Zitat:The Commanding Officer of the Northern Command, MG Ori Gordin, and the Head of the Operations Directorate, MG Oded Basiuk, approved operational plans and held a joint situational assessment in the Northern Command earlier today.

As part of the situational assessment, operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated, and decisions were taken on the continuation of increasing the readiness of troops in the field.

Zitat:The aircraft carrier Gerald Ford and the accompanying fleet are on their way to the coast of Haifa in the north of the country.

Zitat: “If Hezbollah does not retreat north beyond the Litani river by 24th June, Israel will start a war in Lebanon.”

— Alleged message from Israel to the Lebanese government, delivered by Amos Hochstein

Zitat: Biden's envoy to the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, announces after the conclusion of the talks, "The attempts to settle the situation in the north have failed."

Zitat:BREAKING: A senior Israeli official (we spoke before Nasrallah's speech): If Hezbollah continues to attack Israel, the entire south of Lebanon will look like Gaza. Beirut will not be immune. Hezbollah must stop attacking Israel; no country would tolerate the current situation. The countdown to an Israeli response has begun, and only Hezbollah's agreement to the Hochstein framework and cessation of its attacks might stop the clock.

Zitat:According to a U.S. Defense Official, the Department of Defense is currently in Consultations with Raytheon/RTX on a possible “Emergency Transfer” of several Coyote Counter-UAS Systems as well as other Short-Range Air Defense Radars and Systems to Israel, in order to “Plug a Hole” which had recently been seen in the Israeli Air Defense Array in the North, when attempting to Counter the Threat of One-Way Aerial Attack Drones which have begun to be Significantly Utilized by Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon.

Zitat:"The Cypriot government must be warned that opening Cypriot airports and bases for the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon means that the Cypriot government has become part of the war and the resistance (Hezbollah) will deal with it as part of the war," Nasrallah said.

Nasrallah said his group would fight with "no rules" and "no ceilings" in the event of a broader war.

The group also had "a bank of targets" that it could target in precision strikes, he said.

(19.06.2024, 21:38)Quintus Fabius schrieb: Schlussendlich eine Kriegsdrohung gegen die EU - und daher müsste dies eigentlich gemäß geltender EU Verträge den Bündnisfall auslösen, sollte die Hisbollah Zypern angreifen.

(19.06.2024, 23:21)KheibarShekan schrieb: Israel droht dem Libanon wortwörtlich mit einem "Totalen Krieg". Interessante Wortfindung.

(19.06.2024, 23:21)KheibarShekan schrieb: Sollte Zypern Infrastruktur für einen Angriff auf den Libanon oder Syrien bereitstellen, dann sind das völlig legitime, notwendige Ziele. Glaube aber eigentlich nicht, dass sie das tun.

(20.06.2024, 00:33)Philippe Gauchat schrieb: Oder bezieht sich die Bemerkung "Interessante Wortfindung" auf die Übersetzung?

Zitat:Das soll sicherlich dazu dienen, den Internationalen Währungsfonds verhandlungsbereiter zu machen.

(20.06.2024, 01:23)KheibarShekan schrieb: Also führende englische und israelische Medienhäuser haben die Aussage von dem israelischen Minister (Katz?) in ihren englischen Ausgaben jeweils wortwörtlich mit "Total War" zitiert. Das ist falsch?

Zitat:“We are very close to the moment of decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely hit,” he wrote.

Zitat:Was heißt Kriegsdrohung? Israel droht dem Libanon .......
Sollte Zypern Infrastruktur für einen Angriff auf den Libanon oder Syrien bereitstellen, dann sind das völlig legitime, notwendige Ziele.

(20.06.2024, 07:25)Quintus Fabius schrieb: KheibarShekan:
Al Jazeera schreibt übrigens von all-out war, was übrigens die korrektere Übersetzung ist:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/19/israel-ready-for-all-out-war-in-lebanon

Zitat:Desweiteren stellt Zypern keine Infrastruktur und hat dies auch noch nie, sondern israelische Kampfflugzeuge passieren hin und wieder zyprischen Luftraum, ohne dass Zypern was dagegen tun kann.

