Around 40 rockets were launched from Lebanon towards northern Israel where alarm sirens have sounded several times in the last few hours. The military spokesperson made this known, adding that «some were intercepted while the rest fell in open areas. No casualties have been reported.”
“Iran ready to rain drones and missiles on Israel”
A massive attack with 100 drones and dozens of missiles from Iran on the territory of Israel towards military and government targets. This is the scenario of the next 24/48 hours which, according to US sources, awaits the country in the shadow of an Iranian threat which the White House itself defines as “still present, real and credible”. Even if “the USA will do everything to help the Israelis defend themselves”, the Jewish State – after the killing of a Pasdaran general in Damascus – is experiencing hours of apprehension, masked by an almost normal routine as is the country's custom in these circumstances. Meanwhile, there is an increasing number of countries around the world advising their citizens against traveling to the region, while the United States has made it known that it will send reinforcements to the area, including the Eisenhower aircraft carrier which – according to the Israeli media – will head towards the north of the Red Sea.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to convene a “security assessment” meeting a few hours before the start of his sabbatical rest also gives a sense of the emergency. Around the same table were defense minister Yoav Gallant, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz and military leaders, starting with chief of staff Herzi Halevi. And while Pope Francis launches yet another appeal for peace – “God is peace and wants peace. Whoever believes in him cannot help but repudiate war which does not resolve but increases conflicts”, he said in the message at the end of Ramadan – another a sign of the tension is the presence of the head of the US Command Center (Centcom) Michael Kurilla in Israel. According to US sources cited by CBS, the attack could therefore consist of a massive launch of over 100 drones and dozens of missiles.
A strategy – it was explained – which focuses on a large number of launches to overcome Israeli air defenses. The same sources, however, have not ruled out that Tehran – under international pressure and clear warnings from Israel and the USA – could opt for a smaller-scale operation in order to avoid a dramatic escalation. “A direct attack by Iran will result in an appropriate response from Israel,” Gallant warned after a telephone conversation – the second in a few days – with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin.
«Our enemies think they can separate Israel and the USA but – he added when meeting Kurilla – the opposite is true: they are uniting us, strengthening our ties. We stand side by side. I am sure that the world sees the true face of Iran.”
And Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi warned that the IDF “is ready for any scenario both for attack and defense against any threat.” Words reiterated while Hezbollah launched a barrage of 40 rockets from Lebanon towards northern Israel, which were intercepted or fell in open areas. “We closely monitor what is happening in Iran and in the various areas in coordination with the USA”, added the head of the IDF, referring to Hamas, Hezbollah, Syrian militias and the Houthis. Meanwhile, from Paris to Berlin, from Washington to London, the calls for de-escalation but also the advice to its citizens not to travel to Israel or the region while Lufthansa has extended the stop of flights to Tehran until next Thursday also the Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani who has addressed a strong one appeal for moderation while speaking on the phone with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Ambdollahian. The fear – he underlined – is an “even wider and more dangerous” conflict.
On the 189th day of the war, negotiations in Cairo for a truce remain at a total stalemate with Hamas «not interested in further discussions on the agreement, until there is progress on its requests». Meanwhile, raids continue in the Strip with the Palestinian agency Wafa reporting “over 29 people killed and dozens more injured in an air attack on the family home in Tatabibi in Gaza City”. The IDF then announced that it had killed two Hamas operatives in Jabalya, in the north of the Strip, including Ridwan Mohammed Abdallah Ridwan, “responsible for internal security operations in the Jabalya area”. High tension also in the West Bank with three Palestinians killed in clashes with the IDF, according to which two they were from Hamas. The third is linked – according to Wafa – to “an assault on settlers” after the disappearance of an Israeli boy in the West Bank who, according to the police, is feared to have been kidnapped or killed.