With its destruction of the Gaza Strip and the massacre of 37,000 Palestinians, Israel has begun to signal clear signs of a regional war.
CNN International reported that the United States, Israel’s main ally, has pledged support in the event of all-out war on the northern front.
The Israeli occupation forces have not achieved any of their announced goals in the 259-day war in Gaza: Hamas has not been destroyed, the hostages have not been rescued and the far-right coalition government wants an endless war.
On the northern front, Hezbollah, Lebanon’s largest military force, and Israeli forces have been clashing since October 8. The conflict has mostly not crossed the border, but its scale changed in June: Massive forest fires caused by rocket rain ravaged the border and after Israel struck one of Hezbollah’s key commanders, Talip Abdullah, with missiles, the Iranian-backed group retaliated by firing hundreds of rockets and kamikaze-armed drones in a single day.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah responded to Israel’s signals of all-out war by saying that all-out war was not the rule and that he would invade northern Israel, and further declared that he would attack Southern Cyprus if it opened its airbases to Israeli fighter jets.
Kuwait has become the first country to ask its citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately, as the drumbeats of war loom across the region, sparking comments from the Middle Eastern nation that a new war is on the way.
The US broadcaster CNN International detailed the meeting between Israeli and US officials. According to CNN, at a ceremony in Washington, the Americans pledged their full support to Israel if the conflict with Hezbollah escalated into an all-out war.
CNN, citing a senior US official, stressed that this was exactly the assurance given in person in the week that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply criticised the administration of Joe Biden in a video.
Israeli National Security Adviser Tsassi Hanegbi and Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer met in Washington this week with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Biden’s Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk.
CNN International reported that the US aid pledge did not include sending ground troops.
CNN reported that U.S. officials are on high alert for the outbreak of all-out war, highlighting another of Washington’s deep concerns this week. According to the TV station, U.S. officials worry that Israel’s air defense systems, including the famed Iron Dome, could become vulnerable to a shower of Hezbollah missiles.
The Israeli military said in a statement this morning that its warplanes had bombed four different areas in southern Lebanon, hitting a number of targets belonging to Hezbollah.
