The Israeli Security Cabinet will convene before noon today, Monday, to consider the new escalation amid anticipation and questioning: Is this a limited exchange of fire or the beginning of a new war, amid criticism from observers in Israel about the way it manages wars on bleeding fronts.
The Israeli Air Force had twice bombed several targets in western and central Iran in response to Iranian missiles fired toward the north of the country the previous night, and Iran responded again with a barrage of missiles on the south of the country, with no injuries reported.
Hebrew radio quoted an Israeli security source as saying that Israel is preparing for a round of fire exchange that will last several days, and recalled that the wave of escalation began days after Trump announced understandings to stop the fighting on the Lebanese front.
Netanyahu ordered the army to target the southern suburbs of Beirut due to significant internal pressure resulting from the killing and wounding of a large number of Israeli soldiers.
She said the escalation began after Netanyahu instructed the army to target the southern suburbs of Beirut due to significant internal pressure resulting from the killing and wounding of a large number of Israeli soldiers, and as part of an attempt to pressure Hezbollah by putting pressure on Lebanon and the Lebanese through the bombing in Beirut.
Yesterday, the Israeli army bombed a “military target” in the suburbs under the pretext that Hezbollah had tried to target settlements in the Galilee with missiles, but the real objective is to try to stop the costly war of attrition in the south and to look for points of pressure on the Lebanese side, where there is Israeli superiority through the air force.
Israeli ambassador to Washington
Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yehiel Leiter, commented that Israel attacked surface-to-surface missile launch sites and infrastructure in Iran after it fired 11 ballistic missiles last night at Israel, claiming that each one was capable of destroying an entire neighborhood and killing hundreds.
Targeting American ears, Leiter claimed that no self-respecting country would tolerate such an attack, noting that Israel directed its strikes at military targets and did not hit energy facilities.
In the first official Israeli comment on the new exchange, Culture Minister Miki Zohar said he congratulates Prime Minister Netanyahu on the attacks carried out in Iran last night.
Zohar continued in a populist and arrogant tone: “In the Middle East, they only understand the language of force and power, and it is good that we have proven that Israel will not remain silent in the face of the aggression of the mullahs’ regime.”
Cabinet member Minister Ze'ev Elkin told Tel Aviv radio this morning that when Iran attacks Israel, it responds in a painful way, noting that any sovereign state behaves in this manner.
He said that Israel is bombing Iran according to a pre-prepared plan that included bombing a petrochemical plant and military targets in Tehran.
When asked whether the Israeli attack in Iran was coordinated with the United States, Elkin said: “I prefer not to comment on that,” adding only: “There is an ongoing dialogue with Washington and we have good relations with them. We are a sovereign state and we do not need to obtain approval from the Americans, but we are in dialogue with them.”
In contrast, the head of the “Democrats” party, reserve general Yair Golan, attacked the occupation government, saying that it was not authorized to drag Israel into a new war.
He attacked Netanyahu, saying that Israel’s enemies perceive weakness in Israel under his leadership, noting that despite military gains, they see a weak and failing Israeli leader.
He continued: “There is a series of failures, a lack of diplomatic resolve, and a policy of personal whims running the war. Israel has turned itself into a pariah state and must show readiness for a political settlement.”
Golan also pointed the finger at Netanyahu for pushing for an escalation in Lebanon in order to escape the elections, predicting that these will take place on schedule and that the current government will be replaced.
Calm for calm
Former Israeli national security advisor, reserve general Giora Eiland, said that Iran senses American weakness, and therefore it is threatening and becoming more daring.
Iran senses American weakness, and therefore it is threatening and becoming more audacious.
Regarding the Lebanese front, Eiland said that if Hezbollah strikes Israeli settlements, the southern suburbs of Beirut, and indeed all of Beirut, should be targetednot just a symbolic strike. But the goal now should be calm for calm at the current stage.
He continued in this regard: “There should be a mutual ceasefire with a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the south and the entry of the Lebanese army in its place, while negotiations with Lebanon continue.”
In response to a question from the official Hebrew radio station about returning to the pre-October 7 doctrine (calm for calm), Eiland justified his call by saying that the residents of the north want calm because they are exhausted, unlike in the past when they told the government: Strike Hezbollah and solve the problem at its roots, and we are ready to be patient and pay the price.
He added: “If you are able to defend a six-kilometer-wide security zone in exchange for Hezbollah’s commitment to a ceasefire, this will be a good deal for Israel, which must simultaneously continue the dialogue with the Beirut government.”
Ailand accused Netanyahu of wanting to embark on a new adventure in Gaza in violation of an international agreement, and continued: “Netanyahu has previously said that he wants to control 70% of the sector without specifying the goal of such a move.”
Calculated escalation
The latest round of escalation indicates that neither the Iranian nor the Israeli side wants to break the rules of the game. The Iranian missiles are limited in number and not dangerous cluster missiles, while Israel has targeted Iranian sites symbolically.
Both sides are seeking to establish a mutual deterrence equation or a balance of mutual terror by fire.
After Israel struck the southern suburbs of Beirut, likely in secret coordination with Trump, driven by several calculations, Iran directed the missiles again towards it, but they are addressed to Lebanon and the region as well, not just to Israel.
Despite this, and because of it, Israeli observers direct various criticisms at the occupation government and its management of the endless wars.
Ben Caspit, a political analyst for Israel's Channel 12, believes that everyone who called for an attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut is now not claiming that Iran retaliated.
In an article published in the Maariv newspaper, Ben Caspit continued his criticism: “This is the game. We attack and we get hit, and that’s not all. When national security is allocated to the benefit of the president of a foreign state, this is what the picture looks like. How sad that, after three years of declaring victory and boasting of absolute victory, we find that it is Iran that starts with the opening strike in the third round and not Israel.”
As Ben Caspit says, after endless statements and threats and long weeks of bombing in the north, the strike in the suburbs was “limited,” similar to targeting sand dunes inside Gaza in Netanyahu’s previous years in power before October 7.Iran's missiles are practically a blow to America and a way of holding it responsible for Israel's attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Is Netanyahu dragging Trump into a new war?
Haaretz military analyst Amos Harel does not rule out that Netanyahu, who is eager to renew large-scale fighting, will drag America into a new war, contrary to Trump’s declared positions.
Harel says that Iran's missiles reflect the growing self-confidence of its leaders that they can pressure the US president and push him into a settlement that suits them.
His colleague, Dr. Zvi Bar-El, the newspaper's Middle East affairs analyst, believes that Iran's missiles are practically a blow to America and a way of holding it responsible for Israel's attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
He said that Israel is playing into Iran's hands and helping it to unify the battlefields because it continues to violate the ceasefire agreement.
He continued: “Iran wants to link the two fronts on the ground.”
Many in Israel are also wondering: Is this a limited round of fighting or the beginning of a third war with Iran?
It appears that the decision is still in the hands of the US president, who is being driven by domestic and foreign considerations to move forward with negotiations with Iran.
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