Missile alerts rang out in the early hours of the morning in cities as officials say Iran is extremely nervous in anticipation of retaliation.
The battles on the border Israel-Lebanon continue with Iran from his side to expect retaliation from Israel from day to day. Rocket alarms were sounded in the early hours of the morning in the western Galilee towns of Hila and Mi’ilya while the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Friday that an Israeli military (IDF) bulldozer crashed into barriers at the 1-31 location of UN near the Blue Line in Labbouneh and IDF tanks moved close to the UN position. In recent hours, Israel’s actions against UN peacekeepers have angered the US, but also other European countries, such as France, Italy and Spain, which in a joint statement condemned Israel’s actions, saying they are unjustified and must be terminated immediately.
At least 60 people were killed and 168 injured in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours in various parts of Lebanon on Friday as rocket attacks continued. Lebanese authorities recorded 57 airstrikes in various parts of the country, most of them near the border with Israel, in the southern suburbs of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley (east).
Awaiting retaliation
At the same time, however, sources specialized in the matter told CNN that the government of Iran it is extremely nervous and has engaged in urgent diplomatic efforts with Middle Eastern countries to assess whether they can scale back Israel’s response to its missile attack earlier this month and – failing that – help protect Tehran.
The concern of Iran it stems from uncertainty on whether the US can convince Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear facilities and oil facilities and the fact that its most important militia in the region, Hezbollah, has been significantly weakened by Israeli military operations in recent weeks, the sources said.
Efforts to de-escalate
The US, for its part, is consulting with Israel on how it plans to respond to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack, and US officials have made clear they do not want Israel to target Iranian nuclear facilities or oil fields. The president of the USA Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Wednesday, in their first conversation in nearly two months, telling him that Israel’s retaliation must be “proportionate.”
Also, the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed hope for a diplomatic solution in Lebanon and preventing a wider conflict.
Although Blinken says Israel, which has carried out widespread and deadly strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, “has the right to defend itself” against the terrorist group, he says he is concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation.
“We continue to be intensively engaged to prevent wider conflicts in the region,” he told reporters after the East Asia Summit in Laos.
“We all have a strong interest in trying to help create an environment in which people can go back to their homes, their safety and security, kids can go back to school,” he said.
“So Israel has a clear and very legitimate interest in doing this. The people of Lebanon want the same thing. We believe that the best way to get there is through a diplomatic settlement, one that we have been working towards for some time and that we are currently focusing on,” he concluded.
US allies in the Gulf, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, have also expressed concern to the US about a possible attack on Iran’s oil facilities, which could create negative economic and environmental impacts for the entire region, an Arab diplomat said. CNN.
An important part of the fears is that US influence in Israel appears to have been steadily declining over the past year. Similarly, with its operations in Gaza, Israel is increasingly ignoring US pleas for more restraint in Lebanon, where Israel’s continued shelling and ground offensive have killed more than 1,400 people since late last month.
Israel also did not consult with the US before carrying out the massive attack that detonated thousands of suicide bombers targeting members of Hezbollah last month, or before killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut and overturning a delicate ceasefire proposal that had been put forward from the US and France less than 48 hours earlier.
However, Israel’s security cabinet has yet to reach a decision on how to proceed with retaliation against Iran, an Israeli official told CNN on Friday. And while the gap between US and Israeli positions is narrowing, it may not stay that way, a US official said. Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallad has warned Iran about his country’s response on Wednesday, however, saying the retaliation will be “strong, precise and above all – surprise.” They won’t understand what happened and how it happened.”
Source :Skai
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