Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a meeting of his senior generals and his war cabinet to examine the developing violence as Israel pummeled Gaza with airstrikes early on Monday, and its planes attacked southern Lebanon overnight.
According to Palestinian media, Israel targeted the northern and central portions of the Gaza Strip with its attacks. According to media sources, an attack on a home close to the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza resulted in many Palestinians’ deaths and others’ injuries.
Health officials in Gaza said that at least 4,600 people died in Israel’s two-week assault, following a Hamas attack on October 7 that left 1,400 people dead and 212 held captive in southern Israeli villages.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Hamas, and Hossein Amirabdollahian, the foreign minister of Iran, spoke by phone late on Sunday to discuss how to stop Israel’s “brutal crimes” in Gaza, according to a statement from Hamas.
In preparation for a ground assault intended to destroy Hamas, Israel has gathered tanks and personnel close to the border barrier enclosing Gaza. Over the weekend, concerns that the Israel-Hamas confrontation may escalate into a larger Middle East battle increased as Washington warned about a serious threat to its regional interests and announced the deployment of more sophisticated air defenses.
The Pentagon has already sent two aircraft carriers, support ships, and roughly 2,000 Marines to the Middle East to aid in thwarting attacks by forces with ties to Iran. According to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, we’re witnessing the potential for a major uptick in assaults on our soldiers and citizens throughout the area.
Chinese state media said on Monday that the region’s spillover conflicts were “worrisome” and that China’s Middle East special envoy, Zhai Jun, who is currently in the area, warned that the possibility of a significant ground battle was growing.
According to Iranian security sources, Iran’s objective was for Middle East allies like Hezbollah to launch limited attacks on Israeli and American targets while avoiding a major escalation that would include Tehran, a precarious position for the Islamic Republic. Israeli missiles launched early on Sunday struck the international airports in Damascus and Aleppo in neighboring Syria, where Hamas’ primary regional supporter, Iran, has a military presence. Syrian official media said both airports were rendered inoperable, and two workers were killed.
In the bloodiest escalation of border warfare since an Israel-Hezbollah conflict in 2006, the Iran-backed Hezbollah organization has engaged in combat with Israeli soldiers along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon in support of Hamas.
According to the Israeli military, Israeli aircraft early on Monday targeted two Hezbollah cells in Lebanon that were preparing to launch rockets and anti-tank missiles at Israel. A compound and an observation station were among the other Hezbollah targets that Israel’s military claimed to have been hit. Without going into detail, Hezbollah said on Monday that one of its fighters had been slain.
Israel on Sunday added 14 villages near Lebanon and Syria to its evacuation contingency plan in the north of the nation due to the rising unrest near its tightly guarded borders.
MORE AID IS COMING TO GAZA
Mohammad Shtayyeh, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, urged world leaders to form “a united front” to end Israel’s bombardment on Gaza and enable vitally needed relief, which has only just started to arrive.
On Sunday night, a second convoy of 14 aid trucks crossed the Rafah border into the restricted Gaza Strip. U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in a phone call that “there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza.”
The amount of help entering thus far, according to the U.N. humanitarian agency, is only 4% of the daily average before the fighting and is significantly short of what is required since supplies of food, water, medication, and gasoline are running low.
Additionally, Biden increased his diplomatic efforts, holding phone talks with Netanyahu and Pope Francis on Sunday and speaking with the presidents of Canada, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and Britain about delivering relief to Gaza and halting the development of the violence.
The leaders supported Israel’s right to self-defense in a united statement. Additionally, they demanded obedience to international humanitarian law, including civilians’ defense.
Late on Sunday, Netanyahu also spoke on the phone with the presidents of France, Spain, and the Netherlands, according to the Israeli leader’s office.
Monday will see a visit to Israel by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, while Tuesday will see a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron.
