The United Kingdom joined France and Algeria in calling for an urgent Security Council discussion on the situation in the northern Gaza Strip. On October 16, UNIFIL reported that peacekeepers at a position near Kafer Kela observed an IDF Merkava tank shooting at their watchtower. Two cameras were destroyed and the tower was damaged.
The Pentagon calls on Israel to provide security and protection to the Lebanese army. And it sends a message to Iran. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US military attacked five underground Houthi weapons depots using B-2 strategic bombers. The attack was approved by President Biden. Austin added: “This is a demonstration of the US global strike capabilities that can operate anytime, anywhere. The United States will not hesitate to act to protect American assets and prevent attacks against civilians and our partners in the region.”
After reassuring Lebanon that the Iranian Red Cross will send 35 trucks full of aid, Iran responded to the United States. This was done by the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, General Hossein Salami, during the funeral ceremony of General Nilforshan: “We warn Israel and its leaders. Operation True Promise 2 was simply a warning, and it is a very small part of our capabilities. We implemented “The True Promise 2” so that the Israelis would be alert and know that we are capable of hitting them. We are not at all kind to anyone and they should not rely on their defense systems, which we can breach.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “France is pursuing a hostile policy towards the Jewish people.” Israeli journalist Amir Boukhbout wrote: “The attack on the Golani Brigade base has shocked all of Israel, shaken the army leadership and shown that it is still lagging behind in dealing with the drone threat. A senior army officer said that the Air Force was not prepared to deal with the drone threat. Four fighter jets and a missile launcher are chasing a drone because the Air Force has not sufficiently strengthened its forces to support ground forces on the border. Criticism increased after the Air Force tracked the drone and chased it, then it disappeared and was believed to have fallen into the sea, but it penetrated the air defenses and hit the base.” From Lebanon, Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and leader of the Amal movement reported: “The presidential elections in Lebanon will be suspended until the end of the war. At the moment there are no guarantees for the safety of citizens”.
The Yemeni Houthi Army despite the Anglo-American bombings said: “We will remain with our brothers in Palestine and tell the occupiers: we will transform your skin into shoes for our children and for the children of Palestine”. On the night of October 17, the American army attacked a series of targets in Sana’a and Sa’ada in Yemen. For the first time since the beginning of the war, the American army used B-2 heavy bombers and not fighter planes. The same ones used in Libya in 2017 in Sirte.
According to Yemeni sources: the Anglo-American aggression targeted the areas of Al-Telefe en, Al-Hafaa and Jarban, north and south of Sana’a, with 6 raids. Other sources report 9 raids citing other raids in: Kahlan and Al-Aila east of the city of Saada, raids also on Sanaa. A member of the political bureau of the Ansar Allah movement, Ali Al-Qahoum: “The aggression on Yemen is a failed attempt to protect Israel and dissuade us from supporting Gaza and Lebanon. We tell the Americans and the British that our capabilities are increasing, the response is coming, the target bank is large and they must endure the blows”. The Correspondent of al-Mayadeen in Sanaa, a Hezbollah newspaper: “The US-British raids did not hit the weapons depots of the Yemeni armed forces. The US raids targeted the mountains, a small communication network in Saada and empty fields”. On the morning of October 17, the IAF successfully intercepted a UAV that was approaching Israel from the Red Sea. The UAV did not enter Israeli territory.
After sirens sounded between 0:55 and 1:13, in the area of the Aravah and the southern Negev, the incident ended.
Israel attacked Assad-controlled Latakia during the night. Most of the missiles were intercepted by Syrian/Russian defense system. According to social media sources, Israel is removing mines and moving the fence in the demilitarized zone with Syria on the Golan heights.
The Syrian Ministry of Defense in a press release stated: “At around 2:50 today, the Israeli enemy launched an airstrike from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, targeting one of the points near the southeastern entrance to the city of Latakia, injuring two civilians and causing material damage to private property around it.”
And now an update from the Israel Lebanon Front Lines updated at 14:00 on October 17.
The five Israeli divisions were deployed along the following axes: Al-Udaysah, Kfarkila, Rab El Thalathine and Markaba; Meiss El Jabal, Mhaibib and Blida; Maroun El-Ras and Yaroun; Labbouneh and Naqoura; Ayta ash Shab and Ramyeh.
The most active fronts on October 17 were Labbouneh and Naqoura; Ayta ash Shab and Ramyeh, where direct clashes were recorded. On the Mhaibib and Blida front, a place of worship was destroyed, from which the Israelis then withdrew. While on the evening of October 16, the Al-Udaysah, Kfarkila, Rab El Thalathine and Markaba axis was the most active.
And now let’s look at the individual operations in detail: The IDF launched a new wave of air strikes in the Beqa’a Valley on the night of October 17. The Islamic Resistance targeted, at a gathering of enemy soldiers between Kafr Kila and Al-Adiseh with artillery shells and suffered direct injuries. Information from the Lebanese channel “LBCI” speaks of the capture of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah. There is no confirmation from the Israeli side. According to the social sphere, the losses of tanks of the Israeli forces since the beginning of the operation amount to 17 in 17 days. In turn, the IDF announced the probable killing in one of the bombings of the past few days of Yahyia Sinwar, a Hamas commander. A series of images of a deceased who could also be the leader of Hamas have begun to circulate online; for the final confirmation, the results of the DNA test are awaited. The risk of balkanization of the conflict is ever higher, if the death is confirmed.