Zitat:Nasrallah hatte in seiner Ansprache damit gedroht, "Zypern als Kriegspartei zu betrachten, wenn es die Nutzung von Flughäfen oder Militärbasen für Aggressionen auf den Libanon" von seinem Territorium aus gestattet.

Zitat:The assessment that a wider Hezbollah-Israel war could draw the US into the conflict is accurate. Israeli sources estimate Iran might join if Hezbollah suffers heavy losses from the IDF. This scenario would force a difficult decision for the US.
The Biden administration should act now to deter Iran and leverage all possible means to pressure Hezbollah to withdraw from the war they initiated on October 8. Without this, the region could spiral into an unprecedented conflict, potentially worse than Gaza. The US has tools at its disposal, including formal security assurances to Israel, and must use them NOW.
Nasrallah's threat against Cyprus, an EU country, underscores the urgency. The administration has done much but must do more to prevent this from escalating.

Zitat: Update: CNN, citing sources: Blinken informed one of his Arab counterparts during his recent tour in the region of Israel’s intention to invade Lebanon.

Zitat:Senior Israeli Officials have told Members of the Biden Administration and U.S. Defense Officials that they are planning to Shift Resources from Southern Israel toward the North, in preparation for a possible Ground Offensive against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon.

Zitat:JUST IN: The US has not explicitly told Israel that they oppose any attack against Hezbollah, however they warned that their actions could lead to a greater war which the two sides don’t actually want, while Israel has made the case that it can pull off a “blitzkrieg”. (CNN)

Zitat:Is Israel’s Smotrich fulfilling his dream of annexing the West Bank?
A quiet takeover of occupied West Bank has been cooking for 18 months. Are the far right going to get their way?

By Simon Speakman Cordall
Published On 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024
The Israeli army’s Civil Administration handed more control over the occupied West Bank to the Settlements Administration, led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in an illegal settlement himself.

Now Smotrich and his Settlements Administration control more things, like building regulations and the management of farmland, parks and forests.

Since he entered government, Smotrich has pushed openly for more Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank – illegal under international law – as steps towards annexation.
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Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, as well as Gaza and East Jerusalem – the longest military occupation in modern history.

But, even occupation has rules.

According to international law, the occupying power cannot move its citizens into occupied land. Israel’s Supreme Court confirmed this in 2005.

That did not stop Israelis from building illegal settlements on stolen land. And it did not stop Israeli settlers – supported by security forces sometimes – from attacking Palestinians to force them off even more land.
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Zitat:US offers assurances to Israel this week in the event of full-blown war with Hezbollah
Published 7:35 PM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024
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Top Israeli officials including Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi participated in a series of meetings with Biden administration officials like national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House Middle East affairs coordinator Brett McGurk in Washington this week. They discussed a wide range of topics including the situation on Israel’s northern border, Iran and the ceasefire and hostage negotiations, sources said.

When discussing the issue of Hezbollah’s provocations, US officials made clear this week that the Biden administration would offer Israel the security assistance it needs, the senior administration official said, though the US would not deploy American troops to the ground in such a scenario.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, Hezbollah’s provocations against Israel have continued – and escalated in recent weeks. Biden administration has repeatedly stated that it does not wish to see yet another war break out on Israel’s northern front, urging diplomatic de-escalation. This week, US envoy Amos Hochstein was dispatched to the region to try to help de-escalate the conflict.

Still, with Hezbollah’s attacks across the border into Israel continuing in the absence of a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, US officials are on heightened alert about the eruption of a full-blown conflict in the region. If Hezbollah were to significantly expand the scale of its attacks on Israel, resulting in the deaths of Israelis, US officials expect Israel to respond with full force.

As CNN reported, US officials have serious concerns that in the event of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group could overwhelm Israel’s air defenses in the north — including the much-vaunted Iron Dome air defense system. That reality would make the US’ full support of Israel all the more critical.
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