17.10.2024

US-manufactured Israeli F-15s: used to pound south Lebanon

Leave or starve

Threats to halt the supply of some arms owe more to next month’s presidential election than any real concern for the population of north Gaza. Meanwhile, the world awaits Israel’s latest ‘retaliation’ against Iran. Yassamine Mather reports on a region spiralling into hell

After more than 42,000 deaths, when we thought we had witnessed some of the worst war crimes committed this century, the US-backed Zionist state has managed to perform even more horrific acts.

In the early hours of October 14 the Israeli military attacked tents sheltering displaced people at Al‑Aqsa hospital in central Gaza, igniting a fire that killed four and injured around 70 others. Social media footage showed tents engulfed in flames, while people attempted to extinguish the fires and rescue those trapped. A local resident described waking up to the bombing and rushing to the scene, where he witnessed the fire spreading after gas canisters ignited.

At the same time, we are witnessing the realisation of a strategy initially proposed by a group of retired Israeli senior officers. This is called the ‘Generals’ Plan’, as the group is led by retired major-general Giora Eiland, a former national security advisor. In a nutshell, the ‘Generals’ Plan’ tells the population of northern Gaza to leave or starve.

A letter from the Biden administration to the Israeli government, reportedly leaked and later confirmed by the US on October 15, sets a 30-day deadline for Israel to take “urgent and sustained actions” to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza. The letter cites the US Foreign Assistance Act, which mandates the halting of arms supplies to any country obstructing US-approved humanitarian aid. A few aid trucks are running now, but far too few, meaning that the situation continues to deteriorate.

Genghis Khan

As Gideon Levy writes in Haaretz, “The helplessness of the international community, especially the United States, reinforces the sense of intoxication. Everything is possible. It seems that Israel can continue its Genghis Khan campaigns of conquest and punishment unhindered. America begs it to stop; its pleas make no impression on the Israelis.”¹

The leaked letter is a cynical move by the Democratic Party apparatus, which is desperate to avoid losing more votes amongst anti-Zionist Jews, Arab Americans, anti-war activists and young voters in general in next month’s presidential elections. But, for all the publicity this has gained in the media, it is too little and, of course, too late. It is not that they will turn out for Trump, it is that they simply will not turn out at all. Note, while Harris is some 2.4 points ahead in national polls, Trump leads in the swing states, albeit by a tiny margin.

After a couple of weeks of speculation about the timing and nature of the Israeli retaliation against Iran, US media reported early this week that Benjamin Netanyahu might have softened his stance regarding his next move.

Targets

NBC News reported on October 12 that the US believes Israel will not target Iran’s nuclear sites, although it is considering strikes on military targets and energy infrastructure. However, no-one should believe any of this. For all we know, a retaliatory attack on Iran might have happened by the time you read this article.

The Israeli prime minister’s office stated that Netanyahu had informed Joe Biden that Israel would refrain from targeting Iran’s oil or nuclear facilities in response to the major missile attack two weeks ago, focusing instead on military installations. It added that the timing of the attack will ensure it does not influence the outcome of the presidential election, due about three weeks from now.

The US administration is claiming all this is a consequence of a phone call with Biden. However, it might also be related to the unprecedented escalation of the war in Gaza, as well as the war in south Lebanon. Contrary to all Israeli Defence Forces claims, Hamas and Hezbollah might be weakened after the assassination of their respective leaders, but they are far from being defeated. Following leaks of footage from damage caused by Iranian missiles and news of a Hezbollah drone reaching the Golani Brigade training base in central Israel, the ‘Iron Dome’ air defence system does not seem to be as impenetrable as Israel and its allies had claimed.

According to Amos Harel, writing in Haaretz on October 15,

… although Israel has been working on the issue for 10 years, it still hasn’t developed an effective system for detecting, identifying and bringing down drones the way the Iron Dome protects against short- and medium-range rockets. Both the laser system that’s being developed and old anti-aircraft cannons that are meant to return to service will considerably improve the defensive system, but that will take time.²

This explains the offer of deployment of a US ballistic missile interception system, as part of preparations for a possible strike on Iran and a potential Iranian response. No exact date has been set for the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). Still, according to various sources, the talks are described as “at an advanced stage, but not yet finalised”. Yet already some 100 US specialists have arrived in Israel. There is also speculation that this was part of a quid-pro-quo deal agreed during the Biden administration regarding the time and extent of Israel’s retaliation against Iran.

