Israel invaded Lebanon this morning, its troops entering the hostile country to its north for the first time since the war of 2006. The Telegraph‘s Adrian Blomfield is in Beirut and says it’s starting to feel like all-out war.
As Israeli troops entered Lebanon for the first time since the war of 2006, artillery struck Hezbollah positions in the south and launched repeated air strikes on Beirut, the Lebanese capital.
Despite this latest escalation, Hezbollah fighters appear, at least for now, to have avoided any direct confrontation with Israeli troops on Lebanese soil.
The group has made no public mention of Israel’s incursion at all this morning, although it did say it had targeted artillery fire at Israeli troops on the other side of the border.
The Israeli ground raids came exactly a fortnight after the simultaneous detonation of thousands of pagers carried by mid-ranking Hezbollah fighters – an operation which Israel has not officially acknowledged but which clearly marked the start of this campaign.
Israel, of course, will say it did not fire the first shots of a confrontation that is starting to look like a war in all but name.
Instead, it insists, the responsibility lies with Hezbollah, which launched rockets into northern Israel almost immediately after Hamas slaughtered more than 1,000 people when it attacked Israel’s territory on October 7th last year.
Although the first fortnight of Israel’s operation against the Iran-backed group has been conducted with metronomic precision, a ground operation is a gamble with a different complexion.
During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Israel encountered much stiffer resistance from Hezbollah than it expected.
The two sides fought to a bloody standstill and Ehud Olmert, then the Israeli Prime Minister, bowed to international pressure and agreed to a ceasefire – much to the anger of many Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
Since that conflict, Hezbollah has fortified its positions in southern Lebanon, digging tunnels deep under the rocks of the region’s mountains and, thanks to Iran, steadily accumulating a much vaster and more precise rocket capability.
Hezbollah’s arsenal of rockets, guided missiles and drones was estimated to be 150,000 strong last year – 10 times greater than in 2006.
Likewise, Hezbollah’s fighters are much more battle-hardened than they were 18 years ago after more than a decade of battle experience in Syria, where the group intervened, often viciously, in support of the Assad regime.
On the other hand, Israel has also spent the intervening years planning for this moment and has a battle plan that has proved stunningly effective so far.
Its preliminary attacks have been far more devastating than in 2006.
Worth reading in full.
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Going way back to 2007 we had Martin Durkins first film “The Great Global Warming Swindle” highlighting the diabolical disgrace of poor third world Africans with no electricity because wealthy so called environmentalists in the western world keen to control wealth and resources using climate as the excuse cannot bear these people living on a dollar a day having the same standard of living as them.
This whole Eco Socialist charade has very little to do with the climate which is simply “science” hijacked for political purposes. Even the IPCC admit the worst case scenarios from their phony models are very unlikely to ever occur, so the silly activists no longer have the excuse of a climate emergency on their side.
These brainwashed dreamers should go for a year without electricity and see how they get on. They don’t know what hardship is and that is the problem. Once they have sat in the street all day truly believing they are saving the planet, off they go back to their cosy house and turn up the gas central heating, put on the kettle and watch their ridiculous protest on SKY NEWS, all courtesy of FOSSIL FUELS.
Not ‘go without electricity for a year’, I’d like to see them go without oil – and its derivatives, for just one month.
It is both Andy. I just chose to highlight the effect of not having electricity———-I don’t think people realise the effect on people’s standard of living, health, and life expectancy not having electricity has. No refrigeration, no lighting after it gets dark, no appliances, no kettle or proper cooking facilities, no ability to manufacture things, all resulting in a death from a short life of back breaking labour, and from preventable disease. ——Fossil fuels and their ability to provide the essentials of modern civilisation like transport, heating, lighting, and industry that does the work of thousands of people quickly etc are what keeps us out of the Stoneage, which is where the phony planet savers would send us all if they got their way. Climate Change policies are far worse for us, and especially for poor people coerced into not having access to cheap reliable energy than the alleged climate change itself which is based mostly on un-validated models which do not actually match what the real world is doing. There is no evidence that CO2 is causing or will cause dangerous changes to climate and that is the excuse given for keeping the developing world un-developed.
Beautifully put.
Agreed
Yes, a good number would die due to lack of petrochemical drugs!
Let’s all remember the correct spelling of “Sci£nce”
I like that one, but the first letter should be $.
