Israeli Airstrike in Syria Eliminates Hezbollah Chief Nasrallah’s Ex-Bodyguard and Key Terror Operative

Israeli Airstrike in Syria Eliminates Hezbollah Chief Nasrallah’s Ex-Bodyguard and Key Terror Operative

With Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group escalating cross-border rocket attacks on Israel, an alleged  Israeli airstrike eliminated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s ex-bodyguard, Yasser Qarnabash.

Nasrallah’s longtime confidant ,Qarnabash, was responsible for weapons smuggling operation in Syria, a major supply route for Iranian military equipment bound to Hezbollah, news report suggest.

NEW – today’s strike in #Syria killed the former bodyguard of #Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, “Al-Hajj Abou Al-Fadl Qarnabash.”

A key Hezb operative with close links to the IRGC’s Quds Force, he’s been active in #Iraq & #Syria in recent years. https://t.co/ONSK51A6tR pic.twitter.com/8M8DO7nrb4

— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) July 9, 2024

The slain terrorist was accompanied by a senior terror operative belonging to Iran’s Islamic Guard Corps (IRGC), Israeli media reports indicate. “Second terrorist killed in Syria airstrike reportedly senior official in IRGC,” the Israel TV channel i24NEWS reported.

The Times of Israel reported Hezbollah operative’s elimination:

An alleged Israeli strike in Syria earlier today killed a former personal bodyguard of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, an official with the Lebanese terror group says.

The Hezbollah official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Earlier, Hezbollah announced the death of Yasser Qarnabash in a purported Israeli strike on the Beirut-Damascus highway, but did not detail his role or rank in the terror group.

Al Arabiya reports that Qarnabash was responsible “for transporting personnel and weapons to Syria.”

His death brings the terror group’s toll amid the war in Gaza to at least 364.

Hezbollah mourns the death Yasser Nimr Qarbash. He was killed in an airstrike on the Damascus-Beirut highway. Lebanese media says Qarbash used to be the bodyguard of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. pic.twitter.com/YOGZHhRsKN

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) July 9, 2024

Qarnabash’s elimination is the latest in the series of senior Hezbollah terror commanders taken out by the Israel Defense Force (IDF). Last week, an Israeli drone strike eliminated Muhammad Neamah Naser, one of Hezbollah’s top-most commanders to be killed since the October 7 attacks.

Over the weekend, an Israeli strike killed Meitham Mustafa Alattar, commander of Hezbollah’s rocket unit. Alattar “took part in the planning and carrying out of numerous terror attacks” against Israel, the Israeli military disclosed.

IDF confirms the elimination of top Hezbollah air defense operative Meitham Mustafa Altaar pic.twitter.com/uy2MmRU0Kq

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) July 6, 2024

Hezbollah is losing its top terror commanders as Iran threatens to wage war on Israel using its Lebanon-based terror proxy. In a recent speech, Hezbollah chief Nasrallah threatened Israel with a war ‘without limits,’ boasting the Lebanon-based terrorist group’s ability to hit Israel with thousands of Iran-supplied rockets and missiles.

Report: European countries blocking ammunitions sales to Israel since October 7

European countries have restricted supply of ammunition and raw material needed for defense production since  October 7, the Israeli news website YNET reported, citing Hebrew-language newspaper Calcalist.

Europe, which has been Israel’s main supplier for ammunition and military-related supplies, has largely placed a de-facto defense ’embargo’ on Israel following Hamas’s deadly terror attack nine months ago, the report published on Tuesday suggests.

The YNET talked of an “unofficial embargo imposed by some suppliers on the sale of ammunition to Israel.” Besides this stealth embargo, Europe-based “key suppliers of raw materials for bomb production have also stopped selling to Israel since the outbreak of the war,” the news website revealed.

“Israel requires raw materials that can be converted to ammunition to sustain the war effort, but European countries, normally the source for those materials, are restricting supplies to Israel since October 7,” the YNET added. “Serbia is lending a hand, but it isn’t enough, and the IDF is scrambling for alternatives.”

