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Israel had a long, partially unclaimed history of assassinations and secret operations before the exploding pagers
TEL AVIV, Israel — The recent attacks targeting Hezbollah members with exploding pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon may seem to be the stuff of spy novels, but the impact and implications of the complex operations blamed on Israel are very real. Lebanese officials said at least 30 people were killed and some 3,000 wounded by the explosions, and the chief of Hezbollah acknowledged Thursday that the Iran-backed militant group had taken a serious blow.
The extent of Hezbollah’s retaliation for what its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, called an Israeli declaration of war could determine whether there is an actual full-scale war between the two bitter foes.
While Israel has not claimed responsibility, the complex attacks appear to bear the fingerprints of the country’s foreign intelligence agency. Below is a look at the Mossad’s long, albeit partially unclaimed history of attacking Israel’s enemies with everything from car bombs to malware.
The deaths of numerous high-profile figures in the region have been attributed to Israel over the last two decades alone:
- Most recently, top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr was killed in Beirut just hours before Hamas’ longtime political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran’s capital on July 31. The Hamas leader was killed in what Iranian officials called an Israeli “hit” in Tehran after he attended the funeral of the country’s former president, who died in a helicopter crash. Few details of the targeted strike have ever been confirmed. Israel acknowledged killing Shukr, but has never publicly claimed Haniyeh’s assassination, though U.S. officials told CBS News the assessment was that Israel was behind both killings.
- Israel claimed the killing of senior Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif in a strike in Gaza on July 12. Health officials in Gaza said the strike killed 90 people, including civilians.
- In 2010, United Arab Emirates police accused Mossad agents of suffocating senior Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh to death in a luxury hotel room in Dubai.
Some of Israel’s highest profile operations have not involved conventional weapons or explosives.
In 2018, Mossad agents infiltrated a warehouse and stole the plans for Iran’s secretive nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed them to the world in a press conference, saying “Iran lied, big time” about not trying to obtain nuclear weapons and urging then-President Donald Trump to withdraw from the international nuclear agreement negotiated by his predecessor.
Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the international agreement the following month, to the frustration of the other nations with whom it had been negotiated.
In perhaps the most infamous unconventional attack prior to this week, Israeli and American intelligence agencies planted the Stuxnet computer virus — a so-called cyber worm — into centrifuges enriching uranium at Iran’s Natanz facility. As “60 Minutes reported several years later, it was an attack that demonstrated for the first time the capacity for a cyberattack to inflict significant physical damage on a facility.
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Shohei Ohtani becomes first player in major league history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a season
Shohei Ohtani became the first major league player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, with the Los Angeles Dodgers star going deep twice to reach the half-century mark and swiping two bags to get to 51 against the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
Ohtani hit his 50th homer in the seventh inning, an opposite-field, two-run shot to left against Marlins reliever Mike Baumann. One inning earlier, he hit his 49th, launching a 1-1 slider from George Soriano 438 feet to the second deck in right-center.
He took care of the stolen bases earlier in the game, swiping his 50th in the first and his 51st in the second.
The Japanese star led off the game with double against Edward Cabrera and swiped third on the front end of a double steal with Freddie Freeman, who reached on a walk.
Ohtani has been successful on his last 28 stolen base attempts.
He reached the milestone in his 150th game. Ohtani was already the sixth player in major league history and the fastest ever to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season, needing just 126 games.
Ohtani’s previous career high in homers was 46 for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021, when he also made 23 starts on the mound and won his first of two AL MVP awards.
Manager Dave Roberts said before Thursday’s game that he noticed Ohtani getting more aggressive on the bases in the second half of the season.
“I also think that Shohei realized how good of a base stealer he has become or can become,” Roberts said. “I think he likes the challenge of studying pitchers and learning the tendencies. I think that’s something that intrigues him.”
Ohtani’s previous career high for steals was 26, also in 2021. He has not pitched this season while recovering from elbow surgery, allowing him to focus his attention on batting and baserunning as the Dodgers’ everyday designated hitter.
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