The crisis in the Middle East triggered by the Hamas attack on 7 October risks widening: while Israeli attacks on Gaza intensify and the humanitarian situation worsens, Washington sends two aircraft carriers and puts two thousand marines on alert in the region. Meanwhile, Iranian drones attack American bases in Iraq, the US shoots down drones launched by the Houthi rebels in Yemen and announces the sending of new air and anti-missile defense systems to the Middle East. This could lead to a direct conflict between Iran and Israel.
The intersecting threats are multiplying in view of the Israeli army’s imminent ground operation in Gaza but also of the growing clash in northern Israel with the Shiite Hezbollah, Tehran’s iron allies. A clash which in reality on the field – beyond the diplomacy of words – is now a real second front.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without naming the Ayatollah regime, threatened “destructive consequences for Hezbollah and Lebanon” if the militia decided to unleash a full war against Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel continued to strike in Syria, where supplies for Hezbollah also pass through: for the second time in 10 days, the ports of Damascus and Aleppo were hit again. A warning was also issued by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken: «Israel – he summarized – cannot return to the status quo but has no intention of governing Gaza».
Creating further tension is the West Bank where Hamas has numerous strongholds and is supplanting Abu Mazen’s Palestinian National Authority. One, as always, is in Jenin in the north of the Territories. The Israeli air force hit the Al-Ansar mosque in the city (2 dead and injured) under which – said military spokesman Daniel Hagari, providing photos in this regard – “a terrorist cell of Hamas and Islamic Jihad was hiding in an underground environment » ready for an attack in Israel.
In the Strip the humanitarian situation has worsened with 45% of houses destroyed by Israeli attacks, even though 17 trucks of humanitarian aid passed through the Rafah crossing – between Gaza and Egypt – for the second time in two days. But Israel has denied that fuel passed through these, which has now become unobtainable for the population, except – said the military spokesman in Arabic Avichay Adraee – for Hamas which has set aside large quantities. “It could be useful for hospitals, hygiene and water purification plants,” he denounced. To monitor how aid enters Gaza – the army said – “a strategic triangle” has been created between the American and Egyptian presidents, Joe Biden and Abdel Fatah al Sisi, and Netanyahu which allows the inspection of trucks and their arrival at the Red Crescent.
In an incident for which Israel has apologized, an Egyptian position near the Kerem Shalom crossing was accidentally hit, causing minor injuries. Israel continued to pound Hamas positions and its leaders, increasing the intensity of the attacks: the dead rose to 4,651 with 14,245 wounded. At the same time, Israel – where the number of displaced people from the south and north is growing (the evacuation of another 14 Israeli communities close to Lebanon has been decided) – is under continuous rocket attack from Gaza: over 7,400 launched since the beginning of the conflict. While the hostages in the hands of Hamas, certified by the army, are now 212, the police announced that they had identified the bodies of 1075 Israelis killed by Hamas, but there are still another 200 unknown bodies. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reiterated: “It will take a month, it will take two or three, but in the end there will be no Hamas.”
To know more:
The report – Trip to the horror kibbutz: “Now we invade Gaza”
The comment – The new micro empire of Evil that wants to crumble the US “colony”.
The interview /1 – Former PLO commander: “The Palestinians of Lebanon ready to defend Gaza”
The interview /2 – Lia Levi: “Anti-Semitism is also growing in Europe, we run the risk of a new Shoah”
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