Israel Under Fire

"On the eve of the holiday [Rosh Hashona], the IDF is operating and striking on all fronts."

"IDF soldiers will mark the holiday in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, and on all the borders, with reinforced forces and heightened readiness."

IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi

"The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies. They will understand."

"We will stand by the rule we established: whoever attacks us, we will attack him."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

 

"The 36th Division, including soldiers of the Golani Brigade, 188th Armored Brigade, 6th Infantry Brigade and additional forces are joining the limited, localized, targeted raids on Hezbollah terror targets and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon that began on Monday."

Israel Defense Forces statement

This picture taken from the West Bank city of Hebron shows projectiles above the Israeli city of Ashdod on October 1, 2024 [File: Hazem Bader/AFP]

 

"[The alarming situation in Lebanon has gone from bad] to much, much worse."

"It is absolutely essential to avoid an all-out war in Lebanon, which would have profound and devastating consequences."

"It is high time for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. It is high time to stop the sickening cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliff." 

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Yes, it most certainly is alarming. That the premier terrorist-inciting, -supporting, -training, -funding, -weaponizing nation in the world instructs its proxy militias to attack a lone, sole-non-Muslim nation in the Middle East as it openly threatens that nation's existence, yet the United Nations and its secretary-general only takes notice when the threatened target itself responds militarily. There was no censure from Mr. Guterres when once again the Islamic Republic of Iran bombarded Israel with ballistic missiles.

 

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system operates for interceptions as rockets are launched from Lebanon towards Israel, as seen from Haifa, Israel, on Thursday, October 3.

Ammar Awad/Reuters

 

It was only when an outraged Israel declared Antonio Guterres persona non-grata in Israel in reflection of his condemnation of Israel striking back at the terrorist groups that have perpetrated war crimes against the Jewish state, for not having had the decency to condemn Iran for its indiscriminate mass bombing, that he finally censured Iran for its action. An action that was clearly a declaration of war, even while Iran's president murmured that his country had no wish to go to war, but felt obliged to begin a conflict it afterward felt should not elicit a response from Israel.

Over 180 ballistic missiles bombarded Israel, and a day later rockets were fired from Lebanon by Hezbollah. Any country in the world that had suffered that kind of attack would be justified under international law, to respond in kind. When Israel does just that there's a large intake of collective breath and even Israel's purported Western supporters urge Israel's government to subscribe to a cessation of its response, to agree to an immediate 'ceasefire'.

American President Biden addressed G7 leaders remotely on the "unacceptable attack against Israel" by Iran. The purpose of the call was to "co-ordinate on a response to this attack, including new sanctions"; funny thing about sanctions, they rarely have the effect they're meant to as collective punishment for 'unacceptable' actions. Unacceptable actions that take place in the Middle East can only be addressed by the same kind of brute force that answers to the brute force originally exerted against the state responding to it.

 

Smoke rises following an explosion over Beirut's southern suburbs after a strike, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, on Thursday, October 3.

Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

 

For the second consecutive day the IDF notified people living in villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate. Planned consequential attacks on Hezbollah positions, weapons depots, command posts, all of which are located within the densely populated areas of southern Lebanon where Hezbollah has its terrorist installations imperil the population of civilians that Hezbollah intrudes upon, converting them to human shields. 

Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the Iranian attack on Israel as the regime having "made a big mistake and will pay for it". The strike "failed" and was "thwarted thanks to Israel's air defence system, the most advanced in the world". Yet it was Israel that Guterres condemned for the "most deadly and destructive military campaign in my years as secretary-general", as he addressed Israel's response in Gaza to the Hamas October 7 savage bloodbath when thousands of Hamas terrorists descended on southern Israel to sate their blood-lust on children, families, women -- in the rape and mass death of 1,200 Israeli civilians.