The Lebanese Arena
IDF activity in Lebanon:
February 23: Attack on sites in Lebanon during the funeral of Nasrallah and Safi al-Din and a show of aerial force over the funeral area.
During the funeral of Nasrallah and Hashem Safi al-Din, the IDF attacked military sites containing rocket launchers and weapons in the Baalbek area and several other areas in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah activity was detected. Israeli Air Force planes flewFF at low altitude over Beirut in general and over the funeral area in particular.
February 22: Attack on border crossings between Syria and Lebanon that were operated by Hezbollah.
The IDF announced that it had attacked border crossings used by Hezbollah to transfer weapons from Syria to Lebanon. According to Lebanese sources, these are informal land border crossings in the Wadi Khaled area of the Akkar district.
Video documentation of the moment of the bombing.
Although the fall of the Assad regime and the rise of the new government in Syria interrupted the Iranian corridor that passed through Syria to Lebanon. However, in the area adjacent to the border with Lebanon, in the area west of Homs – al-Qusayr and south, we estimate that weapons are still stored in secret intermediate sites, which Hezbollah has not yet managed to transfer before the fall of the Assad regime. Some of them have not yet been located by the new Syrian government and Hezbollah is trying to transfer the weapons in them to Lebanon. In light of this, we believe that aerial attacks are being carried out in this area.
February 19: Thwarting a Hezbollah operative who was identified with weapons.
An Air Force plane thwarted a Hezbollah military operative in the Aita al-Shaab area after he was identified with weapons. The operative is Youssef Muhammad Srour, the son of the head of the village of Aita al-Shaab, who is known to be associated with Hezbollah.
February 18: The IDF located an underground infrastructure belonging to the Radwan unit.
IDF soldiers operating in the Mount Dov region of southern Lebanon were said to have discovered an underground facility belonging to the Radwan unit a few weeks ago. The facility was tens of meters in size, including living quarters and combat equipment, and was ultimately destroyed by the IDF.
February 18: IDF forces withdraw from the villages adjacent to the border while continuing to be present in five essential geographical areas.
The map shows the areas where the IDF remains (green) and the areas each point controls (white polygon). These areas are located in a dominant geographical area and constitute a line of defense that controls fire and observation of the potential area that could threaten the Israeli communities by means of ground penetration and direct fire (anti-tank missiles, sniping, etc.). The IDF’s deployment in these areas makes it possible to provide a better response to Hezbollah’s potential capabilities that can be restored, which in terms of a clear and immediate danger (penetration into Israeli territory and direct fire) can threaten the strip of Israeli settlements adjacent to the border. When comparing the IDF’s deployment map in the five areas today with what was the plan for the invasion of the Galilee by the Radwan unit through six sectors from west to east, one can understand the great importance of the IDF’s presence in the five controlling areas on Lebanese soil. Read more in the article.
Lebanon General:
February 20: The Lebanese army has completed its deployment after the IDF forces departed the villages adjacent to the border.
The Lebanese army military units have completed their deployment in all the villages adjacent to the border in southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese army is focusing its efforts on clearing debris, opening roads and dealing with unexploded ordnance.
Hezbollah General:
February 23: The funeral of Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safi al-Din.
Tens of thousands of people gathered on February 23 in the suburbs of Beirut to participate in the funeral of former Hezbollah secretary generals, Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safi al-Din, almost five months after they were eliminated in an Israeli air strike one week apart (September 27 + October 4, 2024).
The funeral ceremony took place at the “Camille Shemon” stadium located in the “Sports City” complex in the Beer al-Hassan area of Beirut and near the Rafik Hariri International Airport, which gives the place a symbolic meaning, especially when the roads leading to the place are named after Imam Khomeini and Qassem Soleimani, which symbolically emphasizes the influence of the Shiite axis in the region.
Hezbollah carried out renovations at the stadium and a number of facilities inside and outside it, including repairing the seats and basic maintenance that had been lacking due to its neglect in recent years. According to several reports, the cost of the renovations carried out by Hezbollah is estimated at hundreds of thousands of dollars.
There is no doubt that this multi-participant event is a show of force by Hezbollah. The event emphasizes that Hezbollah has a wide audience of supporters in Lebanon (“the Shiite base”) and beyond and clarifies the depth of the terrorist organization’s roots in Lebanese society and culture in recent decades. This is despite the severe blows Hezbollah suffered from Israel in the war and the great destruction it caused to Lebanon.
Nabih Berri, the Speaker of Parliament and leader of the Amal movement (associated with Hezbollah, together known as “the Shiite duo”), attended Hassan Nasrallah’s burial in lieu of Joseph Aoun, the President of Lebanon. The Minister of Labor, Ibrahim Haidar, who is a member of Hezbollah himself and would have attended the event anyway, was dispatched on behalf of the new prime minister, Nawaf Salam, who did not attend either.
According to the organizing committee of the funeral ceremony on behalf of Hezbollah, about 800 official representatives from outside Lebanon participated, along with local official representatives.
Among others, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, the Deputy Commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Ali Fadavi, and in addition, members of Qassem Soleimani’s family also arrived from Iran.
In a speech through a broadcasted video, delivered by the current Secretary General of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, during the funeral ceremony (he was not physically present), he praised Nasrallah’s contribution to leading the resistance and emphasized Hezbollah’s commitment to continuing the struggle. Qassem declared that the resistance would continue to be present and strong, and that Hezbollah will continue to work to release the prisoners and defend Lebanon from Israeli aggression. He also expressed his loyalty to the leaders of the resistance in the past and present, and emphasized Hezbollah’s unity with the Amal movement.
February 20: Summary of the Hezbollah and Amal meeting.
