Photo: Flames seen at the side of a road, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, close to the Israel border with Lebanon, in northern Israel, June 4, 2024.
Fears over a full-fledged war between Israel and Hezbollah grew after the Israeli government decided to cancel the school year in the north in areas near the border with Lebanon and after an Israeli commanding officer said that troops in the north of Israel were preparing for an offensive against Lebanon’s Hezbollah after months of escalating violence which killed at least 523 people in Lebanon.
“It has been decided that the school year will not begin this year in the north,” Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch said on X.
“Students from northern communities will be able to attend schools in other parts of Israel,” he added.
More than 62,000 Israelis have been displaced from their areas in norther Israel amid daily cross-border clashes with Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Major General Ori Gordin, Israel’s commanding officer in the north, told troops that “we have already eliminated more than 500 terrorists in Lebanon, the great majority of them from Hezbollah”, an army statement said.
The Israeli military has “destroyed thousands” of targets across the border, Gordin said.
The statement said troops were now preparing “for the transition to offense”.
The border clashes forced more than 90,000 Lebanese to flee their homes in southern Lebanon, according to official figures.
Previously, the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged to start the school year on Sept.1 in areas near the Lebanese border.
Kisch said closing schools in northern Israel “is an unfortunate decision that was imposed on us and is accepted with a heavy heart.”
The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 39,000 Palestinians , mainly women and children since the October 7, 2023 invasion by Hamas killing 1139 people and taking over 250 hostages ,
Hezbollah which is aligned with Hamas started its attacks against Israel on October 8 and vowed to stop as soon as the war in Gaza ends .
Fears also grew yesterday after President Biden announced a deferral of removal for certain Lebanese nationals in the United States, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon due to ongoing tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.
The deferral applies to Lebanese nationals present in the US on the date of the memorandum, with several exceptions.
The day after Gaza
The cost of the war in Gaza so far exceeded $67 Billion according to COFACE BDI and there is no end in sight for the war as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu continues to obstruct truce talks by making new demands every time the mediators were close to a deal
President Biden in a an interview last month said it was reasonable for people to conclude that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war in Gaza for his political benefit.
“I’m not going to comment on that,” Biden told Time magazine in interview . “There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”
Biden said his major disagreement with Netanyahu over the war is about what would happen when it ends.
Biden has supported a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, but Netanyahu has opposed such an idea. While Netanyahu has said Israeli occupation is not the solution, he has not proposed an alternate vision for the “day after” the war.
Netanyahu has faced mounting criticism from the U.S. and other countries over the handling of the war as the humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza and as civilian deaths mount.
Biden in June laid out a three-phase peace plan that would wind down fighting between Israel and Hamas and allow for the rebuilding of Gaza but Netanyahu said the war should continue until Hamas is completely destroyed.
Biden reportedly told Netanyahu right after the October 7 attack by Hamas “don’t make the same mistake we did going after bin Laden. ” “Don’t try— the idea of occupying Afghanistan, the idea that you had nuclear arsenals in Iraq, that were being generated, simply not true. And it led to endless wars. They were not true. Don’t make the mistakes we made. And they’re making that mistake, I think.”
Netanyahu’s speech to a fraction of the US Congress on Wednesday was meant to rally American sentiments in his favor; instead, it showed how much he is out of touch with reality” one analyst was quoted as saying as he commented about Netanyahu’s address to the Congress
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