appear the soldier was possibly hit by gunfire, and his car subsequently flipped over. 

The UN is confirming that Israel did not breach the border ahead of the attack. 

There are reports that the IDF is shooting back into the area in Lebanon where the attack came from. Three days ago, there was a shooting incident from Lebanon, but no IDF soldiers were hurt in that attack.

Jewish press 

Gunshots fired in the direction of IDF troops on Lebanon border

A subsequent IDF assessment concluded that the shots were most likely fired by Lebanese hunters near the frontier.

IDF soldiers stationed in the upper Galillee near the Lebanese border reported hearing shots fired from Lebanon on Thursday. The soldiers returned fire towards the direction from where the shots were heard.

A subsequent IDF assessment concluded that the shots were most likely fired by Lebanese hunters near the frontier. There were no injuries on either side of the border.

An initial investigation into Friday's blast that damaged an IDF vehicle in the northern Golan Heights found that an explosive device was placed on the Syrian side of the fence, and that the attackers were targeting a passing IDF patrol, the army said on Saturday.The military-defense establishment has been on alert in the north just days after an army patrol vehicle was damaged in an explosion that was set off adjacent to Israel's border with Syria.

The device targeted an IDF patrol as it passed on the Israeli side of the border, damaging the rear window of the vehicle. No soldiers were injured in the incident.

No organization has claimed responsibility.

“We’re looking at all possibilities,” an IDF source told The Jerusalem Post over the weekend.

The IDF has spent months preparing for an escalation of violence along the Syrian frontier, with potential attackers ranging from jihadi rebels to Assad loyalist forces. It is constructing a new barrier on the border with Syria, said to be missile proof and complete with advanced electronic sensors.

In southern Syria near the border with Israel, rebels and the Syrian army have been clashing on a daily basis in recent days, with rebel forces defending a strip of villages under their control from a regime push to retake them. Some of the border regions are under the control of the Syrian Army.

IDF officials report witnessing a basic pattern in which the Syrian Army gathers its forces near a village under rebel control, prompting civilians to flee. A battle then ensues, and civilians return to their homes when it ends.

“There have been no strategic changes here,” the army source said, adding: “This pattern has been repeating itself.”

In October, two soldiers were lightly injured in the area by shrapnel from a Syrian mortar. The Syrian artillery post that fired the projectile was destroyed by the IDF soon after.

Jeruselam post

Iran's Terror Entity in Lebanon - One out of every ten homes in Lebanon now has a rocket launcher or Hezbollah weapons stored in it

One out of every ten homes in Lebanon now has a rocket launcher or Hezbollah weapons stored in it, according to Gilad Erdan, Israel's Home Front Defense Minister. Civilian homes are constructed in a way that allows the roof to open up for the firing of a rocket at Israel. Added up, the number of rockets and missiles reached is 200,000.

In the chaotic Middle East, every day brings new strategic changes and brutal instances of violence, the one thing that has remained constant is Iran's continuing construction of a military-terrorist missile base in Lebanon.

Through its Shi'ite Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, Iran today has formed a terrorist entity that is unprecedented in scope and firepower, whose rockets and missiles can strike any point in Israel.

During a recent security conference held at the Begin-Sadat Center at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, senior Israeli officials divulged some staggering figures that give a sense of the significant capabilities Hezbollah has built-up.

To be sure, Israel has been preparing for the day it will need to tackle Hezbollah, and the Israel Defense Force apparently feels ready to deal with the threat if and when it is required to do so.

The threat, however, remains potent; and Hezbollah's cynical use of Lebanese civilians as a cover from which to attack Israeli civilians remains a serious challenge facing Israeli defense planners.

During the conference, IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz, pointed out that, "in Lebanon today, there are homes in which there are guestrooms alongside missile storage rooms. This is a clear intelligence reality."

The situation was also addressed by Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan, who unveiled a government plan to find solutions quickly for the 30% of Israeli civilians who do not have rocket-proof rooms in their apartments, or access to bomb shelters in their buildings or the immediate vicinity.

In any full-scale war, Erdan warned, the Israeli home front will be pounded by thousands of rockets for up to three weeks, and every point in the country could be hit by Hezbollah.

One out of every 10 homes in Lebanon now has a rocket launcher or Hezbollah weapons stored in it, Erdan said. Civilian homes, he said, are constructed in southern Lebanon in a way that allows the roof to open up for the firing of a rocket at Israel.

An increasing number of Hezbollah's projectiles, Erdan cautioned, are guided, accurate weapons, with which the terror organization will seek to strike Israeli national infrastructure sites, such as electricity production centers.

If the number of rockets and missiles possessed by Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are added up, he added, the number reached is 200,000.

"Our enemies," he said, "want to break the spirit of Israelis, and get them to stop believing that we can have a normal life here."

The IDF has very effective offensive plans for these threats, but the government also had to come up with new ways of keeping civilian life going during a future war, he continued.

"We need to create a mechanism to allow the continuous functionality of the home front, and not to return to scenes of the Second Lebanon War of 2006," he said. "No other country is facing the threat we are today."

Hezbollah is heavily armed, more so than most Western countries, but it is also deterred by Israel's firepower. Additionally, its main focus today is on fulfilling the orders of its masters in Tehran and fighting in the Syrian civil war on the side of the Assad regime, a move that has provoked the wrath of Sunni jihadis. This change was noted in recent days by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, who stated: "To those who are not yet aware, there is already a civil war in Lebanon. [The Sunni] Global Jihad, which has infiltrated Lebanon and is attacking Hezbollah, is blowing car bombs in [the south Beirut Hezbollah stronghold of] Dahia, and is firing rockets at Dahia and the Beka'a Valley [in northern Lebanon, where Hezbollah is also based]."

During the conference, new ideas were put forward by top security figures on how Israel might enhance its deterrence even further.

Giora Eiland, former head of the National Security Council (which advises the prime minister), said Israel should reject the idea that it must fight against terrorist guerrilla organizations embedded in civilian areas, and return to the idea that it is fighting enemy states.

It is impossible to defeat guerrilla forces, Eiland argued; but if the enemy and its territory are defined as a hostile state, victory becomes possible once again. "In 2006," he said, "we tried to do something impossible by hitting rocket launchers. If tomorrow there is a third Lebanon war and if we try to do the same thing, the result will be worse. We and Hezbollah have improved tactically."

"If war does break out," he added, "treating Lebanon as an enemy would end the conflict in three days, not three weeks," Eiland predicted. "This entails bombing bridges and other state-affiliated targets, though staying clear of civilian sites like schools and hospitals," he stressed. "It is not right for us to accept the idea of fighting low-intensity counter-terrorism conflicts. We should move to an interstate conflict system."

by Yaakov Lappin