By Athena Papakosta

The tour of the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken in the Middle East has ended. So is the visit of United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, US General Michael Kurila, who heads the Army’s Central Command and oversees US forces in the Middle East, and, of course, the President of the United States himself. , Joe Biden in Tel Aviv. Now the clock on Israel’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip is counting down again…

Early last night we heard Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallad hint that a ground invasion was imminent. Speaking to soldiers deployed on the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, Gallant said that “now you see Gaza from a distance” but “soon you will see her from the inside” adding that “the order will be given”.

The risk that the until moment local war to lead to a regional war remains. The United States has already warned Israel that its ground operation in the Gaza Strip could “wake up” Hezbollah and open a second front on the country’s northern border with Lebanon.

Returning from Israel and speaking to reporters from Air Force One, US President Joe Biden made it clear that Washington has not offered to send US forces to Israel in the event that the Lebanese Shiite armed group Hezbollah starts a war. However, without going into details, he emphasized that with the Israeli prime minister, they discussed this and the “alternatives” that exist. In particular, he emphasized that “our army is talking with their army about what alternatives exist”.

From the geopolitical entanglement, it is impossible to ignore the statements of the representative of the Israeli Armed Forces, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, who for the first time cast doubt on whether a ground invasion is inevitable. In more detail, a few 24 hours ago during the now regular press briefing, he had emphasized that “we are preparing for the next stages of the war. We haven’t said what those will be. Everyone is talking about the ground attack. It could be something different.”

Of course, at the same time, the Israeli armed forces are on full alert with at least 300,000 troops on the border with the Gaza Strip and the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to have committed – after the attack by Hamas on October 7 – to the elimination and crushing of the Islamic Palestinian organization.

Joe Biden called on Israel’s prime minister to avoid the mistakes the United States made after 9/11 22 years ago, explaining that a ground invasion could prompt Hezbollah to retaliate from southern Lebanon, create an unprecedented humanitarian crisis for which Israel will be held responsible while pointing out that there is no guarantee that it will succeed in crushing Hamas. Instead it will create a new generation of fighters in both Gaza and the West Bank.

According to security analysts cited by the Israeli media, any operational decision will be made in the coming days or even weeks it is no longer a decision of Israel alone, since President Biden was invited to personally participate in the War Cabinet on Wednesday.

The US Pentagon last night, Greek local time, confirmed that it will send to Israel tens of thousands of 155 mm artillery shells that were intended for Ukraine. At the same time, the American warship USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the 6th Fleet, is deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean, departing from the port of Gaeta in Italy to “support American operations.” At the same time, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Matt Miller, during a press conference, emphasized that Washington is in talks with Israel, Egypt and the UN to create safe zones for civilians inside Gaza, while, according to Egyptian media Update the Rafah border crossing, the only one not controlled by Israel, will open today Friday to allow humanitarian aid to pass through the Palestinian enclave that has been pounded by the Israeli army for 14 days.

As the Israel-Hamas war enters its 14th day and protests across the Arab world intensify against Israel, State Department issues ‘global warning’ in which he advises American citizens abroad to “be especially careful.” According to the announcement, this decision was made due to “increased tensions in various regions around the world” as well as “the possibility of terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against American citizens and interests.”

It is worth underlining that a similar announcement was issued in the past as in August 2022 when the USA killed the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zuhari in Afghanistan, in 2017 when Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and in 2003 immediately after the invasion of Iraq.
This week the State Department urged Americans not to travel to Lebanon. France, Canada, Australia and Spain have done the same, while Britain and Germany are calling on all citizens in Lebanon to leave.

Against the background of the war escalation in the Middle East Europe is already on alertwith European states on alert for possible terrorist attacks.