International•19 Sep ’24 07:30•Modified on 19 Sep ’24 08:39Author: Mark van Harreveld
The war between Israel and Hezbollah has entered a new phase, says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The focus has shifted from the south to the north of the country, where the Israeli army and Hezbollah are attacking each other daily. Hezbollah is licking its wounds after the large-scale Israeli operation in which hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies were detonated.
‘Israel-Hezbollah war enters new phase’
5 min 34 secThe Israeli army is moving an elite division from Gaza to the border with Lebanon. (ANP / SIPA Press France)
Israel, meanwhile, has remained silent about the action that left dozens dead and hundreds wounded and not only effectively paralyzed Hezbollah communications but also caused many civilian casualties.
‘Everyone is keeping their mouths shut, from the opposition to the government to the army to the security services’, says Israel correspondent Ralph Dekkers; no one is saying anything about this sensational action. In that respect, there is nothing new under the sun; Israel is usually silent when it comes to actions abroad. ‘They have been attacking in Syria for years, those attacks are almost all denied or not admitted. That is Israel’s modus operandi.’
Despite
According to Dekkers, these actions can have major consequences and Israel therefore washes its hands of them and keeps quiet as the grave. Media reports that these actions were initiated years ago. For example, Israel set up companies that produced beepers ‘and not only supplied them to Hezbollah, but also to other ordinary interested parties’. According to Dekkers, the Israeli population is predominantly proud of the Mossad operation, given the memes that are circulating. ‘The security services failed around October 7 and now Israel is showing its teeth again, what it can be capable of.’
‘The major fighting in Gaza is basically over, they now have their hands free for a confrontation in the north’
Ralph Dekkers, correspondent
Troop movements
According to Gallant, the war has entered a different phase. Dekkers reports that the Israeli army, the IDF, is going to move an elite division of the army of some 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers from Gaza north to the border with Lebanon. ‘The major fighting in Gaza is actually over, the army already announced last week that it defeated Hamas in Rafah and they can now free their hands for a possible confrontation in the north.’
Hostages
And the hostages in Gaza? Dekkers calls that hostage deal ‘actually dead as a doornail’. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been in Egypt in recent days to achieve something in that area, but Israel is focused on the north while Hamas is also unwilling to make concessions. ‘Hamas is out for a regional war.’
Meanwhile, tensions are also rising between Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Gallant. Netanyahu actually wants to fire Gallant, but this pager operation intervened. According to Dekkers, Hezbollah threatened to find out that the pagers had been tampered with and the operation had to take place immediately.
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