Determined to continue its operations against the terrorist organization Hezbollah, Israel appears, but appears to be freezing – at least for now – the plan for a ground invasion of Lebanon. And this happens because Benjamin Netanyahu realizes that, by taking things to the extreme, he may find himself isolated.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib, speaking at the UN General Assembly last night, said that “Lebanon is currently going through a crisis that threatens its very existence” and warned of a “domino effect that will be impossible to contain”, leading the country. and the Middle East to “situations out of control”. Habib called for an immediate ceasefire, as did dozens of Western countries.
At the same time, the Israeli prime minister’s office released a statement seeking to “clarify certain points” surrounding what it called “many misleading reports regarding the US-led ceasefire initiative.”
The statement highlights that Israel “shares the goals of the US-led initiative to allow people on our northern border to safely return to their homes.” He adds that the groups met on Thursday and says that discussions will continue in the coming days.
The messages from the Israelis, the warnings from the international community and the… clarifications
Let us remember that the USA, the European Union and the United Kingdom requested an immediate ceasefire on the 21st “to give space for diplomacy to conclude a diplomatic agreement”, but also for a truce in Gaza. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, on the UN floor, called on Israel and Hezbollah to step back from the precipice, to avoid a war “that no one will be able to stop.”
On Thursday night, the proposal was categorically rejected by Israeli politicians, including Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who made it clear that “there will be no ceasefire in the north”. And Netanyahu himself, however, declared that the fighting continues.
The “clarifying statement” from the prime minister’s office came after an intervention from the White House, which highlighted that the ceasefire proposal was “coordinated” with Israel.
In any case, the Israeli army continues to attack Hezbollah targets, while northern Israel is under constant rocket attacks. According to the latest update from the Israeli forces (IDF) on Friday morning, sirens were heard in Tiberias and Haifa. “10 missiles were spotted passing through Lebanon, following sirens in the Haifa area. Some of the missiles were intercepted and others were identified as falling in open areas,” the statement said. Earlier, Israeli media reported that a rocket landed in an open area in Tiberias.
A missile was also fired by Yemen’s Houthis, but according to the IDF it was intercepted.
Israel’s goal
The organization’s leaders remain primarily in the Israelis’ crosshairs. In the last 24 hours, the IDF announced that the Head of the Rocket Force and Hezbollah. The Israeli government and military want to weaken the terrorist organization that is the best-armed non-state entity in the world. So far they have demonstrated that they will not stop for fear of collateral civilian casualties. However, they cannot ignore the calls and warnings from the international community.
The drone and radio attacks demonstrated Israeli superiority in technology and killed around 1,500 of the organization’s “fighters”, blind or maimed. But they angered Nasrallah and Iran even more.
Israel would not want a regional conflict involving Tehran. But with his attitude he increases the chances of us being led to such a thing.