The Israeli army, which maintains control over more than half of the Strip’s territory, claims that Hamas has repeatedly violated the “yellow line”, the separation strip physically marked with barriers and colored signs. Yesterday the IDF eliminated Haytham Ali Tabataba’i, Hezbollah’s chief of staff and central figure in the group’s military apparatus.
The fragile agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Gaza Strip, defined thanks to the mediation of Washington, risks disappearing at any moment. Hamas he said he wanted to abandon the agreement and, in the last few hours, he launched into a verbal clash with Israel over who would violate the truce first. As revealed by sources cited by Al Arabiyaemissaries of the Palestinian movement communicated to US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that the agreement would “come to an end” and that the group would be “ready for confrontation”. The message, the same sources report, was accompanied by a warning: Gaza “it will not end up like Lebanon“, formula with which Hamas rejects the idea of a prolonged ceasefire without compensation. Tension rose after two days of Israeli operations in the Strip, which culminated on Saturday with the killing of five Hamas commanders. The organization defined the attacks as a clear breach of the commitments made. Israel Defense Forces (IDF), however, overturn the accusation: it would have been a Hamas fighter to enter a humanitarian corridor and open fire on Israeli soldiers, causing the clashes to escalate.
Faced with reports that Hamas had notified US emissaries of the end of the agreement, the spokesperson Ezzat al-Risheq he tried to tone down the matter, claiming that the group would never have announced the end of the agreement. However, he reiterated that he had asked international mediators and the US administration to “force Israel to respect the agreed terms”, urging Jerusalem to make public the name of the alleged militant responsible for the episode contested by the IDF. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he reacted by pointing the finger at Hamas, indicating it as solely responsible for the instability of the truce. In a statement released by his office on X, the Israeli leader said that Jerusalem is applying the agreements “completely”, while Hamas members have reportedly crossed the separation line several times since the truce came into force.
According to the Times of Israel, even the White House would have considered Saturday’s Israeli military operations legitimate, deeming them legitimate a response to a previous violation attributed to Hamas. US sources quoted by the newspaper say that the leadership of the Palestinian movement is struggling to exercise effective control over its men deployed in the Strip. From the signing of the agreement, dated October 10threports of long clashes Gaza they multiplied almost daily. On Thursday, Israel launched a further series of attacks, which local Hamas-controlled sources said left 27 people dead. The overall toll of Palestinians killed since the start of the truce, according to the same sources, has exceeded 300 victims, given that he never distinguishes between civilians and militiamen.
The Israeli army, which maintains control over more than half of the Strip’s territory, claims that Hamas he would have violated the “yellow line” several times, the separation strip physically marked with barriers and colored signs. The IDF indicates at least three serious episodesincluding clashes that cost the lives of two Israeli soldiers. The White House has not yet released any official statements on the possible breaking of the truce. However, a US source explained to the Israeli network Walla that, although it has not yet formally withdrawn from the agreement, Hamas has made it clear that it cannot accept further Israeli military operations. In the meantime, according to the Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen, close to Hezbollah, a delegation led by the leader of Hamas Khalil al-Hayya she would have gone to Cairo to meet with various Arab countries and seek support in the “strengthening the Palestinian position” towards Israel. Also yesterday, the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed that they had struck in Beirut, following indications from intelligence, eliminating Haytham Ali Tabataba’iHezbollah’s chief of staff and central figure in the group’s military apparatus. Militant since the 80s, Tabataba’i had driven the Go Radwandirected operations in Syria and held key roles during the war against Israel, until becoming the main person responsible for operations after the neutralization of most of the organization’s top management.
After the Operation «Northern Arrows», had been nominated Chief of staffwith the task of rebuilding Hezbollah’s military machine, coordinating the various units and relaunching the group’s operational capabilities. Considered one of the most expert and influential military minds of the Shiite movement, he was also placed on the most wanted list by the United States, which offered up to 5 million dollars for information useful for his capture. The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed that the operation, conducted «in the heart of Beirut», was authorized by Benjamin Netanyahu upon proposal of the Minister of Defense and the IDF Chief of Staff. Israel reiterated that it will continue to strike Hezbollah’s attempts to reorganize and rearm, “anywhere and at any time”, while saying it respects the agreements with Lebanon. The Minister of Defense Israel Katz he promised continued action against any threat from the north, claiming that anyone who attacks Israel “will be amputated.” From Lebanon, the president Joseph Aoun condemned the raid, calling it proof of Israel’s lack of will to stop hostilities, and called on the international community to intervene to put an end to the attacks and restore stability.