The YNET detailed the European effort to hamper Israel’s war efforts against Hamas:

While the complex relations with the Americans regarding aid to Israel are capturing most of the public’s attention, the Defense Ministry and the IDF are currently more concerned about a different developing reality: the possibility of a munitions shortage after several countries around the world have informally ceased trading with Israel.

Calcalist has learned that weapons suppliers from European countries have simply stopped responding to their Israeli counterparts, and a foreign power that is not the U.S., which previously traded with Israel, has refused to supply Israel with raw materials for ammunition production since October 7.
According to a report by The New York Times, the IDF is facing a shortage of 120mm shells for tanks to the extent that some tanks stationed in Gaza are now on partial alert and carrying fewer shells to reserve them for potential escalation on the northern front. Calcalist has learned from senior IDF officials that a “munitions economy” is indeed being managed. The New York Times reported that the military is also dealing with shortages of spare parts for tanks, D9 bulldozers, armored vehicles and additional light ground ammunition.

The main solution that the defense establishment is promoting concerning the ammunition shortage is the advancement of the local industry and reducing reliance on imported shells and ammunition from foreign countries. This move is expected to positively impact the Israeli defense industry but will also have negative economic consequences: ammunition produced in Israel is considered tens of percents more expensive than what can be imported from abroad, and establishing and maintaining “simple” munitions factories that produce, for example, artillery and tank shells is particularly costly. There are also other implications: among other things, this need is expected to delay the evacuation of the Israel Aerospace Industry site in Ramat Hasharon to allow Elbit to continue producing ammunition there, as reported a month and a half ago in Calcalist.

Despite the understandable effort to strengthen local industry and thereby reduce dependence on the external factors, those who believe that Israel can produce all the ammunition in-house it needs are likely to be disillusioned. First of all, even in the case of a massive increase in Israeli production capacity, a significant portion of the ammunition will still have to come from foreign countries in any scenario due to limited production potential. Even the U.S. is currently struggling to supply itself and its allies, including Israel and Ukraine, with all the shells they need. Secondly, for Israeli defense industries to produce large quantities of weapons materials, a large amount of raw materials is required, which cannot be mined in Israel, so shipments from abroad are not optional, they’re mandatory.

Besides the unofficial embargo imposed by some suppliers on the sale of ammunition to Israel, Calcalist has learned that key suppliers of raw materials for bomb production have also stopped selling to Israel since the outbreak of the war.

This unspoken European embargo is in addition to President Joe Biden’s bid to hold back critical weapons and ammunition shipments to Israel.

Cutting ammunition supplies to Israel appears to be an attempt by the Biden White House and the European countries to force a Gaza ceasefire which will keep terror group Hamas in power. The New York Times reported last Tuesday that Israeli military — running low on ammunition — could be forced to accept a ceasefire on terms offered by Hamas. “Israeli Generals, Low on Munitions, Want a Truce in Gaza,” the NYT headline claimed.

IDF hits Hamas terror targets throughout Gaza

Despite all the odds, the IDF is carrying out a large-scale offensive against Hamas across Gaza. “IDF troops are continuing the counterterrorism operation in Gaza City, following intelligence indicating the presence of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructure in the area. Thus far, the forces eliminated dozens of terrorists and located numerous weapons in the area,” the military disclosed in a press release Tuesday.

Dozens of gunmen have been killed by Israeli troops so far in a new operation launched yesterday in Gaza City, the IDF says.

Amid the raid, carried out by the 99th Division, the military says forces also located weaponry.

The IDF said yesterday it launched the operation in… pic.twitter.com/SnbTSaSUsC

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 9, 2024

Israeli soldiers were operating in the Hamas-infested Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza city. The IDF was conducting “operational activity in the Shejaiya, above and below the ground. The troops eliminated numerous terrorists and located weapons including sniper equipment, RPGs, grenades, and AK-47 rifles. In addition, terrorist infrastructure and an underground route were destroyed,” the press statement added.

The Israeli ground troops were pushing deeper into Rafah, the last-standing Hamas stronghold. “IDF troops are continuing a targeted, intelligence-based operational activity in the Rafah area in southern Gaza. Over the last day, the troops eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat and aerial strikes coordinated with the IAF,” the Israeli military said.

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