➡️ US Officials: Israel's Iron Dome air defense system could be overwhelmed in event of full-scale war with Hezbollah

Tel Aviv has indicated to the Washington that it’s preparing for a possible land, air invasion into Lebanon, shifting resources from southern Gaza to northern Israel.

Israel's goals in a potential offensive would include pushing Hezbollah back and creating a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

However, Hezbollah's arsenal is estimated to include around 150k rockets, missiles - far larger and more sophisticated than Hamas'.

[RT]

Update on (https://t.me/warfareanalysis/55311)

The Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned the Armenian Ambassador for a conversation with a reprimand after a statement from Yerevan on recognition of the Palestinian state

[RT]

Reports about the cancelation of the meeting that was planned between resistance factions and Palestinian Authority in China.

The reason is Mahmoud Abbas’ refusal to allow the Fatah movement to participate.

[ST]

Declassified UK:

A formerly top secret UK report shows Britain’s territory on Cyprus formed a key part of NATO’s surveillance and nuclear capabilities in the Mediterranean during the Cold War, despite knowing this was “not consistent” with the island’s non-aligned stance.

The UK used its bases in Cyprus, which it retained after the island achieved independence in 1960, as key NATO assets despite Cyprus’s declared non-alignment between East and West.

Key takes:

• Independent Cyprus’s first president, Archbishop Makarios, was prominent supporter of Non-Aligned Movement during Cold War

• But British territories on Cyprus were “of great strategic importance” to NATO

• Top secret map shows UK ran “NATO communications station” in Cyprus outside of British base areas

• Covert surveillance operations were carried out from British Cyprus “on behalf of NATO”

• Targets for Cyprus-based nuclear-capable Vulcan bomber squadrons were coordinated with NATO

• UK planners cautioned “it is important to avoid drawing attention to the NATO implications of military activities” on British Cyprus


A map of UK sites and installations in Cyprus in the report identified Cape Greco, a headland east of the UK’s Eastern SBA, Dhekelia, as a “NATO Communications station”.

This station was in Cyprus proper, outside of the SBAs and other “retained sites”. It is likely the government of Cyprus did not know about it.

“Cyprus provides a most valuable facility to maintain surveillance coverage of the Eastern Mediterranean,” the report continued. “Many of these operations are on behalf of NATO, others are for national or for US/UK purposes, and by their very nature can be carried out from Cyprus without offending Cypriot sensitivities.”

Thus “Cypriot sensitivities” were not offended since these activities could be undertaken from UK land. “There are great advantages in being able to carry out covert surveillance from UK sovereign territory,” the report noted.

The military aircraft positioned at RAF Akrotiri, the huge air base on the SBAs which remains a key hub for UK operations, were also a boon for NATO.

“In particular the ground radars and lightning interceptor fighters of the air defence system make a valuable contribution to NATO,” it continued. “The radars are linked to the NATO network thereby effectively extending NATO’s early warning coverage and interception capability.”

They comprised, the report noted, “a valuable extension of NATO’s air defence system”.

[RT]

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On Thursday, December 15, 2016, armed men assassinated the man who was in this car in Sfax, Tunisia.

Who was he? What’s his relation to Hamas drone program? Here’s his story

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In October 1973, Muhammad Al-Zouari was a six-year-old child, just beginning his early education while struggling with severe asthma. His mother would carry him to school on her back daily and then wait to bring him back to their humble home in the heart of Sfax.

Decades later, Al-Zouari became a brilliant engineer, spending half his life as a fugitive while dreaming of obtaining an engineering degree under his real name in his home country of Tunisia.

After two decades of wandering, he finally returned to Tunisia and achieved part of his academic dream, only to have his life cut short by bullets just months before his doctoral final examination.

A statement from al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, issued a day after the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, brought Muhammad Al-Zouari into the media spotlight.

The statement noted that Hamas's air force participated with 35 "Al-Zouari" suicide drones in all combat fronts, aiding in the preparatory fire for their fighters crossing into the occupied territories.

This is how many discovered engineer Muhammad Al-Zouari, similar to how Tunisians discovered him on December 15, 2016, when he was assassinated in front of his home in Tunisia after two gunmen shot him, hitting him with eight bullets, three of which were fatal.

In a statement mourning his death, Hamas accused the Israeli Mossad of assassinating him, confirming that Al-Zouari was one of Al-Qassam brigades leaders who oversaw the "Ababil" drone project and remotely piloted submarine project.

At that time, the Tunisian Ministry of Interior accused a “foreign intelligence agency” of being behind Al-Zouari's assassination. According to the official Tunisian account, 11 people (3 Tunisians and 8 foreigners) were involved in the operation, which was planned outside Tunisian borders and financed with significant funds.

