Former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett has been all over US media calling for an attack on Iran and assassinating Hamas leaders. But his views are fascistic. He praises war and how it transforms society, saying that World War II made the U.S. an economic power and October 7 will restore Israeli toughness and patriotism.
In a strident speech on August 1, Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah said that the fighting with Israel has “entered a new phase” that goes “beyond supporting Gaza,” vowing an “inevitable” response to Israel’s Beirut bombing.
Israel’s assassination of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders doesn’t aim to weaken the resistance. Its real motive is to restore the image of military and intelligence superiority in the eyes of the Israeli public.
Israel assassinated Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran after a series of mounting regional tensions that included unprecedented Israeli attacks on the “Axis of Resistance,” including airstrikes on Beirut and Yemen.
For some in Iran, the West’s relentless punishment has weakened the revolutionary fires of 1979. But for countless others, they are being rekindled by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
Ansar Allah official Nasr al-Din Amer rejects the notion the Yemeni movement is simply a proxy for Iran and says its maritime blockade of Israel in the Red Sea is meant to lift the siege on Gaza and has the overwhelming support of the Yemeni people.
Israel will likely use its limited attack on Iran to win a green light from the Biden administration to invade Rafah. While the muted response might have hopefully avoided a regional war, the price could be paid in Palestinian blood.
Israel targets Iranian bases in Isfahan with drones, while Iranian sources say air defenses intercepted the attack. Meanwhile, Gaza’s health ministry says the northern Gaza Strip is left without any health services.
On Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, rights groups report at least 5,000 Palestinians have been detained from Gaza since October 7, and at least 16 Palestinians have died in Israeli detention amid unprecedentedly inhumane conditions.
Israel’s indifference to international law is destabilizing the Middle East, even establishment voices say. The head of the Center for American Progress, a Democratic Party thinktank, says Israel is not a democracy and peace will only be possible if Palestinians have equal rights.