Simmering tensions stoked in the Middle East by the war in Gaza are intensifying, after Israel warned that skirmishes along the Lebanese border could not continue and the Houthi militia in Yemen followed through on threats to intensify its attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Israeli army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said during a visit to the northern border with Lebanon that continued violence by the powerful Hezbollah militia, backed by the Iran, risked pushing its forces to bring a “very clear change” in the confrontation. .
“In the south as in the north, we must first return to a different situation, and regain both security and a sense of security,” the general said on Sunday during a visit to soldiers along the border.
The general did not indicate how Israel would achieve this goal. The Israeli military has sought to focus on its goals in the Gaza war – freeing hostages and destroying Hamas – rather than diverting troops needed to open a second front. But his comments are a final reminder of how the fighting in Gaza threatens to draw in neighboring countries as it stretches into its third month.
In a show of solidarity with Hamas, which is also backed by Iran, Hezbollah has launched repeated missile and drone attacks on military bases and other targets in Israel, forcing the evacuation of civilians.
The skirmishes “must end with a very, very clear change in the situation,” General Halevi said in a statement. video recording released by the military.
Although Israel and Hezbollah have launched tit-for-tat strikes across the border, both are wary of the fighting spreading. A senior Hezbollah official, Sayyed Hachem Safieddine, said Monday that some delegations were “foolishly” encouraging Hezbollah to expand confrontations with Israel.
Elias Hanna, a retired Lebanese general, said Hezbollah had fired larger missiles in recent weeks as a warning, what he called “a rational policy aimed at annoying but not waging a war on its own.” full part”.
Both sides are aware of an established choreography, analysts note, but an errant shell or other mistake can trigger a larger conflict and several incidents have come dangerously close. After Hezbollah increased the size of its weapons, Israeli airstrikes in recent days have been the most concentrated yet, General Hanna said.
HA Hellyer, a nonresident scholar on Middle East politics at the Carnegie Endowment, said “nobody wants an escalation” or for the fighting to spill over into a regional conflict. “Few actors think it’s a good idea because the costs would be enormous,” he said, but added that the calculations can change as violence escalates anywhere in the world. region.
Another Iranian-backed militia, the Houthis in Yemen, threatened over the weekend to step up attacks on Israel-bound ships transiting the Red Sea. The French Navy said on Sunday that one of its frigates had shot down two drones fired from Yemen.
The Houthis had previously threatened Israeli ships, but in a statement posted on social media on Saturday, Yahya Sarea, the militia’s spokesperson, said they would intensify their attacks to “prevent the passage of ships sailing to Israel.” , regardless of their nationality, unless Gaza received badly needed food and medicine.
Houthi fighters already hold a commercial ship, the Galaxy Leader, hijacked last month with its 25-member crew. None of the crew are Israeli, according to Galaxy Maritime, which owns the ship, although an Israeli billionaire, Rami Ungar, at one point exercised control of the company.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, repeated attempts by the Houthis to strike Israel with rocket or drone attacks from Yemen have been thwarted by either the Israeli army or the US Navy.
As Israel and its allies resist pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza – the United States on Friday vetoed the latest attempt by the United Nations Security Council to demand a truce – the Global pressure to end the war is increasing.
In the West Bank, residents called for a general strike on Monday to protest the war and the US veto of the UN resolution. Public facilities in Lebanon were closed and some Jordanian unions and economic sectors also went on strike, as part of a day of civil disobedience called by activists to press for a ceasefire in Gaza .
Saed Alan, a butcher in Ramallah, said he felt closing his shop was the least he could do in solidarity with Palestinians suffering in Gaza. He said West Bank residents were glued to news of the war all day but felt helpless.
“They say we live in the Holy Land, but on the contrary we feel like we live in a land of violence and hatred,” he said.
Rami Nazzal contributed reporting from Ramallah. Euan district And Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon.
