The day before yesterday, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called – for the first time – for a meeting of the expanded emergency cabinet, underlining that the national unity expressed by Israelis is sending a message, inside and outside the country.

Israel’s Armed Forces are awaiting the “political decision” to proceed with their ground operation in the Gaza Strip, which has been continuously bombarded in retaliation for a bloody attack by Hamas on October 7.

Three buses, with about fifty passengers each, are waiting outside a school in the center of Sderot, preparing to depart. The residents of this Israeli city, which was attacked by Hamas on October 7, are today being asked to evacuate it.

The municipality emphasized that the evacuation is not mandatory, but “strongly recommended” in view of the Army’s ground operation in Gaza. According to Israeli media, about half of the residents had already left the city after October 7.

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The Islamic Republic of Iran warned via X (former Twitter) last Saturday that if the “war crimes” and the “genocide” of the Palestinians committed by Israel do not stop, the situation can get out of control with very serious consequences.

The posting of Iran’s diplomatic mission to the United Nations followed a report by the Axios news website that the Islamic Republic had warned Israel, in a message delivered through the UN, that it would be forced to respond if its military launched a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

The US administration says it is working to prevent Iran from getting involved in the war and broader diplomatic efforts are focused on preventing the risk of the war, especially in Lebanon, escalating into a regional armed conflict.

There have been repeated fire exchanges between Israel and the military arm of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite movement, this week. They are the deadliest since the month-long war in 2006.

Israel said yesterday that it does not want a war on its border with Lebanon, but clarified that if Hezbollah chooses war, it will pay a very heavy price. In the early days of the conflict, Hezbollah’s intervention remained fairly limited. Yet many analysts believe that an Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip could trigger Hezbollah’s intervention.

France yesterday called on Hezbollah and Iran to show restraint in order to avoid the opening of a new front in the region. Washington has also warned Hezbollah against making a “bad decision”.

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Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, told US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, that Israel’s response to the Hamas attack went beyond self-defence and amounted to collective punishment.

The Arab countries visited by US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, this week are determined that the conflict will not expand, he assured as he left Cairo for Israel.

The US Secretary of State also said from the Egyptian capital that he believes that the passage of humanitarian aid to Gaza will be achieved, a condition that Egypt has set to allow the exit of the Americans from the Palestinian enclave.

The US yesterday announced an agreement for the exit of American citizens from Gaza, but Egypt keeps the Rafah crossing to Gaza closed, replying that it cannot be used exclusively for the exit of foreign citizens.

No one will leave as long as international humanitarian aid for Gaza, which is gathering in Sinai, is not allowed to cross into the Gaza Strip, according to intelligence sources cited by the media.

With information from: APA MPA

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