Hezbollah Leader Beheaded: Details of Execution Revealed

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Focus for today: Hezbollah is wiped out, the process of beheading the top leader is fully exposed; Director of Russian Defense Ministry’s UAV Center dies, mysterious operation led by Ukrainian Military Intelligence Chief; first batch of Harpoon missiles arrive in Taiwan, with armored troops of the National Army secretly training in the U.S.

As I need to produce a program regularly every week, I have to track international current affairs daily. Lately, I’ve had a special feeling, as if I’ve been watching a Hollywood blockbuster continuously. The twists and turns in the plot are even more dramatic than in a movie.

Remember the episode I did a few days ago about the six top leaders of Hezbollah in Lebanon, five of whom were taken out by Israel, leaving only Hassan Nasrallah, the supreme leader of Hezbollah? Now I can tell you, Hezbollah has been destroyed by Israel, and Nasrallah has just been beheaded. The whole process is so cinematic that it can be used as a movie script without any modifications.

On September 27, the Israeli military announced the death of Hassan Nasrallah, the top leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, in an airstrike on Beirut’s capital. Also killed was Hezbollah’s second-in-command, Karoukae. Following Israel’s carefully planned strikes, including electronic attacks, 1600 missiles, precise bombs, and this pinpoint beheading, the Lebanese Hezbollah, a dominant figure in the Middle East, was wiped out even before seeing the Israelis. Out of the 19 senior Hezbollah officials, only one regional commander, Ali Rida, remains unconfirmed dead. Others have been sent away by Israel.

This is probably a historical record as Hezbollah is not a minor player hiding in the background. It is a political party that controls parts of a country’s government and possesses a sizable military force and advanced weapons. When two armies confront each other, there should at least be a showdown. But in this case, before the showdown, one party collapses without even meeting the other… just gone.

Speaking of the dramatic beheading operation targeting Hezbollah’s top leader Nasrallah, it was quite theatrical.

On the evening of September 27, a fierce explosion occurred in the southern suburbs of Beirut. You might be surprised to know that the bombing order was issued from New York City in the United States. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York when he received a report from the Israeli intelligence department that Nasrallah was holding an emergency meeting at Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut to communicate with Iran about personnel changes in Hezbollah’s leadership. He was accompanied by his designated two successors, his cousin, and son-in-law.

It’s worth noting that Nasrallah had been living in hiding for years due to fear of Israeli beheading, even giving speeches at secret locations. According to Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad, the Israeli Prime Minister’s trip to the U.S. was to deceive Hezbollah and Iran, making them think it was an opportune moment. As a result, Netanyahu gave the attack order directly from his hotel room in New York. Here is a photo of the moment Netanyahu issued the beheading order.

So, what weapons were used in this beheading operation? The Israeli military dispatched American-made F-15 fighter jets, also known as “airborne bomb trucks,” for a pinpoint bombing mission. The Israeli military had a strong ceremonial feel this time. They even recorded the F-15 fighter jet taking off in broad daylight and returning in the evening after completing the beheading mission. Please note that the F-15 is a two-seat fighter jet controlled by two crew members.

You might wonder, what kind of bomb did Israel use to take out the Hezbollah leader? It was the American-made MK-84 precision-guided bunker-buster bomb, weighing 2000 pounds and known for its astonishing destructive power, also known as the “Sledgehammer” bomb. Some may notice, why is there Chinese text in this photo? It’s because Taiwan has imported this type of bomb. The photo of the MK-84 bomb used by Israel is the heavy aerial bomb that Taiwan’s Air Force procured. I don’t know how many of these bombs the U.S. provided to Taiwan, but they supplied Israel with tens of thousands of MK-84 bombs. Let’s take a look at the surveillance footage of this bomb striking Hezbollah’s headquarters.

After Israel successfully beheaded the Hezbollah leader, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the cancellation of the rest of his schedule at the United Nations in the U.S. and returned home early. Reuters revealed that Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei had already been urgently transferred to a secret bunker for protection against potential further beheading actions from Israel. Currently, Hezbollah in Lebanon is leaderless from top to bottom, and the entire command chain has been severed. The Israeli military has deployed a large number of tanks and armored vehicles to the northern border area, possibly preparing to pursue Hezbollah forces in Lebanon with a ground offensive.

Experts have been predicting that once Hezbollah is eliminated, the Israeli military’s next target may be the Houthi armed forces in Yemen or Iran behind these proxies. The Israeli F-15 fighter pilots who carried out the beheading operation warned after completing the mission that “we will attack anyone, wherever they are.”

