Occupation Airstrikes Seek to Destroy the Southern Suburbs and Displace the Beqaa… Journalists Become Martyrs in the South / Resistance Drains the Occupying Army: 100 Dead, 1,000 Wounded, and 50 Vehicles Destroyed

 October 26, 2024

The political editor wrote

After concluding his visit to Tel Aviv without announcing any outcomes or intent to return to Beirut, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein confirmed he will return to Tel Aviv on Sunday, then proceed to Beirut. This follows Netanyahu’s announcement to continue the war until all objectives are achieved, after his meeting with Hochstein. During this encounter, Lebanon communicated its stance, rejecting any modifications to Resolution 1701 and prioritising a ceasefire over any other discussion. Hochstein’s visit to Beirut via Tel Aviv suggests new developments in Tel Aviv which Hochstein will assess and discuss before bringing updates worthy of his return to Beirut – a position Beirut remains resolute in, with no adjustments to its stance.

In a notable shift, Hochstein equated Lebanon and the occupying entity for the first time regarding non-compliance with Resolution 1701, hinting at a possible Israeli retreat that allows U.S. openness to Lebanese requests while maintaining primary loyalty to Israeli interests. This possible Israeli shift is hinted at by statements from the entity’s Defense Minister and Chief of Staff suggesting an end to the ground offensive and a halt to the war. This reflects the unmasked failure of the war to subdue or weaken the resistance, despite relentless strikes against it. The image of Israeli strength is hardly bolstered by intense air raids on the southern suburbs aimed at obliteration, or on the Beqaa aimed at displacing residents, nor by the targeting of journalists in the south, where two correspondents from Al-Mayadeen and one from Al-Manar have been martyred. The decisive stage remains the frontlines, where resistance holds supremacy, as the battlefield attests.

The ground offensive, launched at the start of this month, is now in its twenty-sixth day and marked by exceptional intensity. The resistance decisively controls the battlefield, holding the upper hand. Over the past week, it has managed to thwart and destroy numerous attacks involving hundreds of soldiers, officers, and dozens of vehicles. The resistance has imposed its will across a fifty-kilometre front stretching from Marwahin in the west to Ghajar in the east, along the paths of Divisions 36, 91, and 98, which comprise fifty thousand troops and five hundred vehicles. Since the beginning of this confrontation, the resistance has set the tempo, imposing its firepower along the Lebanese border and throughout the area where these divisions operate. The toll has reached over 100 dead and 1,000 wounded among the occupying forces, along with the destruction of more than 50 vehicles, including 38 Merkava tanks.