Breaking the Sound Barrier: Israeli Fighter Jets Fly Over Sidon

On Sunday, September 10, Israeli fighter jets broke the sound barrier while flying at low altitude in the vicinity of Sidon, southern Lebanon. The Lebanese state news agency reported that the breaking of the sound barrier in Sidon caused some building windows to shatter and panic among local residents. German news agency also noted that Israel did not respond to this report. Sidon, or Sidon, is located 40 kilometers south of Beirut and is considered the third largest city in Lebanon. One of the largest Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, known as Ain al-Hilweh, is also located near this city. The Syrian army claimed on Thursday that an attack on one of its military facilities in Hama province was carried out by the Israeli Air Force using Lebanese airspace. Israel has officially remained silent regarding this attack, but several reserve generals in the country, including former head of Israeli military intelligence Amos Yadlin, have implicitly confirmed that the attack was carried out by Israel. However, on Saturday, Lebanon accused Israel of violating its airspace during the alleged attack on Syrian military facilities and stated that it would formally present its complaint to the United Nations Security Council. Regarding this attack, the Associated Press noted that the facilities targeted were described by Israeli military and security officials as a weapons production center 'possibly for Hezbollah in Lebanon.' Israel and Lebanon have been in a state of war since 2006, although there has not been significant military confrontation between the two countries during this time. During the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, the Hezbollah movement, supported by Iran, was in conflict with Israeli forces for years and also engaged in war with Israel for several weeks in 2006 after several years of Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Recently, Israel's Prime Minister stated that Iran has established precision missile manufacturing facilities in Lebanon in addition to Syria, but the Lebanese Prime Minister denied the existence of such facilities in his country. Hezbollah is currently part of the Lebanese government led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, but despite Lebanon's official declaration of neutrality regarding the Syrian civil war, Hezbollah forces have been fighting alongside Syrian government forces against Assad's opponents.