If Hezbollah attacks, Israel will strike with unimaginable force that will be “devastating” for Lebanon, Netanyahu warned during a visit to Israeli troops near the border with the neighboring country. There had previously been fighting in the Israeli-Lebanese border area. On both the Israeli and Lebanese sides, numerous people fled the cities near the border.
In view of the fragile situation, the USA announced an increase in its military presence in the Middle East. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the deployment of defense systems and additional troops to the “entire” region.
At the same time, Austin warned foreign actors against interfering in the conflict between Hamas and Israel: “Should any group or country attempt to expand this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation, our advice is: ‘Don’t do it,'” he said the ABC News channel. “We reserve the right to self-defense and will not hesitate to take appropriate action.”
For his part, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was likely that US citizens and US facilities could be attacked. His ministry also announced that all non-essential embassy personnel would be withdrawn from Baghdad “due to increasing security threats against US personnel and facilities.” A travel warning for Iraq was also issued. Armed forces close to Iran had previously threatened to attack US facilities in Iraq over Washington’s support for Israel.
Iran, which supports both Hezbollah and Hamas, warned Israel and the US that the situation in the Middle East could spiral out of control. The entire region is currently “like a powder keg,” said Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army once again increased its air strikes on the Gaza Strip. “Dozens of terrorists” were killed, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Sunday. Among those killed was Hamas’ rocket chief.
Israel announced on Saturday evening that it would increase its air strikes immediately to increase pressure on Hamas before a possible ground offensive. “We must enter the next phase of the war in the best possible conditions,” Hagari said.
The radical Islamic group Hamas, which rules in the Palestinian territory, reported at least 80 deaths after the latest attacks. More than 30 houses were destroyed in the night attacks. The UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees said on Sunday that 29 of its staff have been killed since the war between Israel and Hamas began. Most of them were teachers.
Hamas launched a major attack on Israel on October 7th, killing around 1,400 people. The heavily armed Islamists also kidnapped around 200 people as hostages. In response to the attack, Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip and launched its massive airstrikes. A ground offensive was also announced and tens of thousands of soldiers were massed on the border with the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas, more than 4,600 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began.
Due to the constant air strikes and the closure of the Gaza Strip, the 2.4 million Palestinians in the area live under dramatic conditions; UN Secretary-General António Guterres spoke of a “humanitarian catastrophe” at a Middle East summit in Egypt. At the meeting in Cairo, world leaders called for an immediate ceasefire.
Meanwhile, trucks carrying international aid supplies reached the Gaza Strip for the first time. On Saturday there were 20 trucks and on Sunday 17 that crossed the Rafah border crossing from Egypt. This is the only access to the Palestinian territory through which aid supplies can currently be transported. According to the UN, at least a hundred trucks with aid supplies would have to reach the Gaza Strip every day in order to provide the population with basic supplies.
