September 14,
2024
Israel’s
military continues to pound Gaza, killing several Palestinians in attacks on
Gaza City and Khan Younis, a day after at least 19 people died in assaults
throughout the Strip.
-
Israel’s military continues to pound Gaza, killing several Palestinians in attacks on Gaza City and Khan Younis, a day after at least 19 people died in assaults throughout the Strip.
- The first phase of a UN-led polio vaccination drive has officially ended. About 560,000 children received their first dose over 12 days.
- UN chief told Al Jazeera the US must pressure Israel to end its devastating war on Gaza, but admits, “I know the American political life sufficiently to know that will not happen”.
- At least 41,182 people have been killed and 95,280 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. In Israel, the number of those killed in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 is at least 1,139, while more than 200 people were taken captive.
Lebanese resistance movement
Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets toward Israeli army positions near
Lebanon's border on the morning of 14 September, hitting the headquarters of
the Israeli army's Artillery and Precision Missile Brigade (282) northwest of
Lake Tiberias for the first time.
According to a statement released by
Hezbollah, the attack was launched in response to an Israeli airstrike during
the early morning hours that left over a dozen casualties in the town of
Nabatieh. Israel's continued attacks on southern Lebanese villages have killed
over 130 civilians since cross-border clashes started on 8 October.
Base 282 is located about 18
kilometers away from the Lebanese border. According to Al Mayadeen's
correspondent, the targeted Israeli base hosts “weapons and precision missiles,
a reserve division command headquarters, in addition to an advanced armament
center.”
On Saturday morning the Lebanese
resistance also targeted the reserve headquarters of the Israeli army's
Northern Corps, the Galilee Division reserve base, the army's logistical
warehouses in Amiad, and destroyed an Israeli Merkava tank on the Ruwaysat al-Alam-Zebdine
road with a guided missile.
The Hezbollah barrage also sparked
wildfires near Lake Tiberias.
Tel Aviv responded to the Hezbollah
rocket barrage by launching airstrikes on south Lebanon, reportedly targeting
the launchers used by the Lebanese resistance and “additional targets.”
Hezbollah’s operations in support of
Gaza have forced tens of thousands of settlers to flee Israel’s north. The Lebanese resistance has vowed to continue
its operations until the genocidal war in Gaza is brought to an end.
Earlier this week, European security
sources confirmed to Al Mayadeen that a Hezbollah retaliatory attack last month
that targeted the headquarters of Israel’s Unit 8200 and the Ein Shemer airbase
left “dozens of casualties.”
The operation was a retaliation to
the Israeli assassination of top commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut in late July.
It involved firing hundreds of rockets toward sites in the occupied Golan
Heights and Galilee to overwhelm the Iron Dome system. At the same time, drones
were launched towards the two bases.
Unit 8200’s Glilot base is located
in a Tel Aviv suburb, around six miles north of the city. The Ein Shemer base
is around 40 kilometers from Tel Aviv.
The US Department of Defense is
building aircraft facilities in Israel to accommodate new US-made KC-46A
Pegasus refueling tanker planes that could assist in an attack on Iran, The
Intercept reported on 14 September.
Army Corps of Engineers documents
show new buildings will be constructed and existing buildings will be upgraded,
including hangars, warehouses, and storage facilities, at a military base in
the south of Israel.
The project includes “establishing
and adapting aviation and maintenance infrastructure for the KC-46,” including
the construction of five new concrete and steel structures, the documents show.
Four Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker
aircraft will be delivered to Israel in 2026 to replace its fleet of aging
Boeing 707 passenger planes that the Israeli Air Force currently uses for
midair refueling of fighter aircraft.
Israel will purchase the planes from
Boeing at a cost of 1$ billion using funds provided by the US Congress to buy
US-made weapons.
The Intercept notes that the
“purchase of the KC-46As was seen as a signal of Israel’s determination to
increase its capacity to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.”
On 12 September, the US Statement
Department announced it approved an additional $165 million in weapons sales to
Israel to fund heavy-duty tank trailers, the AP reported.
The systems include spare and repair
parts, tool kits and technical and logistics support to be delivered in 2027.
Earlier this year, the US announced
a massive $20 billion weapons support package for Israel, which will include
F-15 fighter jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, 120
mm tank ammunition, and high explosive mortars and tactical vehicles.
The first delivery of the weapons
included in the packages is not expected until 2026.
Washington’s support for Tel Aviv
has remained unshakable since the beginning of Israel’s genocide of
Palestinians in Gaza in October last year.
Israel’s horrific bombing and siege
of Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children.
In addition to the vast death toll,
more than 22,500 people in Gaza have suffered life-changing injuries requiring
rehabilitation services “now and for years to come,” the UN World Health
Organization (WHO) reported on Thursday.
These include severe limb injuries,
amputations, spinal cord trauma, traumatic brain injuries, and major burns.
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