Video and more: Hamas terrorists at Al-Wafa hospital (Gaza City)
This write up came from the IDF spokesperson's office and was posted here.
Background Information – Al-Wafa Hospital
Al-Wafa hospital, located near Shajuayia in Gaza City, is a Hamas military
compound.
The hospital housed a Hamas command and control center, and was utilized to
direct and supervise the ongoing battles in the area. Among the hospital
grounds, there was a lookout post, used to gather intelligence and monitor
IDF forces activities in order to carry out attacks.
In addition, there were several access shafts to the Hamas tunnel network from within
the
hospital.
On July 22, 2014, at the request of the IDF, the hospital was evacuated from
patients and staff, and continued to be occupied by Hamas gunmen, that
continued to fire at the IDF forces.
On July 21, 2014, the head of the Israeli Coordination and Liaison
Administration (CLA) with Gaza confirmed with the Head of the WHO (World
Health Organization) in Gaza that he has informed the hospital manager three
times, that the premises should be vacated. The head of the WHO stated that
the hospital manager declared there were no patients or staff in the
hospital, and that the building is empty. This was confirmed by the Gaza CLA
on July 23, 2014.
Attached is footage of the IAF strike carried out earlier today [July 23] at terror
targets in the site. Secondary explosions are visible in the footage,
indicating an extensive amount of weaponry stored.
An IDF patrol traveling on the Golan Heights near the Syrian border
came under attack Tuesday, when an explosive device was detonated near
the soldiers' jeep. The soldiers had stopped their jeep and were outside
of the vehicle when the explosive went off.
The soldiers belonged
to the IDF's Paratroopers Battalion 202 and one of the three who
sustained light-to-moderate wounds was the deputy commander of the
battalion. Additionally, another soldier was seriously wounded in the
incident.
IDF artillery units responded by opening fire at targets in Syria
identified by the IDF as being linked to those who planted and set off
the explosive device. An accurate hit was identified by the soldiers. An
IDF source later added that the targets struck by the IDF were Syrian
army positions.
...
The incident came after an IDF convoy traveling in the Har Dov (Shaba Farms) area, on the border with Lebanon, was the target of a bomb set off by Hezbollah on Friday night.
One of the armored vehicles was directly hit by the explosion, but there were no injuries among soldiers.
The
IDF concluded within minutes of Friday's attack that Hezbollah was
behind the explosion. In response, IDF tanks fired on and struck a
Hezbollah post in the village of Kafr Kileh, Lebanon, close to the
Israeli border.
An Artillery Corps unit stationed on the border, near the area of the attack, opened fire as well.
Hezbullah has now taken 'credit' for Tuesday's attack as well.
Hezbollah sources said Tuesday that an explosion on the Golan Heights
that injured three IDF soldiers had been an attempt to kidnap soldiers.
The kidnapping attempt was reported by Al-Manar television, a Lebanese
news outlet associated with Hezbollah. The reported quoted Hezbollah
sources as saying that although the attempt failed “this time, we are
sure we will succeed in the near future.”
Reports said that the IDF was investigating whether the soldiers were
injured when they got out of the jeep. The reports said that the
soldiers had seen a suspicious figure, and had sought to capture him.
If accurate, the attack would have placed likely placed kidnapped IDF
soldiers over the border, in Syria or Lebanon. Hezbollah terrorists
would then have likely attempted to extort Israel for the soldier by
demanding the release of masses of terrorists, as Hamas did when it kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
Israel Air Force planes opened fire
on terror sites and army outposts in Syria, IDF officials said. The
incident occurred near the border with Syria, outside the village of
Majdal a-Shams.
The injured soldiers were being treated at Rambam
Hospital in Haifa, where they were airlifted by helicopter.
One of the soldiers was in serious condition, one was moderately
injured, and the third sustained light injuries. A fourth soldier was
being treated for shock, officials said.
Sounds like Hezbullah is trying to provoke an IDF response. Hmmm....
