Attention to the Unseen

Politico reports: Senior White House figures privately told Israel that the U.S. would support its decision to ramp up military pressure against Hezbollah — even as the Biden administration publicly urged the Israeli government in recent weeks to curtail its strikes, according to American and Israeli officials. Presidential adviser Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East, told top Israeli officials in recent weeks that the U.S. agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s broad…

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  Israel says its army has launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon to target Hezbollah. It’s the latest escalation after more than a week of air strikes across the country, which have killed hundreds of Lebanese civilians, and the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. It comes as Israeli allies, including US President Joe Biden, urge it to agree to a ceasefire with Hezbollah. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has voiced support for the Israeli military’s goals in Lebanon. So. does America…

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  “Everybody [in Lebanon] is talking about … this $9 billion that the US has just promised the Israelis now in the middle of this invasion.” On this week’s ‘Mehdi Unfiltered,’ American University of Beirut professor Karim Makdisi joins the show to discuss Israel’s latest attacks on Lebanon – including Israel’s explosive pager attacks – and how Israel’s offensive is only increasing Lebanese support for Hezbollah. Also joining the panel discussion is the Center for International Policy’s Matt Duss, a…

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Lubna Masarwa writes: The media in Israel reacted to the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah with euphoria. On Channel 12’s “Meet the Press”, Amit Segal and Ben Caspit raised a glass of arak to mark Nasrallah’s death. Paz Robinson, Channel 13’s reporter, distributed chocolates in Karmiel. Channel 13 is considered left wing. Channel 14’s flagship programme, The Patriots, opened with singing and celebration led by presenter Yinon Magal. Nadav Eyal wrote in Ynet:”[Nasrallah’s] assassination is an event…

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Hassan Hassan and Kareem Shaheen write: The killing of Hassan Nasrallah in Israeli strikes on Friday surpasses in significance those of Osama bin Laden in May 2011, Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January 2020 and other towering figures who have shaped the region’s violent modern history. With Nasrallah’s demise, we are witnessing the fall of a figure whose influence extends well beyond Hezbollah, Iran and the “Axis of Resistance.” For both foes and followers, Nasrallah was larger than life, occupying…

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  He led Hezbollah for more than three decades and made it into a military and political force to be reckoned with, in the long-running conflict in the Middle East. Hassan Nasrallah’s killing in a massive Israeli air attack in a southern suburb of Beirut is sure to open a new page in the ongoing war. Israel is on high alert and says it is prepared for all options after it announced his death. But will Hezbollah respond – and…

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Dahlia Scheindlin writes: Since the war in Gaza began, there have been proliferating signs that Israel’s institutions of state are under severe stress. Netanyahu has ignored repeated warnings from Israel’s attorney general that his government’s actions have violated the law; in response, government ministers have called for the attorney general’s dismissal. Israel’s legal system is in disarray. For over a year, the government held up dozens of judicial appointments, including on Israel’s Supreme Court; and in September, Netanyahu’s justice minister…

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The Times of Israel reports: US rating agency Moody’s downgraded Israel’s credit rating for a second time this year on Friday, doing so this time by two notches, while citing the increased intensity of the fighting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group and the lack of an Israeli “exit strategy.” The prominent credit rating agency cut Israel’s score from A2 to Baa1, raising concerns that domestic political risks have increased alongside geopolitical ones “with material negative consequences for the country’s creditworthiness…

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Ori Goldberg writes: What is Israel doing in Lebanon? Before we delve into the byzantine brew that sustains Israel’s Lebanese “operation,” we must give the one answer we know to be true. Israel is killing Lebanese, nearly a thousand so far this month alone, in a combination of sabotage — the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies on Sept. 17 and 18 — and sustained, unchecked bombing. The indifference with which Israel kills, with explanations ranging from “they shouldn’t have had a…

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  A large number of diplomats left the GA Hall once #Netanyahu came to the podium. The people you hear cheering the PM during the speech are in the gallery who he brought for that purpose. #UNGA79 #Walkout pic.twitter.com/bAgiOzztWA — Rami Ayari (@Raminho) September 27, 2024

  Middle East Eye spoke with British-Israeli analyst and commentator Daniel Levy about Israel’s recent attacks on Hezbollah and Lebanon, shedding more light on what the coming weeks could look like and whether Israel can achieve its goals or not.

The Washington Post reports: The Biden administration is divided over Israel’s military escalation against Hezbollah with some senior officials viewing it as a reckless bombardment likely to produce more deadly cycles of violence and others seeing it as a potentially effective means of degrading the Lebanese militant group and forcing it to back down. Senior officials are publicly calling for de-escalation as the administration tries to find a diplomatic off-ramp to the metastasizing Middle East conflict. In the past two…

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