Israel launches war on two fronts: besieges hospitals in Gaza in search of Hamas while Hezbollah attacks from the north

The war between Israel and Hamas does not abate: the attacks cause hospital closures and the tension intensifies, already crossing different fronts. Beyond the Islamic Resistance Movement, Israeli forces on the border with Lebanon maintain a crossfire with the Hezbollah group, which has become a key actor in this hectic conflict in the Middle East.

The humanitarian crisis is accentuated due to the situation with the hospitals in Gaza, which are being one of the most affected: at least three hospital centers have been hit by Israeli air strikes. In addition, the shortage of gasoline in health center generators has caused most of them to be almost non-functioning.

The most affected is the Al Shifa hospital, the most important in the Gaza Strip, which had to be closed this Sunday by the Palestinian authorities due to the catastrophic situation that prevailed in the center, which has been without supply since this Saturday. electric due to lack of fuel.

The attacks and lack of electricity in the hospital have made operations impossible and it is no longer viable to offer medical services, which is why the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, has determined the closure of the center.. The decision has been made after the alleged death of several patients, three of them premature babies, due to the blackouts.

The authorities have stated that more than a hundred bodies are found in the center of Al Shifa without the possibility of being buried.. In fact, clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas continue in the vicinity, since Israel maintains that the hospital is a legitimate target: it claims that under the floors of the medical center is the “headquarters” of the Palestinian armed group.

In this sense, the Israeli Army reiterates that its troops have not attacked the Al Shifa hospital “or any of its parts” and, instead, have indicated that they were in contact with the director of the center to inform them about how to evacuate the area and help them. with the safe transportation of patients.

“Today there was a lot of misinformation from Gaza. That's why I want to clarify the facts. Yesterday they were quick to accuse us of an attack on Al Shifa. No siege of Al Shifa hospital. The eastern side of the hospital is open for the safe passage of Gazans who wish to leave the hospital,” Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said this Saturday.

Likewise, Hagari announced this Sunday her intention to evacuate premature babies from Al Shifa during the day: “The staff has asked us to help transfer the babies from the pediatric department to a safer hospital. We are going to give the help they have asked of us. “The Israel Defense Forces do not attack hospitals.”

Hezbollah threatens from the north

On the other hand, Hamas is not the only enemy that Israel has to face. The north of the country, on the border with Lebanon, is being attacked daily by the Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah, which opened a front one day after the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.

The escalation of tension in the area is the worst experienced in northern Israel and southern Lebanon since the war between both forces in 2006.. Tens of thousands of people in Israeli and Lebanese communities near the dividing line have been evacuated in recent weeks due to the fighting.

In his second public appearance since the war broke out in Gaza, Hezbollah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah indicated this Saturday that the organization is using new weapons and tactics, such as sending “one or two reconnaissance drones” daily to the territory. Israeli, as well as Burkan missiles, which carry an explosive charge of between 300 and 500 kilograms, and the use of Katiusha-type rockets.

“The Lebanese front will continue to be a pressure front,” Nasrallah declared in a televised speech. Thus, it has guaranteed the maintenance of the “pressure” of its forces on the southern border of Lebanon to keep this second front open for the Israeli forces.

In the latest attacks this Sunday, several people have been injured, one of them seriously, in northern Israel by a missile attack launched from southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli Army, which has added that its troops They responded with artillery and attacked from the air two “terrorist cells” that were preparing to fire on their territory.

Hezbollah has confirmed responsibility for the attack and has indicated that among the wounded there are soldiers who were placing “surveillance equipment” in the area.. The Israel Electric Company, however, has pointed out that they were civilians, specifically, a group of workers who were carrying out repair work on high-voltage cables on the border.

In addition, a soldier from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was injured at midnight on Saturday after being hit by a bullet near Al Qawzá, in southern Lebanon, where “an intense shootout” took place.. At the moment his nationality has not been revealed. More than 600 Spanish soldiers participate in the contingent.

The wounded UNIFIL soldier has undergone surgery and “is recovering and is stable,” the UN mission has highlighted, from which it has also indicated that “the origin of the shot is unknown at this time” and an investigation has been opened. research about it. “Attacks against civilians or UN personnel are a violation of International Law that could be considered war crimes,” they recalled.

Hezbollah also attacked northern Israel this Saturday, claiming to have caused casualties among the Israeli ranks with the use of guided missiles and rockets, although they have not specified the number of casualties. The Lebanese National News Agency reported that Israel carried out more than 20 attacks against southern Lebanon this Saturday.

Beyond Hezbollah, Israel has also clashed these weeks against Palestinian militias in Lebanon linked to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. These groups, in addition to a myriad from Iraq and Syria, are part of the so-called Axis of Resistance and are allies of Iran, Israel's main enemy.

“Iran provides military, financial and diplomatic support. This is no longer a secret to anyone. If the Resistance is strong in Lebanon, Palestine and in the region it is thanks to the material, military and financial support of Iran,” Nasrallah stressed this Saturday.

Iran encourages arming of Palestinians

“The expansion of war is inevitable”. This is how the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hosein Amir Abdolahian, spoke this Friday. “Due to the increasing intensity of the war against the civilian population in Gaza, the expansion of the scope of the war has become inevitable,” Abdolahian said in a telephone conversation with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

Iran has already warned on several occasions of the possibility that its allies will open other fronts if they do not stop the bombings of Gaza, in which more than 10,000 Palestinians have died. In fact, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisí called this Saturday for Muslim countries to arm the Palestinians if the attacks against Gaza continue, as well as to impose an economic and energy boycott on Israel.

“Muslim countries must arm the Palestinians if attacks against the people of Gaza continue,” Raisi said in a speech at the Arab-Islamic summit. “Trade and cooperation with the Zionist regime must be paralyzed and Israeli products must be embargoed,” said the Iranian politician, who described it as a “shame” that some Islamic countries provide oil to Israel.

In this way, he once again showed his support for the Palestinians fighting against the Israelis, which he described as “a liberation movement.”. “We kiss the hand and arm of the heroic Hamas and salute the iron will of the resistant people of Gaza,” Raisí said.