Iran yesterday warned Israel to stop its planned all out attack on Gaza otherwise the war might engulf other parts of the Middle East, especially if Hezbollah joins the battle.
Iran’s Hossein Amirabdollahian said the result for Israel would be ‘a huge earthquake.’
An unperturbed Israel said it was pressing ahead with its planned ‘joint and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land’ in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a field trip to see his soldiers massed near Gaza yesterday, said “the next stage is coming.”
Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut that Lebanon’s Hezbollah group had taken all the scenarios of a war into consideration and Israel should stop its attacks on Gaza as soon as possible.
Hezbollah fighters have been on full alert along Lebanon’s borders with Israel following the October 7 attack by Hamas.
Hezbollah said yesterday that its fighters carried out an attack on Zionist positions in the occupied Lebanese territories of Shebaa Farms.
It said: “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. [Permission to fight] has been given to those who are being fought because they were wronged, and indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory.
”At three-fifteen in the afternoon on Saturday, October 14, 2023, groups from the Islamic Resistance carried out an attack on Zionist positions in the occupied Lebanese territories of Shebaa Farms, including the Radar, Ruwaysat Al-Ilm, Samaka, Zabdeen, and Ramtha, using guided missiles and mortar shells.
“The attack resulted in precise and direct hits. Victory is from none but Allah, the Almighty, the Wise.”
Amirabdollahian during his Beirut visit yesterday discussed the situation in Gaza with the top Hamas official in exile, Saleh Arouri, and the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, Ziad Nakhaleh.
Amirabdollahian said he met Friday with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who briefed him on the group’s conditions in Lebanon.
“I know about the scenarios that Hezbollah has put in place,” Amirabdollahian said. “Any step the resistance (Hezbollah) will take will cause a huge earthquake in the Zionist entity.”
Israel: We’re poised to begin Gaza ground assault
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement yesterday that it was readying to “expand the offensive” by implementing a “wide range of offensive operational plans” including a “joint and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land’ at the expiration of a deadline for civilians to flee.
Netanyahu spent time during his visit to the Israeli troops to talk to them.
Israel announced it had killed two top Hamas commanders including Ali Qadi in a wave of airstrikes on the militant group.
Ali Qadi was arrested by Israel in 2005 for the kidnapping and murder of civilians before being released into the Gaza Strip as part of the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange.
Israel’s Air Force said he had led the ‘Nukhba’ commando force which gunned down Israeli civilians last Saturday. Officials revealed a black and white video of a massive explosion engulfing a Hamas base where he was said to be located.
Also killed was Murad Abu Murad, the leader of Hamas’ air forces.
IDF said the duo played a key part overseeing the October 7 attacks.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said yesterday that safe water supplies in Gaza had nearly run out.
“It has become a matter of life and death. It is a must; fuel needs to be delivered now into Gaza to make water available for two million people,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner-general, after Gaza’s water plant and public water networks stopped working.
“We need to truck fuel into Gaza now. Fuel is the only way for people to have safe drinking water. If not, people will start dying of severe dehydration, among them young children, the elderly and women. Water is now the last remaining lifeline. I appeal for the siege on humanitarian assistance to be lifted now,” added Mr Lazzarini.
The International Rescue Committee also warned: “This population is now under siege with no electricity, fuel, food, or water allowed in, or movement of people either in or out. Hospitals in Gaza are already struggling to cope with the level of injuries and shortages of supplies.
“When fuel reserves expire, doctors and nurses will be powerless to treat the sick and injured. Parents will run out of food and water for their children.
“International humanitarian law demands civilians have access to humanitarian support. Occupying powers have a responsibility to ensure adequate provision of the survival of the civilian population. The siege must be lifted. Hostages must be released. Human lives are not bargaining chips.”
Thousands of pro-Palestine supporters yesterday marched through London protesting the situation in Gaza
Palestine flags and supportive placards were waved as people chanted, with Metropolitan Police and community support officers stationed nearby.
More than 1,000 officers were deployed to police the protesters.