4 IDF soldiers wounded in explosion on Lebanese border
Four IDF soldiers were wounded, two moderately and two lightly, in an explosion on the Lebanese border on Tuesday night. The IDF has not released details of the incident, but the Lebanese Army is claiming that the soldiers were across the border.
The Lebanese Army said the troops were inside Lebanese territory when
the blast occurred. A statement from the L.A.F. said that, in a
"violation of Lebanese sovereignty", an Israeli infantry patrol crossed
the UN-designated "blue line" between the two countries and moved 400
meters (yards) inside Lebanese territory.
"During the
infiltration, an explosion occurred which led to a number of them being
wounded," the Lebanese military said, adding it was investigating the
circumstances of the blast in coordination with UN peacekeepers in
southern Lebanon.
A
Lebanese security source told Reuters that the incident may have taken
place north of the border fence which separates Israeli and Lebanese
forces, but on the Israeli side of a UN-designated "blue line" between
the two countries.
He said the soldiers may have been wounded by a mine.
Another security source said the explosion was 150 meters (yards) south of the blue line.
Asked
about the incident, Andrea Teneti, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping
force in southern Lebanon, said he had "no information in relation to
our mandate of operations", and he described the situation as calm.
The IDF did not say what the
cause of the explosion was and would not elaborate on whether the
incident was combat-related or a training accident. According to the
Lebanese state-run National News Agency, a landmine explosion struck the
soldiers' patrol, which crossed into Lebanon's southern border and
advanced 150 meters inside the Lebanese border village of Labbouneh.
Israel Radio said the soldiers were part of an
elite military unit, adding that large military forces were deployed to
the area following the blast.
The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital in
Nahariya for treatment. According to a Walla News report, three of the
wounded soldiers were being operated on, while the fourth was admitted
to the intensive care unit. Israel Radio quoted the hospital director as
saying that all four soldiers arrived at the hospital conscious, and
all had suffered shrapnel injuries.
...
The An Nahar Lebanese
newspaper reported that the blast occurred when IDF troops crossed over
the border about 150 meters into Lebanese territory. Lebanese TV said
the soldiers were hit by a landmine when they were inside Lebanese
territory. Hezbollah-associated Almayadeen network reported that the
four soldiers were wounded by an explosive device while they were six
meters inside Lebanese territory over the Blue Line.
The Voice of Lebanon radio station reported
Wednesday that residents of south Lebanon reported hearing the sounds of
strong explosions early Wednesday morning near the Israeli border area
of Nakura [Rosh Hanikra]. According to the radio report, shortly after
the explosion, Israeli troops fired flares into the night sky. The
Lebanese radio station said that units of the Lebanese Armed Forces were
conducting joint patrols with UNIFIL in the area.
Lebanon (or Hezbullah) has apparently mined the area that is immediately across the border - something that needs to be borne in mind when we need to cross the border in the future.
Refuah Shleima (a full and speedy recovery) to the soldiers who were hurt.
Three explosions at a Hezbullah weapons depot in Nabi Sheet, 30 kilometers south of Baalbek in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, have left nine people dead and at least seven injured. Hezbullah has sealed off access to the town from the media.
AFP sources confirmed that 9 people have
so far been reported dead in Nabi Sheet, Baalbeck after three blasts were heard in a
mountainous area between "Nabi Sheet" and "El-Khraybeh" villages in the
eastern mountain series in Bekaa. This as
Hezbollah announced that 3 died and several
were injured in the weapons cache explosion in Baalbeck.
According to sources the explosions occurred inside weapons caches
resulting in several injuries. Initially the cause of the explosions
near the city of Baalbek was not immediately
clear, but an official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the
nature of the blasts suggests there
were explosives or weapons stored inside the building.
Security members cordoned off the area and prohibited people from coming
close to it,blocking access to journalists, the report mentioned.
It was later reported that the home of
Mohammad Ali Reda Moussawi was completely destroyed as a result of the
explosion, with several surrounding buildings also sustaining damage. This as
ambulances transferred the wounded (nearly 7) to nearby hospitals
Baalbek is located in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.