There’s surely evil at work in all this. Possibly the worst genocide ever planned. Sick stuff.
I had the same thought independently. You beat me to it though. The imf policy towards Africa of banning investment in fossil fuels and making lending conditional on promoting lbgt is a form of genocide.
There are 8 billion of us apparently.
Useless eaters that is.
And it is all “for our children and grandchildren”. ——Anyone who says that really needs a lesson in economics, science, morality and politics. ——-The most recent person to utter this nonsense was Isabel Webster on GB News this morning. No surprise there as this woman was schooled in climate propaganda at SKY
Did anyone else see the video where the Millionairess Poison Dwarf rehearsed being “awwested” with The Police?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXuHAg6W38k
The world bank ban on funding coal fired power in Africa bought in by Obama was actual genocide. Worse than even Hitler’s gas chambers in terms of lives lost no doubt.
Excellent peice of common sense
He’s a fantastic young man.
Brilliant article and puts so many things in perspective and should be compulsory reading at every University and School in the West.
According to various globalists keeping large numbers in poverty is desirable and even necessary because starving people work harder.
A fine writer in the wake of the late Fiona Kobusingye, who was equally eloquent in voicing her dismay at western politics.
He only needs to realize that CO2 and climate alarmism is nothing but alarmism, but maybe he is already aware it is nonsense and is just taking one step at a time.
And he should please not criticize tourism in Africa which is naturally a huge boost to their economies. And I imagine that the vast majority of tourists are aware of Africa’s plight and are happy to leave at least a small part of their wealth in the country.
“Africans emit just 2% of the total world emissions”
Good point but by addressing emissions as a problem, you are playing into their hands.
“The energy sector supports every other industry.”
That’s the whole point of the CO2 climate change hoax. To de-industrialise, and de-populate. The stupidity of the whole thing is that with plentiful cheap energy (fossil or nuclear) we could feed ourselves using much less land and protect the environment.
The only way leaving African oil in the ground makes sense is if you do not want Africa to industrialise or develop, and prefer people being hungry and poor. The climate change scam is a massive transfer of wealth from the world’s poorest to the richest.
Excellent article which needs to be seen by more people, not just the converted on here.
absolutely correct – well said, Jusper
Insofar our political overlords are concerned, we won’t be enjoying the benefits of fossil fuels for much longer, either. Hence, addressing this to the people in Europe seems misplaced. At best, they’re obeying to the mask mandate (figuratively spoken) of the day because they’ve been brainwashed into believing that it is really the best possible choice by endless repetition of propaganda on all official and semi-official (BBC etc) news channels. At worst, they know what game is being played here but are entirely powerless to do something about it because the would-be world government has made its decisions and won’t be swayed by the plight of the people.
Well you should know all about that in Germany who have about 40,000 wind turbines and after Fukushima got rid of all the Nuclear energy. The good news is they had to open up some coal plants to keep the lights on. I imagine the same thing will happen when the UK’s silly wind fantasy prices us all out of using electricity and cannot provide base load.
—–All it will require is for one big football match or dancing show on a Saturday night to be unavailable because the wind isn’t blowing, and all hell will break loose.
I would like substack to have a “buy me a coffee” button. It is a nuisance signing in then remembering to cancel just to reward one good article. That is the business model hook, I suppose. The tenners I don’t pay must be fewer than those I forget to cancel.
Makes many valid points, but I disagree with the opinion that mankind should control instead of Nature.
I’ve tried several times to buy Jusper some ‘fruit’ but the payment system refuses to accept my email address, telling me it’s invalid
Brilliant article and beautifully written, unlike the dross we have to put with on a daily basis from the Telegraph. Even the Spectator is bad.
I am copying and pasting this article for future reference, if nobody minds. I attended a seminar a year or two back and one of the presenters said exactly this: that nothing will bring Africans out of poverty more than increasing their food production via fertiliser, yet the arrogant EU says we must reduce our inputs (fair enough, we use too much) but to impose our will on other countries is ignorance and best and arrogance at worst.
It’ll also be available on the DS website.
HEAR HEAR!!!!!!
Excellent article. I wish all the ECO nuts could visit Africa by mule and see for themselves. Most wouldn’t last a day of travel.
This article is going to my Labour MP
We haven’t got any MP’S yet!