HEZBOLLAH HITS ISRAELI TROOPS AS DECISION ON IRAN EXPECTED
▶ UK and German foreign ministers in Israel to press for non-escalatory response to Tehran’s air attack
Hezbollah attack on northern Israel wounded 14 Israeli soldiers yesterday.
The Iran-backed Lebanese militia said it attacked a headquarters building in the Bedouin village of Arab Al Aramshe, just inside Israel.
Six of the 14 were severely wounded, two suffered moderate injuries and six were lightly injured, the Israeli army said.
Hezbollah said the attack, which involved guided missiles and drones, was in retaliation for Israel’s “assassination of a number of resistance fighters” the day before.
Israel killed a senior field commander and two fighters in the Lebanese towns of Ain Baal and Shehabieh.
Israel said it had killed Muhammad Shahouri, who it called a senior commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, and Ismail Yousef Baz, who it said was commander of the “coastal sector”.
Hezbollah confirmed their deaths without elaborating.
The attack came as representatives of Israel’s European allies arrived in an effort to persuade the Israeli leadership against escalating its conflict with Iran.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made a joint visit yesterday.
“It’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act,” Lord Cameron said in Jerusalem.
“We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this [situation] as possible.”
Britain wanted to see co-ordinated sanctions against Iran, he said, hours after the US said it would impose more sanctions on Tehran in the coming days.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog met Lord Cameron and Ms Baerbock and called on the world to act “decisively and defiantly” against Iran. Tehran “is seeking to undermine the stability of the whole region”, the President’s office said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also met both ministers and thanked their countries for their support.
Britain and Jordan were among the countries that sent planes to help the Israeli air force shoot down the more than 300 missiles and drones launched by Iran on Saturday.
“Jordan’s security and sovereignty are above all considerations,” the Royal Hashemite Court quoted King Abdullah II as saying this week.
“Jordan will not be a battlefield for any party.”
While some in the Israeli war cabinet are reported to be pushing Mr Netanyahu to secure the support of Israel’s allies before any attack on Iran, other ministers are eager for an immediate strike.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel alone would decide how to respond to Iran, despite “all sorts of suggestions and advice” from its allies.
Iran yesterday said an Israeli attack would be met with a “severe response”.
The escalation between Israel and Iran has shifted the global spotlight away from Gaza, where Israel continued to carry out strikes yesterday.
Negotiations for a ceasefire have stalled, Qatar has said.
Two sources told The National that the months-long indirect talks between Israel and Hamas were on hold.
Israel has withdrawn most of its ground forces from Gaza after they left Gaza city and Khan Younis in ruins.
Israeli said it planned to launch an offensive against the southern city of Rafah, where about 1.5 million people are thought to be taking shelter.
The Israeli military campaign has failed in its objective to free the remaining 130 hostages of the 240 taken by Hamas in October.
The death toll in Gaza has risen to about 38,900 after 56 people were killed in 24 hours, the enclave’s Health Ministry said yesterday.
Seven people were killed, including four children, in an attack on Rafah, while two others died in a strike on Gaza city’s Shujaiya neighbourhood, news agency Wafa reported.
Attacks were also reported across Gaza city, including in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, Salah Al Din Street, and the Abu Bakr Al Siddiq mosque in Al Sabra.
The enclave remains in a dire humanitarian situation, despite some food items appearing on markets for the first time in six months.
Yesterday, the UN launched an appeal for $2.8 billion to support Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Ninety per cent of the money will go to Gaza, an official said.
The original request was for $4 billion, “but considering the limited ability to deliver and the space that we have to do so, we have really focused on the highest priority”, said Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The appeal will cover humanitarian needs for the rest of this year.
Also yesterday, Mr Netanyahu approved a five-year, $5 billion plan to rebuild and strengthen Israeli communities attacked on October 7, when Hamas killed about 1,200 people.
He said his government would invest the funds in housing, infrastructure, education, employment, health care and other areas.
Netanyahu says action against Tehran is matter for Israel despite suggestions and advice from its allies