Halevi, After Gallant: The Operation in Lebanon Can Be Concluded … And We Can Celebrate a Victory! / The Occupation Suffers Hundreds of Losses in Lebanon … Major Farhat, a Martyr and Hero in Defense of the Homeland.

 October 25, 2024

The political editor wrote

Statements by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday intersect with those of the Chief of Staff of the Occupation Army, Herzi Halevi, who views the killing of resistance leaders in Lebanon and Palestine as an opportunity to end the war and declare victory. Likewise, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke of concluding the ground operation in Lebanon along the same lines. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears committed to continuing the war in Lebanon and Gaza, along with plans for aggression against Iran, with Israel’s Channel 12 reporting technical reasons behind the delay, including concerns of a retaliatory strike from Iran that could damage Israel’s airstrips, forcing Israeli aircraft to circle in search of safe landing.

Blinken attempted to secure a deal concerning Gaza that incorporates Netanyahu’s demands for ensuring Hamas will no longer remain in Gaza once the war concludes. He announced this from Doha as part of the anticipated agreement, seemingly expecting Hamas – which has been bravely battling for the 13th consecutive month and inflicting heavy losses on the Israeli military – to agree to what would amount to political suicide. Notably, the Qatari Prime Minister, who joined Blinken at the press conference in Doha, did not oppose this integration into what is supposed to be a trilateral mediation effort involving the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar.

Blinken’s demands align with those of Netanyahu, which Presidential Envoy Amos Hochstein dared not raise during his meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Meanwhile, the resistance continues to display extraordinary valour along the entire border, inflicting unbearable losses on the occupation forces. The cries of injured officers and soldiers were heard, with over two hundred injuries reported just yesterday – half of them from confrontations at Aita al-Shaab alone – and more than ten tanks destroyed along the Mais al-Jabal and Blida fronts.

The Lebanese army also lost a hero yesterday, Major Muhammad Farhat, who, alongside two soldiers, was martyred in an Israeli airstrike on a Lebanese army post in Yatar. Major Farhat, a distinguished officer, had previously defended the border against an Israeli encroachment last year, removing barbed wire installed by occupation forces that breached the demarcated line and ordering his soldiers to prepare to fire in defence of Lebanon’s sovereignty.