Hezbollah and the “Amal” movement in southern Lebanon held a joint meeting in the presence of representatives from the two organizations, and at the end of the meeting they published a statement in which they expressed respect and appreciation for all the martyrs and the residents of the villages on the border and all the Lebanese who supported them. They condemned Israel’s policies and the continued occupation of large parts of the Lebanese territories, which they claim includes the destruction of houses and agricultural land. They called on the international community to work towards the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 and Israel’s commitment to withdraw from all Lebanese territories and stop violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
The statement also emphasized the need to rebuild the houses and infrastructure destroyed by Israel, and the importance of compensating the victims as one of the new government’s priorities. On the occasion of the upcoming month of Ramadan, they congratulated all the Lebanese and especially the Muslims, hoping that the month will bring with it tidings of hope and revival for Lebanon.
February 20: Hezbollah conducted a tour for Arab and foreign media personnel in the villages of southern Lebanon.
A number of journalists, who came from Arab and Western countries to participate in the mourning ceremonies of Nasrallah and Hashem Safi al-Din, toured southern Lebanon and the villages adjacent to the border, led by Hezbollah.
Status of the rehabilitation of the Jihad al-Bana organization.
On February 19, the Jihad al-Bana organization published a table detailing the progress of the rehabilitation process in Lebanon based on a division into areas, following a period in which the organization did not publish anything, most likely due to economic difficulties that we reported on in the previous two weeks.
According to the displayed table, the Jihad al-Bana organization examined over 287,000 apartments that were damaged during the war.
The extent of war damage in Lebanon.
According to the researcher of “The International Information Company”, Muhammad Shams a-Din (based in Beirut and engaged in civil research), the World Bank prepared a study in September 2024 in which damages worth eight and a half billion dollars were determined as a result of the war between Israel and Lebanon, but a recent study states that the cumulative losses are 26 billion dollars, 14 billion dollars in direct damage and 12 billion dollars in indirect damage.
Shams a-Din believes that the number is exaggerated and incorrect, especially regarding indirect damages, while studies show that they are about 4 billion dollars. He added, “The cost of the damage resulting from the war ranges between 8 and 10 billion dollars and does not include damages to industrial and commercial institutions, while the cost of damages to infrastructure is estimated at one billion dollars.
Regarding the housing units that were damaged, Shams a-Din says, their number is 317 thousand, of which 51 thousand were completely damaged, 9 thousand in the southern suburb, and 1,500 in the Bekaa, and 22 thousand in the border strip area.
The Palestinians in Lebanon
February 17: Elimination of the head of Hamas’ operations department in Lebanon.
The Israeli Air Force eliminated Muhammad Shahin, born in 1982, nicknamed “Abu Amad”, after he was involved in promoting terror plans against the State of Israel with Iranian guidance and funding from Lebanese territory. Shahin was a central source of knowledge in the organization, and during the “Iron Swords” war he was involved in promoting various terror plans, especially rocket fire towards the Israeli home front.
Shahin was the head of Hamas’ operations department in Lebanon and in charge of the Sidon area and the brother of one of the senior Hamas engineers, Hamza Shahin, who was killed in 2021 as a result of an explosion in a weapons warehouse while he was producing weapons.
The Syrian Arena
IDF activity in Syria:
February 23: Attack on the border between Syria and Lebanon.
Local sources reported that Israeli fighter jets attacked informal crossings and smuggling routes in the western Homs area, on the Syrian-Lebanese border.
February 18: Attack in southern Syria.
The Israeli Air Force attacked a base of the former Syrian regime in the Sasa area in southern Syria. According to Syrian sources, a weapons warehouse and three tanks remaining from the former Syrian regime were destroyed as a result of the attack.
Here is a video of the Air Force attack.
Syria General:
February 20: Graduation of a new class from the police school in Damascus.
A graduation ceremony for a new class of the police school in the Damascus district was held in the presence of the Minister of the Interior, Ali Qada, which included about 1,000 trainees who will be integrated into various roles to maintain public order.
According to the Sana news agency, this is the 24th class to complete its studies as part of a program to accelerate the training of security personnel, with a new class graduating every 10 days, and the number of graduates ranging from 400 to 700.
The number of graduates who have completed their training so far is more than 17,000, who were divided between the security police and the public security forces.
February 20: Promoting relations between Iran and Syria?
The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, confirmed that Tehran is ready to have “friendly relations” with the Syrian government and that “there is no dispute within Iran regarding the Syrian issue.” He added that Tehran “is closely monitoring developments in Syria.”
The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister stated that “when a new permanent Syrian government is established, Iran will respect the decision of the Syrian people and will be ready to have friendly relations with Syria on this basis.”
February 21: The Syrian Minister of Defense emphasized the need for Israel to withdraw from the Syrian territories.
The Syrian Minister of Defense, Murhaf Abu Qasra, met with representatives of “UNDOF” and emphasized the need for Israel to withdraw from the Syrian territories, especially since Israel continued to hold territories that Syria recently began to occupy. Abu Qasra stressed the importance of cooperation with the United Nations regarding the supervision of the border with Israel and demanded increased action to ensure regional stability and contact points on the border.
In this context, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Israel’s presence in the buffer zone in a speech on February 23:
In his speech, Benjamin Netanyahu elaborated on Israel’s security policy in Syria, especially in the context of dealing with threats and its military presence in the area. The Prime Minister referred to the situation in the buffer zone in Syria and said that Israel will continue to maintain a military presence in the area as long as there is a need to do so, in order to ensure its security. He stressed that he will not allow the HTS organization (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham) or the new Syrian army to enter the territory south of Damascus, especially in the southern Syrian districts, and that he will not tolerate any threat or harm to the Druze community located there.”
