“You will enter and destroy the enemy.” The Israeli Chief of Defense Staff, Herzi Halevi, rifle on his shoulder and surrounded by soldiers deployed near the border with Lebanon, announced this Wednesday that he was preparing the invasion of the neighboring country. “You hear the fighter jets overhead. We attacked all day. This is both to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue to degrade Hezbollah,” he told his subordinates.
“We are preparing the maneuver process, which means that your military boots will enter enemy territory, in cities that Hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts, with underground infrastructure, assembly points and platforms launch against our territory,” he added. . “Your meeting with members of Hezbollah will show them what it means to face a professional, highly trained and combat-experienced force.”
On Wednesday evening, an Israeli attack in the Lebanese town of Younine killed 23 people, all Syrians and most of them women and minors. The attack targeted a three-story building, according to Mayor Ali Qusas.
This Thursday, the Israeli army announced that it had killed Muhammad Hussein Srour during an airstrike in Beirut. In a statement, he assured that Srour was behind numerous “terrorist attacks” against Israel, “including drone, cruise missile and drone attacks.”
According to Lebanese sources, two people were killed and 15 others injured in a bomb attack on a ten-story residential building in the southern neighborhoods of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a strong presence.
From New York to the Middle East
Meanwhile, all world leaders gather at the UN General Assembly, with focus on the next steps of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Thursday rejected the possibility of a ceasefire in Lebanon. “The prime minister has instructed the Israel Defense Forces to continue fighting with all their forces, in accordance with the plan presented to him,” his office said in a brief statement. He also denied reports of a ceasefire: “This is an American-French proposal, to which the Prime Minister has not even responded,” according to his office.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that the United States, France and several Arab countries are trying to promote a cease-fire plan in Lebanon as part of the UN debate in New York to avoid a full-scale war.
The United States insists that a negotiated solution is still possible despite the obvious escalation led by Israel. Publicly, Washington is not seeking to stop Netanyahu, but its efforts are aimed at ensuring that Iran does not fuel the conflict.
“I urge you all to use the influence we have to pressure Iran to stop fueling escalation, whether it be the Houthis, Hezbollah, in Iraq or the West Bank “Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a meeting with foreign authorities. ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Meanwhile, White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said the Hezbollah rockets “are proof, once again, that Israel faces a legitimate threat from ‘a terrorist group supported by Iran’. The United States announced new sanctions on Wednesday against individuals and entities associated with Hezbollah.
Nevertheless, for Lebanon, Washington remains the key to de-escalating the situation. “The United States is the key to our salvation,” Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said on Tuesday during a meeting organized by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank. “Biden’s speech [en la Asamblea General] “It didn’t promise to solve the problem in Lebanon, but the United States is the only country that can actually make a difference in the Middle East and Lebanon.”
Meanwhile, Israel continues its preparations for the ground invasion. Israeli Northern Command commander Uri Gordin said Wednesday that the war has already entered a “different phase” in which soldiers must be ready to “maneuver and act.”
The army called up two brigades of reserve soldiers to carry out “operational missions” in the north, specifying that this reinforcement “will allow us to continue the fight against the terrorist organization Hezbollah and the defense of the State of Israel” .
The idea brewing in the corridors of UN headquarters demands, among other things, that Hezbollah accept a ceasefire without a ceasefire having been concluded for Gaza. The Lebanese armed group began launching rockets against Israeli territory on October 8, 2023 as a sign of “solidarity” with the Palestinian people and to “liberate” the occupied territory in the Golan Heights. The proposal calls for a temporary 21-day ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel to pave the way for broader negotiations.
For their part, Lebanese and Palestinian sources informed Haaretz that Hamas and Hezbollah were seeking a ceasefire agreement linking the two fronts – Gaza and Lebanon – and reported this to US negotiators , France and other Arab countries involved in the talks. .
Throughout the day on Wednesday, Hezbollah launched 110 rockets against Israeli territory, as reported by the Israeli army, which confirms having attacked 280 Hezbollah targets during its third day of bombardment in Lebanon. The first day of Israeli attacks left more than half a thousand dead, including many civilians. According to UN data, in just five days of escalation – since the explosions of communications devices – more than 90,000 people have had to leave their homes because of Israeli bombs.
The Pentagon assured that it was not providing intelligence information to Israel to support its operations in Lebanon and that a ground invasion did not appear imminent.
Israel’s stated goal in this new operation is to allow 60,000 evacuees from northern Israel to return home safely, displaced by the threat of Hezbollah rockets. “I cannot detail everything we are doing, but I can say one thing: we are determined to bring our northerners home safely,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu will travel to New York on Thursday to deliver his speech to the General Assembly on Friday. The trip was planned for Wednesday, but the Israeli leader postponed it to discuss the next steps in his offensive in Lebanon.
In Israel, members of the government are not very optimistic about the latest proposals for last-minute negotiations. The Channel quotes a senior Israeli official as saying that “there is no viability for a deal at this time” and that “Israel is willing to listen to suggestions, but the chances of a deal are slim.” “. For its part, the Ynet information portal quotes a close friend of the Prime Minister who affirms that in practice “there are no negotiations”. The same media report that Netanyahu told his ministers that “any negotiations would only take place under fire,” assuring that he would not stop his offensive in Lebanon.
“We are in a difficult situation: we don’t like war, but it was imposed on us and you have to defend your country,” the Lebanese foreign minister said at Tuesday evening’s event. The feeling in this Arab country is of extreme urgency and the Parliament spokesperson assured that the next 24 hours will be decisive in trying to reach some sort of diplomatic solution.