#Video Al-Qassam Brigades on October 08, 2023:

The "Zouari" kamikaze drone, which entered service during the Battle of "Al-Aqsa Flood," participated in the preparatory fire for Al-Qassam mujahideen crossing into our occupied lands.

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From Sfax to Sudan

Muhammad Zouari was not widely known in Tunisia outside the youth circles of the Islamic movement that experienced the “hardships of the nineties.” This period, known as the “liberation of initiative,” saw the arrest of hundreds of young people, while others fled with forged passports. At that time, Muhammad Zouari was a student at the Faculty of Engineering in the city of Sfax (southern Tunisia) and, like most of his generation, became involved in political activities within the university, which was one of the main centers of political and intellectual activity.

In his youth, Zouari joined the Tunisian Islamic Tendency Movement, which later became known as the "Ennahda Movement". He was an active member of the "Tunisian General Student Union" associated with the movement, and his political activities led to him being pursued by the regime of the late Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Zouari was arrested following the bloody events perpetrated by the security authorities on May 8, 1991, at several Tunisian universities. These events were the culmination of a security crackdown on the "Tunisian General Student Union," which began with the issuance of a decision to freeze its activities on March 29, 1991.

After his release, he left Tunisia and moved between Libya, where he stayed for a short period, Sudan, and Syria. In 2008, he married a Syrian woman named Majda. He spent about 20 years in exile before returning to Tunisia following the revolution and the fall of Ben Ali's regime on January 14, 2011.

Upon his return and graduation, Zouari worked as a university professor at the National School of Engineers. During this period, he, along with some of his students and a group of retired pilots, founded the Model Aviation Club in the south.

His childhood friend, Mohamed Al-Samit, described Zouari as an icon who excelled in all fields and was beloved by everyone. He was pursued by security forces in 1991 and had to go into hiding. During this time, he adopted the name "Murad," bought a passport with this name, and was known by it among his family and wife. He lived under this alias until the fall of the Tunisian regime in 2011.

Zouari's wife revealed in a documentary with Al Jazeera that he did not tell her his real name until a year and a half into their marriage, but she never called him by his original name, even after his death.

She was unaware of his work with the Palestinian resistance, believing that his travels were related to his aviation company. She only learned of his involvement after his martyrdom.

In Sudan, he joined a manufacturing establishment and worked with the factory manager, Reda Al-Tunisi, who stated that Zouari assisted in design and manufacturing. After they left Sudan, a military entity bought the factory and required Zouari to work with them in military manufacturing. He continued this work until he moved to Syria in 2006.

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Joining Hamas

During his stay in Syria, Zouari established connections with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), becoming close to them. He later collaborated with their military wing, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, leveraging his scientific skills for their projects.

Zouari officially joined the Qassam Brigades in 2006 and started working on the development of an autonomous drone as part of a fledgling Hamas project, collaborating with a senior officer from Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army. By the time of the Gaza War in 2008, Zouari and a specialized team from Hamas's military wing had produced 30 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Between 2012 and 2013, Zouari spent nine months in the Gaza Strip, where he completed his project and oversaw the creation of the "Ababil" drone, which was utilized during the 2014 war with Israel. During this period, he led a team of Qassam engineers on a visit to Iran, where they met with experts in UAV manufacturing. The Iranians were impressed with the high level of the resistance team, which was capable of manually manufacturing and launching drones.

The Iranians designed a six-month training program covering stages of flight, communication, control, and manufacturing. Zouari worked on the "Ghrab" project in Palestine, which faced some challenges related to size and capabilities. His team in Gaza successfully completed the project. Zouari visited Gaza again in 2012 and 2013 to continue his work on the "Ghrab" project, contributing significantly to the development of Hamas's drone capabilities.

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He was only known after his assassination

Following the announcement of Zouari's assassination on December 17, 2016, al-Qassam Brigades issued a statement mourning him, confirming that he had joined their ranks and had been working with them for ten years. The statement noted that Zouari was one of the leaders who oversaw the Ababil drone project, which played a significant role in the 2014 war with Israel known as "العصف المأكول."

Al-Qassam accused Israel of being behind Zouari's assassination and hinted at the possibility of retaliation, labeling it an attack on the Palestinian resistance.

This was the first time al-Qassam issued a statement acknowledging the talent and expertise of a non-Palestinian Arab.

Israeli media also confirmed Zouari's role in enhancing Hamas's military capabilities.

Israeli Channel 2 and the Hebrew website Walla reported that Zouari participated in Hamas training camps in Syria and Lebanon and frequently visited Turkey.

They added that he visited Gaza three times through tunnels, provided valuable information to the Palestinian resistance, and supervised the development of al-Qassam's military program, particularly the Ababil drone project, showcasing his engineering prowess and technological brilliance.