Israel said on Saturday it was ready to respond to any attack from Iran, launched new deadly raids on Gaza and exchanged fire with Lebanese Hezbollah, a context which raises fears of a regional conflagration.
In the waters of the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, the maritime special forces of the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s ideological army, seized a container ship accused of being “linked” to Israel, with 25 crew members on board.
The White House called on Iran to “immediately” release the ship and its crew and President Joe Biden was expected to hold urgent consultations with his national security team “on events in the Middle East” at the White House.
Israel is on alert after threats from Iran, which promised to “punish” it after a deadly strike on 1er April against its consulate in Damascus which cost the lives of two generals of the Revolutionary Guards. Tehran accused Israel, which neither confirmed nor denied.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is the enemy of Israel and an ally of Hamas, author on October 7 of an unprecedented bloody attack on Israeli soil which provoked a devastating Israeli offensive in Gaza, where 33,686 people, mainly civilians died according to the authorities of the Palestinian movement.
“We have strengthened our preparation to protect Israel from further Iranian aggression. We are also ready to respond,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said.
Historical allies of Israel, the United States will deploy “additional assets” in the Middle East in order to “support regional deterrence efforts and increase the protection of American forces,” an American official declared on Friday without specifying the nature of these reinforcements.
After announcing on Wednesday that Iran “is threatening to launch a significant attack against Israel,” Joe Biden said on Friday that he expected the attack to take place “soon.” “We will help Israel defend itself and Iran will fail,” he added.
“Beginning of an escalation”
After the seizure of the ship by Iran in one of the sea lanes most used by merchant shipping, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the European Union to classify the Revolutionary Guards as a “terrorist organization”.
The Iranian authorities have not indicated whether this operation was linked to the response announced by Tehran against Israel.
“The Americans had warned of actions that seemed much bigger than this, but this could very well be the start of an escalation […] broader,” said Karim Bitar, researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations, interviewed by AFP on the seizure of the ship.
Faced with this volatile situation, the Netherlands closed its embassy in Iran. France, Germany and the United States have called on their nationals not to travel to Iran. The German company Lufthansa and its Austrian subsidiary Austrian Airlines have suspended their flights to and from Tehran until April 18.
Nearly 2,000 km west of Iran, in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army continued its strikes, once again targeting the Nusseirat refugee camp in the center of the Palestinian territory which it is besieging and including the majority of the 2.4 million inhabitants are threatened with famine according to the UN.
In the last 24 hours, 52 Palestinians have been killed, according to a new report from the Health Ministry of Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007 and is classified as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Israel.
” Enough ! »
In Deir al-Balah, an AFP video shows a devastated landscape and mountains of ruins, including the remains of a mosque.
PHOTO AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Palestinians injured during Israeli bombardments on the Nuseirat refugee camp wait to receive medical treatment at al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Deir al-Balah on April 13.
“We were at home when the army came and asked us to evacuate the area […] An hour later, the whole area exploded,” says Mohammad Adel Thabet, a resident of Nousseirat.
“My only request is that the war stops. Enough is enough, we have had enough of the destruction, demolitions and deaths. Enough ! », says another member of the Thabet family.
On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrated from the neighboring Gaza Strip carried out an attack in southern Israel, resulting in the death of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to a report established by AFP based on data Israeli officials.
More than 250 people have been kidnapped and 129 remain detained in Gaza, including 34 who have died, according to Israeli officials.
PHOTO HANNAH MCKAY, REUTERS
Posters calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas are hung in Tel Aviv on April 13.
The indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel via Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators seem to be stalling, the protagonists still not having responded to their truce proposal associated with the release of hostages and the entry of more important aid humanitarian aid in Gaza strictly controlled by Israel.
Surge in violence in the West Bank
In the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 by Israel and separated from Gaza by Israeli territory, the discovery of the body of a young Israeli shepherd who was missing, triggered violence by the army and settlers against the Palestinians.
“Benjamin Achimeir was assassinated in a terrorist attack,” according to an official Israeli statement.
Several West Bank villages were besieged by the army and attacked by hundreds of settlers, leaving several injured, according to Palestinian authorities.
Finally, on Israel’s northern front, on the border with Lebanon, Lebanese Hezbollah claimed “a drone attack” and another rocket attack against military positions in Hanita in northern Israeli territory. In response, Israeli artillery bombarded targets in southern Lebanon.