If you're dumb enough to let someone store weapons in your home, sometimes your home is going to get destroyed. And I doubt there's any insurance coverage....
A JPost report, apparently based on earlier sources, is here.
Surprise: Iran blast in city reputed to have 'covert nuclear facilities'
What a shock. An explosion that took place overnight Sunday night in a metal factory in Iran took place in the city of Yazd, which is reputed to have covert nuclear facilities.
The deaths occurred in an explosion and subsequent fire at a steel factory in the central Iranian province of Yadz, Iran's IRIB news agency quoted Yazd Governor Azizollah Seifi as saying on Monday. He said that some of the those killed in the blast were foreign nationals.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear but reports over the years have indicated the existence of covert nuclear facilities in the city of Yazd and it's surrounding areas.
While there was no evidence available to support this possibility, Iran has used seemingly innocent civilian factories before to hide its illicit nuclear activity.
Some reports have claimed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps had built underground nuclear facilities in the Yazd region. The Iranians are known to have a mine there used to extract raw uranium and that a nearby facility is where the uranium is turned into yellowcake a key component in the nuclear fuel cycle.
It is also possible that the steel facility was strictly a steel facility without a military or nuclear application. It is possible though that the factory manufactured steel parts for missiles or even centrifuges, used to enrich uranium. In either case, sabotaging such a facility could contribute to efforts aimed at delaying Iran's nuclear and missile programs.
Explosion outside Tehran two weeks ago an attempt to assassinate Ayatollah Ali Khameni?
In an attempt to sort out Monday's explosion near an Iranian uranium facility in Isfahan, Missing Peace points out something that may be much bigger: The explosion two weeks ago at a missile base outside Tehran may have been an attempt to assassinate Ayatollah Ali Khameni.
So what really happened in Isfahan?
Dr. Ali Reza Nourisadeh, an expert on Iran who writes for Al Sharq al-Awsat, told us on the phone from London that the explosion took place on air force base 8 near Isfahan. He said that 400 converted Chinese missiles were destroyed by the blast, as well as a rocket fuel depot.
He also reported that the explosion in Bidganeh two weeks ago, destroyed 180 long range missiles as well as warheads.
Daniel Ashrafi, an Iranian expat now living in Canada, told us that Ayatolla Khamenei was supposed to be on the air force base in Bidganeh, when the first explosion took place. His arrival was delayed, however.
Ashrafi also said that after the humiliating events in Isfahan and Bidganeh, the regime deliberately created the crisis at the British embassy in Tehran in order to divert the attention to an external enemy,
However, a report in the Sunday Times on Wednesday alleged that the blast had not been a military accident, and that the city's nuclear facility was damaged.
The report quotes Israeli intelligence officials who based their conclusion on updated satellite images showing smoke billowing from the direction of the conversion plant.
According to the Israeli sources, there was "no doubt" that the blast had damaged the nuclear facility, and that the explosion was not an "accident."
"This caused damage to the facilities in Isfahan, particularly to the elements we believe were involved in storage of raw materials," one source told the Sunday Times.
It must be noted that the Times report was not confirmed by any other source.
The original story in the Times is here. Since I refuse to pay 2 pounds per week to access their site, I cannot reach the original article.
UPDATE 6:54 PM
The full article from the Times is available in the Australian here.
Image of Iranian missile base where explosion took place two weeks ago
Here's a satellite photo of that missile base outside of Tehran where the explosion took place on November 12, 2011. It looks like there's an awful lot of damage.
Lebanon's Daily Star is reporting on a massive explosion in Siddiqin, which is part of Hezbullah's southern Lebanon stronghold. If you look at the map above, find Kiryat Shmona on the right (the Israeli side has highway numbers which make it more legible) and then go directly left to the center, you will find Siddiqin. The Daily Star reports that - surprise - the explosion was probably caused by a Hezbullah ammunition cache.
A huge explosion shook the Hezbollah stronghold of Siddiqin in south Lebanon overnight, a security source told The Daily Star Wednesday.
