Muhammad Haydar, the “de facto chief of staff” of Hezbollah, was the target of an IDF attack in Beirut overnight Friday. The IDF fired five missiles at an eight-story building in central Beirut, killing at least 11 people. An Israeli security source confirmed to Kan News that Haydar, who is also a member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, was the target of the attack, However, Israeli security sources told the Saudi Al-Hadath news channel that the assassination attempt failed. Haydar is considered to have been close to slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. He served as a member of the Lebanese parliament on behalf of Hezbollah from 2005 to 2009. The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on him in 2019 due to his terror activities. Haydar is regarded as a senior military figure in Hezbollah and effectively leads the terrorist organization along with military commander Haythan Ali Tabatabai in the wake of the eliminations of Nasrallah and other Hezbollah leaders. The US imposed sanctions on Tabatabai in 2016. The IDF did not take responsibility for the attack but stated that several rounds of strikes were carried out in Lebanon over the past 24 hours. Additionally, the IDF reported in recent hours that the air force struck two buildings in the Shuweifat neighborhood in the Dahieh district of Beirut. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)
HaRav Tzvi Kogan, who is thought to have been abducted and possibly murdered by Iranian agents, is married to the niece of Harav Gavriel Holtzberg, H’YD, the Chabad shliach who was murdered by terrorists in Mumbai on November 26, 2008. Hebrew Mishpachah editor Yossi Elituv wrote on Motzei Shabbos that “Rav Tzvi Kogan, who is responsible for all purchases for the Jewish kehillos in the country on behalf of Chabad is married to the niece of HaRav Gavriel Holtzberg, H’YD, the Chabad envoy in India who was murdered 16 years ago in Cheshvan, just before the international gathering of Chabad shluchim.” [The 2024 gathering begins this Wednesday.] “His older brother, Rav Reuven Kogan, is the brother-in-law of Rav Levi Duchman, the chief shaliach in Dubai. HaRav Reuven manages all the organizational and administrative aspects of the Jewish kehillos and is considered a central figure in the community alongside Rav Duchman.” “The two Kogan brothers grew up in Jerusalem in a Litvak family, became close to Chabad, and have turned into key figures in the Jewish kehilla in the UAE.” According to witnesses, minutes after Shabbos began, security and police personnel arrived at the home of Rav Tzvi’s parents, who live in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of Jerusalem. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)
A recent IDF airstrike in Syria killed a senior Hezbollah commander who helped plan one of the most daring attacks against US troops during the Iraq war, NBC News reported on Friday, quoting a senior US defense official. The 2007 attack, carried out by a cell of terrorists disguised as a US security team, killed five US soldiers. Ali Mussa Daqduq, who helped plan the attack, was arrested by US forces afterward but was later transferred to Iraqi authorities, who released him in 2012. The senior defense official was not familiar with details of the IDF strike that killed Daqduq, including whether it targeted him specifically and when exactly it took place. Daqduq was active in carrying out terror acts against the IDF in southern Lebanon from 2003-2006. He then moved to Iraq, where he focused on terror acts against US soldiers. After the Iraqi government released him in 2012, he immediately returned to Hezbollah ranks and continued carrying out terror activities. The IDF refused to comment on the report. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)
Rav Tzvi Kogan, a Chabad shaliach in the Emirati city of Abu Dhabi, has been missing for several days and Israeli security officials fear he was abducted or murdered, chalilah. Kogan, who serves as an assistant to the Chief Rabbi of the UAE, Rav Levi Duchmanm and manages the kosher supermarket in Abu Dhabi, has not been in touch with his wife since Wednesday. He missed scheduled meetings that day and after his wife failed to reach him by phone, she called the Chabad House’s security officer who contacted the security authorities. The Mossad is involved in the case and they believe that Rav Kogan may have been under surveillance by hostile terrorist elements on behalf of Iran. He disappeared from a location about an hour and a half from Dubai. It appears the murderers may have escaped to Turkey, but it is unclear where his body was transferred. Israeli security sources told Ynet that “we know they were following him in the kosher supermarket he managed in Abu Dhabi. This week Kogan and Duchman were in Israel. On Tuesday, they met with the new Israeli ambassador to the UAE Yossi Shelley at the Prime Minister’s Office and returned to the Emirates on Wednesday. After that, he disappeared. We understand that those responsible fled to Turkey. His body has not been found.” On Motzei Shabbos, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsiblity for Rav Kogan’s abduction, stating on social media: “As part of the first stage of Operation True Promise 3 and in fulfillment of their promise in response to Zionist aggression on Iranian lands and violations of Iranian sovereignty, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have declared full responsibility for the abduction of the Israeli extremist Rabbi Tzvi Kogan. They warn that any Zionist action against Iranian sovereignty will be met with a severe response.” Israeli intelligence officials have traveled to the Emirates to investigate the case together with Emirati authorities, who are leading the investigation. However, although the UAE is one of the most heavily surveilled countries in the world and security cameras are everyone, Emirati authorities have not yet provided any significant leads. The Prime Minister’s Office stated on behalf of the Mossad: “Tzvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan citizen and Chabad shaliach residing in the UAE, has been missing since Thursday afternoon. Since his disappearance, amid information suggesting it is a terrorist incident, an intensive investigation has been launched in the country. Israeli intelligence and security agencies are working tirelessly out of concern for his safety and well-being.” “It should be noted that the National Security Council has long issued a travel warning at level 3 (medium threat) for the UAE and recommended avoiding non-essential travel to the destination, as well as taking increased precautions for those staying there.” An Israeli who lives in Abu Dhabi told i24 News: “He and his wife are very involved in the community. They organize events, Friday nights, dinners. Really quiet and nice people. It’s shocking that something like this could happen in such a secure place. There are cameras everywhere here. It probably happened elsewhere.” Another Israeli said: “His family is devastated and the Israeli and Jewish kehilla is in shock.” (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)