Channel 13 says that 44 Israeli soldiers were wounded and evacuated from southern Lebanon, with a dozen helicopters after their convoy was attacked by Hezbollah fighters. According to social media sources close to Hezbollah, 5 Israeli soldiers died in battle in Ayta el Chaeb (Nabatiye), in southern Lebanon. In the western sector, the sounds of explosions and airstrikes do not subside, covering Aya al-Shaab, Ramiyah and al-Qaouzah (Nabatiye). Israeli media reported difficulties in evacuating the wounded from al-Qaouzah. The Islamic Resistance targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Khallet el Ouard with a missile late on October 16.
According to the correspondent of al-Mayadeen, there has been a significant increase in the frequency of clashes between Rab Thilaine and Markaba, with heavy artillery bombardments and airstrikes covering the towns of Adisa, Al-Tayyibah, Rab Thiraine, Markaba and Haula.
Hezbollah claims to have repelled two Israeli drone attacks. At 18:30 on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, Islamic Resistance fighters in air defense units responded to two Israeli drones in southern airspace with surface-to-air missiles, forcing them to retreat and leave Lebanese airspace. A group of Israeli soldiers in Wadi Hanine were hit with a rocket launcher.
Since the morning of October 17, the Islamic Resistance has targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the Al-Sadana area with a rocket launcher; rocket launchers against a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Barkhta Farm, both areas are located in the Lebanese Shebaa Farms. A local source from Quneitra, Syria, told Sham FM: “The sounds of explosions heard in the airspace of the northern countryside and Mount Hermon were caused by intense shelling carried out by the Lebanese Resistance, towards the occupied Shebaa Farms in southern Lebanon.”
The Labbouneh front has been activated since 02:00: the Islamic Resistance has claimed the destruction of a Merkava tank on the heights of Labbouneh with a guided missile, another attack recorded at 13:00 it is not specified whether it is the same news or the tanks hit are two. According to the Lebanese newspaper al Manar there are two tanks. The rescue units of the Israeli army were not able to reach the burning tank in Labbouneh, source Israeli media. Hezbollah claims that it is using for its operations “Qader 2” and “Nasr 1” missiles, which entered service on October 14, 2024.
According to the National News Agency, Israel fires with heavy machine guns towards the mountains of Labouneh and Al-Alama, trying to make its vehicles retreat, targeted by the Resistance. Israel did not comment on the reports.
Al-Mayadeen correspondent in southern Lebanon reported that occupation forces blew up a religious shrine in the town of Muhaibib and withdrew from there. The town of Muhaibib is just 2.3 km from the Lebanese border. Israeli warplanes launched a series of raids against the town of Hula along with artillery shelling of the town.
In northern Israel, the Islamic Resistance began shelling the town of Safed with a rocket launcher late in the evening of October 16; rocket launchers against the Israeli artillery position in Delton; and the Yiftah barracks hit with a rocket launcher; Islamic Resistance missile against the Basalya settlement of Kiryat Shmona. Since the morning of October 17, the Islamic resistance in Iraq has targeted two targets: the “Ein Yahav” military base and the Tel Nof base near Rehovot.
Large fires were recorded in Shlomi, northern Israel, after heavy rocket attacks by Hezbollah. Channel 12 reports monitoring the launch of 5 rockets from Lebanon towards the Western Galilee region. The Islamic Resistance has launched a targeted bombing of the Upper Galilee region. Sirens sound as the operation unfolds. Rocket salvos targeted military concentrations on the border in the eastern sector, and sirens sounded in Metula, Kfar Giladi and Miskfaam in the Finger of Galilee. The settlement of Kfar Varadim was bombed with a rocket attack. The Islamic Resistance attacked a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the gate of the settlement of Miskav Aam with a missile.
In southern Israel, the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades said in a statement: “We, together with the forces of the martyr Omar al-Qasim, shelled the settlement “Miflasim” with a salvo of “107” missiles.”
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched dromi against the port of Eilat. Haifa was also under attack on October 17.
The IDF reported that under the direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF conducted an attack on an operational meeting point for Hamas and Islamic Jihad men. The two groups were operating inside a command and control center embedded in a compound that previously served as a school, the “Abu Hassan” in northern Gaza. At the time of the attack, dozens of men from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad organizations were present in the compound.
Troops from the 401st Brigade are still operating in the Jabaliya area in the northern part of the Gaza Strip as part of the 162nd Division’s operation to remove weapons and eliminate the last Hamas cells from the area.
In the West Bank, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said their fighters met the Israeli forces’ assault on the Al-Ain camp in the city of Nablus with an explosive device and a hail of bullets.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
