Israel Concerns about further war in the Middle East grow

There are growing signs that a major war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah may be imminent.

According to his office, Israel's Defense Minister Joav Galant said at a meeting with US mediator Amos Hochstein that the only way to ensure the return of fleeing Israeli citizens to their homes in the north would be "a military operation". During the night, Israel's security cabinet declared the return of the residents to be one of the goals of the war against Hamas, which is allied with Hezbollah, in the Gaza Strip. Israel will continue to work "towards the realization of this goal", the Prime Minister's Office announced.

So far, Israel's war aims have been to destroy the military capabilities and government apparatus of the Islamist Hamas, to free all hostages and to ensure that the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to Israel in future. The pro-Iranian Hezbollah has been firing at Israel since the beginning of the Gaza war almost a year ago. It does not want to silence the weapons until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

Israel demands Hezbollah withdrawal

Israel wants Hezbollah militiamen to withdraw to the area north of the Litani River, 30 kilometers from the border. Following the last major war with Israel in 2006, a UN resolution stipulated that Hezbollah fighters were not allowed to remain south of this line. However, the militiamen have gradually returned to the border area over the years, while UN peacekeepers have looked on impotently.

The pressure on Israel's right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow the tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to return to their homes is growing noticeably. Right-wing Israelis are calling for the Israeli security zone in southern Lebanon, which was evacuated in 2000, to be re-established for their protection.

US Secretary of State travels to Egypt

Against this backdrop, the US government is trying to revive talks on a ceasefire in Gaza - also in the hope that an agreement would pave the way for Israel and Hezbollah to de-escalate. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is now traveling to Egypt again to push ahead with the faltering efforts for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of hostages held by Hamas.

According to the US State Department, Blinken will hold talks with Egyptian government representatives from today until Thursday. Together with Egypt and Qatar, the USA is acting as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, as they do not negotiate directly with each other. According to media reports, Blinken will not be traveling to Israel this time. The USA is the Jewish state's most important ally.

USA seeks diplomatic solution

At his meeting with US mediator Hochstein, Israel's Defense Minister Galant said that the possibility of a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Hezbollah is receding ever further into the distance because the militia has linked its fate with Hamas and refuses to end the conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu also said at a meeting with Hochstein that the inhabitants of the border region could not return "without a fundamental change in the security situation in the north".

Hochstein has been trying for months to de-escalate the volatile situation on the border between Israel and Lebanon. According to Israeli and US media, Hochstein warned top Israeli politicians of the dangerous consequences of a major war, which could spread further into the region.

A diplomatic solution is "the best way" to ensure that citizens on both sides of the border can return to their homes, said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. They would "continue to push for a diplomatic solution", he said. "We fundamentally believe this is in the interest of all parties."

According to reports, Hezbollah has around 150,000 rockets, drones and cruise missiles. Compared to the last open war with Israel in 2006, it has thus expanded its arsenal around tenfold and, according to experts, could hit Israel much harder. Similar to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah has built an underground tunnel system in Lebanon from which the militiamen could conduct their battles. It could fire thousands of rockets at Israeli cities every day and take out important infrastructure. But such a war would have serious consequences not only for Israel, but also for Lebanon, which is economically and politically shaken.

Iran: Israel wants to involve us in a regional war

Iranian President Massud Peseschkian accuses Israel of wanting to drag his country into a regional war. He cited the killing of the foreign head of Hamas, Ismail Haniya, in the Iranian capital Tehran a good six weeks ago as the reason for this. "Israel is trying to involve us in a regional war by killing Hanija. We reserve the right to defend ourselves (...)", Peseshkian said at his first press conference after taking office.

He reiterated that the Islamic Republic was not seeking nuclear weapons and at the same time defended his country's missile program. "If we don't have missiles, they (Israel) will bomb us at any time, as they did in Gaza," said the head of government. "We will not give up our ability to defend ourselves."

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the USA and Israel have been considered arch-enemies of Tehran. Groups hostile to Israel, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, are supported by Tehran. Practically since the outbreak of the Gaza war almost a year ago, there has been a threat of conflagration in the region.

The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre of more than 1,200 people by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7 last year. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 41,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. The figure does not distinguish between civilians and fighters and is almost impossible to verify independently.

SDA