Israel hits another strategic objective in the war to destroy Hamas and weaken its Shiite allies. The theater of the operation is once again Lebanon: after the killing of the number two of the Palestinian movement, Saleh Arouri, in the capital, a raid in the south of the country eliminated one of the commanders of Hezbollah's elite forces. «Beirut can become like Gaza», was the warning of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in response to the attacks from north of the border, while in the Strip the army announced the start of «phase three» of the offensive, less intense and with targeted attacks. Hezbollah commander Wissam
Hassan Tawil was hit in the same way as Arouri. A rocket launched by a drone against the car in which he was traveling in a village about ten kilometers from the border with Israel. There was at least one other member of the armed group on board, seriously injured. According to Lebanese sources, Tawil had “a leading role in directing military operations in the south”, and in the images released by the pro-Iranian movement he can be seen alongside Hassan Nasrallah and the head of the Iranian Pasdaran Qassem Soleimani, killed by the USA 4 years ago.
The blitz against Tawil began in the aftermath of a Hezbollah attack on an Israeli air defense center on Mount Meron, in the Galilee, which caused damage. The Kornet super missiles were launched on the target, which would be capable of escaping the Iron Dome: a leap in quality for the Lebanese militias which pushed the Jewish State to open an investigation to “do better in the future”, while in the days An airship capable of detecting cruise and ballistic missiles was tested recently.
A Hezbollah parliamentary leader, Muhammad Raad, explained that his movement “does not want the conflict to widen unless Israel stops its attacks”, but the Netanyahu government is not willing to show weakness. “We will do everything necessary to restore security here in the north,” assured the prime minister during an inspection near the border. Minister Gallant is clearer, who in an interview with Wall Street Journal he warned the Lebanese authorities: without an agreement that allows the inhabitants of the Upper Galilee to return to their homes (bombed by Hezbollah), “we have the ability to copy and paste Gaza with Beirut”.
In the evening, the army announced that it had also killed Hassan Akasha, a Hamas member responsible for the rocket launches from Syria. And the containment of the northern front goes hand in hand with a new phase of the war in Gaza. Gallant and military spokesman Daniel Hagari announced that from now on there will be less use of ground forces and air raids to focus on “different types of special operations”. Freeing all the hostages (Islamic Jihad has released a new video of a prisoner) and “destroying Hamas” will take time, warned Gallant, who had already evoked a conflict for the whole of 2024.
Meanwhile, the warmest front remains the southern one. According to local sources, the deaths in the Strip have reached over 23 thousand, while the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for an investigation to shed light on the “high number” of Palestinian journalists killed: 102 so far.
A transition to a less intense phase of the fighting, to protect civilians as much as possible, is hoped for by the United States. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who denounced a “disastrous situation” in Gaza, stopped in the Emirates and Saudi Arabia on his fourth mission to the Middle East since October 7, where he met Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (and EU High Representative Josep Borrell). With the aim of involving regional partners in mediation. Washington also continues to work for the future of Gaza, starting with a government that puts the PNA back into play, despite Netanyahu's opposition. Blinken also branded as “irresponsible” and “incendiary” the hypotheses of a mass exit of the population from the Strip evoked by ultra-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir. All thorny topics that will be addressed with the Israeli authorities by the head of American diplomacy, who has moved to Tel Aviv after Riyadh.
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