The escalation of violence between Israel and Hezbollah shows no signs of abating on the day US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits the Jewish state. In the early hours of the morning, the Shiite group operating in southern Lebanon attacked the Israeli army's northern command center in Safed for the first time with explosive drones. A response to the targeted killing yesterday of the deputy commander of the elite forces of the Party of God, Wissam al-Tawil, which, according to the IDF, caused no casualties or damage but was painful. Shortly thereafter came the Israeli counter-reaction: three more Hezbollah militiamen were killed in targeted attacks in southern Lebanon. According to local media, one of them is Ali Hussein Barji, the commander of the Hezbollah Air Force. He was hit by an Israeli drone while traveling in Khirbet Selm, shortly before al-Tawil's funeral began. As usual, Israel neither confirmed nor denied the incident. The IDF announced that nine soldiers died and eight others were injured in Gaza yesterday in three separate episodes of war. This was one of the bloodiest days for Israeli forces in Gaza since the invasion began.
Blinken's mission
The US Secretary of State is currently speaking with the top leaders of the Jewish state, starting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the height of his mission in the Middle East, which has already taken him to Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar and Arabia in recent days. Saudi Arabia. The focus of all meetings was the fate of the Gaza war and the scenario of a possible expansion of the conflict in the region. “Preventing further harm to civilians is a priority,” Blinken told Netanyahu, according to the State Department spokesman in Tel Aviv. Yesterday evening, immediately after landing in Tel Aviv, Blinken had already emphasized in his first talks with the Israeli leadership that the window of opportunity for normalizing relations with neighboring Arab countries remained open, provided Israel was able to pave the way towards the creation of a Palestinian state. The right wing of Netanyahu's ruling coalition seems to have something else in mind, as Itamar Ben Gvir reminded him today: “This is not the time to talk kindly to Hamas, but to hit them with the big stick.” But At the same time In the last 24 hours, Israel has given the US government at least two important signals. Yesterday, the IDF spokesman announced that the war in Gaza had now entered a “new phase” with less intense fighting, while this morning Israeli forces cleared and destroyed a number of illegal outposts operating near the colony Pney Kedem, not far from Bethlehem, were built. An operation that drew protests from the far-right part of the government majority but was claimed by Defense Minister Gallant, who said he personally ordered it.
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