Threat of Iranian attack on Israel grows clearer

The United States warned Monday of a “significant” Iranian attack on Israel as early as this week, joining several European countries in calling on Tehran to “renounce” it.

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian said his country had the “right to respond” to any aggression against it, during a telephone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who urged him to avoid escalation.

The United States “shares Israel's concern” about an imminent attack from Iran and Tehran's allied groups in the region, said John Kirby, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council.

Washington, which has strengthened its military presence in the Middle East in recent days, is planning “a series of significant attacks” that could occur as early as “this week” by Iran and allied armed groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

– “Give up” –

The subject was discussed during a meeting on Monday between President Joe Biden and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

A Palestinian man cleans with a shovel the rubble of a building hit by a bombing in Nusseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on August 12, 2024 © AFP – Eyad BABA

All called on Iran, in a joint statement published afterwards, to “renounce” an attack that would have “serious consequences” for regional security.

The German Chancellor and also the head of the British government Keir Starmer directly expressed their concern during telephone conversations with the Iranian president.

“Iran will never yield to pressure, sanctions, and coercion, but considers that it has the right to respond to the aggressors in accordance with international standards,” the latter said, according to a statement published by the official IRNA agency after a telephone conversation with the German leader.

The White House acknowledged that if this Iranian attack occurred, “it could certainly have an impact on the discussions” planned for Thursday on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, accompanied by the release of the Israeli hostages held there.

– “Hostages” –

The spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas announced Monday that its fighters had “killed a hostage” and “wounded two female hostages” in “two separate incidents” in the Gaza Strip. Gaza, where 111 Israelis are still being held, 39 of whom have died, according to the Israeli army.

People flee in a damaged car in Nousseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on August 12, 2024 © AFP – Eyad BABA

Iran and its allies have threatened Israel with an armed response after the assassination, on July 31 in Tehran, of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, attributed to Israel, and the death, the day before, of Hezbollah military leader Fouad Chokr, killed in an Israeli strike near Beirut.

In April, Tehran had already launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israeli territory, in retaliation for a strike against the Iranian consulate in Damascus, attributed to Israel.

Tensions are also very high in Lebanon, after months of exchanges of fire on the Israeli-Lebanese border between the powerful Islamist movement Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, and the Israeli army.

Which is continuing its offensive in the Gaza Strip, particularly in regions where it is facing a resurgence of Hamas and allied groups.

On Monday, aerial bombardments targeted Khan Younis and Rafah, in the south, according to residents.

– School –

An Israeli Navy submarine (center) passes between two ships off the northern Israeli city of Haifa on August 12, 2024 © AFP – AHMAD GHARABLI

In the north, the identification of bodies continues after the Israeli strike on a school that killed 93 Palestinians, according to the Civil Defense, on Saturday in Gaza City.

The Israeli army, which said the school was being used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, said its strike “eliminated” 31 fighters from both armed Palestinian movements.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which has been in power in Gaza since 2007 and which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union, after the attack on its soil that resulted in the death of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.

The Israeli offensive launched in retaliation on the Gaza Strip has left at least 39,897 dead, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Gaza government, led by Hamas, which does not detail the number of civilians and fighters killed.

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