DAY 395 OF THE WAR: Israel Attacks Hezbollah Intelligence Center in Damascus, Ultra-Orthodox Draft, Is an Iranian Attack Imminent?

Tel Aviv Diary, November 4, 2024

Thanks to their previous successes, Hezbollah as well as Shite Militia in Iraq, have been attempting to launch drone attacks against Israel. As of this evening, 8 drones were dispatched, of which 7 were intercepted, and one landed without causing any damage. Throughout the day, five barrages were fired from Lebanon, all targeting northern areas of the Galilee

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Today, the IDF emphasized the number of bunkers it has destroyed along the borders. The Army claims it is close to eliminating all of the bunkers, which have proven to be far more extensive than initially anticipated.

In addition, the IDF continues to target high-ranking Hezbollah officers. Here’s the report issued by the IDF Spokesman earlier today:

Israeli Air Force fighter jets, guided by intelligence from the Intelligence Division and Northern Command, conducted a strike in the Al-Sultania area, eliminating Riyad Rasha Ghazawi, a commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force anti-tank unit. Ghazawi was involved in planning and executing multiple terror operations, including anti-tank attacks targeting the Israeli home front and IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon.

In an additional strike, Air Force fighter jets, directed by Northern Command, attacked several military buildings in the Safed al-Batih area where Hezbollah operatives were active. Among those eliminated was a senior Hezbollah commander responsible for supplying weapons to Hezbollah cells in the area and attempting to restore terrorist activities and recruit operatives in the Bint Jbeil region.

This afternoon, reports emerged that the IAF had conducted strikes on Hezbollah members in Damascus. This evening, the IDF confirmed those reports with the following announcement:

Earlier today, in an aerial operation, Israeli Air Force fighter jets, directed by Military Intelligence, struck Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters’ terror targets in Syria. The Intelligence Headquarters is Hezbollah’s central intelligence body, responsible for building the organization’s intelligence picture, directing intelligence operations, and centralizing its collection and reconnaissance capabilities.

Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters operates a branch in Syria, which includes a collection and assessment network. This network operates independently and is directly overseen by the head of Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters, Hussein Ali Azimah, who was killed in Beirut about a month ago. During the attack in Beirut’s Dahieh neighborhood, which eliminated Hashem Safi al-Din and Hussein Ali Azimah, Mahmoud Mohammad Shaheen, head of Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters in Syria, was also killed.

Mahmoud Mohammad Shaheen held several roles within Hezbollah before taking up his position as head of the Syrian branch in 2007. Over the years, he gained experience and established close working relations with the Syrian regime and Iranian-aligned entities. In his role, he led the development and deployment of intelligence and air defense capabilities in cooperation with various allies. Shaheen was a significant figure in coordinating activities with Iranian-aligned forces, and his elimination represents another blow to Hezbollah’s intelligence capabilities.

The IDF has significantly damaged Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters, destroyed assets of Hezbollah’s Military Intelligence in Lebanon, and impaired the organization’s intelligence gathering abilities. This recent attack on Hezbollah’s intelligence assets in Syria adds to the strikes in Lebanon, further weakening the terror group’s intelligence capabilities.

Hezbollah, with the support of the Syrian regime, endangers the safety of Syrian civilians by establishing command centers and forces in civilian areas within the country.

GAZA

In Gaza, the Army continues its operations in Jabalya, now over six weeks into the fighting. Today, two soldiers were seriously wounded in ongoing clashes. The effectiveness of these efforts remains uncertain. Although this will likely sound repetitive, our current strategy in Gaza seems illogical. Unless there's a clear plan in place for moving forward—which, if we do, is a well-kept secret—all we seem to be achieving is the prolonged captivity of hostages, and deterioration of our international standing. While our strategy in the North appears well-defined, our approach in Gaza seems to be characterized by a lack of decisive actions, merely allowing time to pass.

WEST BANK

Tonight, the Army announced that West Bank settlers attacked two female soldiers. The soldiers were transported for medical treatment.

ULTRA-ORTHODOX DRAFT

The IDF is actively demonstrating its commitment to drafting the ultra-Orthodox. Today, the IDF Chief of Staff held a meeting to plan for the increased induction of ultra-orthodox recruits. Here is a statement released by the IDF following the meeting

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As part of an ongoing effort within the IDF to recruit ultra-Orthodox soldiers, an update on the establishment of the ultra-Orthodox “Hashmonaim” Brigade was presented today (Monday) to the IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi. So far, the recruitment process for the command staff has been completed, and the infrastructure has been set up to accommodate the first company’s recruits, who are expected to begin in December.

The meeting on drafting the ultra-Orthodox into the IDF was attended by the Deputy IDF Chief of Staff, the Commander of the Ground Forces, the Head of the Training and Instruction Command, the Head of the Manpower Directorate, and Colonel Avinoam Emunah, who is leading the establishment of the new brigade. Meanwhile, the IDF requested arrest orders for 700 Yeshiva students who failed to respond to two draft notices. While nobody expects these students will be arrested, they could face difficulties when trying to leave the country or trying to obtain a driver's license. Additionally, it was announced tonight that the IDF will issue 7,000 additional draft notices to ultra-Orthodox young men next week.

DAYCARE SUBSIDY LEGISLATION

In the meantime, the effort by Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox to pass the daycare subsidy law— which is intended to support families where the husbands do not serve in the military—is encountering significant opposition. Many Likud MKs have stated that they will not support the bill. The furious ultra-Orthodox MKs have reached out to Arab Members of Knesset, in the  hopes they would abstain from voting (which would bring down the majority required to pass the bill). However, Arab MKs have made it clear they will do everything in their power to undermine the government, therefore, they declined to support the bill.

Additionally, Chairman of Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, Yuli Edelstein, expressed his opposition to the bill tonight, further diminishing its chances of passage. The future of this legislation remains uncertain, and developments could shift significantly between now and Wednesday— meaning, anything could happen.

Drucker Reflects on Netanyahu Exposé

Last night, Raviv Drucker, Channel 13’s leading investigative reporter, and the first to expose Netanyahu’s corruption scandals, expressed regret on air about breaking the story. Drucker stated that had he known the consequences, he would have refrained from releasing those stories. Drucker shared that he never anticipated Netanyahu would remain Prime Minister after being indicted. In his view, Netanyahu's indictments prompted him to align with ultra-right parties and form his current coalition. This far-right alliance set the stage for a judicial overhaul, ultimately leading to the events of October 7th and the subsequent national crisis. Hearing this veteran journalist’s personal revelations was exceptionally unsettling.

IRANIAN THREAT

In recent days, Iran has been issuing threats about an imminent attack, claiming it will be larger than previous ones and involve weapons they have not yet deployed. I