“Less intense” phase in Gaza is a harbinger of a new Netanyahu war

The “less intense” phase of the ongoing massacre in the Gaza Strip, announced by Tel Aviv this Sunday (23), is a harbinger of a new war led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition.

With the state of war, Netanyahu is trying to remain in power and escape Israeli justice and international courts.

This Monday (24), the Israeli prime minister said he was committed to the proposed ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which would allow the exchange of hostages. The statement converges with the interview given by Netanyahu to Channel 4, an Israeli broadcaster, the previous day, in which he stated that “the intense phase of combating Hamas is about to end”.

“After the intense phase ends, we will have the possibility of moving part of the forces to the north. And we will do that. Firstly, for defensive purposes. And secondly, to bring our residents [evacuados] home,” he said.

To the north of Israel, on the southern border of Lebanon, the confrontation between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Islamic faction Hezbollah can no longer be considered marginal.

Earlier this week, the IDF carried out a series of air strikes with fighter jets in several cities in the border region, hitting Hezbollah military targets in the cities of Khiam, Ramyeh and Aalma El Chaeb.

The offensive was a response to the launch of an anti-tank missile launched from Lebanon on Sunday night (23) and which left two Israeli soldiers injured. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack.

Last Tuesday (18), the far-right Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that the Jewish State is “getting very close to the moment of deciding to change the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon.”
“In an all-out war, Hezbollah would be destroyed, and Lebanon would be severely beaten,” he added.

Knowing the intentions of the ultra-Orthodox and far-right wing of Netanyahu’s coalition, the US warned this Tuesday that a war against Lebanese Hezbollah could provoke a regional conflict. Canada has asked its citizens to leave Lebanon “while they can.”

“A war between Israel and Hezbollah could easily become a regional war, with disastrous consequences for the Middle East,” warned US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin, upon receiving his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, at the Pentagon .

The American warnings, however, come up against Netanyahu’s criminal record, which cannot leave power if he wants to stay out of jail.

The prime minister is accused of corruption, fraud and breach of trust. Netanyahu is suspected of having received gifts valued at almost $200,000 from wealthy personalities. The head of Government would have received gifts in the form of cigars, bottles of champagne and jewelry, between 2007 and 2016.

Far-right allies even criticized the resumption of the hearings while the war in the Gaza Strip continues.

Therefore, to maintain the support of the coalition that supports him in power, Netanyahu will soon withdraw the majority of the troops that reduced the Gaza Strip to dust, to relocate them to the next battlefield, in Lebanon, against Hezbollah. .