Attack on Beirut, Lebanon while reducing Gaza troops… Targeting Hamas across the border
Internal public opinion also changes, including concerns about war costs and heightened criticism of Netanyahu.
Hamas politburo ‘Number 2’ killed in Israeli airstrike
(CAIRO Reuters = Yonhap News) Deputy Director Saleh al-Arouri, the second-in-command in the political bureau of the Palestinian armed political faction Hamas, was killed by an Israeli drone attack at his office outside Beirut, Lebanon, on the 2nd (local time). The photo shows Al-Arouri speaking after concluding reconciliation negotiations with the Palestinian Fatah faction in Cairo, Egypt, on October 12, 2017. [자료사진] 2024.01.03 [email protected]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Yeon-sook = It is assessed that the murder of the third leader of the Palestinian armed political faction Hamas means that the war between Israel and Hamas has entered the third stage.
The fact that Israel withdrew some of its troops from the Gaza Strip and moved away from attacking the border area in Lebanon to conduct airstrikes against the capital, Beirut, marks a change in the nature of the war.
This came at a time when concerns were growing within Israel about the cost of war and criticism of the government, which had seemed to subside for a while, was rising again.
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Chuck Freilich, Israel’s former deputy national security adviser, told the Washington Post on the 3rd (local time), “We are in the third phase of the war.”
His diagnosis is that if the initial response to Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7 last year was stage 1 and the air and ground war in the Gaza Strip was stage 2, the United States is now entering a new mode that is closer to what it claimed from the beginning.
Recently, the United States has been urging Israel to switch from high-intensity all-out warfare centered on indiscriminate bombing and urban warfare to low-intensity combat centered on surgical precision strikes and special operations.
The day before, in Beirut, Saleh al-Auri, known as Hamas’s deputy head of the political bureau and third-highest ranking official, was killed in an unidentified drone attack.
Hamas and Iran pointed to Israel as the mastermind. Israel neither confirmed nor denied it, but the WP reported that al-Auri was on Israel’s assassination list.
If Israel is correct, this is clearly different from previous attacks.
Israel has been engaged in fighting with the Lebanese armed faction Hezbollah in the border area of Lebanon, but has not crossed over to the capital Beirut.
Israel did not immediately implement one of its stated goals when declaring retaliation against Hamas, which was to eliminate Hamas leaders ‘no matter where they are.’
However, as the war enters its fourth month, the WP reported that Israel appears to be willing to implement this even though it is willing to risk a larger war on the Lebanese border.
The Israeli military has already stated that it is prepared to fight on ‘two fronts.’
A large number of troops and tanks were massed along the Lebanese border, and 70,000 nearby residents were evacuated.
However, despite frequent engagements with Hezbollah, they did not go as far as attacking Beirut.
Residents of the northern Israeli city of Haifa have been advised to make evacuation plans in case of an attack.
Military experts believe that a reduction in troops in the Gaza Strip could allow more resources to be sent to Lebanon.
“We are well prepared for any scenario,” Israeli military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said after al-Arouri’s death.
Israeli troops training for conflict with Hezbollah
As military clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian militant group in Lebanon, become more frequent, Israeli soldiers are training in the occupied Golan Heights on the 6th of last month (local time). [로이터 연합뉴스 자료사진. 재배포 및 DB 금지]
Changes are occurring not only on the front lines but also within Israel.
On the 30th of last month, protests were held in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem demanding Prime Minister Netanyahu’s resignation and early general elections.
“We are seeing a new phase: people are taking to the streets again,” said Gayle Talsir, a political scientist at Hebrew University.
Divisions within the war cabinet also appear to be growing.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz recently refused to attend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s press conference.
These are people who have expressed an open position on the US government’s plan that the Palestinian Authority (PA) should play a role in governing the Gaza Strip after the war.
In particular, the popularity of former Minister Gantz, who can be considered Prime Minister Netanyahu’s political rival, is soaring.
His position was that the investigation and political debate surrounding the Hamas surprise attack should be postponed until the war subsides.
But with the reduction of troops in Gaza, there are signs that he is now ready to move.
“The moment former minister Gantz feels he can leave the war cabinet, the pace will accelerate,” Talsir said. “As the situation in Gaza stabilizes, that is starting to become more possible.”
He predicted, “Of course, if (Israeli forces) have a second front with Hezbollah, everything will change again.”
Protesters with guns after assassination of Hamas politburo leader
(Jenin Reuters = Yonhap News) People are protesting in Jenin, West Bank, on the 2nd (local time) against the killing of a senior official of the Palestinian armed political faction Hamas. Foreign media reported that on this day, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attacked a Hamas facility outside Beirut, Lebanon, killing six leaders, including Saleh al-Arouri, the second-in-command of the political bureau. 2024.01.03 [email protected]
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2024/01/04 17:04 Sent
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2024-01-04 08:04:06
