Tensions are running high on Israel’s border with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, for fear that the volatile situation will once again spark into an all-out conflagration. A day after Palestinian Islamists launched some 45 rockets and mortar shells toward Israel’s southern communities, the IDF has reportedly deployed additional Iron Dome batteries to protect Israel’s communities. While the Israeli Air Force retaliated by targeting some 25 militant installations, military sources told TV7 that Hamas is in complete control of the height of the flames, as was the case since the last Gaza war in 2014. The military sources further accused Hamas of manipulating the acts of terrorism, including the use of incendiary kites and balloons, to suit its own purposes. Meanwhile, Hamas signaled to Israel that it has changed the so-called “rules of the game,” vowing to respond to any Israeli strike with a counterstrike of rockets and mortar shells toward Israel.” “The resistance message was very clear, that it will do its duty to defend our people, defend the Gaza Strip and its targets. It will not allow the occupation to be the only power to act in Gaza, nor to act on new rules in the conflict without expecting the resistance to respond. It is the resistance’s right to respond and for the occupation to keep on making these mistakes, it must deal with the results and the consequences,” Hamas Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.
Residents of southern Israel voiced their frustration at the current situation, accusing the international community and Israel’s government in Jerusalem of “sitting quiet,” while the Islamist organizations in Gaza continue to burn vast swathes of territory by means of incendiary kites and balloons. “Terrible night, terrifying night. Alarms, bombs, terrifying situation. Our children are scared, we are scared, we are already 85 days of burning all over the area. We are tired, but this is our life,” Sharon Kalderon, Resident of southern Israel said.
“Mixed feelings. On the one hand we are happy that nothing serious happened, no damages, no serious damages and no injuries, on the other hand it is frustrating to live in an area that again and again is being bombard by our neighbors and the government and the world sits quiet and doesn’t really do anything about it,” Eyal Brandeis, Resident of southern Israel said.
In response to the growing Israeli frustration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to step up the intensity vis-à-vis the acts of terror emanating from the Palestinian enclave, yet stopped short from going into details. “I do not intend to go into detail about what we are planning vis-à-vis Gaza. The intensity will be stepped up as necessary. We are prepared for any scenario and our enemies would do well to understand this – now,” Netanyahu said.
During Netanyahu’s address to the IDF officers’ course graduation ceremony, the Israeli leader took the opportunity underscore the source of Israel’s strength: aimed at ensuring the future of its people in its ancestral homeland. “The secret to the IDF’s strength lies in knowing what we are protecting. 70 years ago, we renewed our sovereign existence in our country. From a persecuted and wounded people, we have become a powerful nation, that is standing tall. The connection to our heritage gives us strength. To continue and fight for the perpetuation of Israel’s eternity. This is the goal and that is the purpose. To ensure the future of our people in its land,” Netanyahu said.
With regard to challenges faced on Israel’s northern frontier, the Prime Minister reiterated Jerusalem’s position, in which Israel will use all the tools at its disposal to thwart Iran’s military entrenchment in Syria. “Regarding the Syrian front, we are constantly working to prevent Iranian forces and their proxies from establishing a military presence there. We will not allow those who call for our destruction to turn Syria into a base for aggression against Israel. The iron fist of the IDF is powerfully striking whoever strives to attack us, and will continue to do so,” Netanyahu said.
The comments on Israel’s active policy to thwart Iran’s entrenchment in Syria came just several days after a U.S. official alleged that it was Israel that had conducted an aerial assault targeting positions of Iraqi factions along Syria’s eastern border-region, referring to the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces – a Shi’ite militia alliance that operates under the directives of the Quds Force, the elite-arm of Iran’s revolutionary guards. In response to the attack, which the U.S. rejected responsibility for, and Israel refused to confirm or deny its involvement; The Iraqi mobilization force released a statement in which it threatened to launch attacks against both Israel and the United States. The statement read: “This terrible crime will reopen the confrontation with the Zionist entity and the American project,” vowing that the Shi’ite militias “will not let the crime of targeting (their fighters) pass unnoticed,” and once they reveal who was behind the attack, the Shi’ite militias will mobilize to respond with force.