The war broke out after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th will last “many more months” even in its new low intensity phase. This was stated by the Israeli Intelligence Minister, Gila Gamliel, in an interview with 'Tazpit Presse Service', underlining that there will still be “difficult times”.
Gamliel, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, said that as the war enters its four months, ending Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip and returning the remaining hostages remain Israel's goals and will be achieved despite international pressure to end the war. “War cannot and has no other result than this”, he underlines. “We cannot – and will not – end this war before we have achieved our goals“, he adds.
If Hezbollah's attacks “intensify further, so will we,” he warned. “Hezbollah and Hezbollah alone will be responsible for the destruction of Lebanon if it escalates its attacks.” The Houthi attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea, for the minister, are a global challenge that must be stopped by the international community. It is “more than obvious” that the Houthis are terrorists, Gamliel underlines, adding that they should be reclassified as such both by the US administration, which removed Ansar Allah from the terrorism blacklist after the election of Joe Biden, and by the world community. “These Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi groups are all proxies for Iran,” he adds.
Risk of escalation in the West Bank
In recent days, security chiefs have repeatedly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the West Bank is on the verge of a serious escalation. This was reported by the Israeli broadcaster Channel 12, according to which the increased concern comes following Israel's refusal to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues belonging to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), in addition to the refusal to allow around 150 thousand Palestinians to return to their jobs in Israel and the settlements. The broadcaster highlighted how Netanyahu has so far refused to hold votes in the security cabinet to review both decisions, given pressure from far-right allies.
Iran accuses the US: “They allow attacks on Gaza to continue”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Naser Kanani reproached the United States for interfering in Middle East affairs, accusing them in particular of allow Israeli attacks on the Strip from Gaza to continue. “The United States does not allow the war to end and influences and uses its right of veto in the UN Security Council to prevent it from carrying out its functions,” the spokesperson denounced, quoted by the Iranian news agency Mehr.
The spokesperson recalled that the specific issues of the Middle East must be resolved by the countries and governments of the region and therefore the United States, which he holds responsible for most of the problems, they should put an end to their interventionist policies. He then warned that the US presence in the region and its support for Israel are direct causes of instability in the region, as demonstrated by the increasingly frequent attacks on American bases in Iraq in retaliation for its role in the attacks on Gaza.
“American troops should leave Iraq with the approval of Parliament,” the spokesman said. “Iran has already informed Iraq that the presence of American forces within an international coalition will not help promote security and stability in Iraq and the region,” he added.
Hamas leader killed
Hassan Achasha, believed to be the Hamas leader responsible for launching rockets from Syria against the Jewish state, would have been killed. The Jerusalem Post reports it, citing a note from the Israeli Defense Forces army. A Hezbollah military leader was also killed in an Israeli raid on his car in Kherbet Sellom, southern Lebanon. He is “commander Wissam Tawil”, also known as Al Hajj Jawad, Hezbollah said, confirming the news of his killing that appeared in the media according to the website of the Lebanese newspaper Orient le Jour, and underlining that, as is usual, the Shiite party did not specify the circumstances of the deceased's death.
Orient Le Jour reports that 154 Hezbollah fighters were killed in Israeli raids in Syria and Lebanon following the Hamas attack on October 7, following which the Shiite militia began firing rockets at Israel. Broadcaster Al Yadid says al Tawil was a commander of the elite Radwan force of the Shiite militia.
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