Threats of vengeance have been made and emphasized recurrently by Iran and Israel against each other. The new developments intensify months-long worries about a regional battle escalating out of control. Enjoying unconditional support from Washington as the main partner, Tel Aviv has vowed to counter the massive missile assault that Iran kicked off on Tuesday night. Any such reprisal, according to Iran, will result in an even harder retribution.
Israel, in the meantime, started attacking Lebanon again a day after Iran’s assaults. The Israeli army declared that it would be deploying more troops to support the ground assault it had already started. Tehran stated that the missiles it launched at Israeli targets were in retaliation for the assassinations of officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah, and Hamas in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon.
Iran was forewarned by the Israeli prime minister after inflicting the missile assaults that it committed a big mistake. The administrative and security establishment in Israel has maintained that they will not let the onslaught remain unabated.
The government of the US President has blasted Tehran with dire repercussions. According to the American House Speaker, Washington must revitalize its maximal pressure campaign on Iran for the sake of the entire world. There was, nevertheless, a pushback to the threats in the United States and elsewhere. The joint chief of staff of Iran’s military warned to intensify the missile strike if the Israeli military retaliated against Iranian properties anywhere.
A few hours after the attack, Tehran’s foreign minister phoned his counterparts in European countries and threatened to escalate the reaction if Israel retaliated. Tehran issued a warning to the United States on Wednesday to refrain from intervening.
From Gaza and Lebanon to Iran
Months of concerns that Israel’s attack on Gaza may ultimately spark a full-scale conflict throughout the region are only heightened by the increasing hostility. In response to international demands for moderation and a pause in the dispute’s intensification, the UN Security Council has scheduled an emergency summit a day after Iran’s attacks.
Unprecedented since the end of the 34-day Lebanon war, Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that its soldiers had engaged in direct combat with Israeli troops in southern regions. Hezbollah reported that Israeli forces attempted to enter the nation close to the town of Odaisseh, but they were defeated and had to flee.
Israeli airstrikes that have been pounding the Lebanese capital and south, have not stopped hitting the city on Wednesday. After striking the southern neighborhoods of Beirut, the Israeli armed forces claimed to have targeted Hezbollah. Big clouds of smoke could be seen ascending in the region. After several weeks of intense airstrikes, Israel issued fresh instructions for the region’s evacuation, which has mostly taken place.
The Disaster Risk Management Unit of Lebanon declared yesterday that 1,873 persons had lost their lives in less than one year. Since October 8, 2023, 9,134 more people have also been injured as a consequence of Israeli assaults throughout the nation. According to the Unit’s document, the overall number of displaced individuals from regions affected by Israeli attack has surpassed one million, out of whom 155,600 have been enrolled in formal shelters.
