Israel is fighting on several fronts

War in the Middle East - Israel is fighting on several fronts

While Israel's army leadership continues to strengthen its combat units in the south of the Gaza Strip, it has put its soldiers on the border with Lebanon on "very high" alert due to the threat of increasing attacks by Hezbollah.

In southern Gaza, the army is now fighting against the Islamist Hamas "in several key areas" and has expanded the operation in the city of Chan Junis, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Wednesday evening. "We have deployed another brigade to this area today and are continuing to operate there using new methods of warfare above and below ground," he said, referring to Hamas' tunnel network.

Concerns about escalation in the Middle East

Meanwhile, growing tensions between Israel and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon are increasing concerns about a further escalation in the Middle East. In view of the significant increase in attacks by the pro-Iranian Shia militia from Lebanon, the army is now on "very high alert", said Israel's Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi on Wednesday during a visit to the army command in northern Israel, according to an official statement. "Today we approved a series of plans for various contingencies, and we must be prepared to strike if necessary," Halevi said.

Report: Blinken travels to the Middle East again

In view of the threatening escalation of the situation in the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be traveling to the region again at the end of next week, according to the news portal "Axios". He will also visit Israel for the fifth time since the start of the Gaza war, it was reported. There was initially no official confirmation of this.

Hezbollah launches heaviest rocket fire to date

Hezbollah, which is allied with Iran, claimed new rocket attacks on Israel on Wednesday. According to the newspaper "The Times of Israel", these were the heaviest rocket attacks on northern Israeli towns since the beginning of the Gaza war. Several buildings were damaged in the border town of Kiriat Shmona, the Israeli police reported. No people were injured. On the other hand, three people, including a Hezbollah fighter, died in Israeli attacks on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon on the same day, the Lebanese news agency NNA reported. It is the most serious escalation since the second Lebanon war in 2006.

"So far, the campaign here has been conducted correctly and carefully, and it must continue to be so," said Israel's chief of staff. "Our first task is to restore the security and sense of security of the residents in the north, and that will take time," explained army spokesman Hagari. At the beginning of the Gaza war, the Israeli authorities moved tens of thousands of residents in the north to the interior of the country for security reasons. Hezbollah is considered to be much more heavily armed than Hamas in Gaza.

WHO: Tens of thousands seek shelter in clinics in Gaza

Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), tens of thousands of civilians are seeking shelter from the war in the few hospitals that are still functioning. In the Shifa hospital in the city of Gaza, 50,000 people are crowded together, in the Al-Amal hospital in the southern Gaza Strip 14,000, the WHO announced on X on Wednesday. It referred to a team on the ground. The figures could not initially be verified independently.

The delegation was able to bring relief supplies to the hospitals together with representatives of the UN Children's Fund Unicef and another organization, according to the statement. On the way to the hospitals, the WHO team observed tens of thousands of people fleeing the fierce Israeli attacks on foot, on mules or in cars. In the hospitals, the WHO staff had to step over patients and people seeking protection who were camped everywhere.

"This forced mass movement of people will lead to more overcrowding and an increased risk of infectious diseases, making the distribution of humanitarian aid even more difficult," the press release quoted a WHO employee on the ground as saying.

Erdogan compares Netanyahu to Hitler

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his actions in Gaza and compared him to Adolf Hitler. "We have seen Israel's Nazi camps in stadiums, haven't we? What is this? How are you different from Hitler?" said Erdogan on Wednesday. He did not explain what exactly he meant, but videos have been circulating on social media in recent days purporting to show Palestinian prisoners in a stadium in the Gaza Strip.

Israel strongly opposed Erdogan's statements. "His words are deeply offensive to every Jew around the world," said President Izchak Herzog on Wednesday evening. Erdogan had violated the memory of millions of Jews who were murdered by the Nazis.

The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 in Israel near the Gaza border. More than 1200 people were killed on the Israeli side. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, at least 21,110 people have been killed so far. The figures cannot currently be independently verified.

What will be important today

Israel's army is expanding its ground offensive in southern Gaza. Meanwhile, tensions are rising on Israel's northern border with Lebanon.