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The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain

Battles rage as Israel threatens Lebanon

by our Arab Affairs correspondent

Fighting continues across the Gaza Strip despite an Israeli “tactical pause” in parts of southern Gaza allegedly to free up a backlog of humanitarian aid deliveries destined for desperate Palestinians trapped in their beleaguered enclave.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the country’s war cabinet following the resignations of former allies, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot. But he continues to defy UN calls to end the fighting as his hard-line Zionist supporters clamour for an all-out attack on the Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon.

In Tel Aviv, Netanyahu’s people say Israel is ready for an “all-out war” in Lebanon and has plans approved for an offensive targeting Hezbollah, the south Lebanese resistance movement that has carried out more than 2,000 military operations against the Zionist entity since October in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle.

Hezbollah’s leaders say that the Israelis are in for a “surprise” if they send their troops over the northern border. And to show they mean business Hezbollah, which largely represents Lebanon’s Shia Muslim community, has released drone footage of key targets in Haifa including arms factories, missile defence batteries and the docks. The Hezbollah drone exposed the weaknesses of the Zionists’ much vaunted air-defences as it roamed undetected over Israel’s major port and the release of the nine-minutes of footage over the key Israeli port was a clear warning to Israel of the risks of escalation.

Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, said: “The enemy knows it must expect us on land, in the air, and at sea, and if war is imposed, the resistance will fight without constraints, rules, or limits,” adding that “there will be no place safe from our missiles and drones.” The current confrontation is the “greatest battle since 1948” when the first Arab–Israeli war began and it “will change the face of the region and shape its future”.

More than 400 people have been killed by Israeli fire in southern Lebanon over the past eight months. Some 25 Israelis have been killed in reprisal attacks and over 70,000 Israelis from 28 northern towns and villages have been evacuated from the border area since the start of the current conflict in October.

Meanwhile Israel’s military spokesman has publicly questioned Netanyahu’s stated goal of destroying Hamas for the war to end. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told Israel’s Channel 13 broadcaster on Wednesday that the task was impossible and simply wrong. “This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear – it’s simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” he said. “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people – whoever thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong.”

This week the Israeli ministry of military affairs confirmed that the number of wounded Israeli soldiers has surpassed the 70,000 mark for the first time, adding that 8,663 troops have also been injured since the start of the war on Gaza. The report revealed by the rehabilitation division of the Israeli ministry said that 35 per cent of those wounded since the start of the Gaza massacre are struggling with mental health conditions, while 21 per cent sustained physical injuries.