The Israeli army carried out new deadly raids on Saturday on the north of the Gaza Strip, plunged into an “apocalyptic” situation according to the UN, at a time when Lebanese Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in response to destructive strikes.
Three days before the presidential election in the United States and despite international pressure, attempts to end Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Palestinian Hamas in Gaza appear to have remained in vain.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a devastating offensive in Gaza, on its southern border, after a bloody attack by the Islamist movement against its territory on October 7, 2023. It also wants to neutralize Hezbollah on its northern border, after the movement Lebanese opened a front against him in support of Hamas.
The two movements are close allies of Iran, engaged in recent months with Israel, its enemy, in a cycle of attacks and responses which have raised fears of a conflagration in the Middle East.
Again on Saturday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that his country would retaliate against any attack carried out by Israel or the United States against Iran and its allies.
| © AFP Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the village of Khiam, southern Lebanon, November 2, 2024 |
On Saturday before dawn, Israeli strikes targeted the north of the Gaza Strip, notably Jabalia and Beit Lahia, and the center, notably Nousseirat where three Palestinians died, according to civil defense.
The army, which has concentrated its offensive since October 6 in the north of the territory in order to neutralize Hamas, claimed to have “eliminated dozens of terrorists in Jabalia”. She also reported operations against Hamas in the south and center of the territory.
“Disease, famine, violence”
| © AFP Palestinians mourn the death of relatives, a mother and her baby, killed in an Israeli strike in Nusseirat in central Gaza, after the bodies were transferred to a hospital in Deir al-Balah, November 1, 2024 |
All residents of northern Gaza are at “imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence”, officials from major UN humanitarian agencies warned on Friday. “The situation is apocalyptic,” wrote the 15 signatories, demanding that “the State of Israel cease its assault on Gaza.”
Israel, which has been besieging the Gaza Strip for more than a year, constantly bombards this poor and cramped territory where the vast majority of the approximately 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced.
Its air and ground offensive left 43,259 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health, and caused colossal destruction and a humanitarian disaster.
The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data, including hostages killed or died in captivity. Of 251 people kidnapped, 97 remain hostages in Gaza, 34 of whom were declared dead by the army.
Hezbollah rockets into Israel
| | © AFP An Israeli police officer stands in front of a building damaged by rocket fire from southern Lebanon, in the town of Tira in central Israel, November 2, 2024 |
On Israel's northern front, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for rocket salvos on a military base near Tel Aviv and on locations in northern Israel.
While warning sirens sounded in Israel, at least 19 people were injured before dawn in Tira (center) by the fall of a projectile on a building which was gutted, authorities said of the interception of several rockets.
The Hezbollah shots came the day after Israeli strikes in the east and south of the country, as well as south and east of Beirut, which killed more than 50 people according to authorities. In the southern suburbs of Beirut, entire buildings have been transformed into piles of rubble.
On Saturday, the Israeli army again bombarded southern Lebanon, where its forces have been engaged in a ground offensive since September 30.
After a year of cross-border exchanges of fire, Israel intensified its strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon from September 23, saying it wanted to neutralize this movement in the border regions and prevent the firing of rockets to allow the return of 60,000 displaced people. in the north of the country.
At least 1,900 people have been killed since September 23 in Lebanon, according to an AFP count based on official data.
Iran VS Israel and United States
| | © KHAMENEI.IR/AFP A photo provided by the office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on November 2, 2024, shows him greeting the crowd during a meeting with Iranian students in Tehran |
In this explosive context, the United States announced new deployments in the Middle East, including means of defense against ballistic missiles, combat planes and B-52 bombers, which will arrive “in the coming months” for the “defense of Israel” and as a warning to Iran.
“The enemies, both the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel, editor’s note), must know that they will certainly receive a scathing response to their actions against Iran and the resistance front,” Ali Khamenei said the next day. .
The same day, pro-Iranian groups in Iraq claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Israel, which they said had intercepted them over the Red Sea.
| | © AFP Supporters of Yemen's Houthi rebels demonstrate against Israel in Sanaa, November 1, 2024 |
Concerning another ally of Iran, the Houthi rebels of Yemen, a UN expert report warned Friday that these insurgents are transforming into a “powerful military organization” extending its operational capabilities, thanks to military support “without precedent” of Iran and Hezbollah.
The Houthis have fired missiles at Israel since the start of the war, but the vast majority have been intercepted.
