At the same time, he warned the leadership in Tehran and its allies against “aggression of any kind” against his country. Israel is ready for any development. After the targeted killing of Hamas foreign leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran, who denies Israel’s right to exist, he threatened massive retaliation. There is a fear of wildfire in the area.
This was already after April 14, when Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel in the first direct attack from Iranian soil. Israel was able to intercept most of the missiles on its own and with the help of the US and other allies. The Israeli attack was relatively small. The Iranian attack followed an Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus, in which two Iranian generals were killed. The government in Jerusalem has not yet officially commented on the question of whether Israel also killed Haniyeh on purpose. Netanyahu, who heads a far-right religious government, recently said: “I repeat and say to our enemies: we will respond and pay a high price.”
Conflagration
The situation of a possible regional conflict has also emerged since the foreign leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh and the leader of Hezbollah Fuad Shukr, two high-ranking enemies of Israel, suffered fatal attacks. Israel claimed responsibility for the attack on Shukr, but has yet to mention the attack on Haniyeh.
According to US President Joe Biden, the killing of the leader of Hamas Haniyeh in Tehran could make it more difficult to reach an agreement on a cease-fire and release the enemies from the hands of the Islamist Hamas. The New York Times reported, citing a US official, that Biden complained in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Haniyeh’s killing came at an inappropriate time – at a time when the US hoped to be able to to conclude the negotiations.
Biden also raised fears that the operation in Tehran could trigger a larger war in the region, the paper wrote. Biden had also expressed displeasure publicly recently. When asked if Haniyeh’s killing had destroyed any chance of a ceasefire in the Gaza war, the US President said a few days ago: “It didn’t help.”
Netanyahu rejected accusations that he had repeatedly torpedoed talks on a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and that Israeli hostages were released by Hamas with new demands. “The exact opposite is true. The simple fact is that Hamas has not yet agreed to the most basic terms of the draft,” he said, according to his office. Although Israel did not add “a single demand” to the original version, Hamas wants dozens of changes. “I am willing to go to great lengths to free all our enemies while preserving Israel’s security,” Netanyahu said.
30 dead in the attack in the Gaza Strip
Meanwhile, the Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip on Sunday left at least 30 people dead, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, these are refugees (“mostly women and children”) who sought protection in two schools. About 50 were also injured. The Israeli military said Hamas had positions in the schools.
There had been talk before about an Israeli air attack on a tent inside the Al-Aqsa Hospital building, in which, according to Palestinian sources, at least five people were killed. At least 18 other people were injured, said the health authority controlled by the radical Palestinian Islamic group Hamas.
The attack also started a fire. The Israeli military said it attacked a militant insurgent who was engaged in “terrorist activity”. An explosion followed, indicating that there were weapons in the area.
Israeli security forces are reported to be on high alert amid serious threats of attack from their enemies. The attacks threatened by Iran and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah are expected to happen “on several fronts,” Israeli television station Channel 12 said on Sunday.
The arrival of the commander in charge of the US regional command Centcom, General Michael Erik Kurilla, in Israel was seen as a sign of a possible attack by Iran and allied militias in other countries in the region. This was reported by the US news portal “Axios”. Kurilla also traveled to Israel shortly before the main Iranian attack in April.
The Israeli leadership is currently considering possible responses to such a strong attack. These included “willingness to engage in external warfare in this context,” Channel 12 reported. The Times of Israel newspaper and the Ynet news portal said on Sunday that not only areas near the border with Lebanon are affected, but also populated areas in the center of the country, citing users.
“In the coming days”
It is unclear when the threatened retaliatory strike could take place. Tehran and Hezbollah statements repeatedly refer to the “next few days”. Israel can count on support from the US, which has already sent more fighter jets and naval vessels to the region, and other allies.
US President Joe Biden and other members of the Israeli government are the most important ally seeing the key to de-escalation in a cease-fire agreement in the Gaza war, which has been going on for almost ten months. However, the indirect negotiations for this, in which the US, Egypt and Qatar are mediating, are not making any progress. The latest round of talks with Israeli and Egyptian partners in Cairo on Saturday failed to make any progress, Israeli media reported.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi traveled to Tehran on Sunday. Local media reports said he wanted to talk to Iran’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, to dissuade the country from taking military action against Israel. According to official information from Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged in a telephone conversation with Kani that all parties must apply calm and restraint so that the situation does not get out of control. According to Iranian media reports, Iran has so far rejected all attempts at mediation.
Iran and Hamas blame the Jewish state for his murder and threaten severe retaliation. The militias in the region associated with Iran would also take part in this, said the head of the Revolutionary Guards of Iran (IRGC), General Hussein Salami. In addition to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Iran’s non-state allies also include the Houthis in Yemen and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. There are also militias loyal to Iran in Iraq and Syria.