What Israel’s next move will be, we should know soon after Netanyahu returns to Israel. Surprisingly, the Lebanese government, just after Hezbollah leaders were eliminated, suddenly took a tough stance by ordering all Iranian planes intending to land at Beirut airport to turn back and banning any Iranian aircraft from landing in Lebanon. It was an international version of “tea is cold as soon as the person leaves.” Even more surprising was that as soon as the Hezbollah leader was beheaded, the Lebanese people couldn’t help but start celebrating.

On the same day as the Israeli beheading of the Hezbollah leader on September 27, Ukrainian special forces were also in action, beheading Colonel Kolomeyev, director of Russia’s Defense Ministry’s 924th National UAV Center near Moscow. The Ukrainian military intelligence agency indicated that this was a special operation of the local resistance movement. This national UAV center specializes in training UAV combat experts, particularly on the use of Iranian-made “Witness” attack drones deployed in large numbers to Ukraine. Such beheading operations probably involve the participation of the most mysterious and ruthless figure in the Ukrainian military intelligence—the Chief of Ukrainian Military Intelligence General Budanov.

Whenever Budanov releases a photo of his grim smile or throws out a bewildering remark, it’s not long before news of significant Russian setbacks emerges.

On the day after this beheading operation, September 28, Budanov unusually released a video showing him in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine with a team of special forces on a special mission.

It can be seen that the local environment should be a war zone, with debris everywhere from artillery bombardments. This must be a very special mission, a very important person requiring the Chief of Ukrainian Military Intelligence to lead a team personally, risking his life with live ammunition. Let’s wait and see.

On September 27, the first batch of coastal (also called shore-based) Harpoon missiles purchased by Taiwan from the U.S. arrived in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Taiwan has total 100 sets of Harpoon anti-ship missile systems and 400 Harpoon missiles procured from the U.S., to be delivered in two phases: 32 systems and 128 Harpoon missiles by the end of 2026, and all completed by the end of 2028.

The model purchased by Taiwan is the Block II (U) model, where U represents the latest performance enhancement version with a range of 148 kilometers, surprisingly longer than the active Harpoon equipment used by the U.S. military. The average width of the Taiwan Strait is 180 kilometers, which means it can basically cover all the waters on one side of Taiwan’s central line.

Taiwan’s plan is to establish four strike groups guarding Taiwan—north, central, south, and east—around Taiwan Island by combining 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles with domestically produced Hsiung Feng series anti-ship missiles.

President of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te, held the first meeting of his newly established Comprehensive Social Defense Resilience Committee on September 26, emphasizing broadening government-private sector cooperation and actively integrating all-around combat readiness to enhance Taiwan’s strategic resilience. Lai’s resilience does not only refer to military defense but includes a broader and forward-looking perspective on four aspects: defense, livelihood, disaster prevention, and democracy.

Echoing President Lai Ching-te’s statements, the European Council on Foreign Relations recently published a policy brief named “Firm, Fast, and Precise: Lessons from Sanctions on China-related Conflict Revealed on Taiwan.” The report indicates that the European Union must be prepared to adopt rapid and robust sanctions to counter potential crises. Emphasizing that while sanctions against Russia did not prevent its invasion of Ukraine, the lessons learned from it are crucial for dealing with potential actions by the Chinese state. The report’s author even directly points out that, “Clear threats of sanctions by the EU on the Taiwan issue may change China’s strategic calculations.”

Unlike Europeans focusing more on using economic sanctions to deter China from invading Taiwan, the U.S. is providing military assistance to Taiwan to deter without confrontation.

On September 24, the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee convened a hearing on “Chinese Political War against the United States.” Former U.S. Ambassador to Fiji Sarah Selah confirmed for the first time that Taiwan’s military is receiving combat training at the U.S. National Guard’s all-domain warfare center in Michigan. Interestingly, this deployment wasn’t just a few key personnel but a fully organized mixed battalion comprising Taiwan’s 333rd and 542nd Brigades, which had undergone rigorous training in the U.S. last year and even participated in the U.S. military’s “Summer Northern Strike” exercise. Furthermore, Taiwan’s 542nd Armored Brigade will soon be undergoing U.S. military training in Hawaii. In addition to learning American weapons’ tactics and techniques, the most important aspect is to grasp the latest combat concept derived from the U.S. military’s lessons from past actual combat situations.

In the words of Shen Ming Shi, director of the National Security Institute at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Studies, this can expand the vision of Taiwan’s military, understand international military training trends, especially share the lessons learned by the U.S. military from the Russia-Ukraine war, which can directly drive the progress of Taiwan’s military.

Well, this ends today’s “Current Affairs Scan.” We need your support, so please subscribe to our channel, support us, like, comment, and share our recommendation. If you are willing to support us financially, we would be even more grateful. See you next time.