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Israel is reeling from a Hezbollah drone attack that managed to elude its sophisticated air defence system, striking a military base of the elite Golani Brigade in northern Israel on Sunday night, killing at least four soldiers and wounding over 60.
Fearing another such attack Israeli intelligence is trying to work out what went wrong and how to avoid future drone attacks as Hezbollah steps up its rocket volleys, launching hundreds of missiles into Israel in the last few days as the Jewish state continues to blanket bomb Lebanon.
On the diplomatic front, Israel is also coming under sustained criticism from the UN and the European Union (EU) after its attacks on UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, and its indiscriminate targeting of Gaza and Lebanon, following a closed-door emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
On Monday, the EU condemned the attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon and rejected Israeli allegations that the UN was keeping them there to obstruct military operations against Hezbollah.
Israel ordered over 20 Lebanese villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate while destroying homes there, stating Hezbollah would not be allowed to return there and that the relentless destruction of the area would continue until its presence had been eradicated.
Reports also suggest Israel and the US are working on a plan to change the geopolitical situation of the Middle East as an end game.
As the bombardment of Lebanon accelerated the carnage in Gaza continued. More than 29 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks across Gaza since early Tuesday.
At least four Palestinians were burned alive late Sunday night after Israeli forces targeted tents where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in the grounds of Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir El Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
The Israelis claimed that Hamas had been using the hospital as a command and control centre without offering any evidence. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) made similar claims about Shifa Hospital in Gaza city when that was targeted at the end of 2023, a claim panned by critics.
Another 10 Palestinians were killed on Monday in Gaza while queueing for food at a distribution centre in Jabalia camp.
In the last few weeks several hundred Palestinians have been killed in northern Gaza since Israel once again invaded the area in line with former military head Gadi Eisenkot’s the General’s Plan which aims to depopulate the area through expulsion and starvation. However, there are reports that even those trying to flee the area are being targeted by IDF quadcopters.
Eisenkot is also the author of the Dahiya Doctrine which encourages the Israeli military to cause excessive damage to civilian infrastructure in enemy territory so that the civilian population pressures fighters to surrender or move away.
While Israel is fighting militarily on several fronts it is also fighting a heated battle on the diplomatic front following its indiscriminate attacks in Gaza and Lebanon and its attacks on UN peacekeepers.
Last week, Israeli forces repeatedly targeted UNIFIl forces stationed in southern Lebanon, injuring several of the troops. A fifth attack on one of the UNIFIL bases was reported over the weekend.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly warned the UN peacekeepers to get out of Israel’s way. On Sunday, he accused UNIFIL of acting as human shields for Hezbollah and specifically addressed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Guterres warned any attacks on peacekeepers “may constitute a war crime”, adding that “UNIFIL personnel and its premises must never be targeted”.
“Attacks against peacekeepers are in breach of international law, including international humanitarian law,” Guterres said, according to a statement from his spokesman.
The UN Secretary General was banned from entering Israel at the beginning of October after accusations that he was anti-Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz also accused European Union Policy Chief Josep Borell and the UN of being “anti-Semitic and anti-Israel”.
Borrel branded the attack on Guterres as slanderous and reminded Israel that it was the UN Security Council that made decisions regarding UNIFIL’S deployment and not the secretary general.
Several European leaders whose countries contribute troops to UNIFIL also lashed out at the Israeli premier.
Italy’s defence minister Guido Crosetto said the attacks “could constitute war crimes” and asked for an explanation because “it was not a mistake” and Spain’s foreign minister Joe Manuel Albares said on Monday that Israel’s attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon were unacceptable. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez further warned that UNIFIL troops would not move.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin accused Israel of undermining the UN and its peacekeeping force in Lebanon in the wake of the increasing attacks against Blue Helmets while Sean Clancy, the Irish defence forces’ chief of staff, said on Friday that he did not believe an Israeli statement claiming its forces had responded to a “threat” near the UNIFIL position.