Daily Despatch: Israel And Hezbollah Move Closer To All-Out War

From the frontlines of the Israel-Palestine war, NDTV brings you daily despatches by journalist Allan Sorensen, Middle East Correspondent for Danish newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad, giving insights and gripping first-hand accounts from the war-torn region.

As the Israeli war cabinet on Thursday agreed upon moving to the next step in the war against Hamas in Gaza, the Lebanese Hezbollah militia stepped up attacks on Israel's northern border. At least 30 rockets were fired against Israel from Lebanon, which left two Israeli civilians wounded in the city of Kiryat Shemona.

In other incidents, six anti-tank missiles hit civilian targets on the Israeli side of the border. Among the targets were houses in the border town of Metulla. In retaliation, Israel hit Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon early Thursday. At least two people were reported injured.

The latest uptick in cross border attacks has ratcheted up tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. While each side still refrains from declaring a state of war, Israel has started evacuating some 23.000 citizens of Kiryat Shemona.

In another development believed to be connected to Israel's war against Hamas, US bases were hit by drone attacks in Iraq on Thursday. Two drones targeted the al Asad airbase in western Iraq used by US forces and one targeted a base in the country's north near the city of Erbil. US forces intercepted all three, destroying two but only damaging the third, which led to minor injuries among coalition forces at the western base.

These attacks on US bases are widely believed to have been carried out by pro-Iranian Shiite militia forces operating in Iraq. And they are seen as a part of Iran's effort to deter Israel and the US from setting in motion a land invasion of Gaza.

Iran's Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian warned earlier this week that Iran has "red lines", that if Israel's attacks continued and if a land attack on Gaza was launched, Iran "will have to respond."

In a press release, the US Central Command in Iraq commented on the latest escalation."In this moment of heightened alert, we are vigilantly monitoring the situation in Iraq and the region. US forces will defend US and coalition forces against any threat," it said.

On the Gaza front, Israel continued attacking targets throughout Thursday. According to Israeli Army spokesperson Daniel Hagari, more than 5,000 targets in Gaza have been hit since the beginning of the war. Palestinian deaths in Gaza have surpassed 3,500 while some 12.000 have been wounded in Israeli air raids.

In Israel, the death toll since Hamas carried out its massacre in Israeli border villages stands at 1,403.

Following the visit of US President Joe Biden, the Israeli government on Thursday agreed in principle to allow some humanitarian aid into Gaza. But no aid trucks were allowed to cross the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is getting worse by the hour. According to local health authorities, there is an acute lack of medicine and even food and clean water in some areas. Hospitals are running out of fuel to operate the generators providing electricity. More than 100 trucks with aid are waiting to be cleared for entering Gaza on the Egyptian side of the border.

A statement from the White House said Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had agreed to work closely on encouraging an "urgent and robust" response to a humanitarian appeal by the United Nations over the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The first 20 trucks are expected to be allowed into Gaza on Friday. 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak landed in Tel Aviv on Thursday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.

Like Biden stated during his visit the previous day, the British Prime Minister said he backed Israel's war against Hamas. But he added that Israel needs to adhere to international laws.

"I am proud to stand here with you in Israel's darkest hour. As your friend, we will stand with you in solidarity, we will stand with your people and we also want you to win," Rishi Sunak stated during a meeting with Netanyahu.

"We absolutely support Israel to defend itself in line with international law, to go after Hamas, to take back hostages, to deter further incursions, and to strengthen your security for the long term," he added.

In Israel, the statements of the British Prime Minister are seen as an important show of support. But Israeli media is also gradually focusing more on the broad protests against Israel in several Western capitals, among them London. Members of Jewish communities in countries like Denmark, UK and Germany are, in many cases, keeping a very low profile due to threats and out of fear of being attacked.

Meanwhile, demonstrations in the Palestinian cities on the Israeli-occupied West Bank are creating instability. In the main West Bank city of Ramallah daily protests are taking place with chants in support of Hamas and against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

According to al-Jazeera, the most common chant among the demonstrators is: "Put the sword before the sword, we are the men of Mohammed Deif," in reference to the commander of Hamas's military wing, the Qassam Brigades.

The anger aimed at the Palestinian Authority is mainly due to the fact that it continues to cooperate with Israel on security-related issues.

In an effort to prevent attacks from West Bank terror groups, Israeli security services have arrested an estimated 850 Palestinians since war broke out on October 7. According to the Israeli Army Spokesperson's office, the vast majority of those arrested have links to Hamas. But members of other Palestinian groups like The Lions Den, The Jenin Brigades and Islamic Jihad are also among the arrested.

In an Israeli anti-terror raid on the Palestinian city of Tulkarem, at least 13 Palestinians were killed on Thursday.

(Allan Sorensen is the Middle East correspondent for the Danish daily newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.