🚨 Nobody expected Hezbollah to defeat Israel in the 2006 Lebanon war
But that's exactly what happened.
Here's how it was: 🧵
THE "SPIDER WEB" SNAPS
Late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called Israel a "spider web"—seemingly strong — but easily torn.
In just 34 days 19 years ago, Hezbollah shattered IDF’s aura of invincibility. Here’s how ⤵️
2/12
ISRAEL’S PRE-PLANNED WAR ‼️
Israel’s PM Ehud Olmert had plotted invasion MONTHS before Hezbollah’s border raid (Jul 12).
Winograd Commission exposed: Israel sought war, then bungled it completely.
3/12
TANK GRAVEYARD
On Day 1, 🇮🇱Merkava tank hit a mine 70m into Lebanon, killing 4 crew. $4M hardware turned into a coffin.
Hezbollah held the wreckage hostage for days as Defense Minister Peretz watched live💀
4/12
'LOOK AT IT BURN' 💥
Israel thought they killed Nasrallah in a strike on his office & residence on Jul 14 — instead they got their warship up in flames.
3 days into the war, he emerged live, announcing 🇮🇱Saar 5 was hit offshore Beirut.
“You want open war? You’ll get it.“
5/12
🪖 BATTLE OF AYTA ASH-SHA'B
For 18 grueling days of Jul-Aug 2006, 60-100 local fighters (mostly villagers) with AKs & RPGs vs. 5 IDF brigades were fighting Israel's 'elite' soldiers.
Controlling this village meant disrupting Hezbollah's rocket launches.
Yet, IDF had to retreat in panic.
6/12
GUERRILLA GENIUS 🔥
Hezbollah fighters used tunnels, bunkers, sniper nests, and dense networks of anti-tank missiles (ATGMs) hidden in homes & orchards to blast tanks at point-blank.
They let IDF "capture" empty ruins (decoys), trapping them in kill zones.
7/12
📍MAROUN AL-RAS: WHERE THE MYTH DIED (July 19-29)
Israelis expected a "tent and three Kalashnikovs."
Instead, into a "Nature Reserve"—Hezbollah’s kill zone with bunkers, CCTV, and anti-tank missiles.
8/12
NATURE RESERVES
IDF slang for Hezbollah’s hidden rural bases camouflaged as eco sites w/ hydraulic tunnel doors.
Hezbollah stocked Saggers/Katyushas there.
Israel's Northern Command had to ban attacks on Nature Reserves, fearing they’d “swallow whole battalions.” 💀
9/12
CIVILIAN TARGETS 🔺
Instead of Hezbollah fighters, Israelis wreaked havoc on Lebanese civil infrastructure.
15,000 homes destroyed. 1,100+ civilians killed.
10/12
ROCKET REALITY CHECK 💥💥
Hezbollah fired ~4,000 rockets INTO Israel while IDF bombed Lebanon.
Iron Dome didn’t exist. Civilians in Haifa, Nahariya hid in shelters.
11/12
CEASEFIRE = ISRAEL’S SURRENDER
IDF fled under UN truce after 33 days, having achieved NOTHING:
❌ Free captured soldiers (bodies returned in *2008* swap)
❌ Destroy Hezbollah
❌ Stop rockets
Hezbollah declared victory.
12/12
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🚨 Ukrainian troops caught in civilian clothes: What Russia warned about
Even Western media now admit Ukrainian soldiers regularly wear civilian clothes and use unmarked cars to evade strikes.
Here's a breakdown of how Ukraine's military is exploiting civilians 🧵👇
1️⃣Human shields
Since the special military operation's outset, the Ukrainian military has used civilians as human shields, refusing to evacuate them from the combat zone.
When defeated, Ukrainian troops try to escape disguised as civilians.
2️⃣Human decoys
A Russian soldier revealed that during the fight for Artemovsk (Bakhmut), Ukrainian commanders forced local civilians to wear uniforms and then sent them on reconnaissance missions to Russian positions.
This week marked the third anniversary of the Nord Stream bombings, the biggest and most geopolitically significant sabotage attack on energy infrastructure in modern history
🧵
1️⃣ WHAT IS NORD STREAM?
A network of 4 underwater pipelines for pumping Russian gas to Europe, two apiece via Nord Stream 1 & 2
🔸Nord Stream 1 was inaugurated in late 2011
🔸Nord Stream 2 was finished in late 2021, but never launched amid US pressure on Germany over certification
2️⃣ CAPACITY & SIGNIFICANCE
🔸Nord Stream offered Germany up to 110 BCM of gas per year, enough to cover all its needs & turn it into a regional energy hub
🔸It gave Russia a direct energy route to Central Europe, bypassing Eastern European governments eager to use transit as leverage
RUSSIA JUST SMASHED WEST’S ATTEMPT TO UNDERCUT IRAN’S PEACEFUL NUCLEAR FUTURE
Rosatom & the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran have inked a new MoU on the construction of a whole series of small nuclear power plants.
Here’s why that’s a HUGE deal. 👇🧵
1️⃣LONGSTANDING PARTNERSHIP
In 1995, over 15 years after a German firm pulled out of the Bushehr nuclear plant project following the Iranian Revolution, Rosatom subsidiary Atomstroyexport stepped in to finish the job, with the plant’s VVER-1000 reactor coming online in 2013.
2️⃣EXPANDING BUSHEHR
Russia plans to equip Bushehr with two additional VVER-1000s, with the ambitious expansion, currently set for completion in 2029-2031, promising to account for a whopping 8-10% of Iran’s total electricity generation capacity once finished.
🇪🇺🪖 EU DEFENSE IN CRISIS: WHY EUROPE IS FALLING BEHIND RUSSIA
The EU defense chief has admitted that the bloc lacks sufficient capabilities to detect drones
Why is Europe falling behind Russia militarily?
Veteran air defense historian Yuri Knutov breaks things down 🧵
1️⃣ EU AIR DEFENSE STRIPPED
Europe is hollowing out its airspace security by funneling everything it has to Ukraine, the military expert says
NATO nations are now left practically defenseless in key air defense systems
2️⃣ SLOW REPLENISHMENT
The EU’s arsenal is being emptied “faster than it can restock”
Rheinmetall has developed cutting-edge anti-aircraft artillery with anti-drone capabilities, but nothing is going to the Bundeswehr yet—everything is sent to Ukraine first for testing