new phase of the war – The Time

Fears that “Lebanon” could become “another Gaza” and this would represent a “devastating tragedy for the world”. In the words of the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, there is all the concern of the international community for the risk of an expansion in the Middle East with a large-scale clash between Israel and Hezbollah. Words that follow the massive attack launched by the Shiite group and its allies, with drones and rockets (including Fadi 1, Fadi 2 and Katyusha) capable of reaching Haifa. Overall, according to the IDF, in the space of a few hours 150 rockets, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles were used to hit the Jewish state, even if most were intercepted. The Islamic Resistance, a group of pro-Iran Iraqi militiamen who claimed responsibility for the launch of drones, also participated in the offensive, demonstrating how the war seriously risks becoming regionalized. Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah MK, spoke of a “new phase” in the conflict with Israel in which the ‘Party of God’ is ready “for any scenario, war or confrontation.” A serious warning to Hezbollah came from Benjamin Netanyahu: “In recent days we have hit Hezbollah with a series of attacks that it would never have imagined.

If Hezbollah hasn’t gotten the message, I promise you they will,” he said. Speaking at a closed-door meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Netanyahu declined to commit to launching a large-scale operation in Lebanon, raising only the need to “reduce Hezbollah’s capabilities” and sever the link between Gaza and the northern front of the conflict. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said an escalation was “not in Israel’s interest,” while the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, described the region as “on the brink of imminent catastrophe” and said “there is no military solution that can guarantee security for both sides.” Tensions have grown exponentially in recent days, from the explosions of pagers used by Hezbollah to last Friday’s raid that killed, among others, Ibrahim Aqil, leader of the Radwan Force, whose funeral was held in Beirut with hundreds of people attending. According to a source in the group, Al-Monitor heard, Hezbollah commanders killed in the bombing were meeting to discuss plans to launch an invasion against Israel similar to the one on October 7 in response to the explosion of the communications devices.

The Jewish state’s responsibilities for this latest action were however excluded by President Isaac Herzog, who ruled out “any connection” between Tel Aviv and the explosions involving pagers and walkie talkies, recalling that Hezbollah “has many enemies”. Tomorrow at 7 pm local time (6 pm in Italy) a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet should take place in light of the recent escalation with Hezbollah. In addition to the northern front, there is the one in Gaza, where the hostage situation remains open and the victims have now exceeded 41,400. In the same meeting with the Knesset commission, Netanyahu revealed that half of the kidnapped people are still alive. While Minister Antonio Tajani, who arrived in New York for the UN Assembly, urged “everything possible” to achieve a release. Finally, the West Bank: in Ramallah, the IDF raided the Al Jazeera headquarters, ordering its closure. The broadcaster condemned and denounced “this criminal act by the Israeli occupation forces”.