2024-09-20 10:25:31
It has been a busy week in the current war in the Middle East. In fulfillment of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s promise, Israel has moved the conflict’s “center of gravity” to the north. For two consecutive days, attacks on mobile communication devices by the Islamic paramilitary group Hezbollah caused 40 deaths and injured more than 3,000 in Lebanon.
Henry Galsky, correspondent of RFI I Israel
RFI found that the Israeli authorities’ assessment is that Hezbollah’s response should not be long in coming. In view of this, there is a state of readiness of the national forces. There is a record of moving tanks and men to the northern part of the Israeli territory.
Attacks on pagers and communication radios (Walkie-talkies) of Hezbollah continues to resonate throughout the region. Even two kilometers from Israel, the Houthi rebels in Yemen began to throw away some of their electronic devices because they were afraid of an Israeli operation similar to what happened in Lebanon.
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, responded in a statement. Nasrallah called the attacks an “unprecedented massacre” that crossed “all red lines.” It also refers to actions like declaration of war.
One point that attracted attention in Israel is that it seems to have “doubled down” by saying that it will continue to attack Israel with missiles, drones and rockets as long as the war in Gaza continues. One of the sources that RFI spoke to said that this seems to be an attempt by the Hezbollah leadership to “get the international right” to continue firing on Israel.
“Let me say to the Israeli government, the Israeli army and the Israeli people: You will not succeed. I say to Prime Minister Netanyahu: You can do whatever you want, you will not succeed. The only solution is to stop the aggression against the people of Gaza there is no military struggle, no killing, no war will return its settlers to the border area,” he said in a statement. Nasrallah also said that the party’s military plan was not affected.
The Hezbollah leader uses the term “residents” to refer to Israeli citizens broadly, including those living in the territory of Israel recognized by the international community.
While Nasrallah was speaking, Israeli jets flew over Beirut at low altitude, breaking the sound barrier. Israel also continued its airstrikes in southern Lebanon, saying it was targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers “ready to use immediately to fire on Israeli territory.” In total, he said he hit “around 100 launchers” and other infrastructure “representing around 1,000 cannons” on Thursday.
According to the Lebanese news agency Ani, Israeli planes attacked southern Lebanon at least 52 times. These bombs were the most severe that were carried out on the border between Lebanon and Israel since October 2023.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, claimed at least 17 attacks on 14 military targets in northern Israel on Thursday.
Israel turned to the north
The attacks on Hezbollah mobile devices took place in a week in which Israel confirmed that the return of the population to the north of the country was one of the goals of the war.
So far, three goals have been: the elimination of the Hamas military and government forces, the release of all the hostages stolen by the Palestinian group in exile since October 7, and the creation of a new security reality in which The Gaza strip is no longer a threat to Israel.
This Thursday (19), the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevi, approved the military plans for the northern front. That is, plans for a war against Hezbollah. A source who asked not to be named told RFI that attacks on mobile devices represent only part of Israel’s arsenal of actions and that there are likely “new surprises in action.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and said that diplomatic options are running out, as Hezbollah has not changed its basic position since it started the war of conflict with Israel on October 8th. The Iran-aligned group, which says it acts in solidarity with the Palestinians, has publicly said it will stop attacks on Israeli territory only when there is a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In Gallant’s words, Hezbollah is “tied” to Hamas. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah also confirmed this position.
Meanwhile, more than 40% of the residents of northern Israel – internally displaced people in the country – said they would not return to the area even after the end of the war.
“It will not be possible to return the residents to their homes without a fundamental change in the security situation,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a meeting with Amos Hochstein, the special representative of the United States who is trying to find some political alternative to the conflict. . between Hezbollah and Israel.
France and the US are seeking to calm tensions
After meeting with French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called against escalatory actions by any party in the Middle East. Blinken specifically referred to the attacks attributed to Israel against the communication devices of Hezbollah members.
“France and the United States join forces to contain and reduce tension with regard to the Middle East in general and Lebanon in particular,” Blinken said.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington would ask Israel to stop attacks on Hezbollah if the forces stop firing into Israeli territory.
“Nasrallah can stop terrorist attacks in Israel, and I guarantee you that if he does that, we will press Israel on the need for reassurance on their part,” Miller told reporters.
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed “deep concern” that the unexpected explosions in Lebanon will contribute to a “dangerous escalation of tensions in the region”, according to an official statement from the French presidency.
France and the United States are two of the main Western countries that have been trying for months to find some diplomatic solution to the war between Hezbollah and Israel, which has been going on for almost a year.
Israel recruits about Iran
In the midst of this attack, which used unexpected methods, Israel discovered that a citizen of the country had been employed by Iran, Moti Maman, who had been living in Turkey for years, hired by Iran to carry out acts of terrorism that come along. the assassination of many political and security figures, such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the head of the Shin Bet, the internal security service, Ronen Bar, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other Israeli government officials. The information was released by the Shin Bet and the Israeli police.
The Israeli businessman is in prison. Moti Maman is 74 years old and lives in Ashkelon, a city in the south of the country. According to investigations, he has debts of thousands of shekels, Israeli currency.
To carry out the missions, he would have requested an advance of US $ 1 million. The Iranians would also have asked him to do other tasks, such as transporting money and weapons and capturing crowded places.
Also, the businessman can start to act as a recruiter of Russians and North Americans whose task will be to kill the opponents of the Iranian regime in Europe and America. He will also find an agent from the Mossad, Israel’s secret service, to act as a double agent, that is, representing Israel’s interests.
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