The Israeli military issued a statement a few days agoAs a result of Hamas's violation of the interim ceasefire, the Israeli army has resumed its attacks on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Israeli military, a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel just over an hour before the end of the truce, and the Israeli side resumed military operations in the Gaza Strip believing that Hamas had violated the ceasefire agreement. But in fact,Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is just an excuse that Israel is looking for.
On November 30, local time, the U.S. Secretary of StateBlinken visited Israel for the third time to discuss issues related to extending the ceasefire and stepping up humanitarian relief efforts in the Gaza Strip.
Israel** (right) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hold talks According to Israeli media reports, during a meeting with Israel's wartime cabinetBlinken gave a stern "reprimand" and demanded that they refrain from conducting military operations in southern Gaza that would cause large-scale civilian operations like those in the north.
Leaving aside the differences between Israel and the United States, judging from the information reported by Israel**, Israel and the United States were already discussing military action in southern Gaza on the night of November 30. But on the morning of December 1, they didTrying to blame Hamas for violating the interim ceasefire agreement is clearly a lie and a pretext.
The resumption of fighting between Israel and Hamas would undoubtedly be tantamount to another greater catastrophe for Palestinian civilians living in the Gaza Strip.
In the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, people carry out rescue after Israeli airstrikes, and according to Palestinian television, Israel has now restartedAir strikes on the Gaza Strip have begun, and the targets of the air strikes have shifted from northern Gaza, which had previously been bombed to rubble, to southern Gaza, resulting in the deaths of at least 32 Palestinians.
In the military operations of the previous paragraph,Israel had informed Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip that southern Gaza was safe and had allowed them to move from the north to the south. But now, they have begun their indiscriminate bombardment of southern Gaza. According to footage broadcast by Al Jazeera, gray smoke has risen from densely populated areas of Gaza, and heavy ** and gunfire have been heard.
This fully shows that Blinken's warning has not taken effectIsrael's ground military operations in southern Gaza have been carried out in the same way as previous attacks on northern Gaza, with indiscriminate attacks of "collective punishment". There is no doubt that the fight against Hamas has been accompanied by a massive humanitarian catastrophe for the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. This will obviously add fuel to the fire for the complete end of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, people look at the ruins after Israeli airstrikesUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to Israel before the two sides resumed fighting, apparentlyIt is to be hoped that Israel will be able to extend the interim ceasefire agreement, or at least reduce the number of civilians** in the context of its military operations against the Gaza Strip, taking into account the views of the international community.
Of course, this is not because the United States is kind, but because the international community is paying great attention to the humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip. If Israel continues to bombard Gaza indiscriminately, thenAs a major power that de facto supports Israel's ground military operations, the United States will be under increasing pressure around the world.
More importantly, the Middle East is an important fulcrum of the US global strategy, and Israel is a hardcore ally of the US in the Middle East, but Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, are equally important to the USIsrael's indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip is actually a drain on what is already a small atmosphere of trust and friendship between the Arab countries and the United States.
Saudi Crown Prince Salman (right) and Iran's Raisi held talks According to a Bloomberg reportIran and Saudi Arabia High Defense Standards**In one call, unexpectedlyThe issue of military cooperation was discussed, which is obviously unacceptable to the United States, which is attempting to pursue a strategy of division and co-optation in the Middle East. Against this background, the United States hopes that Israel will restrain itself and avoid further aggravating contradictions with regional countries and dragging the United States into the water.
But for Netanyahu, the battle has reached this point, and there is actually no turning back. Israel wants to wipe out Hamas, which is a civilian militia that is indistinguishable from Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
If Israel's goal is to completely eliminate Hamas, then it will inevitably harm civilians, and the duration of military operations on the ground will be indefinitely prolonged. And during a meeting with Israel's wartime cabinet, Blinken hinted that he had "only a few weeks" to use to achieve his strategic goals.
Blinken pressured Israel's wartime cabinet on Israel's post-war plans for Gaza, however, Israel's defense minister believes it will take several months to completely dismantle Hamas. Behind this is actually the difference between the positions of the United States and Israel in this conflict. On the one hand, it reflects the direct pressure of the United States on Israel, and on the other hand, it is also a manifestation of the lack of self-confidence of the United States.
To put it in layman's terms, there is a price to be paid for supporting Israel to launch a ground military operation against the Gaza Strip with the so-called "right of self-defense" in the face of the world's opposition.
Israel's ground military operation in Gaza lasted only a few weeks and had already cost the United States the trust of Middle Eastern countries and was met with unanimous opposition around the globe. If Israel is really preparing to launch a ground military operation in the Gaza Strip for several months, there is no doubt that the Middle East will be in chaos.
Israel's resumption of bombing of Gaza will leave aside for the time being how much pressure it will bring to the United States and the loss of international prestige, from a purely military point of viewThe longer Israel's ground military operations in the Gaza Strip continue, the greater the risk of triggering a full-scale conflict in the region and drawing other Middle Eastern countries into war.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Command on November 29, the U.S. destroyer USS Carney shot down an Iranian-made drone while escorting a U.S. merchant ship. Needless to guess, this is most likely an expansion of Yemen's Houthi attacks on Israeli merchant ships.
Although it is said that the United States has already begun to take escort operations, butYemen's Houthi attacks on Israeli merchant ships and other commercial vessels supporting the Israeli state actually highlight the trend of escalating the spillover over from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
What deserves more attention from the US Navy's USS Carney missile destroyer is that once the war progresses to the point of unlimited attacks on passing merchant ships, it will affect not only the interests of the United States and IsraelMerchant ships, including those of the Middle East and other countries around the world, are also at risk of being attacked while operating in the region. In effect, this is to make the whole world "pay" for Israel's military action, and it is clear that other countries will certainly not be willing.
From this point of view, it is actually difficult for Israel to fully achieve its goal of eliminating Hamas, as they have publicly declared beforeIf the reality is not recognized as soon as possible and the military operation is ended, Netanyahu** may have a difficult end.