Hezbollah On ‘Alert’ In Fear Of Israeli Strike
Hezbollah fighters parade during a ceremony organized by the militant Shiite Muslim group on the occasion of Martyr’s Day in the southern suburbs of Beirut November 11, 2009. Image by RAMZI HAIDAR/AFP/Getty Images
(JTA) — An Arabic-language newspaper based in London reported that Hezbollah has declared a state of emergency, fearing an Israeli attack.
The report Thursday in A-Rai al-Yum said that the Shi’ite militia has been on alert since Tuesday at least in southern Lebanon in anticipation of an Israeli strike on its forces or facilities. Citing sources within Hezbollah, the newspaper said this alert was over “secret maneuvers” that Hezbollah believes that the Israel Defense Forces have been carrying out recently.
Last month, Israel struck in Syria over what Israel said was a violation of its airspace by an unmanned aircraft that was being controlled by an Iranian command post in Syria. One of the fighter planes that carried out that strike crashed near Israel’s northern border after its pilots safely ejected.
Iran is an ally of the regime of Syria’s embattled president, Bashar Assad.
Hezbollah, which is an ally both of Assad and of Iran, has fought alongside the Islamic Republic and Assad’s forces against rebels and jihadists who have taken over large parts of Syria after the eruption in 2011 of a bloody civil war there.
According to foreign publications, Israel took out a third of Syria’s anti-aircraft capabilities along with the command post that the Jewish state said controlled the penetrating drone.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
