Fresh from the UN warehouse in Deir al-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip, Abdulrahman al-Kilani explains why he and other Palestinians displaced by Israeli bombardments decided to enter the facility and take what they needed had. “We don’t have flour, we don’t have aid, we don’t have water, we don’t even have a bathroom,” the young man explained to AFP before adding: “our houses are destroyed, no one cares about us”.
This looting, which coincides with the new phase of the war launched by Israel in response to Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7, which killed more than 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped another 229, UN Secretary-General António Guterres , which has already been incited, warning of the danger of social disorder in the small Palestinian territory, which will increase the growing desperation of the population, and emphasizing that the number of civilians killed – more than 8,000 according to the Hamas Ministry of Public health – and injuries is “totally unacceptable”.
But as more Israeli troops and tanks entered Gaza overnight and aviation struck 450 Hamas targets within 24 hours – according to information provided by the Israeli military – the danger of the war spreading was once again heightened by the threats of the Iranian president. “The Zionist regime’s crimes have crossed the red line, which could spur everyone else to action,” Ebrahim Raisi wrote on Twitter, adding: “Washington has asked us to do nothing but continues to provide broad support for Israel .”
In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Raisi had already stated that Tehran considers it its duty to support the “axis of resistance” – which also includes armed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The statements came after the US accused Iran of being responsible for some of the attacks on US troops in Syria and Iraq in recent days, which injured 20 soldiers. President Joe Biden sent a “direct” message to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Iran’s Secretary of State ayatollah Ali Khamenei warns of further attacks. But Raisi guarantees: “The US knows our military capabilities and knows they are impossible to defeat.”
Although Washington has not drawn a direct link between Iran and the Hamas attack on Israel, several analysts have not hesitated to do so. For Kim Ghattas, author of Black Wavea book about the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, heard on the American radio station NPR: “Hamas receives funding and weapons from Iran. Therefore, whether Tehran approves the October 7 attack or not, it is complicit.”
While in the south Israeli forces are strengthening their ground operations against Hamas – defense forces revealed images of Israeli military vehicles on a beach in Gaza, where they say they managed to eliminate a Hamas unit after a brief battle – in the north, clashes with the Lebanese from Shiite group Hezbollah.
Last week, Iran threatened to launch missiles against the port city of Haifa if Israel carried out a full land invasion of Gaza. As tensions rose, the US deployed two aircraft carriers to the region – the USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower – in addition to moving several fighter jet squadrons to the Middle East.
Despite the growing tension, many analysts doubt Iran’s desire to become directly involved in a conflict that would inevitably involve the US. According to Sara Bazoobandi, a researcher at the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies based in Germany, “the Iranians have already made it clear that they do not want direct involvement or confrontation.” But the expert, interviewed by AFP, explains that Tehran has “repeated warnings about the involvement of Hezbollah and other elements of the so-called “resistance front””.
Bazoobandi recalls that one of the Iranian regime’s doctrines has been to keep the conflict outside its borders, but “to maintain that position in the region, Iran will have to support its allies during this crisis. And that could cost them dearly.” But for now, the analyst guarantees that Tehran has already achieved one of its objectives with this war between Israel and Hamas: derailing any chance of normalization in the relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Combat, communication and more help
On the second day of phase 2 of the war, Hamas admitted yesterday that its fighters were involved in heavy fighting with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. Despite calls for a pause in hostilities and warnings from Guterres that the situation in the area is “becoming increasingly desperate as the hours pass”, bombs continued to fall yesterday. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, attacks increased around Al-Quds hospital, which Israeli forces had to evacuate. In a video message on its Twitter account, the Palestinian Red Crescent assured that it has no plans to remove patients from the site because “evacuating them would mean killing them.”
In addition to the 400 patients, many in intensive care, 14,000 displaced civilians will also be hospitalized, most of them women and children.
According to Save the Children, the number of children killed during these three weeks of war in Gaza – 3,200 according to the NGO – is greater than the number of minors killed in war zones since 2019.
As demonstrations of support for the Palestinian people multiplied in several cities around the world, the United States itself, Israel’s close ally, asked Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to distinguish between Hamas militants and Gaza civilians. “Israeli forces must use every means possible to distinguish between Hamas – terrorists who are legitimate military targets – and civilians – who are not,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN.
Yesterday, three dozen trucks carrying aid – food, water and medical supplies – entered the Gaza Strip through Egypt’s Rafah crossing. Communications, which were almost completely cut off on Saturday, have also resumed.
Meanwhile, clashes have also increased in the West Bank, where five Palestinians have reportedly been killed by the Israeli army. There are also increasing reports from Palestinians who say they have been driven from their villages by Israeli settlers.
Source: DN
