JERUSALEM – A clash of limited dimensions or a large-scale conflict capable of inflaming both Gaza and the Israeli territory? A little over a day into the Israeli operation Breaking Dawn, despite an already huge toll – dozens of targets hit by IDF aviation in the Strip, with over 120 injured and 15 dead, of some civilians, hundreds of rockets launched against Israeli territory, including Tel Aviv – this is the big question in the region and in the rest of the world. A question whose answer largely depends on what will be the attitude of Hamas, the organization that governs the coastal enclave, considered terrorist by Israel, the United States and the EU and which, as explicitly stated by Jerusalem, does not represent the objective of the current military action.
Israel launched the operation on Friday in the face of what Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz called “a real threat to the Israeli population” by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. On Monday, Israeli forces arrested a leader of the organization in the West Bank (on the list of terrorist groups also in the US and the EU) and Jihad promised it would react. Since then, Israeli villages located on the border with Gaza have been in a semi-lockdown situation. Until Israel decided to launch a preemptive strike, hitting numerous targets linked to the Jihad in the Strip and scoring, in the early hours of the operation, a big blow: the elimination of Tayseer Jabari, leader of the group in the area north of Gaza since 2019, when his predecessor Baha Abu al-Ata was killed by the Israelis. And that precedent may perhaps shed light on one of the possible scenarios for the current new chapter of the conflict. In that case, Islamic Jihad fired several hundred missiles against Israel, but Hamas did not take the field and the hostilities died down within two days. Another Jihad leader, Khaled Mansour, the equivalent of Jabari for the southern Strip, was also killed yesterday.
Israeli Arabs, the new powder keg is the home front
at Yossi Melman
While sharing the common goal of eliminating Israel, the two organizations remain distinct and in many ways rivals: if Hamas also faces the challenge of governing Gaza, Jihad does not have this type of responsibility and is instead fully supported. by the Iranians. Not surprisingly, Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhalah is visiting Tehran, where he has received the full support of the Ayatollah regime.
“Israel will pay dearly” thundered during the meeting the leader of the Revolutionary Guards Salami. A weakening of the Jihad could even play games for Hamas, analysts note. But if the violence escalates, even the group – which so far has limited itself to belligerent but ambiguous statements – will likely be forced to react.
Gaza, Israel raid against Islamic Jihad. Killed a commander. The Palestinians: “10 victims, even a child”. Gantz recalls 25,000 reservists
at Rossella Tercatin
To avoid this scenario, several mediators are at work, primarily Egypt, which is trying to persuade the parties to reach an immediate ceasefire. The US administration has expressed full support for Israel and its right to self-defense, but has also reiterated that it is working with all partners “to avoid an escalation”. In the first 36 hours of the conflict, over 350 rockets were launched into Israeli territory, the majority of which landed in open space or were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system. However, the sirens continued to sound incessantly in all the main centers of the south, starting with the cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod, sending the Israelis to air-raid shelters also in Tel Aviv. A missile hit a house in the town of Sderot, without causing victims. In all, the wounded would be about twenty, all minor. Israeli raids in the Strip – which hit weapons depots and factories, as well as terrorist cells ready to act – resulted in at least 24 deaths, according to Palestinian sources, including several civilians. “The leaders of Islamic Jihad enjoy life abroad in restaurants and hotels in Tehran, Syria and Lebanon. They are disconnected from the Palestinian people and seriously damage the lives of the people of Gaza, ”said Defense Minister Gantz. “Our operational activities against the perpetrators of the terrorist acts will continue and intensify.”
In the meantime, the Jewish people commemorate the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem first by the Babylonians and then by the Romans, with the fasting day of the 9 of Av, a recurrence that some choose to celebrate by visiting what according to Jewish tradition is the Mount of Temple and for Islam the Esplanade of the Mosques. A place at the center of strong tensions: the truce that many are hoping for could be postponed.