Middle East conflict
Gaza war: USA wants to prevent conflagration
Currently traveling in the Middle East: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. photo
© Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters/AP/dpa
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is under pressure. In view of growing concerns about an expansion of the war, the USA and Germany are relying on talks in the region. The overview.
Three months after the start of the Gaza war, concerns about further escalation between Israel and the Gaza Strip have increased Hezbollah militia reaches new heights in Lebanon. Israeli politicians and the military renewed their threats against the Iranian-backed Shiite organization. Since the beginning of the war, Hezbollah, which is allied with the Islamist Hamas, has repeatedly fired rockets into Israel’s north. The situation in the West Bank also remains extremely tense.
In order to achieve a de-escalation in the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas and to avert an expansion, both Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken are again visiting countries in the Middle East. In Jordan, Blinken drew attention to the extremely difficult supply situation in the Gaza Strip.
Strong warning from Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued harsh warnings to Hezbollah. “I suggest that Hezbollah learns what Hamas has already learned in recent months: no terrorist is immune,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting, according to his office. Israel is determined to enable the residents of the north to return to their homes. “If we can, we will achieve it through diplomatic means, and if not, we will act in other ways,” said the head of the conservative Likud party.
Israel’s army spokesman threatens military force
“The diplomatic window may be small, but it is open to those who drag the region into unnecessary escalation,” said army spokesman Daniel Hagari, addressing Hezbollah. Israel must ensure that the October 7 massacre is not repeated on any of its borders. “We have a duty to defend our people, if not by diplomatic means, then by force of arms.” There was also mutual shelling today on the northern border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah is considered far more powerful than Hamas. Their influence extends deep into the crisis-paralyzed Lebanese state. The “Party of God” was formed in 1982 with Iranian support in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Since then she has been fighting politically, but also violently, against Israel. The group is also represented in parliament in the multi-confessional Mediterranean country. It is financed primarily by Iran.
Report: US warns Israel of escalation in Lebanon
According to a media report, the USA is said to have warned Israel of a “significant escalation” in the neighboring country. The Washington Post reported on personal conversations between US government representatives and Israel. There is great concern among government officials that an escalation could be even bloodier than the last war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. “The number of casualties in Lebanon could be between 300,000 and 500,000 and could result in a massive evacuation of all of northern Israel “, the paper quoted Lebanon expert Bilal Saab.
According to the report, there are different views within the US government about Netanyahu’s interests. Some US officials believe the Likud party leader is trying to extract concessions from Hezbollah. Others are of the opinion that, in view of the growing criticism of the military deployment, he may want to expand the conflict in order to ensure his political survival.
According to polls, the majority of Israelis want Netanyahu to resign after the end of the Gaza war at the latest. Many people accuse him of not having taken personal responsibility for the Hamas massacre on October 7th. It was only on Saturday that thousands of Israelis demonstrated again in the metropolis of Tel Aviv for new elections and new negotiations about the release of the hostages.
USA and Germany on diplomatic mission in the Middle East
Before departing for Israel, Baerbock urgently called for an end to the violence. Israel has the right and duty to defend itself against terror, but must protect civilians much better in its military actions, she demanded. Much more humanitarian aid is needed in the Gaza Strip to combat hunger, epidemics and cold. It is Baerbock’s fourth trip to Israel since the start of the war.
Her US colleague Blinken also drew attention to the dire conditions in the Gaza Strip. The food situation for the people there is “very difficult,” he said after a visit to a World Food Program warehouse in the Jordanian capital Amman. Blinken’s program also included talks in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Like Baerbock, he also wants to visit Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.
Seven dead in Israeli airstrike in West Bank
An Israeli airstrike in the West Bank killed seven people over the weekend, according to the Palestinian Health Authority. According to Palestinian reports, the air strike in the city of Jenin hit a citizens’ meeting. According to Israeli sources, those killed were terrorists.
Raids take place regularly in Jenin, which is administered by the Palestinian Authority and is considered a stronghold for extremists. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, the Israeli army has stepped up its operations in the West Bank. Israel conquered the territories in the Six-Day War in 1967. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers now live there among around three million Palestinians. The Palestinians are demanding the territories for their own state.