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Israeli Intelligence Expects War that 'No One Wants'

Two Israeli soldiers react during an army operation near Nablus. (AFP)
Two Israeli soldiers react during an army operation near Nablus. (AFP)
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Israeli Intelligence Expects War that 'No One Wants'

Two Israeli soldiers react during an army operation near Nablus. (AFP)
Two Israeli soldiers react during an army operation near Nablus. (AFP)

The Military Intelligence Division of the Israeli Army (Aman) saw that the possibility of war breaking out in the region has increased over the past months.

In a report issued on Tuesday and published by Haaretz, Aman considered that the current escalation during the month of Ramadan stemmed from three central developments that led to changes in Israel’s strategic environment. Those include decline of American interest in developments in the Middle East, Iran’s self-confidence through attempts to challenge Israel directly, and increasing instability within the Palestinian arena.

The military editor of Haaretz, Amos Harel, indicated that the cooling of relations with Washington began to affect the military field.

He noted that although the Israeli army boasts of close relations with the US Army Central Command (CENTCOM), the prevailing impression is that the Americans were less enthusiastic about Israel’s sharing of intelligence information and operational plans.

The report considered that the leaders in Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas were not interested in a confrontation with Israel, and they expressed this position in various means and messages.

However, they are taking unprecedented military steps and operations that “could set the region on fire,” according to the report.

In fact, Iran and its proxies believe that the massive demonstrations taking place in Tel Aviv in protest against a plan to weaken the judiciary, tension with the Palestinians, and the disagreements with the US administration, were all signs of Israel’s increasing vulnerability.

While the report underlined that the chances of war breaking out were not great, because “no one wants it”, it stressed that the region could be dragged into war because of the temptations offered by the internal Israeli crisis.

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Tanker with Jet Fuel Cargo Ablaze after Collision with Container Ship off UK Coast

A vessel waits by the quayside at the Port of Grimsby, after a fuel tanker, operated by US company Crowley and owned by Stena, and a container vessel named Solong were involved in a collision off the coast of northeast England, in Grimsby, Britain, March 10, 2025. (Reuters)
A vessel waits by the quayside at the Port of Grimsby, after a fuel tanker, operated by US company Crowley and owned by Stena, and a container vessel named Solong were involved in a collision off the coast of northeast England, in Grimsby, Britain, March 10, 2025. (Reuters)
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Tanker with Jet Fuel Cargo Ablaze after Collision with Container Ship off UK Coast

A vessel waits by the quayside at the Port of Grimsby, after a fuel tanker, operated by US company Crowley and owned by Stena, and a container vessel named Solong were involved in a collision off the coast of northeast England, in Grimsby, Britain, March 10, 2025. (Reuters)
A vessel waits by the quayside at the Port of Grimsby, after a fuel tanker, operated by US company Crowley and owned by Stena, and a container vessel named Solong were involved in a collision off the coast of northeast England, in Grimsby, Britain, March 10, 2025. (Reuters)

A tanker carrying jet fuel was ablaze and leaking in the North Sea off northeast England after a collision with a cargo vessel on Monday, with more than 30 crew sent to hospital.

The coastguard agency said a helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft, lifeboats and nearby vessels with firefighting capability had all been called to the incident to help.

Thirty-two casualties were brought ashore with ambulances waiting to take them to hospital in Grimsby, the chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East said via email. It was not clear how severe their condition was.

The vessels involved are the US-flagged 49,729 deadweight tonnage (dwt) tanker Stena Immaculate and the Portuguese-flagged 9,322 dwt container ship Solong. The tanker is one of 10 in a US government program designed to supply the armed forces with fuel when required.

Television images from the BBC showed at least one vessel ablaze with clouds of black smoke billowing into a grey sky.

The Stena Immaculate and Solong were alongside each other off the coast, according to the last AIS ship tracking position update at 1034 GMT, LSEG shipping data showed.

Stena said its tanker was operated by US logistics group Crowley. Crowley wrote on X that the tanker, carrying a cargo of Jet-A1 fuel, was struck by the Solong while anchored near Hull off the North Sea coast.

"The Stena Immaculate sustained a ruptured cargo tank," Crowley said.

"A fire occurred as a result of the allision and fuel was reported released," the company said, referring to when one vessel is stationary.

The crew of the Stena Immaculate abandoned the vessel following multiple explosions onboard and all mariners were safe and accounted for, Crowley said.

"The Stena vessel is a products tanker. Pollution risk less than if it were a crude carrier," one insurance specialist said.

"A lot depends really on cargo carried, how many tanks were breached and how bad the fire is."

It was too early to assess the extent of any environmental damage, a spokesperson with environmental group Greenpeace said.

"The magnitude of any impact will depend on a number of factors, including the amount and type of oil carried by the tanker, the fuel carried by both ships, and how much of that, if any, has entered the water," the Greenpeace spokesperson said.

"Sea and weather conditions will also be important in determining how any spill behaves."

The incident occurred in a busy stretch of waterway, with traffic running from the ports along Britain's northeast coast to the Netherlands and Germany, shipping industry sources said.

"There were reports that a number of people had abandoned the vessels following a collision and there were fires on both ships," the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a lifeboat service working on the emergency response, said.

Maritime analytics website Marine Traffic said the 183-meter-long Stena Immaculate was anchored off Immingham, northeast England, when it was struck by the 140-meter-long Solong, which was en route to Rotterdam.

Ship insurer Skuld of Norway would only confirm that the Solong was covered with it for protection & indemnity (P&I), a segment of insurance that covers environmental damage and crew injuries or fatalities.

Solong's manager, Hamburg-based Ernst Russ, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Stena Immaculate's P&I insurer, which was listed as Steamship, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The United Nations shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, said it was aware of the situation.