The source said the cause of the blast, which was heard shortly before midnight, could not be determined due to the heavy security blanket that was thrown by Hezbollah.
Attempts by Lebanese security forces to reach the scene so far failed as Hezbollah members created a one-kilometer radius security zone around the explosion site between Siddiqin and Deir Ames, the source added.
Local media said the explosion likely took place at a Hezbollah arms cache.
In the past, the IDF has posted video of explosions like this from its UAV's. As of now, no such video has been posted. If they post one, I will add it to this post or put it in a new post.
Hassan Firouzabadi, quoted by the student news agency ISNA, denied that Israeli or US sabotage was to blame.
"This recent incident and blast has no link to Israel or America but the outcome of the research, of which the incident happened as a consequence, could be a strong smack to the mouth of Israel and its occupying regime," he said.
It looks like that strong smack in the mouth is coming back to punch Iran in the face. And I have serious doubts that's happening by accident.
Time Magazine: Israel behind Iranian munitions explosion
Time Magazine is reporting that Israel was behind Saturday's explosion at an Iranian missile plant in which Major General Hassan Moqqadam, the leader of Iran's missile program, was killed. So what, you say. You've seen half a dozen reports claiming that, including one from YNet that I blogged on Sunday. Well, here's the thing. Every report until now relied upon anti-Israel nutjob Richard Silverstein, who almost immediately accused the Mossad of being behind it. Silverstein has gone overboard many times before, and I and many of my blogging friends have been wondering why the mainstream media seems so eager to link him. This report by Karl Vick (another reporter not known for his love of Israel) doesn't rely on Silverstein (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
For Israeli readers, the coy implication is that their own government was behind Saturday's massive blast just outside Tehran. It is an assumption a Western intelligence source insists is correct: the Mossad — the Israeli agency charged with covert operations — did it. "Don't believe the Iranians that it was an accident," the official tells TIME, adding that other sabotage is being planned to impede the Iranian ability to develop and deliver a nuclear weapon. "There are more bullets in the magazine," the official says.
The powerful blast or series of blasts — reports described an initial explosion followed by a much larger one — devastated a missile base in the gritty urban sprawl to the west of the Iranian capital. The base housed Shahab missiles, which, at their longest range, can reach Israel. Last week's report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran had experimented with removing the conventional warhead on the Shahab-3 and replacing it with one that would hold a nuclear device. Iran says the explosion was an accident that came while troops were transferring ammunition out of the depot "toward the appropriate site."
YNet reported on Sunday that blogger Richard Silverstein is accusing the Mossad of being behind Saturday's explosion in Iran in coordination with an Iranian opposition group. That may well be correct. But if it is, the West should not cry about it: The death of the head of Iran's missile operations, Hassan Moghadam will delay Iran's ability to move its operations underground and will therefore delay the necessity for an Israeli attack. (Emphasis added).
Vick agrees.
But the incident also argued, maybe even augured, against an outright strike. If Israel — perhaps in concert with Washington and other allies — can continue to inflict damage to the Iranian nuclear effort through covert actions, the need diminishes for overt, incendiary moves like air strikes. The Stuxnet computer worm bollixed Iran's centrifuges for months, wreaking havoc on the crucial process of uranium enrichment.
And in Sunday's editions, the Hebrew press coyly listed what Yedioth Ahronoth called "Iran's Mysterious Mishaps." The tallies ran from the November 2007 explosion at a missile base south of Tehran to the October 2010 blast at a Shahab facility in southwestern Iran, to the assassinations of three Iranian scientists working in the nuclear program — two last year and one in July.
At the very least, the list burnishes the mystique of the Mossad, Israel's overseas spy agency. Whatever the case-by-case reality, the popular notion that, through the Mossad, Israel knows everything and can reach anywhere is one of the most valuable assets available to a state whose entire doctrine of defense can be summed up in the word deterrence. But it doesn't mean Israel is the only country with a foreign intelligence operation inside Iran. The most recent IAEA report included intelligence from 10 governments on details of the Iranian nuclear effort. And in previous interviews, Western security sources have indicated that U.S. and other Western intelligence agencies have partnered with Israel on covert operations inside Iran. Sometimes the partner brings specific expertise or access. In other cases, Iranian agents on the ground who might harbor misgivings about Israel are allowed to believe they are working only with another government altogether.
