Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that time is running out for diplomatic efforts to end tensions between Israel and the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. Israel will soon have no choice but to launch a large-scale military offensive against Hezbollah.
According to the Times of Israel, the statement was made by Mr. Gallant during a situation assessment meeting at the Northern Command base of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Meanwhile, on the same day, the leader of the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah, warned that he would react quickly on the battlefield after the assassination of the deputy leader of Hamas in Lebanon, Saleh al-Arouri, in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut. Hezbollah currently accuses Israel of being behind the assassination of Mr. Saleh al-Arouri, the highest-ranking Hamas figure to be killed since the conflict with Israel broke out on October 7.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Türkiye on a week-long Middle East tour, to make efforts to end Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh also called on Arab and Muslim countries to stress to the US that stability in the Middle East must be linked to the need to resolve the Palestinian issue. According to the plan, in addition to Turkey, Secretary of State Blinken will visit Greece and five Arab countries (including Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Egypt) before going to Israel and the West Bank to find ways to prevent the situation in the region from escalating.
In a related development, Secretary General of the Arab League (AL) Ahmed Aboul Gheit on January 5 also called on the US to put pressure on Israel. According to Mr. Aboul Gheit, Israel's activities have violated international humanitarian law and it is necessary to promote a two-state solution to end the conflict. The parties need to immediately have a complete ceasefire and establish a humanitarian corridor to provide essential aid to the people in Gaza. The leaders of Qatar, Lebanon and Iran also had a phone call about the tense developments in the Gaza Strip.
On January 5, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Martin Griffiths warned that after three months of conflict between the Hamas movement and Israel, Gaza has become uninhabitable and people are facing daily threats to their lives.
HAPPY CHI
Source
Comment (0)