As Israel prepares for a retaliatory strike, it keeps a close watch on both Iran and the US. A THAAD battery was previously deployed to the Middle East “last year following the October 7 attacks, to protect American troops and interests in the region”, according to one statement. In 2019, the system was deployed in Israel during an air defence drill with the US military, following then-president Donald Trump’s announcement of plans to withdraw most US forces from Syria.

At the time, Netanyahu said: “The system is considered one of the most advanced systems in the world and, together with our defense systems, we’re even stronger [and can] handle threats, near and far, from all across the Middle East.”

Gulf Arab officials responded to the rising tensions between Iran and Israel on October 2. The Gulf Cooperation Council addressed the situation, calling for adherence to UN security council resolution 1701. This mandates Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the disarmament of armed groups in Lebanon.

During a press conference with Iranian president Massoud Pezeshkian, who was visiting Qatar for the Asian Cooperation Dialogue summit, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, highlighted the risks of Israel’s actions and stressed that Qatar prefers mediation as a means to address regional conflicts.

Oman expressed significant concern about the escalating situation, warning of its serious consequences and urging restraint to maintain regional stability. Meanwhile, Saudi economy minister Faisal Alibrahim described the developments as “unfortunate” and called for de-escalation, dialogue, and broader regional and international cooperation!

This week Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqher Ghalibaf piloted a plane to Lebanon, highlighting Iran’s confidence despite the ongoing conflict and recent deaths of several members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. In his role as pilot on part of the journey, he was trying to portray a sense of defiance and seeking to make a regional statement. Upon arriving in Beirut, Qalibaf met with significant political figures.

This visit marks Ghalibaf as the second high-ranking Iranian official to visit Lebanon since Israel’s recent air strikes (earlier, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi visited on October 4 for talks).

Fake news

Last week, Masoud Asadollahi, former Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commander of the al-Quds Force, said that an Iranian company was the mediator in the purchase of 5,000 Hezbollah pagers that exploded in Beirut. On October 13, Iran’s judiciary announced the summoning of Asadollahi for this statement. The Meezan news agency says that Asadollahi “admitted” that the information he raised was “wrong, quoting unreliable sources”, and he has now realised his mistake.

Some news agencies were claiming that IRGC commander Esmail Ghaani is under investigation over Israel’s successful infiltration of Hezbollah’s command structure. Ghaani, who now heads the IRGC’s al-Quds force, was in Beirut during the attack on Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Iranian officials maintain that he might even receive an award for bravery. The Qatari-backed Middle East Eye suggested Ghaani has been placed under house arrest due to the security lapses that allowed Israel’s infiltration.

The Jerusalem Post claimed Ghaani died from a heart attack during interrogation, combined with torture, and the London-based Iran International TV station duly repeated the Jerusalem Post claim. All this turned out to be fake news, as Ghaani was later shown to be alive and well at a ceremony in Tehran marking the death of IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed in Lebanon on the same day as Nasrallah.

Statement

On a positive note, a considerable number of leftwing Iranian activists and academics both inside and outside Iran have signed a joint statement entitled “A collective call to action against the imposed ‘new order’ on the Middle East”. The nine-point statement includes these paragraphs:

We are a group of Iranians inside and outside the country consisting of academics, researchers, social and political activists, and artists declaring our disgust with Israel’s genocidal assault against Palestinians in Gaza, the oppressive apartheid regime in the occupied West Bank, the ground offensive into Lebanon, the bombardments of Yemen and Syria, as well as all actual and potential military acts against Iran under any name. We recognise these acts as the extra-judicial unleashing of mass violence against the collective living conditions of the peoples of the region, a violence enjoying the full material and ideological support of western governments and global capital flows.

Signs and discourses indicate that Iran will be among the next targets of Israeli aggression under the banner of ‘the new order’. This statement contains an urgent warning against indifference towards systematic crimes upon our geographical, cultural and historical coexistence in the region.