If Israel is behind the attack, that's good news to just about everyone. Including Barack Hussein Obama.
The best statement I can ever recall hearing from Defense Minister Ehud Barak came out on Sunday:
“May there be more like it,” was all Defense Minister Ehud Barak had to say on Sunday when asked about the mysterious explosion that rocked an Iranian missile base on Saturday, killing 17 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Authorities are treating the explosion - which was felt for miles around - as an accident.
While there was no indication of any attack, the explosion shook homes and rattled windows for miles around at a time of mounting tensions with Israel over Iran's nuclear program.
"So far, 27 personnel of Revolutionary Guards have been martyred and 16 others wounded, some of them are in a critical condition," IRIB quoted Revolutionary Guards spokesman Ramezan Sharif as saying.
"Today at 13:30, (0900 GMT), an explosion happened in one of the Revolutionary Guards' bases while a consignment of explosive devices was being moved out from the arsenal, besides that some munitions in the arsenal exploded which created a terrifying sound," Sharif said.
Residents in western suburbs of Tehran told Reuters they had felt the blast, with some assuming it to be a low-level earthquake.
Fire at the base continued to rage for hours. Surrounding streets were closed and reporters were kept away from the scene.
Some media reported there had been two explosions and the head of Iran's Red Crescent organization said there was a risk of further blasts.
Mahmoud Mozafar told the Mehr news agency that only six paramedics had been allowed into the Amir Al-Momenin military base and that thick smoke was hampering the rescue operation.
There were no reports linking the blast to any air strike or other attack.
Sharif denied what he said was speculation in the Western media that the military base was linked to Iran's nuclear program.
"This blast is not related to any nuclear tests that some foreign media have reported," he told Mehr.
I don't know whether this base is part of the nuclear program, but I can tell you this: It was no accident. Maybe someone is taking the advice of commenters on this blog to hit the Revolutionary Guard before the nuclear program is hit.
Breaking: Two Iranian nuclear scientists killed in separate bomb blasts
Israel Radio is reporting that two Iranian nuclear scientists were killed in separate bomb blasts Monday morning in Tehran.
According to Eran Singer of Israel Radio, two bombs exploded Monday morning in Tehran (early report, confused). Singer cites an Al-Ahram report that a lecturer in nuclear science in Tehran University was killed by a bomb on Monday morning. Details are sketchy. In a second bomb attack Monday morning, a car with a nuclear scientist and his wife exploded and both were killed.
You may recall that nuclear physicist Massoud Ali Mohammadi (pictured) was killed by an exploding motorcycle in Tehran in January (link includes video).
This is a very preliminary report - all we know is that there were two explosions and two nuclear scientists (not the one pictured - he was killed last January in a similar incident) were killed.
More details when I have them.
UPDATE 11:00 AM Israel Radio is now reporting only one killed with his wife - the other was critically wounded. They say that bicycle riders set the bombs off next to the nuclear scientists' cars.
Here's a report from IRNA, the Iranian news agency.
An Iranian university professor was assassinated Monday morning with another one injured in a separate bomb attack.
Majid Shahryari was martyred while Fereydoun Abbasi was injured.
The terrorist attacks took place this morning when the two professors were on their ways to Shahid Beheshti Universtiy in north of Tehran where they worked.
Shahryari, who was accompanied by his wife, was killed instantly after two terrorists driving a motorbike attacked his car. His wife is in good condition in a nearby hospital.
In a separate incident also this morning, Abbasi and his wife were injured in a terrorist attack. The two survived the attack and are in good conditions in hospital.
A distinguished Iranian physics professor, Masoud Alimohammadi, was killed in a remote-controlled bomb blast in front of his home in northern Tehran Jan 12, 2010.
Israel Radio reports that - surprise - Iran is blaming the US and Israel.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
