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Israel Prepares to Face 'Two Busy Months'

Israeli security forces stand at the site where an Israeli was wounded in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli Police said, March 18, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Israeli security forces stand at the site where an Israeli was wounded in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli Police said, March 18, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Israel Prepares to Face 'Two Busy Months'

Israeli security forces stand at the site where an Israeli was wounded in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli Police said, March 18, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Israeli security forces stand at the site where an Israeli was wounded in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli Police said, March 18, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The Israeli Army and Security Forces (Shabak) are preparing to face tension in the Palestinian territories, as the coming months will witness “many inciting events,” according to Israeli military sources.
 
The sources hinted at the possibility of the emergence of a “mini-popular uprising”, in which violent clashes could erupt.
 
They enumerated a list of events in the upcoming months, most notably the commemoration of Earth Day on March 30, the beginning of the Hebrew Passover the following day, in addition to the Prisoner Day on April 17, during which activities are held in every town and village in solidarity with the prisoners. Two days later, Israel commemorates the 70th “founding anniversary” with extended celebrations, and on May 13, it celebrates what it calls the “Jerusalem Liberation Day” and organizes marches inside the walls of the Old City.
 
On May 14, the US State Department will officially transfer its embassy from Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem, as previously announced. On the same day, the Palestinians would commemorate Al-Nakba, and then comes the holy month of Ramadan.
 
The area is expected to witness escalated tensions, according to Israeli security leaders, who are monitoring a large number of planned or anticipated Palestinian events, such as mass rallies organized by Hamas along the border fence towards the end of March.
 
In press remarks on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman alleged that the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas “is deliberately provoking a war between Israel and Hamas.”
 
According to the sources, Israel will be requested not only to increase readiness and vigilance on the Gaza border, but also to make initial decisions to try to avoid confrontations, and to determine the extent to which it would intensify the response to attacks from the Gaza Strip. The situation in Gaza will also be affected by events in the West Bank.
 
During this period, coordination with the Palestinian Authority’s security services will also be crucial. It will not only help stop operations, but also prevent mass events that could ignite the region.

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Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
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Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the group's heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with ceasefire efforts to halt the all-out war.

Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said.  

The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military's operations are directed solely against the fighters.

Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

Hezbollah fires rockets after strikes on Beirut  

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several top commanders.

The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including a 60-year old man in severe condition from rocket fire on northern Israel, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast in the central city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and a 70-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire there.  

In Haifa, a rocket hit a residential building that police said was in danger of collapsing.

The Palestine Red Crescent reported 13 injuries it said were caused by an interceptor missile that struck several homes in Tulkarem in the West Bank. It was unclear whether the injuries and damage elsewhere were caused by rockets or interceptors.

Sirens wailed again in central and northern Israel hours later.

Israeli airstrikes without warning on Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel's military said it targeted Hezbollah command centers in the southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, where the group has a strong presence.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

EU envoy calls for pressure to reach a truce  

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week.

The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for more pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was "pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.”

Josep Borrell spoke after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group.

Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208 million) to assist the Lebanese military, which would deploy additional forces to the south.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the monthlong 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol with the presence of UN peacekeepers.