Hebrew Press: While ground offensive is postponed, the regional battle is expanding

By Amos Harel

While Israel is still preparing and floundering regarding the expected entry of the army into the Gaza Strip, the regional arena is full of events. The United States has deployed reinforced military forces in the Middle East, the largest since the establishment of the coalition to fight ISIS in 2014. At the same time, Iran is activating militias, with the aim of harming Israeli and American targets, while Hezbollah continues to escalate on the border. North.

The most dramatic event far from Israel was on October 19, when the Houthis from Yemen launched 19 drones and missiles directed northward, in the direction of Israel. Iran has been supplying the Houthis with a lot of weapons for more than 10 years, which have been used to carry out attacks against Saudi Arabia and the UAE, under its direction. The target of the current strike could be the Eilat region, whose population has doubled over the past week, after it received evacuees from the “Gaza envelope” and the northern border towns.

The Houthi bombing successfully intercepted an American destroyer equipped with Aegis combat management systems, including radars and interceptor missiles. This destroyer belongs to the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group, which the Americans sent to the Cyprus area to deter Iran and Hezbollah from attacking Israel. One day before the attack, the destroyer headed south into the Red Sea, so the Americans could have guessed, or known in advance, that something was going on.

For several years, Israel and the United States have been conducting exercises under the title "Jennifer Cobra", where they practice cooperation to intercept missiles. This time, it appears that a larger joint system has been built than the one deployed near Israel in the 1991 and 2003 Iraq wars. In recent years, the Biden administration has prepared to build a so-called regional air defense architecture, sharing radars and interceptor missiles from different countries. Now, faster than planned, we are witnessing her first practical exam.

In return, the influx of US forces into the region continues. The second aircraft carrier, the Eisenhower, and its strike group will arrive in the area, it appears, next weekend (its target appears to be the Gulf). The Americans also deployed squadrons of fighter aircraft in Jordan, while transport aircraft, weapons and other tools continue to be sent to the region. The Pentagon justifies these steps due to the escalating threat to regional stability. All of this is in addition to the air bridge that supplies Israel with weapons and spare parts, and within its framework, 62 American and Israeli transport planes arrived here as of yesterday. In the security establishment, they say that this campaign is the second in the state’s history, in terms of size, after the famous one during the Yom Kippur War.

At the same time, the Iranians do not appear to have taken steps to back down. During the past few days, American military bases in Iraq and Syria have received strikes from militia drones operated by Iran. European intelligence services estimate that despite the direct threat made by President Joe Biden, Tehran wants to examine the American seriousness in its support for Israel. The United States Embassy in Iraq decided the day before yesterday to evacuate the place of non-essential employees. Yesterday, the Houthi government in Yemen threatened to attack Israeli ships passing in the Red Sea.

These regional transformations are taking place in the background, while Hezbollah launches anti-armor missiles and shells every day towards the army forces deployed on the border (the towns themselves are empty, for the most part, by decision of the army). It seems that the army has improved over the past few days its ability to diagnose and deal with cells. During the past weeks, dozens of "saboteurs" from Hezbollah and Hamas were killed, most of them during the past days.

However, every operational success of one party prompts the other party to search for an appropriate response. The feeling in Israel is that the misunderstanding scenario could turn into a dangerous matter, especially with the preparations for the army's ground entry into the Gaza Strip. United States President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State said yesterday that they do not oppose Israel's entry into the Gaza Strip, but they added that Biden passed on to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a message that Israel must act according to the laws of war and reduce harm to civilians. The Americans want to make an additional attempt in the coming days to free more kidnapped persons held by Hamas in a deal, mediated by Qatar.

At the same time, those close to Netanyahu began repeating the message that one should not rush into Gaza, and that the risk of conflagration in the north and the entire region should be taken into account. The most serious man there is former National Security Advisor, Yaakov Amidror, who yesterday told Kan News that “there is no harm in waiting for ground entry. Every day that passes is in our favor and against Hamas, and with time there will be less need for the air force in Gaza, and it can be passed to the north.” Hours later, Netanyahu's fans began tweeting on the "X" website that they must wait and bomb from the air, in order to free the fighters from the restrictions imposed on them by the judicial system, before they enter.

These interpretations do not, at this moment, directly contradict the army's messages. The army is finalizing preparations for the ground move, but it can use a few extra days to improve it, if they give it to it. But there are other external pressures on the political and military system: the Israeli public’s expectations of a major strike against Hamas, despite the fear of losses; The fact that 350,000 reserve fighters were conscripted two weeks ago and the damage being caused to the economy, including stopping the education system; The fear is that the international legitimacy that Israel obtains due to the massacre in the “Gaza envelope” will decline with the arrival of more difficult scenes as a result of the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip.

Source: Haaretz